Week 8 Update

We are all hot. Yesterday afternoon it was so hot, we convinced Shiela to stop working in the fields and go for a swim. That is unusual for her. She is typically here working for you every day, all day no mattter what the conditions. A typical work week for her is about 60-70 hours.

In our planning for next year, we have decided to reduce our size again, in a effort to be able to do our laundry and be able to eat some of what we grow. Now there is not enough time for us to cook the things we grow in most instances. For 2011 we will accept only returning members, and reduce our production accordingly. We will not be opening our enrollment to the public. We may, if time permits, supplement our income with part time jobs to cover the loss of income from not farming. We will need to know this fall if you would like us to count on your support for 2011. Our planning for next season is underway, so as soon as you know if you would like to return next year, please let us know.

Bug Report: We still have the usual cucumber beetles, and have been spraying them to try to manage the problem. Last week we sprayed the eggplant to eliminate the potato bugs that were beginning to do damage there. Our squash bug eggs are hatching some more nymphs each day. Every few nights we don a tyvek suit (which is like weearing a hooded trash bag) and spray them with Pyganic, a super expensive pesticide that may or may not kill them. Sometimes I just want to be a conventional farmer, who can kill the squash bugs with no problems. We are so far staying ahead of the problem, but I don't know how long we will be able to keep ahead.


Disease report: Disease season is upon us. Our potatoes were killed by early blight. It shouldn't hurt the potatoes, but the plants are dead and so in the next few weeks we will need to dig out our potatoes. Our tomatoes are stricken with their usual septoria leaf spot. It is a soil borne disease, and we get it every year. Unfortunately there is not much research yet as to how to mitigate the problem. We still should get a nice harvest of tomatoes - we have over a thousand row feet of plants. Our tomatoes also have curly leaf virus. There is no known cure for this ailment either. Our cabbages started to get black rot, and so we harvested them all early. Our kohlrabis are also getting it. You will get those in your share next week.

Wildlife report: The groundhogs continue to sample things from our fields. The have taken bites from cucumbers and summer squash. They mow off lettuce as fast as we can plant it. We are working on reducing their numbers and installing barriers so we can have lettuce again in the fall.


This week we will be planting cabbages, cauliflower, collards, snow peas, and maybe some lettuce. We have some weeding to do also. If you would like to help us any day between 9 am and 5 pm, please let us know. Saturdays and Sundays are usually an option also.