Dry spell

Crops are slowing down because of the dry spell we're in.  Hopefully, a bit of rain will revive the greens and bring squash, cucumber and bean production back up.  In the meantime, enjoy the tomatoes!  They don't mind the dry

weather at all.  

This week, we have lots of tomatoes, some hot and sweet peppers, lots of fresh onions and cured garlic, tons (literally) of potatoes and a good variety of herbs, greens and other vegetables.

See you at the market!

Erik and Sara

News from the Garden

Wildlife Report: We continue to see the little brown grass snakes and an occasional garter snake in the gardens, usually hiding under row cover or in a leaf pile.  The toads have been scarce recently, I assume because of the dry spell.  The neighbors’ honey bees have done a nice job of pollinating the squash and cucumbers in our garden, but the wild bees seem scarce.  Plenty of hornets and wasps, though!  

We have been lucky that the deer have respected our big fence this summer better than last, meaning a lot more lettuces and beets for you.  This has been a bumper rabbit year, as I’m sure you have noticed.  Even in our wide open gardens, we have had a few litters of them, and we find that they really like cucumbers!  

There have been a lot of killdeer in the gardens this year, feeding on the bare and recently seeded parts.  Not a bird we have regularly seen in past seasons.  

And lastly, our 5-month-old chicks (now young hens) just started laying their first eggs this week, right  on schedule. The girls are thrilled with the little brown eggs, and we are excited to see all the ‘varieties’ that our multicultural flock will produce.

The onion harvest went very well, and the storage varieties are drying down well in this weather.  We should have a bumper crop of yellow and red keepers, so look forward to a nice bag of them in October.  The potato harvest is also going well, with only a few rows left to dig.  Good size, great quantity and very disease-free.  Make the farmer happy!

More rain coming, please?