Hey Folks!
This week we are introducing our newest crew member: Tater. She is a 10 week old beagle-lab mix that is not even as big as our boots. Tater instantly found her place on the farm among the potato patch, although she finds that carrot tops provide excellent shade for taking a nap since she is not yet a foot tall. She has had it pretty tough since joining us on the farm. The crew, including tater, has been starting work at 6 am this week to avoid some of the heat. Even with temperatures in the 90s and lots of humidity, the attitudes have been great.
I have been in South Dakota this week at a national conference for Agriculture Agents and our kids have gone to their grandparents, which means Ryan has been a bachelor. While this may sound relaxing to some, for Ryan, it has meant the opportunity to get more farming done!
Every year there is a constant weed pressure on the farm. After three hours of hoeing in the heat yesterday, feeling ready to pass out from exhaustion, one member of the crew, Courtney, said “you have to have an eye for the weeds,” which I think is the equivalent to saying sometimes, “you can’t see the forest for the trees.” – Our crew is wise beyond their years. Everything on the farm looks beautiful after it’s been hoed.
We are excited to say that we have started picking in the sweet corn patch this week, so there will be some available at the Seward farmer’s market starting tonight. For three weeks, we’ve been saying that we were going to have to start irrigating potatoes if we didn’t catch a rain. This week, we finally started irrigating potatoes. This means Ryan and crew have been moving pipe and checking irrigation. It’s amazing how easily you can turn on the water, walk away, and forget that you are irrigating until you are lying in bed. Some of those transplants we are growing in the greenhouse have been transplanted this week, mostly cabbage. Today the crew seeded zucchini, cucumbers, squash and cantaloupe.
Finally, I am happy to tell you that today is our 9 year anniversary and to celebrate, we are writing this CSA newsletter and selling vegetables at the market. Aren’t we romantic 🙂
Your Farmers,
Ryan, Katie, and Crew
What’s in this week’s bag?
Beets*
Cabbage*
Potatoes
Cucumbers
Picklers (Sun Dills anyone?)
Broccoli
Zucchini
*indicates items only in the full bag