Fieldwork and Fireworks before lightning called it a day.

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July 3rd is typically one of our busiest days of the summer (though not measured by $ wise, as tomatoes aren’t in yet)… and despite today’s heat, can confirm we were slammed all day long and sold heaps and heaps veggies. Didn’t keep perfectly accurate records, yet sold 50+ bags of basil for reference alongside heaps of lettuce, cucumbers, summer squash and zucchini. Even cut a few items off the harvest list this AM since I was running solo (gave the crew a holiday), yet still a banger of a day. We’ll see how many folks left their shopping to the last minute and grab veg tomorrow. Another hot one; before the storms roll through. Heat is breaking for the day now and I’ll get a few hours of fieldwork in before shifting gears to harvesting for tomorrow.

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If only the Spined Soldier Bug could control the Colorado Potato Beetle population… alas beetles come in too big of a flush for the lady bugs and soldiers to manage. Still nice to see predation in action. Here on eggplant yesterday.

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Getting a jump on tomorrow’s harvest. These next 8-9 weeks are our busiest marketing weeks of the season as summer residents enjoy the Southcoast. Make hay when the sunshines > sell veg when the customers are abundant. The “fishbowl” looking pretty sweet for the end of June. Most of our fields aren’t easily visible from the road; except for the lower section here. Some years we put a little effort into making it look pretty. This is one of those years.

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Yes Cycle of life eh… Click on quoted cast to see the zoom zoom ladybug larva.

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Do you know your larva? This zoom zoomer was floating on a discarded lettuce leaf in the wash tub this morning.

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Spent the evening planting; trying to take advantage of this cold front (enjoyed the Stanley Cup on the radio of course) We’ll see if these cells make it all the way to the coast. We could use a spot of rain, been back into a summer dry spell. Also checked on the lettuce I planted Thursday evening; which looked a bit wilty midday Saturday. No worries, roots are very much doing their thing. All those are new growth in 72 hours without irrigation. something, something Calcium…

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Charbelle Chard in the running for the most photogenic vegetable. Snuck into today’s blitz harvest as we gear up to cultivate.

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After back to back WHHIP (P) days on the farm, today’s dew point drop is sweet as… When Heat & Humidity Impact Production (& Profitability) - we typically have 5-6 WHHIP days a year on the farm, some summer’s less, last year we had heaps. Basically they’re any day where we need to drastically alter the scope of fieldwork to manage over heating. Thankfully they typically come in batches of 2 or 3, so we can get back on pace easily once the heat or humidity break. We’ll extend shade breaks earlier in the day, push sports drinks and electrolytes, focus on low physical effort tasks during peak heat (yesterday we seeded in the shade by the gh) and take longer lunch breaks. If harvest season is really cranking we’ll sometimes start early, though that is less common, as I can adjust evening work to add harvest hours there. Weekend offers very pleasant if warm conditions for fieldwork. Been a minute since we’ve received a decent rain shower, last one didn’t even push past the zucchini leaves…maybe Sunday evening.

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Someone is gonna get the nicest romaine we’ve grown in maybe a decade this weekend. These are from the block we just started harvesting this morning... One weighed in at 3 pounds after a dip in the wash station. Caesar season on the Southcoast I reckon.

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About a week away from peak Romaine season here on the Southcoast. Green Forest for the W.

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Why have I been casting about the New World Screw Worm for a year? Because I understand and feel the pain of an invasive species that’s an existential threat to your way of life. The Asian Citrus Psyllid has caused billions in damages to California & Florida citrus leaving the Florida industry devastated. We are mandated to spend thousands of dollars a year spraying our trees to try to control the spread of the insect and the disease that it spreads. Keeping pests out is way less expensive and better for everyone but a big logistical challenge in a world where fruit and animals are crossing borders nonstop. I’m sad for Texas and other cattle farmers. I’m sad for all of the beloved pets that will be lost as a result of this evil worm. And I’m sad for the American consumer who will feel the pain of these added costs at the grocery store. And for those of you quick to blame DOGE please read a bit deeper to understand that this situation has been unfolding for multiple years starting with the failure of the quarantine zone in Panama in 2020.

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Deer still be hating on the notion of farm profitability. Guess another deer fence gets added to tonight’s task list. Was hoping to push this section to Monday. Alas

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Okay my phone just keeps playing audio when I hit record on video and I’ve never bothered to change it… Anyways deer on the otherside of the stonewall yesterday was probably confused by Sabrina’s pop melodies. Been putting up fence and need to push one of our hunters to help us out… a couple of small herds currently active on the farm.

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Back in the day we used to send out weekly newsletters to our CSA (subscription customers)... over the years they've shifted to once a month or so as I find the time to write a quick update... and nudge folks toward following along on instagram/facebook. When you work outside and rarely sit at a computer, writing is a task that seems to be enjoyed. Here was the opening to the letter sent last night > Whoa, June crept up on us like a stealth creature on the horizon; a real sense the sixth month was "out there", suddenly its presence was the now. Bodies angled towards the earth for most of our waking hours, spare brief intervals to scope the sky and blessing rains we received to end May. Spring started down a path toward drought, given the coming Super El Nino this would be an unexpected outcome for the Southcoast. Three inches of water this past week has refilled the water column and given our crops an accelerant ahead of summer's longest days. The weeds which have been timid are sprouting with their familiar vigor and hoes are at the ready. Planting season delayed a couple of weeks due to the cool start; yet once we began transplanting on April 14th it's been a downright classic whirlwind... an orchestrated dance of fertilizer, tillage, planting and ever endless rolls of row cover placed upon hoops. The row cover yielding to myriad shades of veggies is still protecting the summer heat lovers and tender brassicas, which flea beetles seek out each season. In fact, there have been weeds sprouting in the dry which preceded our final week of May, and our able crew has been keeping apace. We are about to enter Week 3 of 6 in our "core cultivation" season when weeding is nearly a daily activity, as the weather allows it calls our name. Amidst this joyous hustle, we get to add "the task" which is reason we farm, harvesting.

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