Wow! Are we ever busy!
The Field Crops
May was a busy month. All the plugged corn has been planted and covered with row cover. The first and second batch of sweet corn to be direct seeded has been finished. The broccoli is all in the field for the spring crops and the cabbage too. The first seeding of green beans is in the ground. We are planting radishes every 14 days. The first field lettuces are in and the first and second batch of tomatoes are in the ground. The peppers and eggplant were transplanted around May 15 and also the first squash and zucchini.
We were picking strawberries on May 16th. That is the earliest that we have ever picked strawberries. We are now in about mid-season. So there will be about 2 weeks left for strawberries.
Asparagus is still going strong. The earliest spaghetti squash and Delicata squash have been planted for the early September sales. We are picking lots of snow peas and sugar snap peas right now. The peaches, plums and nectarines are being thinned as well.
The Tunnels
The tunnels are not producing much these days. There is still a bit of spinach. All the chard has been pulled out and the kale is coming out now as well. We still have a bit of lettuce if needed, but the field lettuce is ready soon. The cherry tomatoes are almost all strung up. They look very fine. We should have a few cherry tomatoes by June 20.
The tomato tunnel is producing a lot of great tomatoes. They are bigger and better than last year’s tomatoes.
Greenhouse Seeding
Seeding in the greenhouse has slowed down. The tomatoes are all seeded for the fields and we are almost finished selling flowers, herbs, and vegetables as bedding plants. The greenhouse will be cleaned out and all the seeding trays and flats will be stored in the garage for the year. We will still seed successive plants of squash, cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce, cantaloupe, and fall broccoli, cauliflower, and the seeding of greens for the tunnels in the fall.
CSA
The CSA is ready to begin this week. I will send out a separate email for the CSA shareholders either today or tomorrow explaining the process and letting everyone know what will be in the shares this week. I will send out an email at the beginning of every week for the CSA. The CSA numbers are a bit down from other years, but we still have a loyal group that have been with us for many years. If you missed the deadline to sign up and you would still like to get in, you may. Just send me a email and let me know and we can pro-rate the shares.
CSA dates
June 6 – August 24 -12 weeks – $375
August 29 – November 16 -12 weeks – $375
Add a dozen eggs for $72 or one/half dozen for $42
Canning, Gardening, Grilling and Preserving
Strawberry shortcake to the dessert of choice these days. I have made several of them already this year. It is good with whipped cream or ice cream or just plain milk for breakfast!
We have been eating a lot of ground beef recipes because we are so busy. We also love the sausage patties for something different than a burger. I did make an oven dinner of pork chops with sliced onions and potatoes wrapped in foil and roasted in the oven. I smothered them in basil and garlic powder. They were delicious. I make one dozen deviled eggs every other week. Gregg loves them. He calls them his protein snack! We have been eating a lot of snow peas sauteed with the spring onions. They are very good. We are eating our first salads with lettuce and tomatoes.
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 every Thursday from 2 – 7 pm
The East Columbia Library Farm Stand is open every Thursday from 12 noon – 6 pm
The Fairfax Community Market is open every Saturday from 8 am- 1 pm.
Try to come out and support our farm in one of these locations.
Have a Great Day!
Louise
