Newsletter Week 3: June 26-28-30, 2006
Dear friends,
And the rain continues. I wonder if the world around here is just trying to clean itself out. Luckily the temperature has stayed up so that crops can keep growing. And luckily we have raised beds in most situations, though the soil is waterlogged. We have had to do some serious replanting. Last week it was corn and melons (we had some beautiful melons waiting on the deck for planting that just curled up and died because they were too wet (and that while under cover and not getting directly rained on). We also filled in holes in the chard patch. The potatoes are looking great, as are the raspberries and peas.
Field tomatoes are still waiting to get started, as are peppers and eggplants. The soybeans didn’t make it, as didn’t basil seeds (seedlings took fine) so we will replant those crops this week.
We are in full swing with strawberries. You can expect one more week of them, plus Monday folks will get berries next week as they got shorted this past week. Snap peas are also in full swing. Count on these for awhile. They are great in stir fries, in salads, out of hand, a marvelous early summer treat. If you want to freeze them, remove the tip and the string and blanch for 1 minute (that means to bring the pot to a boil, put the peas in, when it returns to a boil count one minute) and then remove them to cold water immediately. Freeze in plastic bags.
We will have parsley again this week, and some kind of greens, depending of the day. Lettuce will be the head variety, and we will add cilantro to the herbs.
Today’s inserts are the hopefully complete membership list and a Guide to Organic Lawn Care with so great resource material for you.
Picking up has been pretty smooth. Only one member didn’t pick up and didn’t check in.
This week we hope to weed onions, strawberries, parsley, dill, cilantro, radishes, summer squash, celery, carrots and beets, lettuce, and put or hoop house tomatoes in cages. Stop in the hoop houses and see the very happy tomatoes and sweet potatoes. This week we will also separate our chickens into more range houses, mulch potatoes, flowers, tomatoes and start second crops of the broccoli family. At the end of the week we will plant more basil, beans and squash.
Visit the pigs, they love company. Listen for the rattling feeders and follow your ears.
Julie