[CSA Update] Welcome to week 16

It's been a humid and sunny week on the farm this past week, the farm where I grew up out there on the edge of the city. My boys are counting down the days until they finish with distance learning. At the end of the school year, I would typically expect to see bulging backpacks coming home not to be unloaded until September. Has anyone else noticed that the kids have made little nests at home as a result of distance learning? We identified an area for each kid to have uninterrupted school time and for homework. We hoped to keep them separate and focused. I've been so busy at the farm it snuck up on me when I entered the office and realized it would take a crowbar to get my youngest out of his self-made man cave.  They both head out to do chores and have social time with their cousins. Their bikes get them to visit the farm and have lunch with Grandma and Grandpa. But their little utopia of entertainment and comfort will be a strong pull all summer.  Good part of being part of a farming family, there is always a project and work to be done.  If you have time to check your phone or watch another episode, you have time to clean out the central aisle of the barn or go pull weeds from mom's garden.

Summer will soon be here, and the 4th of July is a big holiday coming up. In a healthy year, we expect to have folks travel and make plans for parties. With the shelter in place guidance just starting to lift, we are all waiting to see what impact that will have on July 4th plans. As you are shaping up your ideas, we should touch base about CSAs that week. We are building shares with pickup times as scheduled. If folks prefer to hold or reschedule their share for that week, you should do that as early as possible as switches are limited.

It is starting to get dry around the farm. I plan by planting irrigation tape next to the root systems in several fields. The picture above is showing me hooking up the mainline in the tomato, eggplant, and squash field. We are a little dry for this time of year, especially since we came into spring with a water deficit from the winter. We are seeing poor streamflow, which is a longterm deficit I will continue to monitor. No part of the state is in drought, just dry and between 4 and 8 degrees warmer than typical. It is amazing to go out and observe the dramatic increases each day as they are growing strong with the return of the warmer weather. Crops that are starting to fruit like strawberries and squash are the most vulnerable to the lack of water. I am frequently asked how the fields are doing compared to other years. Peas and squash are later than normal; strawberries are picking up and are still about a week behind in development. The kohlrabi and fennel are also a little late, and we shall be harvesting them within a few weeks.