6/23- This Week on the Farm
Well, our first delivery went well. We hope all of you were as excited as we were to eat all of the fresh greens! If you have any feedback, please let us know. We are always looking for fresh ideas to help us provide the best experience as possible.
After our first morning of harvesting, washing, and packaging our veggies, Tyler and I decided that we needed a larger tent to cover our prep area. This will allow us to wash and prep our veggies in the shade-keeping the veggies fresh and our workers happy.
We have had a lot of rain this week. Monday night we had an inch and a half of rain and Tuesday we had 9/10 of an inch. Thankfully the severe storms stayed south of us, so all of our crops are safe.
All of the rain means that the plants are growing quickly. This is awesome, except that it also means all of the weeds are growing quickly as well. Most of each morning is spent weeding in Don’s Garden where all of our leafy greens are located. Unlike the rest of the garden which was in no-till corn, Don’s Garden was planted as a vegetable garden last year. The weed seed bank is much higher in this area and we have been fighting the good fight trying to remove the weed competition so our veggies are able to grow.
The Colorado Potato Beetle population seemed to explode overnight. Through careful examination of each potato plant and picking the immatures, we have them under control again. We may have lost one or two plants through defoliation, but time will tell if they rebound through new growth.
Our dog, Wash, was neutered on Friday. The vet told us that he would be somewhat subdued after the surgery and that he might be in some pain. However, that didn’t seem to be the case. He has been frolicking in the fields whenever he gets the chance.
In other news, Mark of Mark’s Market in Rio has promised to sell any extra produce that we harvest this season. This means that we can sell our extra produce locally and that nothing will go to waste.
Finally, our first CSA event has been scheduled! On Saturday, July 17 from 10 to 2 PM we are planning on having the farm open to CSA members. We will have a tour of the farm as well as several other activities that are yet to be determined. Refreshments will be provided. Stay tuned for more information.