The Field Crops
If you could see the fields right now, you would see quite a mix. Several fields are loaded with the first of the fall cauliflower and broccoli plants; other fields are full of sweet corn at various stages of maturity. In between are several rows of tomatoes strung on posts. The first ones have many red and yellow tomatoes peeking through the greenery and the last rows are just beginning to flower with tomatoes that will be ready hopefully by September.
On the top side of the fields there are several swaths of green beans; again some rows ready to pick and others younger. There are a couple rows of summer squash that need to be mowed and the planstic pulled so that they can be disc and plastic laid for the next plantings. Just behind the barns are eggplant, kale, chard, and peppers. They are a bit weedier that we like to see, but there is so much to keep after.
The lettuce is winding down for now. Unfortunately we will run out of lettuce by about mid August and probably not have any until after Labor Day. We missed two plantings in mid-June and early July.
We are also harvesting carrots and a few red beets now. Above the barns are winter squash plants on plastic. The melons and sugar cubes are almost ready for harvest now.
The raspberries have all been pruned and are ready for the fall crop to ripen. There are a lot of berries on them now. We are picking a few half-pint every other day, but the bigger harvest will not come in until about the third week of August.
We are beginning to pick blackberries. They are not as big as usual because of the dry weather in May when they were in flower. Hopefully some of the later flowering varieties will have bigger berries.
The plum trees have been loaded this year. This month we picked over 30 half bushels of various kinds of plums and there are quite a few more varieties to pick in August. The peaches and nectarines are producing very well
The Tunnels
The tomatoes in the new tunnel did very well. We will be tweaking the plan a bit for next year, but overall it was very productive and successful. The tomatoes in there now are rather small, but we are still selling them until the big field tomatoes come in. Oliver is spot-picking field tomatoes for this weekend. The cherry tomatoes are producing well and we are picking about 10-15 flats twice a week. We are still harvesting beets from the tunnel, some carrots, kohlrabi and pickling cucumbers. The leeks are growing nicely and we seeded some red beets for the fall.
Greenhouse Seeding
The greenhouse is emptying out. The last cauliflower has been seeded and we still have the last batch of broccoli to seed. We are seeding chard and kale for the tunnels for fall planting and winter harvesting. Lettuce has one more batch to go for the field plantings and then we will begin seeding winter lettuce.
CSA
The CSA is into the ninth week. We will begin to have sweet corn for the CSA this week. We have had lots of peaches and plums for the last couple of weeks. We are anxiously awaiting the melons and the sugar cubes to add some fruit variety. Everything is coming up peaches!
Canning, Gardening, Grilling and Preserving
I am still canning things. Last week I canned some apricots and plums for the winter. They do not always look the best in the jars. The apricots lose their liquid and the plums sometimes “blow apart ” in the jar. They look rather interesting when they do that! But in the dead of a cold winter – the sunny fruit is good for us and a great reminder of the good HOT summer days!
I started to do my own fruit sauces to use with plain Greek yogurt. They make a great breakfast, maybe not a filling as pancakes and syrup, but nutritious and healthy. I have made cherry, peach, blueberry and apricot sauce.
I hope to can to sweet corn and a few more peaches this week.
Are you doing much grilling this summer? I have been enjoying grilling again this year. I LOVE doing SLOW grilling of fish and chicken. I grilled some Swai fish marinated in a garlic sauce over a slow charcoal bank and it was delicious. I am always doing burgers whenever I grill anything. Then they are available all week long as “Leftovers” The taste of the smoked burgers just conjures up the slow grilling of the lazy Saturday afternoon. I hope you are relaxing and enjoying some great summer times with great summer food!
Farm Stands and Markets
The St Luke’s Farm Stand is open every Saturday from 8 – 1 pm. Come out and support the local farm on Saturdays!
The Belle View Condos Farm Stand is open on Thursdays from 2 – 7 pm.
East Columbia Library Farm Market is open on Thursdays from 12 noon – 6 pm.
Fairfax Community Market is open on Saturdays from 8 – 1 pm .
St Luke’s Tuesday Farm Stand is open on Tuesdays from 12 noon – 6 pm.
Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm, Inc
