Another interesting week. With all the predictions of stormy weather, we moved the hay rack with peppers in and out of the barn each day. We haven’t dared harden off the tomatoes. A storm would possibly knock them all down as they are getting tall and hefty and filling their pots. Today, they go out to get used to the real weather. 5 to 7 days later they can take the other big change and be set out in the beds.
HH 1 is now empty, tilled and being watered for tilling and bed preparation. As soon as the lettuce and spinach are out, well start some of the beds in HH 2. This year we started some cucumber seeds that will climb the strings in the hoop houses along with some of the tomatoes. Eggplants don’t do well in the field so they will also go inside . We’ll fill the hoop houses with basils and peppers. They all like the tropics and we can avoid some of the blights that are caused by fungi carried in the rain.
We have a request. This may cause a little disappointment for some but alleviate disappointment for others. As we finish picking lettuce and spinach in Hoop House 2, we have a shortage of ready to go lettuces in the field. They need another week for a substantial pick and with the weather we have had they are growing slowly. This should be a better growing week ahead.
*******Our request…. If you have already been out for your first pick or pick/training, please take a week off and resume picking 2 weeks after your last pick. Every one should skip an extra week. This will allow the farm to catch up and the berries to ripen.
If you have not yet been out for your first pick, please come! We don’t want you to miss out on the first pick of rhubarb and asparagus. We will maintain our farm share delivery as we have a small delivery this week that we should be able to fulfil and keep on schedule.
Garden 4 is still wet and waiting for the 500 sweet potato plants, 600 tomatoes, rows of peppers, and replacement onions. Our first batch of 10,000 onions have “failed to thrive” and many will be replanted. Other crops in that garden had not yet emerged and are fine. . . sweet corn, potatoes, and all the pumpkin/squashes.
Please support all the efforts to “label your foods containing GMO’s” as it appears that the conventionally grown field and food crops are all sprayed multiple times instead of being cultivated. That is because they are engineered, with an untested bacterial gene, to survive the spraying. These genes are finding their way into our foods and bodies.
For more information, Dr. Mercola (www.mercola.com) has presented a variety of research based studies in an understable way. He does sell “products”, but his team of researchers shares lots of pertinent information on the website.
Bear with us as we (hopefully) get some normal growing weather and catch up with the growing season.