The last week has felt decidedly like fall around the farm! I am hoping for the last breaths of summer to hang on a few weeks longer so that we can be sure to enjoy the summer crops for a while longer. When I got up bright and early on Saturday morning to leave for the Aberfoyle Farmers' Market it was 3 degrees! That is unseasonably cold and we managed to avoid a frost because it was a cloudy night. For perspective, our first frost is typically around September 17th or so. If the weather behaves we will have some green beans again in a week or two and a few more weeks of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. We will be starting our bulk potato and onion harvest soon and both look to be great yields. The potatoes in particular have done very well with all the moisture and you can expect them in most shares going forward and in greater quantities. Later this week I also intend to start cleaning all our cured garlic and that will begin to appear in shares. We may also have additional larger quantities available for share members to purchase. Our carrots are doing fantastic and will be featured in most shares in the fall. We also have some green cabbages that are sizing up nicely and will be available in a few weeks time. And the brussel sprouts are looking to be a great crop this year. For all the crops that are doing well, we also have a few that are struggling. Our chard has developed cercospora leaf spot, which is a fungal disease of the leaves which causes spots and lesions (largely due to the wet summer). I still hope to harvest some chard here and there but we won't be able to have it in any great quantities going forward. Our kale has also been less than stellar this year but I have planted a new crop and hope that by fall we will have lots of kale to enjoy. For now, we are taking a break from the leafy greens. In their absence I have also planted spinach, arugula, salad mix, baby salad kale, and baby mustard greens so that we will have lots of greens variety for the last half of the season. Our winter squash is also struggling due to being planted late because the fields were too wet. We will have some squash for the fall but not in the quantities we usually enjoy. As for beets, we are challenged with some nutrient issue for the second year running and have not had a great crop. I do have some in the ground now that look great and should be ready for October! A reminder to those that have leafy greens add-ons to ask me for it at the share pickup! When greens are not in the regular share I still bring the add-ons and keep behind the table. I went home with some greens last week so I know a couple people forgot to ask for them. Just a heads up that we will have limited chicken eggs available for purchase this week. Duck eggs will still be available. Eggplants are one crop that are either loved or hated by share members. But enough people love them (including me) to keep growing them! For those that are looking for a few new ideas for preparing eggplant, check out these recipes:
Martha Stewart's Eggplant Recipes 17 Delicious Eggplant Recipes Everyone Will Love
Tonya
8/30/2017 05:19:23 am
So excited about the brussel sprouts. When will these be harvested? Comments are closed.
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