Hello Everyone, Since my last writing we’ve received a little more than an inch of much needed rain. We could use more, but it was enough to help some of the seed I’ve planted recently to germinate. The beans have sprouted beautifully and the zucchini and summer squash quite nicely as well. I was a bit nervous about the squash because it took a long time to come up and in the process of searching for emerging seed I discovered quite a few empty seed husks scattered about the surface of the beds. Some type of bird apparently has a taste for squash seed, something I’ve never seen before. Fortunately, there are only a few bare patches in my rows, and we can re-plant by hand to fill those in. We have finished planting the peppers and the eggplant and both are growing well and beginning to flower. Expect eggplant in mid to late July and peppers in early August. The early tomatoes are also growing well, flowering profusely, and setting fruit. Tomato harvest should begin in about 5 weeks The peas are flowering abundantly and there are a few ready to pick, just not enough yet to include in the first delivery. Peas will start next week and continue into early July. Sweet Potato plants arrived this past Friday and we will be transplanting them in the next few days as well as about 1500 melon and watermelon plants we started in the greenhouse. I will also be trying to sow edamame soybeans and the first of the winter squash during the next week. I hope y’all (pardon my drawl) like salads, because much of the lettuce we planted in succession has matured all at once. I have about 2000 lettuces that will need to be picked in the next 2 weeks. The share for this week will be: Red leaf lettuce, Boston lettuce, radishes, garlic scapes, and oregano. If you don’t have a use for fresh oregano, I recommend putting it in a small paper bag and hanging it in a warm place for a week or two to dry. For those new members unfamiliar with garlic scapes, they are the flower top of the garlic plant. They can be chopped finely and sautéed with other foods for a rich garlic flavor. They are also good grilled and will keep for many weeks in the refrigerator, so don’t worry about using them up quickly. Enjoy!
–Farmer John