Category Archives: pond

In the Share – Week 13

csa harvest, pond, tomatoes, wildlife

TOMATOES X 2 (F/P) The harvest is on and everyone will be getting a nice amount of tomatoes this week. The heirlooms are prone to cracking when the weather fluctuates as it has this year. Pick out the ugliest tomato you can find and see if it isn’t the tastiest.

CARROTS (F/P) We grew some big carrots this Spring and they are sweetening up nicely in the cooler. The fall carrots are growing, so we hope for a continuous supply through the end of the year.

GARLIC (F/P) I once ate at a restaurant called the Stinking Rose, where garlic is prominent in every dish.  

SALSA PACK OR OKRA (F) Its the first week with okra as a choice in the shares. We will try to spread it around as the harvest increases. No one that doesn’t want it should need to take it, but the okra-lovers will get their chance at some.

SWEET PEPPERS (F/P) Someone on Saturday mentioned making stuffed peppers, sounds good to me!

EGGPLANT (F/P)

CUCUMBERS (F) last of these until our last little planting matures.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Lots of basil this week, also garlic chives and hot peppers.

NEXT WEEK: More tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. Melons (we think), potatoes and onions.

FARM REPORT:

Wow! What beautiful weather we are having. Tom and I feel fortunate to be able to make a living doing what we do every day, but when the days are this perfect we really cannot complain about anything.

Another reason to feel fortunate: with less than 24 hours-notice, the Saturday crew grew by 10 workers and we easily completed the CSA harvest. Thank you to all who made the trek through traffic and spent the morning picking cherry tomatoes and digging potatoes. It was a great example of the power of the CSA in action.

 And finally, how lucky are we that we were able to see one of our feathered neighbors so close up. We think it is a Great Horned owl.  We hear them often, but we usually only catch a glimpse as they fly by in the gathering dark.  This guy/gal seemed quite calm perched on our clothesline for quite some time before it silently flew away.

In the Share – Week 10

fall planting, mulch, pond, tomato plants, tomatoes
TOMATOES (F/P) Holy tomato, Batman!  The farm is full of tomatoes of all sizes, colors and flavors.  It took us all day plus some to get the harvest in and sorted. We definitely hit a new record at 1,300 + lbs. just today.

MORE TOMATOES (F/P)  Everyone will be getting a double share this week. We are holding back many less ripe ones, for future shares. The cave is keeping them nicely.  We are giving you ripe ones and many that are two or three days away from being ripe.  If you can wait, they are best when they are soft and fleshy.

CHERRY TOMATOES (F/P)  If Saturday is any indication, we should have plenty for all.

POTATOES (F/P)  It wasn’t an Irish Spring for sure and so we aren’t getting a great potato crop. They are small but very tasty. We will be digging several varieties this week as we clear the highest and driest area first, which includes the French Fingerling, the Bintje and the Kennebec.

CUCUMBERS AND SUMMER SQUASH (F/P) We are handing out small cucumbers this week out of the pickling cucumber patch. They are great for fresh eating too. The summer squash is not producing a lot but we are spreading them out to everyone as best we can.

GARLIC (F/P) Garlic is fully cured and ready for eating.  Offered will be more Musik, a hardneck type.

EGGPLANT (F/P) Today we also harvested a big crop of eggplant. We pick them young when they are at their most tender and mild. No need to soak these babies.

SALSA PACK (F/P) Partial shares get a choice with the eggplant.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Thai basil, thyme, or parsley. Partial shares get a smaller bunch and a smaller garlic.

FARM REPORT

What to say? We are in the thick of summer and barely have time to put this together. The drought continues for us. We missed most of the rain that was all around us on Sunday. For a short while the rain was a very lovely sight.

In the end, one-tenth of an inch is all that fell. We spent some time this weekend to get a close approximation of what water we have. Here I am having a lovely swim to measure the deepest point in the pond.

It reads about 7.5 feet, which from our calculations means about half of the volume of the pond has been used or evaporated. The question then becomes, “Is the pond half-full or half-empty?” We like to stay positive, so are looking ahead to the prospect of possibly pumping water from the old pond that we used in 2003 during our first season on the farm. Hopefully it won’t come to that but we like to have it as an option just the same.

In the midst of all this the planting schedule must be kept and on Monday we transplanted the first of the fall crops.
 

The cabbage looks good under a thick layer of mulch and with plenty of water. We are hoping to plant all of the fall brassica (cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage) this way into hay mulch to conserve moisture.