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This
Week on the Farm The rains of last week were a
blessing! I was able to get in the second planting of tomatoes, melons and
summer squash as well as the eggplant and tomatillos. However, we’re already completely dry
again, and we’re hoping one of these random isolated thunderstorms will
blow over us. The spring veggie field has been mowed, and I am getting ready
to plant a summer cover crop of buckwheat and millet. We use cover crops on
all of our production fields any time we don’t have a cash crop (the
veggies and fruits we sell) there. The cover crop, which is usually a mix of
a grass and a legume, is primarily, for us, used to smother weeds and to have
something to grow and hold down the soil so that when we do get rain, our fields don’t end up in the stream or down
the hill in the woods. Also, we run our chickens over the fields during the
“off season”, so to speak, so having something for them to munch
on is another goal. They provide much needed nitrogen - the sandier the soil,
the faster the nitrogen gets washed out or “leached”, and the
cash crops suffer. Having a legume cover crop on the field also helps to
“fix” nitrogen (the legumes can convert the nitrogen in the air
into a useable form for other plants) and the grasses can help hold the nitrogen
in place until we’re ready to use it. What to
Look Forward To Tomatoes!! Full shares are getting the very first of the
sungold cherry tomato, which I, personally, think has the absolute best
flavor of any tomato out there. The rest of you will start getting the
tomatoes very soon (hopefully next week) and then I will pass on a recipe for
a pasta dish using sungolds and cream for a sauce that my friend Shiloh gave
me. The big, red tomatoes (and other heirloom varieties) will still be a few
more weeks – I feel like we have a good amount of them every year the
week after 4th of July. More beans too… you are either
receiving green (variety is called Jade), purple (Royalty purple podded), or
yellow (Brittle Wax) beans this week – I will do my best to change up
the varieties each week for you. The summer squash is going to slow down and completely stop
for a few weeks coming up here soon. The first planting is starting to
succumb to its surroundings (mostly weeds and bugs) but another planting is
up and on its way. I keep talking
about melons, they’re getting there. I was hoping for 4th of
July, but now I’m not so sure. Soon, soon.
Questions
or comments? Contact us: Brian
and Joann Gallagher |
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