Last week's list of farm tasks was clearly impossible. So daunting that we had a special section at the bottom of the page, labeled "How to get it done?" where we listed people to call in for extra help, people to try out for hiring for extra help, a few things to cut, and a little bit of just hoping for some farm miracles and magic. It worked out surprisingly well. There were some epic late nights with the three of us, some all-hands-on-deck planting pushes with farm members pitching in to get pumpkins and melons into the ground. There were a number of days where, though near collapse we looked at each other and said "wow, we did it." We didn't get to everything, but we did get the biggest stuff....which did not include the Saturday newsletter, so here's a quick Tuesday note to keep you up to date on farm happenings, and give you one good recipe/ eating idea, below.
June is turbulent, in both weather and morale. One day a light breeze becomes a gust that rips the 50 x 80' sheet of plastic off the tunnel midway through an install attempt, leaving 20' gashes. A few days later, farm friends come before morning coffee to help try again, and then the neighbor with the crane happens to have just enough time to come over and hoist Noah and a roll of repair tape up. The tomatoes are covered, in the ground, and growing.
In that crazy impossible week, we borrowed, broke, repaired, used, and returned a tractor implement from farmer friends in Missoula. We were trying out using their plastic bed shaper/ mulch layer with the biodegradable plant-based weed paper that we use (the black "plastic" you see in the caterpillar tunnels is not truly plastic, but an alternative we've been experimenting with, which we can remove and compost at the end of the season). It was a late night, with plenty of frustrations, but the pressure to have just one day to learn and return the tool forced us to push through, and now the pie pumpkins, carving pumpkins, and melons are all in the ground and growing.
And in the midst of all that, there was also a move of chickens to new pasture, a turnover of beds from spring greens to summer crops, the start of full-scale harvests for our grower's co-op, and a lot of good eating. A LOT of eating, and so much of it green.
We have some really lovely things coming into the farmstore now: loads of baby greens, really sweet crisp leaf lettuces and butter head lettuces, snow peas, boc choi, scallions....and soon, first a trickle and hopefully before we know it a flood, some of the summer things. We'll pick the first tiny handful of cucumbers and summer squash this week, so watch for those, along with some baby carrots, coming soon.
We'll be stocking the farmstore for member pickup this Tuesday, 3;30- 6:00 pm, as we usually do on Tuesdays, but remember it is open all the time, self-serve and ready for you! We're about to need to turn on a second cooler to make room for everything. Members, feel free to fill up at market (remember, we advise getting to market before 10:00 for feedbag fills, to maximize your selections). We're into the season where there are very few limitations, so just load up with whatever fits comfortable in your bag, and enjoy!
The rest of today's harvest is calling, so we'll just leave you with a few photos, and our thanks for all your support and encouragement and appreciation of this food. It's summer now, but it's really just the start of eating season!
