From the Farmers….
We finished the yurt!!! It’s been a project in the works since early spring – and finally tonight we finished the last grommet- and tie - and inside carpet. As we all sat inside reveling in how neat it is, it began to rain. We rushed out to put on the crown cover – the ‘jester hat’ we call it – to protect the center top hole. Dale will be moving into this structure next week when we move it onto a wooden deck. Then we’ll get the second nine foot yurt finished.
We did get a little rain this week – less than ½ inch. Not nearly enough to make much difference to some of the crops like the sweet corn, but certainly better than nothing. While we didn’t get the 2 – 3 inches like some places in the twin cities, at least we did not get the hail that some got.
Over the weekend, we (Robin and Gigi) went camping up north. It was wonderful to get away – our first summer camping trip since we began the CSA five years ago. We are so thankful to have had Adrienne (intern from last year) who provided some weekend coverage so we could get away.
Back at the farm, we’ve been mowing between tomato and squash rows to make grass pathways. Now that we’ve had a bit of rain, we’ll be seeding some buckwheat and rye between the melon rows. The rapeseed that I seeded last week and wondered if it would germinate is all coming up – halleluiah!
On Monday, Jane, Sara and Cara mulched the late green beans and red cabbage. These three amazing interns spread three big bales of mulch over ten 220 foot rows in less than a day! We are using a lot of hay mulch again this year to help conserve moisture in the soil, control weeds and build the soil as it decomposes. We can see a huge difference in the crops that are mulched with hay, mulched with plastic and not mulched at all.
Tuesday, with rain imminent, we again worked on a variety of odd jobs – sewing on the yurt cover, making cheese, and seeding Mei Qing Choi and Kohlrabi in flats for fall harvest. We also seeded a couple of new rows of turnips and cooking radishes in the field.
This morning our interns made the big duck move – moving the fifteen Khaki Campbell ducks to new territory – with more grass. We’ve been moving them weekly to new space – but today the move was much farther. The technique of just moving the fence with the ducks moving along inside did not work for this distance, so each duck had to be caught –which they didn’t much like – and carried to the new pen. They should be happier with new foraging.
Until next week….
WHAT'S IN YOUR SHARE THIS WEEK
Chinese Cabbage
Primax Green Cabbage
Candy Onions
Provider and Jade Green Beans
Eureka Yellow Beans
Yukon Gold and some Norkotah Russett Potatoes
Packman Broccoli
Vates Collard Greens
Lime Basil
Ararat Basil
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