EatWell Natural Farm Week 20

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...

Commissary crew harvesting Green Beans

An assortment of peppers

Someone's been eating my cucumbers

Production and Distribution

Here is the Commissary crew sorting through all the cucumbers they harvested...

Tomatoes packed and strapped in for delivery

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. 

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. 

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. 

Gayle fills trays with potting soil

The Gayle pencil technique of making holes for seeds

4 trays of seeds, Broccoli, Cabbage, Brussel Sprouts and Raddichio

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

Tuna featuring farm tomatoes at Logan Tavern

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. 

EatWell Natural Farm Week 19

This week's restaurant visit was from The Heights. I wasn't able to take pictures but I swear it happened. They helped pick cucumbers and learned a thing or two about what goes into growing real good food. 

Harvest

Cucumbers and Tomatoes are in full swing. Zucchini and Squash are slowing down but still need to be picked every few days. 

50.6lb of Cucumbers.

     

90lbs of Tomatoes

Volunteer Chris harvesting Sungolds and snacking
as he goes

Cherry Tomato Bounty

Production and Distribution

Delivery to Grillfish

Delivery to The Pig

We hosted a different kind of production at the farm this week. Chris here is a local sound designer for the theatre. He came out Wednesday to volunteer and loved the sound of the farm so much he came back on Sunday to record it and do a little more work. The birds, crickets, breeze and Bees of EatWell Natural Farm may appear on a stage near you in the future. 

We really do have a lovely soundscape

Chris was most excited about recording the bees

Cultivation and Maintenance

Sugar Baby Watermelon

The rain we were so inundated with has fallen off the map. This whole week the showers have missed us or been only a drizzle. So, I've been irrigating. Things like these Watermelons and Cantaloupe need the water to fill out. 

Snow Leopard Cantaloupe

Vine Bore Damage

Some of our Squash and Zucchini have fallen victim to vine bores. They are the caterpillar of a stout dark grey moth with hairy red hind legs. They lay eggs on the vine. When the eggs hatch the larvae burrow into the vine at soil level and eat it from the inside. You don't know this has happened until you see the whole plant wilt at once. By then it is usually too late to save it. 

I had another great volunteer this weekend. Suzi helped harvest and weed and we put this row cover over two rows of newly seeded brassicas to keep out pests.

Planting

Finally got some more planting done this week. Chris helped me plant some Arugula, Kale, Lettuce, Chard and Beets. Thanks Chris!

Eating Well

Vichyssoise from Commissary

Rockfish and Squash and Zucchini
At Logan Tavern

Grilled Carrots and Zucchini along with Sauteed Green Beans
at my house

Chef Ramos made me a special veggie sandwich at The Heights
Grilled Squash and Zucchini with our tomatoes and Cucumbers.

Kellog's Breakfast and Gary O'Sena Tomatoes,
I converted two "I hate tomatoes" this week

Puddy Time

Helpin harvest Chard

Duck hunting anyone?

Come back any time Suzi!

EatWell Natural Farm Week 18

Grillfish came to visit the farm this week. They had a tour, did some work and enjoyed lunch and the pool. 

Touring the farm

Grillfish staff

We also had a less welcome visitor Monday morning. Remember last week when I set a trap for whatever was eating the tomatoes? Well, I caught a skunk. When you set a trap you have to be prepared to deal with whatever you catch and I was not prepared for this. Luckily, Emil our beekeeper and handyman was on site and was willing to relocate the skunk for me. I still had to cover the trap in a tarp and move it up the hill and away from the veggies. Puddy and I went home smelling awful and she still smells a bit skunky, even after a week and a bath.

Harvest

Emil harvested 2 honey frames!

Chapeau de Frade Peppers

Asstd Tomatoes and Basil

Cherry Tomatoes

A Cucumber as big as my arm!

Grillfish helped harvest Edamame

Edamame Harvest

Production and Distribution

Washing Red Sails Lettuce

Washing Yellow Squash

Delivery at The Heights

Delivery to The Pig

Cultivation and Maintenance

When we harvested the Edamame we cut the plants at the base and left the roots in the ground. We did this because they are a legume and they fix nitrogen into the soil. Nitrogen is one of the main plant nutrients that we often add with fertilizer so in this case the Edamame plants did it for us. You can see little nodules on the roots below, that's where the magic happens. 

Here's another place where nature does our cultivating for us. This bee is pollinating the Squash for me.

I also got a few of the guys from Grillfish to spread some gravel in my cleaning areas for me. There is an aggregate yard nearby where I went to buy 1 ton of gravel for the job.

Loading 1 ton of gravel into the truck

Gravel

Takin care of business

Well Done.

Melons needing weeding

Weeded.

Tomatoes needing Trellised

Trellised.

Eating Well

The Pig ended up with one of the honey frames. They cut some of the honey comb into cubes and covered it with chocolate and sea salt. Holy wow were they good....

Chocolate Covered Honey Comb with Sea Salt

Blush Cherry Tomatoes and Cauliflower at Commissary

Chocolate Zucchini Campfire Cake for the farmer's birthday. :)

Puddy Time

Puddy enjoyed hanging out with the group from Grillfish but spent most of the week at home. We had a crazy heat wave and it was just too darn hot to be a black dog out in the sun. 

This dog knows how to cool off.