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| Wild Orchid at the farm |
Harvest
Harvested this week: Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Zephyr Squash, Green Beans, Basil, Cilantro, Rainbow Chard, Lemon Grass, Thyme and Oxalis
This week's restaurant visit was from
Commissary. They harvested Green Beans and Cucumbers and made this adorable collage...
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| Commissary crew harvesting Green Beans |
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| An assortment of peppers |
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| Someone's been eating my cucumbers |
Production and Distribution
Here is the Commissary crew sorting through all the cucumbers they harvested...
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| Tomatoes packed and strapped in for delivery |
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| Some mornings my sink is full of spiders. Ick. |
Cultivation and Maintenance
We had some dry days so I was able to turn over a few beds where spring crops had come out and fall crops are going in. I added composted manure and tilled.
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| Stressed out fig |
Our fig tree is a bit stressed and is telling me about it with these yellow leaves. It could have been the hot dry weather or possibly a lack of nitrogen. I gave her a good drink of water with some fish emulsion. All the yellow leaves have fallen off now and there is new growth at the tips. Fingers crossed she'll be okay.
So I planted some collard greens and hoped to get a few harvests out of them but I knew it would be too hot for them to last long. Rather than growing them for production I have actually managed to use them effectively as a trap crop for the dreaded Harlequin Bug. This orange and black bug is pretty cool looking but devastates brassicas. That would be your Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Kale, Collard crowd. I plan to grow a lot of these this fall and hope that I can make a dent in this pest population. The collards have certainly attracted the Harlequins who have set up camp, laid eggs and whose eggs have hatched. Now I just have to kill them, pull the plants and dispose of them. Hopefully this will mean less pressure from this bug this fall.
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| Harlequin Bugs, mama and babies, on the Collards |
I also found more Black Swallowtail Moth Caterpillars on the Fennel and set them on the bird feeder as a special treat for our local avian friends. Good luck caterpillars.
Planting
Fall plants can be tricky to start by direct seeding so this week Gayle and I started a few trays of seeds. This way we can have more control over keeping the soil moist and conditions favorable for germination.
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| Gayle fills trays with potting soil |
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| The Gayle pencil technique of making holes for seeds |
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| 4 trays of seeds, Broccoli, Cabbage, Brussel Sprouts and Raddichio |
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| Potted Purslane for Chef Del at Logan Tavern |
Because it is still summer and we have had some very hot days with intense sun I rigged up this shade for the seedlings. This way they don't get dried out so quickly and are sitting near a hose in an area I frequently walk past. We started these on Monday and by Thursday they were all coming up happy.
Eating Well
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| Tuna featuring farm tomatoes at Logan Tavern |
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| Heirloom Tomato and Cucumber salad with Salmon and Scallops at Grillfish |
Puddy Time
Puddy loves laying on bare dirt and is really enjoying the transition from spring to fall as I turn some of these beds.
Puddy does not love that the tomato plants are sick with early blight and reflects my own feeling about it in this picture.
Puddy does not love that the tomato plants are sick with early blight and reflects my own feeling about it in this picture. 
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