D&V Organics CSA
Week 4
With last week's push of very warm temperatures, we are seeing several new things mature in the field. We are excited to start cooking with additional produce and also looking forward to including it in shares this week. Our first two plantings of tomatoes are moving along incredibly fast and we are starting to see small fruit forming (still green). By the end of next week we plan to plant our next succession of tomatoes, the seedlings are getting big and ready for the field. The tomatoes require a lot of work from seed through harvest. We start our tomato plants in the greenhouse as seedlings, and after about 3-4 weeks, the tiny seedlings are ready for more space. Each tiny seedling is then planted into a slightly larger container to continue growing until reaching a size that is suitable for planting directly into the field. After being planted into the field, the tomatoes will grow for about a week or two and then need to be supported with a string to prevent them from sprawling on the ground. In order to support the plants with a string, we must first pound stakes into the ground in line with the plants (this usually involves about 1,300 stakes pounded 18 inches into the ground). When the stakes are in, we tightly weave a string from stake to stake on both sides of the plant, to keep them upright. As the plants continue to grow, we continue to support them with additional lines of string, we may have to do this 5 times to continually support them (most of our varieties reach 6' or more in height). Keeping the plants off the ground is critical for managing plant and fruit diseases. When the plants are upright, the leaves of the plants dry faster after a rain event or from the morning dew, so having the ability to manage the leaf wetness period is a big step in increasing our total yield and fruit quality. We are hoping for tomatoes to start coloring up over the next few weeks!
Enjoy,
Derek & Vicky
