Summer Farm Dinner Series

Wow! We are experiencing the driest first 3 months of the year on record for our area. Despite that, we are happily pushing ahead with our 2013 main season.  By having some conservation practices already in place, we are well set up for a great growing year. Timing of when we water will be important though so we will throw that into all the other daily considerations that we make.

We are going to have to be vigilant about monitoring pests this year. Droughts usually increase pest pressure on crops in the fields and this year will be no exception. We’ve already noticed a lot of Cucumber beetle damage on our young summer squash transplants and there’s lots of evidence of flea beetles on our harvest of Mei Qing Pac Choi. The Pac Choi is still perfect for consumption but it does show the tell tale signs of little critters feasting.

We had to replace the motor on our 20 horse power electric pump, which had burned up, with a more efficient and cooler running one, always a good investment. As a matter of fact, we had to replace all of our pumps. Seems they all reached the end of their lives at the SAME time.

Each week a few more crops come on and it’s getting a little more active around the farm. We are very excited about the coming season. There are lots of new crops and varieties being planted which always makes things more interesting and offers a greater choice to our customers.

All four varieties of eggplant that we grow have been transplanted and seem to be spreading their roots into the soil nicely.  We are pushing the climate envelope growing eggplant around here but that is kind of our modus operandi, trying to grow things that aren’t normally grown close to the coast. Things are looking good so far and we will all enjoy the benefits of it.

On Sunday, we had a farm visit of 40 students from the Culinary Institute of America. This group of students was from far off Singapore.… Read the rest