Category Archives: shade structure

In the Share: Week 7

basil, rain, shade structure, tomato plants

BASIL F/P  The heat has made for some nice basil bunches to celebrate the arrival of summer.

WALLA WALLA ONIONS F/P  The first week of many with these sweet onions.

NEW POTATOES F/P  The potatoes are surviving the heat only so well.  It is time to save the many nice ones before they cook in the ground!  New potatoes should be stored like other fresh roots in the refrigerator as their skins have not developed fully.

CARROTS F/P  The first of these are still young and very tender with tops.

BEETS OR TURNIPS F  Your choice of roots with no tops.

GAILAN OR CHARD F  Here’s just tops.  Which reminds me of the children’s story “Tops and Bottoms” where the crafty Hare tricks the lazy Bear due to his lack of knowledge about vegetable anatomy.

NAPA CABBAGE F/P  Check Tom’s blog for some hints on making kimchi

NEXT WEEK:  garlic, squash, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, and perhaps tomatoes.

FARM REPORT:
The soil was dry and cracked.  We were irrigating the fields, yet the plants were withering under the scorching heat and it wasn’t even Summer yet.  Then, on the first day of Summer a beautiful thing happened: a thunderstorm came out of the north and soaked the fields.

By the next morning we had three inches of water in the rain gauge and the cracks were gone.  The rain couldn’t have come at a better time.  We were already working on mulching the summer crops and now we can hold on to the moisture under a thick layer of hay.  The tomato patch is coming along and holds many green fruits.
Mulching is just so much fun when the temperatures reach 98 degrees and the humidity is similarly high.  Every dusty piece of dried plant matter sticks to your sweaty skin which the sweat bees are busily biting.  It is one of those dirty jobs on the farm that have an enormous benefit once you get through it.  And we are almost done, maybe one or two more sweaty afternoons.
When we have had our fill of mulching, we cool down in the shade and seed crops for the fall.  The shade structure is full of cabbages, broccoli and cauliflower so far.  The shade keeps the flats cool to provide a better temperature for the seeds to germinate.  Even seeds don’t want to be out in this heat.

In the Share – Week 12

basil, broccoli, onion trimming, shade structure
 
Basil

TOMATOES F/P  It is tasting like summer now!

CHERRY TOMATOES F/P  The perfect summertime snack.

CARROTS F/P  The last of the Spring harvest, sadly.  Enjoy them now, we won’t have more until Fall.

BASIL, MINT OR HOT PEPPERS F/P  We grow jalapenos,  Anaheim and banana hot peppers which will be a choice with the mint and the lemon and Genovese basil this week.

SQUASH OR CUCUMBERS F  Still not much of either.  The second planting is succumbing to bacterial wilt spread by the cucumber beetles.

SALSA PACK OR SWEET PEPPERS P  The tomatillos have started to really kick in so expect more salsa packs in your future.

ONIONS F  An assortment of some of our sweet varieties.  The onion harvest is in full swing now. 

SWEET PEPPERS F  The peppers survived the wet weather in good shape and making some nice early peppers. 

EGGPLANT F  Ditto on the eggplant.  Our black Italian variety is putting out lovely fruit right now.

NEXT WEEK:  tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers and potatoes and garlic.

FARM REPORT:
Finally it is starting to feel like a normal summer on the farm.  The heat is high, the tomatoes are ripening and we are in the middle of the fall transplanting.  

 
With nothing but sun and heat in the forecast the broccolis got irrigation tape laid next to each row as soon as they went in the ground on Friday.  For the first time this year, the irrigation pond is put to work.
 
Back at the greenhouse shade structure, there are many more plants awaiting the same treatment.
 


In the Share – Week 7

cucumbers, shade structure, sweet potatoes

CUCUMBERS F/P Holy cukes!  We harvested over 600 cucumbers this morning.  That means everyone should receive 4 or 5 this week.  The plants are healthy and should continue the onslaught for a while. Cucumber salad is a great replacement for the spring salads of lettuce.  Summer is here!

ZUCCHINI F/P  It is either feast or famine with the squash family of crops and it looks like we are going to have a feast this year.  See Tom’s post for ideas on using these beauties. 

SWEET ONIONS F  More of the same type we pulled last week. So sweet!

CABBAGE F  Tendersweet is a flat-head type and lives up to its name.

PEAS P  A few peas, but this is the last of them.

CARROTS P  Yellow and orange types.

BEETS OR TURNIPS F  Topped roots

BASIL F/P  The first of the basil will be small bunches.

GARLIC F  We are pulling the first of the garlic tomorrow.  What we don’t pack for the shares will be hung to dry in the upper barn.  We are cutting them with a long stem so that they will dry well for you or use them fresh.  To dry hang it where it is relatively warm and dry.

NEXT WEEK:  More cabbage, zucchini, carrots, cucumbers, beets and onions.  Yellow squash and perhaps new potatoes.

FARM REPORT:
The rainy weather let up just long enough to get the sweet potatoes planted and the summer crops weeded and mulched.  The transplanter was pulled out last Wednesday afternoon and the crew made quick work of the sweet potatoes while I did the delivery to the Bad Seed. 

The tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and tomatillos received needed attention.  The weeds had almost overtaken the crops and we were finally able to hoe the area and mulch.  Saturday’s CSA members pitched in and the plants are in good shape now. 

The seeding of the fall transplants is a good rainy day job.  So far we have cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and bulb fennel seeded in their soil blocks in the shade structure.  We put up the shade structure temporarily just for the fall crops.  It keeps the seeds cooler and they sprout better than in the heat of the greenhouse. 

In the Share – Week Nine

rocky, shade structure, tomatoes

heirloom tomatoes

TOMATOES (F/P) A good share this week, mostly reds and pinks with a few greens and purples.  Wash them before you eat them as we don’t wash them at the farm.  Also, they are much, much better if they are never refrigerated.
LETTUCE (F/P)  One small, crisp summer lettuce head for everyone.
GREEN BEANS (F/P) The first round of beans did not fare very well.  We have more planted and are hopeful for a good crop later in the summer.
CUCUMBERS (F/P) The beetles are winning out there and it is only a matter of time before the squash and cukes bite the dust.  Another round of plants are on their way, but it will be a few weeks before they start producing.
SUMMER SQUASH (F)
BEETS OR CABBAGE (F/P)  The last of both until fall.  
HERBS (F) Basil, hot peppers or summer savory.
EGGPLANT OR PEPPERS (F/P)  The eggplant meatballs in Tom’s post this week is super yummy.
CHERRY TOMATOES (F) We grow cherry tomatoes that are red, pink, yellow, orange and purple.  Try them all and let us know which is your favorite.

NEXT WEEK: More tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and cucumbers. Maybe potatoes and garlic.

FARM REPORT:

It is a perk of the job to participate in the harvest of the summer fruits. The heirloom tomatoes are prized in large part for their thin skins and soft flesh, making it a delicate job getting them off the vine, out of the field, through the packing house and to distribution without bruising. The extra care is worth the effort once you have tasted a real tomato. We grow plenty of classic reds, but when your farmers go for a tomato it is more often a purple or a pink.  

The fall plants are getting planted in the field, with much more on the way. The fall transplants are seeded outside and they grow inside the shade structure until they are ready for the field.   This week we planted the first round of the fall broccoli and cauliflower. Soon we’ll transplant these little lettuces.

Our big polar bear of a dog is ready for fall already.  Rocky’s heavy coat keeps him chilled out on the concrete floor of the barn during the day.  He has the night shift to patrol the fields in the evening cool.

In the Share – Week 5

fall planting, shade structure

Zephyr summer squash

LETTUCE (F/P) As the heat takes over, the lettuce in your shares will be heavy on the romaines and crisphead varieties.
SUGAR SNAP or SNOW PEAS (F/P) The pea patch is really pumping out fruit at the moment. We picked 200 lbs. last week and hope for a similar harvest this week. The snow peas are a variety called ‘Oregon Giant’ and are great raw or cooked.
BEETS (F) My favorite vegetable is the beet. The beets this week are young and tender and the greens are good too. After this week beets will be a choice so this is your best chance to try them.
KOHLRABI, TURNIPS OR GREEN ONIONS (F/P) Partial shares get a choice of kohlrabi or beets.
KALE OR CHARD (F/P)
SUMMER SQUASH (F/P)

STRAWBERRIES OR BROCCOLI (F/P) We know, it is a hard choice and most of you would prefer both but alas both plantings are nearing their end.
HERB CHOICE (F) spearmint, summer savory or oregano.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares

NEXT WEEK: More lettuce, peas, kohlrabi, summer squash and herbs. Cabbage and carrots.

FARM REPORT

As was mentioned last week, we are in the throes of the June juggernaut. We’ve got the spring harvest in full swing, summer crops needing much attention and the fall seeding has begun. This week we built what we hope will be a permanent home for the fall seedlings.

A separate home for the fall seedlings is necessary as the greenhouse is way too hot in the summer. A cool, shady spot is best for getting the seeds to sprout in the summer heat.

In the past we used screened tents purchased at the big box store. They never lasted more than a season due to their flimsy construction. We are very happy to stay out of the big box store by building our own, much sturdier alternative. All we needed was some rebar, electrical conduit, scrap wood and a shade cloth that we had purchased a few years back but never put to use. So far it has held up splendidly to wind and rain. We have quickly filled it chock full of seeded flats of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts.