Switch to Summer

Today I came back to the farm after a week absence.  In that time, the Solstice came and went, and it's summer in a big way.   Usually, I feel chilled working in the early morning hours, but not this morning.  The jacket came off at 7:01.  Another change was the mosquitos waiting for me in the pea patch.  Last year, I don't remember being bothered by them, but with all the rain, it looks like I'm going to have to invest in some bug repellant this year.

This weekend we'll be operating a farm stand at the North Side Farmer's Market, so we harvested some veggies to sell there:  snow peas, sugar snap peas, summer squash, broccoli, kale, chard, and herbs.  The peas are really producing abundantly now.  Their tall vines, heavy with pods, are falling over the trellis, making them difficult to harvest.

We also spent some time weeding the CSA garden.  Many of the flowers we planted there are just beginning to produce, so we thought we'd get them ready for CSA members to start harvesting next week. While I didn't go on Field Tour this week, I can imagine that the weeds haven't really started flagging just yet, and I'm anticipating more weeding jobs next week.  I was also a bit surprised to find out that the tomatoes haven't been trellised yet.  I know that was a pretty high priority last week, so I'm sure it's one of the first things we're going to do Monday.  Some of the tomatoes have already started fruiting!

I would have liked to stay and work with the bees today.  Apparently two of them are going to be double-queened to up their production, and this is not something you get to see every day.  However, I'm still trying to get my life back in order after my trip, so I came home.  Next Monday, I'll be able to really see what I missed last week.