OK, I finally admit, it is a soggy summer so far. I did get some cultivating done this afternoon (Monday). Ideal conditions for cultivating are the morning of a hot sunny breezy day, so the little plants that are uprooted in cultivation dry up and die. It dried up enough this afternoon, on a cool cloudy day, and then rained. Still, at least I got a pass made and can seed and transplant even if it rains. I hate to seed into ground that has sat for a week since being cultivated since the weeds then have a week’s headstart. The choice has been seed on time and fight weeds or wait expecting it to dry up some and have a clean seedbed. I have chosen the option of waiting for a clean seedbed since I can readily see the results. The “invisible” results of waiting are that some things such as salad mix are going to have gaps in supply. We have plenty for this week though.
With all the rainy weather, I still am not caught up on “inside” work. I spent a whole day pruning and trellising tomatoes in the hoophouse. Then there are seeds for fall crops to be started. And pulling large weeds is easier in loose damp soil than in dry soil.
New this week is gorgeous cauliflower, and heritage Early Jersey Wakefield cabbage next week. The cauliflower is hands down the nicest cauliflower I have ever grown. It is a new organic variety that is highly recommended, but I also think it has been good cauliflower weather. I like cauliflower with a cheese sauce or mixed in mashed potatoes.
The first squash is ripening – not enough for everyone but at least a beginning taste of summer. Tomatoes are looking hopeful. Maybe not this week, but I think by next week. And I found the row of dill and cilantro. It is looking good but needs another week’s growth. I will plant more dill – lots more dill – since we seem to have dill lovers in our group.
Wednesday – what a glorious day!! I am a couple weeks behind on things that get seeded directly into the field. There just haven’t been dry enough days for seedbed preparation, at least on days that harvesting or weeding or distribution/market weren’t priorities. I saw the weather forecast yesterday morning and decided that in the long run I would be better off skipping today’s Lake Placid Farmers Market and catching up on field work. One day’s lost revenue will be offset by having products later, and ya’ll paid ahead so having things ready for you takes precedence over selling at a farmers market. It was sunny, a nice temperature with a breeze, I was home alone (which is nice sometimes). Just really enjoyable. The only negative was feeling bad for the toads that were losing their nice cool damp weedy habitat. There is a sparrow nesting in the large patch of weeds at the north front of the garden. I found a nest with eggs last year as I was weeding and left a small patch as soon as I saw it. Yesterday I saw a sparrow (didn’t look closely enough to see what kind) with a bug in its mouth, chattering madly at me to stay away as it perched on a sunflower plant, so I assume this year’s babies have hatched. There’ll just have to be weeds there for a few more weeks.
We are just coming into my favorite gardening season. Things planted after mid-July don’t have the weed pressure that the earlier plantings have. A clean seedbed tends to stay pretty clean after mid-July, though I do see galinsoga still germinating.
The Colorado potato beetle population is beginning to build, but it is still at a level that I just smush the buggers. They explode into a nasty orange liquid, so gloves are a must. They are nowhere near being a real problem for this year’s crop, but I want to keep them minimized so the populations don’t build in future years.
I need to take the camera to the field with me. I hate that these posts are so much text and so few pictures, but taking photos just hasn’t been on my radar screen.
Have a good day.
