We have had some pretty nice weather for farming this year, our 7th of farming and we are very thankful. That being said, September was certainly the most difficult month of weather we had this season. We struggled getting our Fall crops to germinate, grow, and stay healthy in dry, excessively hot, and pest filled conditions. If there is one golden rule to CSA farming it is to “just keep planting”, so we did! Our second planting of summer squash back in July was supposed to patty pan and yellow squash. We got a two week harvest off of the patty pan before the bugs did them in. The yellow squash were a complete loss. So we decided to “just keep planting” and threw another round of zucchini seeds in the ground. Our row cover kept the bugs and frost out and it looks like we will have some 8-ball zucchini to harvest during this balmy 3rd week of October!
Another development from the struggles of September was our decision to grow some microgreens in the greenhouse. With the crop failures and/or bad germination going on, I was getting worried about what would be in the shares for the last couple weeks of the CSA season. There is not much, if anything, that can be planted and harvested in as short a time span as microgreens so we gave them a try. We planted them only a little over a week ago and we might have a harvest of them for Tuesday already. Here is what they looked like a couple of hours ago.
CSA list
Lettuce Mix
Radish
Kale / Chard
Sweet Potatoes
Russet Potatoes
Leeks / Onions
Cabbage
Zucchini
Microgreens
Brussels Sprouts – these have a lot of aphid damage and I am not sure yet if we will have enough. Tomorrow’s job is to pick and sort them!
We will also have a choice table with Fennel, Peppers, and Celeriac
It is now dark by 7pm. Please try to have the shares picked up by 6:30. If you are running late, you can let us know and we will pre pack the share for you!
Thank You,
Greg