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CSA Week 9: With Help From Our Friends
News
Expected Harvest
#9 Divine
by Farmer Dana
Sweet and hot pepper patch looking mulched by way of string trimming tall weeds.
Harvest #9 (Week A) should include carrots, beets, cabbage, lettuce, zucchini, cucumbers, swiss chard, italian dandelion, cilantro, dill, basil, parsley, and fresh garlic. Tomatoes, eggplant, and sweet peppers should begin slowly this week. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include cherry/grape tomatoes, green/string/snap beans, flowers, and herbs.
Notes From The Field
Much Rain Some Gain
by Farmer Derek
Just another pollinator super worker on cosmos in the cut flower patch.
Another hot and bustling week has come and gone. It was a quasi-duplicate of the week before with mid-90s dealt with midweek prior to a serious rain event. At the farm we faired better than some; all of the destructive thunderstorms kept a safe distance while providing some stellar light shows. While closing the gates Friday evening I marveled at the sights in the sky as the sun set basking various types of cumulonimbus clouds in some dazzling shades of orange, purple, white, gray, blue, etc. It was a glorious sight only made possible by profound atmospheric disturbance seen from atop a rolling Bucks County hillscape. The chittering swallows and air-dolphin goldfinches swooping and flying over the beautiful farmscape contributed to the spectacle.
A major milestone was met as we ended the week: seven thousand strawberry tips were planted for the 2022 harvest season. That monumental task was split by Elsa, which actually made planting easier by moistening the soil for us. Besides the harvesting of a few thousand pounds of zucchini and cucumbers last week, we also transplanted more beans, lettuce, cilantro, and dill; pruned, clipped, and trellised multiple rounds of tomatoes; prepped the soil for and tarped the fall carrot patch in hopes to promote weed seed germination followed by termination; cultivated various crops; and started the big carrot harvest.
This morning, with the help of 50 or so CSA members and farmers we harvested approximately 12,000 garlic plants and tied and hung around 11,522 of them. The remaining few hundred await our attention and some will be given out 'fresh' for a few weeks. To be honest and very happy to report, the bulbs look the best they have in years if not ever here. Thank you everyone who came out and helped today!
Workshifts This Week (7/12/21)
by Farmer Derek
Farmers Sarah and Pat hanging garlic to cure during Sunday's workshift.
Due to the weather forecast, this is a difficult week to plan for. We still need to harvest 5 of 8 carrot beds as well as beets, and also process garlic in the barn. If the weather is decent and the soil isn't too wet we'll focus on the carrots. If it's hot or wet we'll probably process garlic.
This week's workshift schedule:
  • Tuesday 7/13 10am-12pm (s/b carrot harvesting - kid friendly)
  • Wednesday 7/14 8-10am (s/b carrot harvesting - kid friendly)
  • Wednesday 7/14 6-8pm (s/b ?? depends on weather; if wet or hot may process garlic in barn)
  • Friday 7/16 8-10am (s/b carrot harvesting - kid friendly)
  • Sunday 7/18 8-10am (s/b ??)
Please bring gloves, water, a hat, and sturdy shoes! We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.
Perennial CSA member and weeknight and weekend workshift leader Jeff after Sunday's garlic harvest workshift (and farm dog Finch).