Two Feet in the Dirt

I thought last week’s extreme heat would be the it for the year, but it looks like I was wrong. Writing this on Wednesday, we’re in the midst of our third day with temperatures into the 90s and heat indices much higher and we still have another day of the same forecast for tomorrow. Not that I want it to be winter yet, but I’m definitely hoping for some slightly cooler weather to come.

Despite the heat, the market table is starting to turn towards fall. We’ve harvested in all of the Delicata and Acorn squash and will have the first scallions and fall radishes this week. And even with this heat, some of the summer crops are nearing the end of production. The hot weather help reboot the Mexican bean beetle population, which has successfully annihilated the remaining string beans, so this will be the last week for those. And, unfortunately, we’re looking at the end of tomatoes in the near future as well. While I rarely expect the beans to last far into September, in nearly a decade of farming, I have never had tomatoes not make it up until the first frost date in the fall. This in itself speaks to the extremity of the weather this year. Tomatoes are extremely susceptible to leaf diseases in wet weather, the worst of which can outright kill the plants, which is what we’re seeing in our outdoor tomatoes this year. Our hoop house tomatoes, which did not get exposed to the repeated rains, are proof of the normal seasonal cycle of tomatoes- they are still growing like crazy and putting on new flowers and fruit!

But for now, the tomatoes are still around, so make sure to stop by for some this weekend! Check out our full harvest list below and we’ll see you at the markets!

Farmers Katie & Mike

This week at the market:

• Salad mix
• Baby Kale
• Arugula
• Head Lettuce
• Eggplant
• Sweet peppers
• String beans
• Slicing tomatoes
• Cherry tomatoes
• Garlic
• Onions
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Beets
• Rainbow chard
• Kale
• Collard greens
• Radishes
• Scallions
• Winter squash
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