July 3, 2016
Water Does Fall From the Sky
By Derek McGeehan

The farm fortunately received about 1.8" of rain last week, with the majority falling in about an hour on Tuesday night. Rain that falls early on in the work week sometimes feels like a mixed blessing because although we earnestly want and need the rain, we know we have a lot of outside work to do and don't want to be kept from the fields for too long. The 1.3" we received Tuesday night came right after we planted 3,000 of the 6,000 strawberry plants, so we still had a lot more to do the following day. The ground was parched enough that it swallowed up most of the moisture pretty quickly and by Wednesday afternoon we were able to resume planting. Many thanks go out to the CSA members that helped with this very large task!

During this upcoming week we're planning to transplant the 5th succession of beans, the 13th and 14th installments of lettuces, and the 4th iteration of cilantro, dill, and parsley. We're also hoping to retrieve the rest of the cabbage from the field and begin harvesting the next round of carrots, which were seeded about a month after the high tunnel patch. If all goes well, it looks like carrots will be a part of the share for another month or more. We're striving for another seeding in early August that will be harvested in October or November. This seeding will happen after weed seeds discontinue their germination due to the waning daylight and their lack of ability to mature in time before the first frost and freeze. Carrots take painfully long to germinate and have a very difficult time outcompeting weed pressure. Regardless, enjoy your Independence Day celebrations!