We're often asked how we deal with all of the pest pressure on our farm. The pic above is to prove that though we do have a lot of tricks up our sleeve, we're not always successful. Also...we wanted anyone that has been wishing for some napa cabbage in their box to see why it'll be awhile! This planting of napa was transplanted into a bed at our home plot, and was immediately covered with insect netting. We've learned that it's best to cover some things right away rather than take our chances. So what was the problem? Well, we have a lot of grasshoppers right now at out home plot, and it appears that some of them likely hatched underneath the insect netting. At any rate, this planting of napa has become what's called a sacrificial crop - or one that is left in place to entice pests away from other crops that you're trying to protect. Napa cabbage does have a great sweet taste, and I guess the bugs love it too! Of course, we're disappointed to not even get to harvest an entire planting, but we've also learned to be quick to shrug off (but still learn!) from failures like these because they WILL happen, and the best thing to do is move forward. Not to worry tho - we have loads of other crops that have not fallen prey to pest pressure and they're headed your way for pick up at the market or on farm...
Don't forget to grab your produce box this week at your chosen pick up site. If you pick up at the market, it was VERY busy last week and parking was challenging for the first hour or so. The market committee has taken strides to provide for some vendor parking elsewhere that will hopefully free up more customer parking at or near the market. If picking up your box is your only aim for stopping at the market and you'd like to avoid crowds, then it's better to come after 4:30 - your box will be cool in Vanna White.
Cheers, Rudy & Bonnie
