Weather Update From Farmer Richard…..

Last week we reported on the status of our farm after receiving 8” of rain earlier in the week.  This week I wanted to update you on our status over the past week.  Thankfully we had a few dry days at the end of last week.  We performed a few magic tricks to dry out some beds enough that we could do our scheduled weekly plantings on Friday, including our first planting of fall spinach.  We were proud of our efforts, accomplishments and had smiles on our face at the end of the week!  We had an immediate rain of 1.5” but thankfully the skies cleared on Saturday afternoon and we managed to harvest some beautiful winter squash and finished the potato harvest.  We have an abundant winter squash crop this year and we were pleased to find out it tastes really good just a few days after harvest!  Usually we wait several weeks to eat any as it needs a little time to cure and sweeten up.  All indications are that it is going to be a tasty winter squash season!  We also managed to fix all our field roads and after several days all our animal fences were fixed as well.

Unfortunately, we got more rain and severe storms again Monday night!  Thankfully it was only 4” of rain this time, but it came hard and fast and in several places the wash-outs were worse.  We had to cancel harvest on Tuesday morning and diverted all  available operators and equipment to clean up and fix roads, etc.  We made it through the last event without the bulldozer, which has been in the repair shop.  This time, however, there was some work that was best done with the bulldozer as tractors and skidsteers would’ve just sunk into the mud.  I called the shop and asked them to return it.  They dropped it off Tuesday afternoon and I was able to move enough mud from below our land dam with hopes that we could get through the night without problems if the predicted rain and storms really moved through our area.  Felix G was a trooper and worked with me throughout the day doing a lot of handwork and shoveling to clean up a fence line and clear debris and mud away from the inlet to our land dam that was plugged from the night before.  We were also able to resume harvest Tuesday afternoon! 

We did have about 1.5 inches of rain Tuesday night, but it wasn’t as much or as hard and fast as originally predicted so we fared pretty well.  Our total rainfall over the past two weeks is at about 15 inches now.  We have several days of sunny, dry and cool weather in the forecast, which will be a welcomed relief.

We’ve been pretty fortunate to not have lost as many crops as in previous events, but we are already seeing disease spots on many crops because of the prolonged hot/wet and humid weather.  We could still see more rot and disease spread in some areas if it doesn’t dry out soon.  Please be aware that the shelf life on some of your vegetables may not be what you’re accustomed to simply because of the wet conditions these crops have had to persevere through.  If you notice a spot forming on a tomato or pepper, that’s your cue to use them quickly.  This might be the week to make a batch of tomato sauce or saute all the peppers at one time and use them throughout the week.

I am writing this weather update to simply let you know what’s happening on our farm, which for our CSA members is also “your” farm.  We aren’t looking for pity, we only want to keep you informed and let you know we value your continued support.  Our crew has had some hard days and we all are in need of a spirit lift.  We appreciate the cards and emails of encouragement we have received.  They really help!