Looking forward to seeing our CSA folks Friday between 3 and 6:30. The driveway is .7 to .8 miles south of Bear Swamp. It does not show until you are right on it so we will have some sort of attention getting object at the driveway.
I had an eye-opening day talking with other local vegetable farmers. The farmers markets Saturday and today consisted of bedding plants and “greens”. One farmer had radishes. I don’t feel so far behind now. Still, Friday’s distribution will be less than half of what I had planned. The others say they are just going to make it up for their share holders later in the season. The cool dry weather in May held the early crops back.
You are getting some things that no one else has had yet. I planted carrots in the hoophouse in February for a lucrative farmers market crop. Since I am short of other things for you, I will give you the carrots. As far as I know, no one else has carrots anywhere near ready yet. And it will be a while before you get ones from our outside field.
Some of you will get some broccoli. Most of the first planting matured prematurely because of the weather, with very small heads. It went at Saturday’s farmers market ($4/lb) since it was ready before the CSA started. I picked some yesterday for you and will pick again for the CSA, but we are looking at maybe 10 lbs total. Those who get it this week are asked to rotate out until everyone has had some. I was the only one with broccoli at the markets. I did see one cabbage worm while washing it, and have seen the moths that lay the eggs that become worms out for about a week. Although the bacterial spray that we use (Dipel DF) is registered for application right up to and even after harvest, I will wait until after the distribution to spray. I think you would rather have a very occasional worm than fresh pesticide (even organically approved). The worms have to eat the bacterial extract and then take a couple of days to die. More information than you wanted? I always just put up with worms, soaking the broccoli in salt water, but I realize that most of my customers would rather have some pesticide used than have wormy broccoli/cauliflower/cabbage.
I hope everyone gets Swiss chard. It is looking great, and there should be plenty but the deer have eaten about 1/3 of it. We will also have some sweet collard leaves that are so good I have been munching them raw. This size chard was selling for $8/lb at the markets.
We have lots of gorgeous lettuce so you will get at least two heads of lettuce. Prepare for salads! Lettuce was selling for $3/head at the markets.
Garlic scapes will be new to some of you. These are the top “seed stalk” that hardneck garlic puts out. The long tip is “papery” and I trim that off, and the bottom of the stalk can be tough when raw or lightly cooked. The stem is great stuffed inside chicken or in stew or soup that is simmered a while so it turns mushy but good tasting. The little “scape” or flower pouch can be sliced and put in stir fries, sautéed for pasta, etc.
I was late planting my lettuce for salad mix, but will be cutting some. I don’t think I have enough for everyone so will supplement it with salad from Fledging Crow farm ($12/lb at the market). They have lots of greens in their mix which I left out this spring because last year’s long wet spell necessitated abandoning my rotation plan for the year, and this year I didn’t have anywhere I could plant those greens without major flea beetle problems. On organic farms the only options for flea beetle control are exclusion, rotation away from similar crops, and one organic pesticide which is toxic to bees for at least 3 hours after application, and I think some broad spectrum insecticides that kill lots of beneficials so I don’t even consider them.
We can exclude them by putting “row cover” over the crop as soon as it is planted, sealing the edges so the beetles can’t get in. Row cover is a spun fabric like interfacing for those of you who sew. However, if a host crop was in that spot the previous year and flea beetles overwintered there, the warmth under the row cover, combined with protection from any natural predators, results in massive flea beetle population under the row cover, happily munching away on the plants. I didn’t have a block I could guarantee didn’t have a brassica or mustard crop last year, so couldn’t use the row cover. Since my brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Asian greens like pac choi) were scattered around the field last year, and we have wild mustards in and around the field that I let flower for the bees, distance wouldn’t work. I do have the Entrust insecticide, which is an extract from soil actinomycetes (microbes). I don’t want to use it unless absolutely necessary. By using it repeatedly we can kill all the insects that are susceptible to it, and end up breeding the ones which tolerated it and then we have a “resistant” insect population that the insecticide no longer works with. I only spray it at dusk so our bees are in for the night and won’t be exposed. The flea beetle is less attracted to plants with a waxy coating, so they don’t do much damage to broccoli, cabbage, or cauliflower. They do love napa cabbage, pac choi, the Asian greens we use for salad and braising mixes, arugula, radish leaves, etc. Except for the napa cabbage which just plain grows really well for me, I have planned to make those fall crops rather than summer crops. Also, these crops tend to be much much much sweeter in the fall than in the summer.
You will not get the Chinese cabbage this week. It is still doing wonderfully, and looks great. But when I reached down to feel the heads it is still like loose lettuce rather than a good firm head. It will take another couple of weeks. This is good because it will give me time to spray for flea beetle control (which I have not done yet) and give you prettier leaves when it is ready.
See you Friday.
