Week 3 already

The new traffic pattern seems to be working out thanks to all of you showing courtesy to your fellow members. Thank you all. After too many days of rain last week, I tried to order some stones in an effort to reduce the levels of mud in our lane, the parking area, and the new exit. The conversation between the scale master at the quarry and I went rather badly. After telling the grumpy lady that I wasn't going to buy stones from such a snotty person, and hanging up on her (it was warranted, I promise) I remembered that she was the most affordable quarry around. I just can't wait to call her back this week...

On a more professional note, the crops are growing great guns. We have some little tomatoes. They are tiny, but in another month or so, we should start to see some luscious fruits. The peppers are in blossom. Cucumbers are a good week away (though they have cucumber beetles worse than I have ever seen them). Some broccoli has begun to form tiny heads (we will watch for that %$#& tarnished plant bug that chews off the tops of all the florets leaving brown nubs for us). Some cabbages are starting to head up (some got lost in the grass that grew during the last period of rains). The kohlrabi patch is big and great looking thanks to Howard weeding it last weekend. And most importantly our corn is out of the ground and looking pretty good. One last thing to warn you about - shell peas. It is looking like we are going to have plenty of shell peas. We will show you how to shell them if you don't know how. Maybe I'll figure out how to post a video here...

We got behind last week with all the rains. There are many lettuces that need to be planted. Our flowers for the beneficial insects are ready to be planted. Some potatoes need to go in. Our onions and leeks are in desperate need of weeding. Bug pressure is lower than in past years, so far (weed pressure is going way up though). This week we will begin our seeding for our fall plantings, and we don't want to lose our spring and summer crops during that time. This coming Saturday we will have a working (weeding) Saturday from 8-10:30 am, but if you want to come during the week instead, let Amy know. The sooner we uncover the plants, the better for them.

Happy Mother's Day!

My everything is tired. It has been a busy week even with all the rain. For the first few days of the week, we were not able to plant crops in the field. Disturbing the soil when it is still wet will destroy the structure of the soil, making it tough for air and water to be exchanged. This leads to poor habitat for the microbes that support healthy roots and plant functions.

So we have taken the time away from our fields to really reorganize all of our supplies. We worked on making our pick up area more appealing. And we mowed our grass! Since the inception of our CSA our lawn has really faltered. Some day I hope to have a "regular" lawn again.

Today Shiela (mom) and I celebrated a few days of sunshine by spraying our bok choy with some Pyganic (an organically approved pesticide made from chhrysanthemums) and a bit of fish and kelp to try to knock down the flea beetle population. There is nothing like starting your Mother's Day with a nose full of fish. Then we planted 800 kohlrabis, 300 lettuces, and still had time for an early dinner. Great day.

We are still working on determining the best cell phone service for uploading photos to our blog. We are getting closer to selecting something. I can't wait until I can show you our flea beetles in real time.