Two Feet in the Dirt

The weather at last seems to have taken a turn in many senses. Not only is it significantly cooler than the 80- and 90-degree temperatures we saw last week, but additionally we’ve had two solid periods of rain, which is something we haven’t seen much of for the past month. Unfortunately, the cooler, wetter weather has introduced some new late-season disease problems that are causing us head aches with some of the baby greens. With our typical frost date usually falling sometime in the next few weeks, we’re hoping to see some truly cold weather that will help end the disease pressure for the season. 

I find diseases to be one of the most stressful aspects of farming. Bugs can always be removed by hand, but diseases are much harder to combat and frequently show up completely unannounced. You can walk outside one day to a field of beautiful, green plants and the next day have foliar diseases sprouting on nearly every leaf. Fortunately, most of these diseases are host-specific, so while things like powdery mildew can infect plants ranging from peas to zinnias to cucumbers to lilac trees, it can’t actually be passed between any of these as all are unique strains of the pathogen. This is yet another example of the importance of diversity on the organic farm. In a monoculture environment, a disease could wipe out everything, but even though it is beyond frustrating to have to remove crops that are experiencing disease issues, we have such a great variety of crops growing that it is unlikely we would experience a total loss.

This week’s market table will continue to reflect this diversity. We will continue to have most of what we’ve had in recent weeks with the addition of some of the first bok choi and purple-topped turnips. See below for the full harvest list and we’ll see you on Saturday!

Farmers Katie & Mike

This week at the market:

• Cabbage
• Escarole
• Bok Choi
• Purple-topped Turnips
• Kohlrabi
• Head Lettuce
• Radishes
• Beets
• Arugula
• Salad mix
• Winter salad mix
• Spinach
• Eggplant
• Scallions
• Kale
• Collard greens
• Onions
• Carrots
• Potatoes
• Sweet peppers
• Poblano & Jalapeno peppers