2023 CSA Newsletter #5

It's going to be a brief update this week, since the students had a couple days off last week for the holiday. We still managed to get through some key tasks. The heirloom tomatoes were suckered and trellised but we weren't able to get through the greenhouse tomatoes. They all look great, though! Fruit clusters are forming with green tomatoes and vertical growth is starting to take off. Some of the cherry tomato plants are approaching five feet already! A step has been added to our tomato work. One of the reasons for growing tomatoes under cover in a hoophouse and/or greenhouse is to keep them dry and as disease-free as possible. One thing that helps protect the plants from disease is airflow. Throughout the remainder of the season, we will begin to prune lower branches as the fruit begins to ripen. We don't treat the plants with anything if there is disease present, so this is another cultural control that we practice in our farming operation. 

In addition to working on the tomatoes, a bed of lettuce and scallions were planted, along with a replacement row in one of the hoophouses. Flexibility and adaptability are important traits of a farm. Crop failures are inevitable. Sometimes due to things beyond our control, but also errors that we make. And that's what happened here. The sweet potatoes that we planted didn't make it. I should have prioritized planting the slips we received sooner than I did. Most, if not all, weren't going to make it. Space in our hoophouses and greenhouse are premium real estate on the farm and it's important for me to maximize these areas. We had a different crop that was ready for planting but had nowhere to go. It was a seamless transition. In the sweet potatoes place, a row of husk cherries and cape gooseberries were planted. These are fun fruits that I am excited to share with you all in the fall. 

The CSA share this week is going to have two new items. The first are black currants. They were also affected by the May freeze, but we are still getting a decent crop this year. Basil will also make its first appearance of the season. There will also be fresh garlic again, but the heads are much smaller this week. We left the stems trimmed, but long so they can still be dried if you want to. Lettuce mix, rainbow chard, salad turnips, scapes and pepper salt round out the share.

Have a great week!

-Farmer Todd