I always thought there should be a show on TV called “The Dirt”. It would be a panel of five to six farmers sitting around a table not talking over each other. Like the exact opposite of “The View” and equally not at all like “The Voice”. Just a few farmers saying very little about today’s news while looking at their boots. Celebrity guests could come on the show and go on and on about themselves without fear of being interrupted. I’d watch that show.
Anyway, a few announcements then on to our story for this week!
If you plan to order MeatShare please do so now. We need the order by the 29th, which is today.
While you are thinking about it, please get your orders in for all the other items we sell like salmon, fruit, cheese, eggs, ice cream, and coffee. All of these come from small family farms/businesses and are simply delicious! They are great compliments to our veggies.
We still have plenty of shares left. Spread the word. Or, if you think you could eat more upgrade your existing share. Contact me if you have questions.
If you feel like you need some fresh air and exercise please don’t hesitate to volunteer. As Susan says, “The plants are growing and need some hoeing!”
I’m not sure when the season will start. Most likely the week of June 25th though it could be the week prior.
Farm News
With the recent release of the new movie “Soil: A Farm Wars Story” I thought I would share a little dirt on our farm. For those keeping score at home we have three types of soil here on the farm: Lindstrom silt loam, Waukegan silt loam and Baytown silt loam; please vote now for your favorite soil. Being silt loam soils, all of these are good for farming. They have moderate organic matter, high available water capacity and moderate permeability. The surface layer is from 11 to 37 inches deep. What more could you ask for? Maybe just little less slope in some areas. For a brief history on how this soil got here check out this page.
Which brings me to my next topic: weather. We’ve had our share of it this season. From winter to summer with no spring in between (I feel there is a matress joke in there somewhere). This is hard on our cool season crops like peas and lettuce — and on our workers. They prefer cooler temps like what is typical this time of year and so do the cool season crops. But it is good for some of our summer crops — except those we just recently transplanted, which we watered with the sweat from our brows as we planted them. Hopefully it will cool off soon so the spring crops and farm workers have a chance. Besides the heat we got a deluge of rain last week that washed out some of our more sloped areas. A couple broccoli plants found a new home downhill. I prefer rain that comes at a much slower rate.
Other than weather and soil there are pests and diseases. That discussion will have to wait for another time.
As always, do not hesitate to contact me with questions, comments, suggestions, new orders, or anything else that might interest me.