Last week we complained about the heat and lack of precipitation; this week we’ll complain about the excessive rain: this is how you know we’re farmers! My dad likes to talk about the weather and that always annoyed me – until I became a farmer. I kid you not, we could talk weather all the time and it wouldn’t get old – there just isn’t any one factor that affects everything we do the way weather does: what we can do, how we can do it, and when it’s possible all depend on the weather.
Tuesday evening we got 2.75” of rain in about 45 minutes, and overnight into Wednesday collected another 1.5”. Since then the showers have amounted to another half inch so we’re just under 5” in two days. That’s a lot, but certainly not unheard of. The crazy thing is that we’ve 10” of rain in 2018 total, and half of it was in the last 48 hours. But such is the life we chose, no?
How does this impact us on the farm? Obviously we needed this moisture...we just didn't need it all in one day! For the overall health and well being of the soil and plants this rain is worth it. However, extreme temperature and moisture swings like these can be hard on plants and animals. We are now hoping for a break in the rain and for the sun to come out and dry the leaves of our crops before any disease can set in! A week ago we were worried about losing all of our spring crops to heat and now we are worried about losing our summer crops (and those spring crops) to rot and disease.
We’re doing our level best to keep plants happy and healthy through this topsy-turvy world, and that, in the end, is all we can do. Thank you for joining us on this journey of growing and eating; we couldn't do it without your support!
IMPORTANT!
- There will be NO CSA PICK UPS on Wednesday, July 4th!
- ALL pick ups will happen on Thursday, July 5th at your regular pick up location!
- Any communications you get from Robinette and Harvie will reflect this change of date
- If you need to reschedule your pick up for that holiday week please READ THIS HARVIE FAQ to understand your options for changing your share
Happy Eating!
Your Farmers
