Sorry it has taken me so long to blog again I have been extremely busy at the farm. There is so much going on. Everyday myself and Martin have been cleaning up the field little by little. We are trying to get it done before the end of the month. I hope all of you are enjoying our pie pumpkins this year. They turned out exceptionally well. This is week 18 of our C.S.A, this is going to be the last week of distribution. I can't thank everyone enough for signing up! It has been a great year on the farm. The one thing I love about farming is that you learn something new every year. If you have followed my blog, I never blog about anything negative that happens on the farm. The reason is because the positives outweigh the negatives in such a landslide. The one thing I try to do is make the best possible growing environment for my veggies. Farming vegetables and any crop can be difficult because everything is so reliant on the weather. We had a few crops this year that did not do well.
Onions:
We planted a zillion onions and not a one developed. We attribute this to the extended wet and cold spring we had. We planted all of our onion bulbs with our planter in the ground conventionally. Next year we will do it this way as well. Although we will grow half of our onion's in the plastic to see if that make's a difference. In retrospect we would have distributed scallions a few more times if I would have known they were not going to turn out. Although hindsight is alway's 20/20.
Melons:
This year we planted all of our melons on our southern most rows on the farm. These rows were to the left, right as you would drive in. This turned out to be a mistake. The weather was not super great for growing melons they developed late across the state. This although was not the issue. I totally underestimated the capability of a chipmunk. I found out this year that in the tall grass in the ditch their is a bunch of rocks, large Rocks. The state or DOT puts these rocks in the ditch I am assuming to curb erosion problems from the rain on steep grades. I found out they are a haven for chipmunks. These little guys had a nice time in our melon patch this year. The remedy for this is moving the melons farther away, which should not be a problem with thirty acres.
Spring Crops:
All of our spring crops turned out quite nicely. Their was no major issue in the development & we had little or no disease. I was glad the Kohlrabi was such a smash hit. Also the lettuce's we grew this year could compete with the finest.
Summer Crops:
All of our summer crops other then the two mentioned above turned out quite well. The tomato's matured a little faster then I would have liked due to the heat. This week their will be green peppers in the box. In total we have distributed peppers five weeks. This is excellent with the direct blast of Wind the pepper's found their way in. This fall we are going to plant a shelter belt along the fence line to reduce the possibility of heavy winds hitting that plot directly. I almost forgot to mention the top notch eggplant & potato's we received almost the entire season.
Fall Veggie's:
All of the fall crops have turned out great. The squash have all been excellent. The sprouts have been great as well. I also am glad that most everyone has taken so well to the sprouts. We have really mastered getting them to grow. Also we have enjoyed an excellent crop of pie pumpkins.
Herb Beds:
Our first major herb bed was a nice addition to the farm. We planted about fifteen different varieties in the bed. Please cut as much as you would like since this is the last week. They will grow back next year.
NEW & EXCITING NEWS:
I think I am becoming a little bit garlic crazy. It is quite an amazing little plant. I ordered twelve pounds of heirloom garlic cloves and it will be going in the ground this week, they will be ready next summer. I have never grown garlic before so hopefully we get a nice yield. So if all goes as planned we should have garlic in Next years C.S.A. boxes. Also I will post our 2012 strain list for our C.S.A in November. That will be the first chance I have to sit down and go through my seed catalogs. All of the staples we received this year will stay on list, if you have a suggestions on a veggie you would like Bass farms to grow in the future email me.
What I am most proud of is the fact that we did not spray one chemical on our veggie fields. NOT ONE PESTICIDE OR HERBICIDE!!! YIPPEEE
BOX 18:
The last box will be a surprise! We will have some great item's in it.
Once Again I can't thank everyone enough for signing up. It means a lot to me and Brenna. Also the staff @ Bass Farms is exceptionally great-ful to all of the members that were in our 2011 season as well.
Thanks Again
Chris
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