June 11, 2023
Peek at the Peak
by Farmer Derek

So far, so good. Shares have been plentiful, crop growth is healthy and robust, pests and diseases have been at a minimum. Of course, we're only entering harvest week #6, with 22 more to go afterwards. But farm work and field prep wise we're a solid 40% of the way through the growing season and thus far things have been good. It's been very dry, yes, but we're able to irrigate (not everything though). Other than the drought, the late frost, and the wildfire smoke, the weather has been fairly kind. We're desperately hoping for a nice soaking rainfall this Monday and I plan to stay positive until then. We're not quite at peak produce just yet (that comes in July or August) but some crops have already shown their full potential. Strawberries have been particularly plentiful this season; snow pea vines are the tallest I've ever seen (which hopefully translates to lots of fruit); lettuces and chicories have been large, crisp, and bolt-resistant. Spring spinach was simply harvested, a miracle, for just about two weeks. Overall only the tiniest amount of spring crops had to be regarded as pure fertilizer, such as the first outdoor planting of arugula, which went to seed too quickly. A portion of the second outdoor bok choy did the same. But other than those, it's been a complete harvest. I'm satisfied.