CSA Pick Up July 28

I am so sorry for the late posting of the pick up this week. I took some personal time to be with my family Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and came home to a lot of weeds and garden work. Every thing is growing well. The biggest problem is the Bunnies that have decided that they like Broccoli and have eaten at least 1/2 of the tops out of the broccoli plants so I am down from 200 plants to 100. Bruce is setting a trap to catch Peter or Patsy. Not sure what I will do them if we succeed in catching them. I need to check with the Dept of Environmental Service to see if relocation across the river is a viable option. Right now Rabbit Stew sounds good except that I don't know how to make it and I am not into killing the bunnies I just don't want them eating my food.
The other problems we have encountered are Squash Vine Borer messing up my summer squash. I have pulled 6 plants now. I am still getting squash. I have to remove the plants from the garden and depose of them before the borer crawls out and finds the soil so he can over winter in the soil.

I am also delinquent in posting recipes but I will make it up soon.

Good news is the Cubanelle Frying peppers are big and ready for harvest. The Tomatoes look good just not ripe. I have finally planted the cucumbers and more beans. The Shallots and Garlic are curing. The Potatoes are flowering and over all things are pretty good.

CSA Pick Up July 21

Well the heat is on. It is suppose to be another scorcher tomorrow. I am getting up early to harvest the lettuce and Chard and hope to have them in the refrigerator before they wilt. There are lots of summer squash. The plants are at least 3-4' tall. They are huge. They are giving me at least 20 + squash a day. It is so exciting to pick them early in the morning and hearing and seeing the honey bees busy gathering pollen from the flowers. I fear that 2 of my plants have Squash Vine Borer. Mary the UConn Extension entomologist told me to look for an entrance hole near the soil. So I have some homework to do. If it is the Squash Vine Borer then I need to pull the plants before the eggs hatch and the larvae exit back into the soil. I can still plant more summer squash so I can keep it going.

The peppers are starting to form too. There will be some Hot Wax Peppers this week and I hope some frying peppers next week. The Tomatoes are hanging on too. So pretty soon we will have fresh garden tomatoes.

I have cleared and weeded where the peas were and so the next step is to add some compost and plant more pole beans and cucumbers. I will to that on Friday along with planting more Chard and Kale.

Lots of veggies taking shape. It is hard for me to wait. The potatoes are in flower as well as the watermelon. This is the first year for me to grow watermelon so I hope it turns out well.

See you tomorrow.

CSA Pick Up July 14

It is the 5th pick up of the season. I am trying a PYO Pick-your-own for the first time. Raspberries and Blueberries are ripe. If you want some fruit plan to have a little time to pick berries. I will supply the berry container. If it doesn't work for you to pick tomorrow night talk with me so we can set up another time for you to stop by the farm and pick some fruit.

This is the last week for peas. Lucky for you they ripened quickly so I had to pick them and shell them. So I have been busy shelling peas. The eight foot pea vines have been cut down and I am now preparing the beds for pole beans and cucumbers to grow. I have also rescued the Chard, Celery, Celeriac, and Leeks from the fast growing weeds.

The Garlic has been harvested and is now hanging in the Sugar Shack curing. In about 3- 4 weeks depending on the weather you will find some garlic in your share.

Looking forward to seeing you at pick up.

Hope you all had a Happy 4th of July. We are now into the throws of summer. Hot afternoons that tend to trigger a thunderstorm or 2. The potatoes are really happy in their potato boxes. I am busy filling in the boxes with more compost and Bruce is cutting the bottoms off the apple boxes so I can add the second box on top of the first. I know this sounds confusing so when you come for your pick up plan to take a stroll and see what they look like. It is exciting to watch them grow. I feel like by the time I get through the row adding compost the first boxes need more.

The Eggplant has started to bloom, the Peppers have small flowers on them and the Summer Squash is covered with baby squash that are maturing in one day so I am picking them just about every morning.