Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Dog Days of Summer

The rain is back, sort of, which just makes life humid and hot.  When it's this hot out, you must ask yourself: what's the benefit of rain gear if you're just going to sweat to death underneath it?  My rain gear is PVC coated and thus not breathable in the least.  I ended up wearing the bibs most of the day, but the jacket was just too much.

On field tour this Monday, we noted that the beans are doing great, minus the weeds that need to be hand pulled before we start harvesting.  We did finish this task and should be harvesting beans today, so look for them in your share this week.  While weeding, it seemed that the rain really helped the plants become huge this year, much bigger than I remember them from last year.  

The brassica section is doing well.  Green cabbage heads are nearly sized up, with purple following closely behind.  The kale is just tremendous.  The broccoli, on the other hand, is just finishing up.  We'll have to wait a bit before we see it again.  

Tomatoes are getting out of control!   At least one, sometimes 2 fruit clusters have formed on every plant, so we are working hard to get them pruned and trellised before they get any bigger.  Unfortunately, the rain is not helping with this, as water will spread disease in the plants, which is always a concern, but even more so this year as we are waiting to see if the blight returns.  

The corn is definitely knee-high, but before it gets any bigger, we need to get in there and weed.  Grasses are forming next to the plants, which makes it difficult.  A high priority task!  

As usual, we started the day by picking peas.  Snow peas are done.  This is most likely the last week for snap peas.  Shell peas are also slowing down.  Thank goodness, because not only does this take a lot of time, but the toll it takes on your back is great.  Of course, as soon as peas stop, beans start.  My hamstrings are starting to hurt already!  

These days are a cycle of harvesting and weeding.  It looks like the flush of tall weeds is, thankfully, over.  Purslane is king now, which is a relatively nice weed as it spreads along the ground, therefore not blocking sunlight.  It comes out pretty easily too, and is even edible.  I like its slightly sour flavor and mild crunch.  

CSA Harvest time tomorrow!  And the CSA garden is now open.  Check out the flowers and herbs:

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