Welcome to our 8th Harvest Week!

Farmer John Writes about the Season and the Crops these Days

The Peak-of-Summer Crops

Mysteries of Melons Our watermelons, muskmelons and honeydews have matured unevenly, due to excessive moisture causing early dieback of the vines. Many of the melons are superb; some are under-ripe. Normally, our veteran farm team can tell the difference between ripe and under-ripe from how the melon appears, but this year, the under-ripe melons look similar to the ripe ones. This is a quandary. The team is doing the best they can to provide you with a sweet, ripe melon, but if the melon you receive is not sweet and ripe, our sincere apologies. You’ll probably get a sweet one the following week. We’ll have a smaller melon crop than usual, but due to how well our other crops are doing, your box will still be full.

What to do if you get an unripe melon?  Local Thyme offers a recipe this week for just such an occasion. Sign up at  www.localthyme.net/register . Enter the farm code AOLTFREE under “My Farm Sent Me A Code.”

Other Heavy Hitters
Sweet Corn Once again, we are enjoying a fabulous corn crop, with large, well-pollinated ears filled out to the tips. Even the corn that got knocked flat by a wind storm a month ago stood back up and produced large ears. I suppose we humans could learn a lesson from such (not that we all want to produce large ears.)

Tomatoes – patience….they’ll be a substantial presence in your box soon; Cucumbers…oh, my…they are on a roll; Peppers, Eggplant…very lush, just starting to produce.

The Weather
Very hot and humid in the beginning of last week. Temperatures finally reached the 90’s…tough on the crew, good for a lot of the crops. Then temperatures were milder for the rest of the week.

If I call a farmer halfway across the country to inquire about a piece of his equipment for sale, the first thing to get out of the way is how the weather and crops are at both ends of the conversation. Back when I often spent time in Mexico, my mom would send me newspaper clippings about the weather back home, often accompanied by newspaper photos of someone’s crops; I read these stories with great interest. Up until the 60’s or so, it was common for families to drive around on Sunday afternoons looking at their neighbors’ crops.

The Work
An astounding amount of work is required to keep things going properly on a farm like this. This past week, we harvested and packed 20 tons of vegetables and herbs, weeded, irrigated, mowed, trellised, seeded, transplanted, built compost, repaired equipment, and helped to host a gala Farm Dinner Benefit for the Angelic Organics Learning Center, attended by 250 people.

 

The Fun

U-Pick Garden
Our U-Pick Garden is coming on, with beans, peas, and flowers available now.

Box Contents
Please Note: this summary is written before you receive your box—please be aware that some guesswork is involved. As always, be sure to thoroughly wash all of your vegetables.

Lettuce
A Hot Pepper
Sweet Corn
Zucchini/Summer Squash
Cucumbers
Sweet Onions
Melons
Tomatoes
Beets
Thyme
A Bell Pepper

Farm Dreams and Wild Edibles come to the Learning Center this August
We’ve got lots of exciting on-farm opportunities happening next month at the Learning Center. Here are two you might enjoy:

• If you’ve ever considered starting your own farm, Farm Dreams is the class for you. Three new farmers will share their stories, you’ll identify challenges and next steps, and learn more about the available farmer training resources from experienced facilitator Sheri Doyel. Register on our website: www.learngrowconnect.org/events
• Head out of the city and into the woods to find wild food this summer. At our Wild Edibles of Late Summer workshop, you’ll not only learn to identify plants like bee balm, wild grapes, and elderberry, you’ll also learn how to prepare them. It’s happening on Sunday, August 10 from 2pm-5pm. Register on our website: www.learngrowconnect.org/events

Sign up for a hands-on farm workshop now at www.learngrowconnect.org/events

Warmly,
Farmer John