Crop Report
Posted: Monday, July 20th, 2009
Summary: In general the farm, fields and crops have never looked so good. We hired a crew of professional weeders to come as needed to keep the weeds at bay. It is expensive, but so far it looks like it will be a good investment. Not only are we drawing down the soil seed bank, but it makes harvest much faster and much more enjoyable- not to mention greater yields without the added competition for water and nutrients. Speaking of water- have you done a rain dance yet? If not, please do so immediately as we are very dry. The dry combined with the cool weather the last week has slowed plant growth significantly. We do irrigate, but it is more to help the plants survive rather than thrive. We also do not have the capabilities to irrigate the entire 14 acres we have in produce, so we are being selective and focus on the crops that need it the most.
Basil- loads of basil, the first offerings to the CSA were too skimpy and we will be sharing more of this summer time favorite as the summer progresses
Beans- the first planting was followed by a heavy rain which caused the soil to crust making it difficult for those young seedlings to get to the surface. Cultivating helped break the crust, but the first planting is not as stong as we would like. There is a large second planting which is growing nicely- but would still love to get some rain.
Beets -we have three healthy plantings, provided we can keep a head of the deer we should have more beets than you probably care to eat.
Broccoli- the first planting was set back from a flea beetle infestation, but it is flowering now and we are happy to be harvesting a nice crop. We have 3 more plantings which are doing very well so you can expect to see it many more times this year.
Brussels Sprouts - they look excellent, received good irrigation, and expect a fine crop this fall.
Cabbage - the first planting is slow to size up because of a lack of rain, but it is still looking good and we should be able to get more this week. Our second planting (storage varieties) is doing great and we hope to offer a sour kraut special.
Carrots- we have three large plantings of carrots and all are relativly weed free and looking good. We are excited to start harvesting the first planting this week.
Cauliflower- we have given up on growing a summer crop of cauliflower as it never has done very well for us-m it is difficult to keep it from yellowing and the tarnish plant bug has also added to the frustration. Therefore we only do one largee planting for harvest in the fall. We were able to plant this last Thursday- so you can look for it in your CSA box this fall!
Celeriac- it is weed free but very dry. Mat hopes to get some water on them soon. Irrigation efforts have been focused on the flowering-bearing crops in an attempt to keep them from aborting their fuit- due to the stress caused by the drought.
Celery- getting some much needed irrigation now that the tomatoes have had a drink- perhaps it will appear in a July box.
Cucumber- the first planting is loaded with cukes and the second planting is also looking good- look for them to be in steady supply the next several weeks. Get ready to make some pickles
Edemame- the first planting was followed by a heavy rain which caused the soil to crust making it difficult for those young seedlings to get to the surface. Cultivating helped break the crust, but the first planting is not as thick as we would like
Eggplant- growing nicely on aluminum plastic mulch for insect control (no signs of colorado potato beetles or flea beetles!) Oriental variety will be flowering soon for lots of August fruits to harvest.
Fennel – the bulbs are not as plump as we’d like, but their sweet flavor is still there.
Garlic - we just started digging our crop this week, so we’re looking forward to seeing how it survived the winter. So far, so good. Don’t forget about the upcoming Garlic Harvest Party (Sunday, August 2).
Leeks – the blue-green hues contrasts interestingly against the green of the neighboring corn, soybean and hay tones of green. A bit short for this time of year, but we have a fair crop, in need of rain.
Lettuce - more head lettuce needs to be planted this week. What has been planted isn’t doing great due to the dry weather. Salad mix seedings will be underway after we get the rest of our cold frames emptied.
Kale - Lacinato was planted last week, the Red Russian and Curly Green will be planted this week.
Onions/Shallots – Sweets, Cipollini, Reds, and Yellow storage varieties…all 32,000 plants! Healthy plants, could certainly need a drink.
Peppers -the plants look healthy, although somewhat smaller than usual- likely due to the cool nights. It will be interesting to see how the temps will affect the fruit.
Parsley - frankly not the nicest crop of parsley we have aver grown. It has not had enough water. We still will get some good bunches- but it is not going to be a record breaker.
Raspberries - the plants are loaded with white berries – harvest is just around the corner!
Rutabagas- they were thinned to on plant every 6 inches and weeded last Thursday. We have a nice looking crop of Ruta’s for you this fall
Sage/Oregano/Summer Savory- we had some damping off issues in the greenhouse this spring so we didn’t make our target in terms of numbers of sage plants, but we hope to get everyone a bunch or two. We’ll try our best not to give you a lot of summer savory, though we have enough for the entire township (!), you can expect more in your boxes this season.
Summer Squash- we are having some trouble with our summer squash – we have 6 beds of 350 feet but the lack of water is causing a calcium deficiency in the plant which in turns causes blossom end rot. Mat will be irrigating them Monday night and Tuesday
Sweet Corn- we have about 3/4 of an acre of sweet corn. The plants are starting to tastle and they all look healthy. Soon we will surround the field will electric wire to deter the raccoons.
Sweet Potatoes- this is a new crop for us this season. And when we saw the half dead potato slips , which arrived without spaghnum moss, we are glad to have most of them living. They need some warm weather now to produce a plump crop.
Tomatoes/Tomatillos – Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Crimson Sprinter, San Marzano, Hillbilly Potato Leaf, Sun Gold, Isis Candy and Yellow Mini’s and Toma Verde all have well developed fruit on them. They’ve received timely irrigation and are sizing up.
Winter Squash – looks great! Vines are now running and weeds are under control.
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