It’s been a really hot week – this Independence Day week. With daily temperatures in the upper 80’s and 90’s and plenty of rain, most of the veggie crops are growing like crazy – and so are the weeds. We’ve been doing a lot of weeding over the last few days. It’s a lot of fussy, picky weeding of crops like carrots, dill, turnips and cilantro as well as weeding around every tomato, pepper and eggplant. This kind of weeding requires a lot of perseverance and good manual dexterity. It is also a pretty good job for really hot days as you get to move a little slower that with some other jobs.
We also took out the Husquavarna roto-tiller and Gigi has been tilling between the corn and bean rows with the tiller. With so much rain, we simply cannot stay ahead of the weeds and while tilling is one of our least favorite options for tillage, it does allow us to get those weeds chewed up and reincorporated into the soil. It is exciting to actually see the rows of corn and beans emerge from the lush forest of lambs quarters and pig weed.
Keeping fresh water in front of all our farm critters is a bit of a challenge in this heat. We have a five time a day routine of checking and filling water tubs for the goats and sheep, pigs and horses, chickens and turkeys. The pigs love turning their water trough over and making a mud slough in which they lounge away these hot afternoons.
50 new baby broiler chicks arrived at the Harris post office on Tuesday. As one person ran into town to pick them up, the rest of us got their new home ready – light, baby chick feeders, shavings on the floor and quart jar waterers filled with water mixed with a nutrient solution. All the interns who were not here yet when we hatched so many Barred Rock x Aracana chicks around Easter time, got to pick up the adorable yellow chicks and one at a time, dip their beaks in water and place them in their new home. It is hard to believe that in 8 weeks time, these tiny chicks will have grown into delicious meat.
This week veggie shares will be delivered in individual boxes. In the interest of saving the wear and tear on the boxes, we ask you to continue bringing your own bags or containers to take your veggies home.
The greens in your share this week will be a little more feisty in flavor that earlier in the season. We encourage you to lightly cook them rather than using them raw. Chop coarsely and braise in a tiny bit of water, then add just a bit of olive oil and some balsamic vinegar and cook them until the liquid disappears. Yum! We also think the Sugar Ann sugar snap peas will taste better this week lightly cooked in a stir fry rather than eating raw.
Until next week………….
What’s In your Share
Radish Red Rover
Lettuce Freckles, Cimarron , Salad Bowl
Greens Arugula, Mizuna, Green Wave mustard, Red Wave mustard
Peas Sugar Ann
Turnip Hakurei
Kohlrabi Winner
Bok Choi Joi Choi
Onions Walla Walla
