Rain, sweet Rain. Last night and today we finally got about 1/2 an inch (maybe a little more) of rain, and it feels like a different world. Today's cool breeze was a balm for farmers and plants alike after the scorchers earlier this week. And now cruising into the weekend for a little rest and reprieve, our tanks will be full again by Sunday, and we'll be ready to start a new week. Next time some rain and cold ruins your summer beach plans, take solace in that the whether may be a godsend to your farmers.
Something new on the farm this year.
This afternoon, some of our crew spent some time trellising the cucumbers and working in the high tunnels, and I spent a little time ogling some plants on the farm that should be really familiar yet seeing them grown in tunnels has been a revelation. We've puttered a little with cukes and peppers in high tunnels, but this year - since we added 3 more small tunnels to our fleet this spring - we finally had the space to go for it in earnest. And it has been amazing - our cucumbers have been in shares for weeks, 3 weeks earlier than usual. The plants now have to be trellised and soon harvested with ladders and have reached the rafters with little evidence of slowing down. More importantly, we are bending down to harvest them! Cukes are notoriously one of the worst veggies to harvest on the farm due to their low growing habit and the vining mess you have to search through to find them. It can be really tough on the back, and trellising them has cut harvesting time (and pain) in half at least.
Our tunnel peppers, shown here several weeks ago are loaded with sweet sweet cornos peppers, far ahead of their regular ripening schedule of August. The plants are enormous. I am ecstatic. It can be so fun to see new things trialed on the farm go well!
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