August 5, 2024 Incoming Inundation? by Farmer Derek
Seeding carrots before multiple days of forecast rain.
The perplexing precipitation pattern continued for us over this past weekend. Cumulatively, just over a quarter inch was received, which we're of course extremely thankful for. But we're also marveling at the befuddling shield over our location that has blocked meaningful rainfall for the past couple of months. There is a silver lining, however, if the current forecast holds true. With rain forecast to fall Tuesday afternoon through Saturday we only have a couple of days to accomplish outdoor tasks ahead of time. So, if we had received ample rain events from the rounds of thunderstorms that rolled through we may not have been able to transplant and cultivate and mow where we desperately need to.
We may luck out and finish what we need to before rain descends on Tuesday. Watermelon, cantaloupe, zucchini, cucumbers, and tomatoes require our farm crew 5 full hours of harvesting on Monday morning. After lunch, for four hours today we transplanted two rounds of arugula and lettuce, plus chard, radicchio, dandelion, hakurei turnips, kohlrabi, watermelon radishes, and purple daikons. Tomorrow we need to plant celery, kale, and napa cabbage. We also need to harvest bright and early for distribution, then cultivate a few thousand feet of beets, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. If the weather gods allow, we'll also try to mow the 2025 strawberry patch. Then we can sit back and enjoy the wet stuff.