Wow! That's one hot week in the books, with another coming our way next week. Nonetheless, we've been busy here on the farm, harvesting, prepping for fall, doing a couple of minor infrastructure projects (adding drains to the farmstand slab, repairing water valves, etc.) I'm hopeful that we'll get the hot weather over with, and end up with a milder August, which would set us up for an abundant fall harvest of Carrots, beets, cabbages, broccoli, leeks, etc. Meanwhile, we keep irrigating, planting, and tending, trying to keep the soil moist in very fast evaporating conditions.
This week we have some great Okra from Fassnight farm here in Springfield, some delicious canary melons from the Amish, and abundant carrots, leeks, potatoes, and others from our fields. The bounty of summer is upon us, although the tomatoes are a little sparse here this summer; we are looking for a red tide of tomatoes in mid August. We should be looking at a big batch of beans next week as well, we'll see whether that pans out. Every season's different, with big winners (this summer it's onions, potatoes, leeks, and herbs) and a few losers (slicing tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce). We never know at the beginning of the season, but we plan for a diverse range of crops so that we can manage the risk.
I hope you're enjoying these long summer days, and finding a cool creek to soak in every now and again.
Thank you for the pleasure of being your farmer,
Curtis
