D&V Organics CSA
Week 21
This past week we've been taking advantage of the Fall weather and starting our long process of cleaning up after our Summer crops. We put a lot of work into preparing fields, planting the crops and maintaining them; oftentimes, we don't think about the work involved in cleaning up the fields after the crop is finished. For short season or fast growing crops like bok choi and lettuce, the cleanup is simple and fast, but for longer season crops like melons (where they are in the ground for 3 months) or tomatoes and peppers (also in the ground for 3 months) the weeds set in and make it difficult to remove the drip tape (our irrigation method) and plastic mulch (used for heat retention, weed exclusion and moisture conservation). With our tomatoes and peppers, we grow them on a trellis with string and wooden stakes to keep them upright and allow good airflow while growing, creating an environment that lessens the likelihood of plant diseases and makes them easier for harvest, however, string has to be cut/collected and the stakes lifted by mechanical means and then collected as well. When assigning a value to our tomatoes it's hard to consider all the steps involved in growing them and how that impacts our bottom line. Tomatoes aren't always consistent with their yield and our climate and weather here play an important part in our success in growing them. Most other crops we grow are easier to identify as efficient and track the costs associated with their production.
Aside from cleaning up fields this past week, we planted our last spinach and lettuce in the field for the season. We do have one more planting of baby bok choi to plant next week and that will finish our open field production for the year. Our greenhouse which housed our tomatoes this past Spring and into the Summer, has been cleaned up and is nearly ready for another round of crops for the Fall months. This new space is a great opportunity for us to extend the season. The greenhouse isn't heated with a heater, but relies on passive solar (sun) gain, which is enough to extend our harvesting through Thanksgiving.
Enjoy,
Derek and Crew
