July 18, 2021
It's Always the Weather
by Farmer Derek

Some nasty storms rolled through the region to begin and end last week. Both times the farm was spared the worst. Other local areas weren't as lucky. We hope you fared well. Unfortunately we've come to expect flash flood inducing storms on a regular basis and have done what we can to minimize their impact. The waterways have helped immensely. Since they were installed a few years ago the worst we've experienced was a 3" deluge in about an hour or so, which is nothing compared to the 10" that dumped on lower Bucks last Monday. I'm not sure what that would have looked like here but it wouldn't have been good. Seeing the photographs of floods and damage incurred in Germany and parts of Europe really highlights the power of weather and water. Ten seasons ago we endured our worst stretch of weather when Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee rolled through. In about a month and a half we received 21" of rain, about 5 times the average.

Even considering the rain and extremely oppressive heat, last week was good and productive. Farmers and members harvested the rest of the carrots, approximately 2 tons, and the overall size, quality, and yield is perhaps the best ever. Garlic processing was wrapped up and the quality of that is also incredible. Tomatoes in the new tunnels are beginning to ripen in earnest. The plants are huge (7-8' tall), heavily laden with fruit, and are still healthy. Ripe tomatoes have great appearance and flavor. The soil in these tunnels had copious amounts of straw, mushroom compost, and aragonite (calcium) worked in and it appears we got it right so far. Keeping the rain off tomato plants makes a huge difference too. We transplanted another couple of rounds of lettuce, the last of the beans for the season, and some of the big fall brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage).

Soon we'll move on to harvesting the next few rounds of large storage crops like onions and potatoes. Intermediate day onions may begin to be retrieved late this coming week once we finish sweet potato weeding. They tell us they're ready when their tops begin to flop over and start to dry out. Foliage of early potato varieties are just starting to undergo senescence. Underground they undergo a 'hardening-off' process where their skins toughen and thicken which is what protects them during storage. If we retrieve them before they're ready they would be considered 'new potatoes' and would need to be consumed right away. Harvests are already big so we never feel the need to retrieve potatoes early.

We're looking forward to a more agreeable weather pattern this coming week and hope you are able to spend some good time outside!