Category Archives: pests

In the Share: Week 15

disease, peppers, pests, weeding

SWEET PEPPERS F/P  We love our new yellow horn-shaped variety, it goes so well with our favorite sweet pepper ever, the lovely-in-red Carmen.  Throw our orange Islanders, and we just harvested edible sunshine.

TOMATOES F/P  Some big boys are coming in now from the new planting.  If you don’t get one this week, than you will by next week.

RED ONIONS F/P  it was a good onion crop this year and we are sharing the bounty.

SUMMER SQUASH F  Either zucchini or yellow squash or a bit of both.

EGGPLANT F  We are picking them young to keep them tender.

CARROTS F/P  Everyone gets white and yellow varieties from storage this week.  They are big and sweet, perfect for roasting.

DESIREE POTATOES F  Light pink skin covers a creamy yellow flesh.  Delicious!  We’ll share more of this lovely potato next week.

HERB CHOICE F/P  Basil or summer savory

NEXT WEEK:  Peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, eggplant, squash, herbs and perhaps some cucumbers.

FARM REPORT:
It was the week that the farm made it over the hump of the growing season.  Most of the fall crops are planted.  The tomato crop is mostly in.  The days are noticeably shortening. The farmer sighs with relief.

The drier air today is incredible after a long, hot, humid summer.  Humidity is not just hard on workers in the fields, but on our organic crops.  Here’s a typical foggy morning from this week.

Humidity breeds fungus which attacks many of the summer fruits.  Fungicides are very prevalent on non-organic farms and on non-organic tomatoes, peppers, squash, etc.  Not ours.  You will see some spot on our fruits this week, but they don’t have the hidden spots of pesticide residue that you can’t see.

Not that we never spray anything on the crops.  When all else fails, we use products that are allowed under the National Organic Program.  This week we uncovered a legion of blister beetles out in the fields devouring the fall beets.  The best time to catch the quick little buggers is at night, when they cluster on the tops of the plants. With the truck lights lighting our path, Tom and I did what we could.

We used Pyganic, a natural form of pyrethrin from the chrysanthemum flower, which seemed to not to do much to reduce the population of blister beetles.

Let’s see now… I have covered two of the three enemies of the farmer:  disease and pests, now for the third:  weeds.  We are moving on many fronts to combat the weeds that have thrived during the tropical summer.  We have alot more to do including 3 of the 7 rows in the strawberry patch.  With cooler temperatures we hope to again see a big crowd on Wednesday and Saturday mornings so that we can catch up on the weeding.  Love your CSA strawberries?  Come on out and help us clean up the patch.

In the Share – Week Seven

pests, solar irrigation, summer squash

SUMMER SQUASH (F/P) The zucchini and yellow squashes are coming on now. There are a few round and pattypan ones in the mix, eat them like any of the others.

CABBAGE (F) Celebrate our independence with a Fourth of July coleslaw.  Or see Tom’s post for a July Julienne!

TOMATOES (F/P) We are going to do our best to get everyone a tomato or a few cherry tomatoes this week. Some may be less than ripe, so store on the counter until the fruit is bright-colored and slightly soft.

GREEN PEPPERS (F)

CUCUMBER OR EGGPLANT (F)  Just a first taste of these, with lots more to come.

SWEET ONIONS (F/P)  These are the Walla Wallas, great raw in salads.

BEETS (F) beautifully tasty.

HERBS OR HOT PEPPERS (F/P) Thai basil, Italian basil, rosemary or jalapeno or wax hot peppers.

LETTUCE (P)  Summer lettuce means crisp, crunchy heads

NEXT WEEK: More squash, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant and tomatoes. Carrots return.

FARM REPORT:

melons ready for drip tape

Irrigation is the name of the game this week at the farm. Up until last week we were getting adequate rainfall and hadn’t needed to irrigate the summer crops. We apply tons (literally!) of hay mulch to the plants and that holds in moisture up to a point. With the ground drying out and an irrigation pond chock full of free water, we are happily sending that water to the crops. The solar-powered pump pushes the water along the drip tape that we place along each row.  It is a laborous job getting all of the lines set, but once they are there we can quickly water the fields by flipping a switch.  

How about that, as if on cue it has begun to rain.  A short-lived shower, but we will take it.

Also this week we continue to work on everybody’s favorite, the tomato.  This Spring was like no other, and certainly not like last year which was our grandest tomato harvest yet, weighing it a over 9,000 lbs.  We are not expecting such a stupendous harvest this year.  On top of poor weather conditions for fruit set in May, many of the flowers are being eaten away by white flies.

white flies on the tomatoes

Tom has not seen such a phenomenon since he had his little backyard garden in Rochester, NY. It only makes sense that a Rochester-worthy pea harvest should be followed by the same climate’s pest.  We are spraying organic safer soap which should take care of the problem, but some damage has already occurred.

In the Share – Week 9

bean fence, dry, hot, pests

CARROTS (F/P) We are harvesting the carrots in bulk this week for future weeks out to cold storage. Carrots will be topped from now until the heat is gone.

TOMATOES F/P) We are getting record harvests of gorgeously voluptuous fruit. The heirlooms are winning over the red hybrids right now but we’ll see who wins in the end.

CHERRY TOMATOES (F/P) All the partial shares will get these this week. Full shares will get them too if we have enough or we will fill in with more slicers.

GREEN BEANS (F) Just a bit this week with hopefully much more on the way.

SUMMER SQUASH (F) The end of the first planting is near, but the round zucchinis and pattypans are beginning to coming in. Partial shares will get them next week.

CUCUMBERS (F) Ditto on cucumbers. In the shares will be a combo of the least bug-nibbled slicers and the best of the big pickling cucumbers. The second planting is flowering right now, so more are coming if it all pans out.

EGGPLANT AND PEPPERS (P)  One or two of each.

SALSA PACK (F/P) If you are new to the CSA you may not be familiar with tomatillos. They make a heavenly salsa either fresh or roasted. We give you everything you need including the garlic, onion and jalapeno. Add a tomato from your share and voila, our nation’s most popular condiment.

SWISS CHARD OR CABBAGE (F) In an effort to conserve moisture on the farm we are clear-cutting the leafy greens. The chard should grow back in time for cooler weather when that ever comes.

HERB CHOICE (F) Parsley, summer savory, thyme or a dried herb.

HOT PEPPERS (F/P) Just a couple to spice up your summer salads. Jalapenos and Hot Hungarian Wax peppers will be offered.

FARM REPORT:
Oh, boy it is hot and dry. We have shifted our schedule so that we start at 6 am and get out of the fields by mid-day.  Afternoons bring work in the packing room or the shady greenhouse.  The plants however get no relief and are sucking up as much moisture as they can get.

Tom and I are always excited when we identify a new species of of wildlife on the farm. We’ve seen foxes, ducks, all sorts of frogs and toads, even the occasional snake. Our latest addition to the list is this beautiful but brutal agricultural pest, the Japanese beetle.

So far we have found 2 adults on the farm. It has taken them countless generations to get to this part of the country but here they be. Once they fully inhabit an area, swarms of them often defoliate their favorite plants: grapes, beans, roses. Some say the healthier the soil, the less the little buggers are attracted to the plant.  We shall see soon enough.
Speaking of beans, the harvest has gotten a slow start but we have some beans from the first planting for this week. The second planting of bush beans look much better and the pole beans are beginning to vine up the fence that was put up in the nick of time by the CSA crew on Saturday.

Up go the 100 ft. sections. 
Tie to the posts and your done.

As they say, many hands make light work.

In the Share – Week 2

pests

LETTUCE (F/P) These lettuces are too beautiful and scrumptious to waste. Lettuce prefers to be in a plastic bag in your crisper drawer. That goes as well for almost any leaf vegetable you will be receiving from us. 2 big heads for the full shares, 1 for the partial shares.

STRAWBERRIES (F/P) More luscious ladies from the patch. Thanks to all of you who have been ordering bulk! We really appreciate the sales and it means we don’t have to schlep our products to market to try and sell the excess. So far you all have ordered 100 quarts. Way to go CSA! 

RED RUSSIAN KALE (F/P) The kale has grown by leaps and bounds thanks to the crazy weather we’ve had. If you haven’t yet discovered the beauty of kale chips now is your chance.

ASIAN GREENS (F) The perfect ingredient in your spring stir fry. This week we have Tat soi or Yokatta Na. Partial shares get a choice of Asian greens or kale.

PINK BEAUTY RADISHES (F) the hail from last week did a number on the greens, but the roots are still plenty pretty.

GREEN GARLIC (F/P) These are young garlic plants that you can eat like a green onion. Search the blog for past recipes or just use like you use garlic.

HAKUREI TURNIPS (F/P) If you are new to the Hakureis, you are in for a surprise. They are not your grandmother’s turnips – oh so sweet and juicy you can eat them like an apple.

ASPARAGUS (P) The last of the spears until next spring. 

HERB CHOICE (F) Cilantro, dill or oregano.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms CSA shares

NEXT WEEK: More lettuce, turnips, greens and strawberries. Peas and green onions.

FARM REPORT
The month of May is in full expression on the farm right now. Peas, potatoes and broccoli paint the fields in hues of green. Sugarsnap and snow peas ornament the rows with their delicate white flowers. Meanwhile tomatoes, summer squash and cucumbers have adjusted to their new homes and are beginning their exuberant growth. The farm crew rushes through the days harvesting strawberries every morning and then tending to the plants in the fields even as we add to their ranks. It takes a bit of choreography to keep all of the crops planted, watered, weeded, trellised, hilled, irrigated and mulched.

Sometimes we lose one. As we realized this week when we uncovered the arugula. Seems that a pesky moth larvae, most likely a cankerworm, insinuated itself under the row cover and flourished. So, our apologies but there will be no arugula until fall. The other planting bolted in the unseasonably warm weather.

It is hard to say what the weather will do next week, much less next month. Tom and I rest easier knowing that this year we started a week early. That means we have some flexibility in the season. If we have a good harvest all season long the 24 weeks of the CSA season will end a week earlier than planned. But if sometime during the season the crops are meager we can figure on this early week as its substitute.