In your share this week:
- 1 lb. bag of Spanish Roja Garlic
- Tomato assortment
- Zucchini or Squash
- Cucumbers
- Carrots
- Scallions
- Basil
- Peppers (1 each: Bell and Hungarian Wax)
- Cilantro - last of the season. By special request we were able to get one last small bunch of cilantro for everyone. It isn't in the best condition (most of it is bolting and/or damaged from being frozen too many times) but still good enough to make guacamole one more time. Enjoy!
"How did the veggies do from the cold last night?" Some crops are fine. Others, not so good.
We've had several very cold nights here on the farm in the past few weeks. The past two nights have probably been the coldest. It was only 26 degrees at 7 am in the big tomato greenhouse today - even with a heater running inside all night. Fortunately I saw only minimal damage to some leaves when I took the covers off the plants this morning.
Not all crops have faired well. The squash and zucchini are about 90% dead. I harvested everything off the plants that wasn't frozen and was big enough to eat. There were still some living parts of the plants underneath the frozen tops so we covered up the rows again (double covered even) and I'll see if there is anything for us to harvest again next week. Shain is really looking forward to planting the squash and zucchini in our new greenhouse next year. Hopefully then we'll be back to those years when there are so many squash and zucchini that we have to leave them in the neighbors unlocked cars at church when no one is looking.
Here's a run down on a few crops and how they faired in the cold:
Carrots - no damage from cold temperatures. They actually get sweeter this time of year.
Cucumbers - smack dab in the middle of greenhouse #4 by the heater. No damage. Should continue to do well.
Tomatoes - only minimal damage to some outer leaves. The tomatoes are just not ripening very quickly. Our yeilds are down by over 50% this same time last year. Even the plants are a few feet shorter than last year. We'll keep doing everything we can to keep the plants alive and pull them through the cold nights until it's just impossible to save them.
Potatoes - the tops of the plants are all dead now. Which means the potaotes have stopped growing and we can start digging them up.
Parsnips & Beets - lots of plants growing very well. Still small but will be ready in a few weeks to add to the shares when many other crops are over for the season.
Cilantro - dead.
Dill - mostly dead.
Parsley - doesn't mind the cold. Can actually thaw itself out and then be good to harvest in a day or two.
French Fillet Beans - this is another crop that isn't doing well this year. Slow to germinate (some first plantings never did grow) and now slow to develop. Some plants have dead leaves from freezing, but others are doing well. We'll see if they make it. They are getting covered everynight.
Salad - several new rows of salad planted. This is another crop that can freeze a little and still be ok to harvest a few days later. Shain also has some Romaine lettuce heads growing in a greenhouse for later in the season.
Peas - probably frozen. Didn't get a chance to look at the new peas that were just starting to grow.
Well, that's not everything we have growing here. But it gives you some idea of what we are watching and trying to help along.
Have a great week and ENJOY your veggies!
Tara
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