This week’s harvest: Cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, red onion, eggplant, garlic, beets, kale, chard, basil, lettuce mix,

Looking back at our CSA letters from last year, we had already been dishing out tomatoes by this time last year. This was our intention this year as well, having started hundreds of plants in January and planting them into our high tunnels in March. We went all out – planting an additional tunnel, inventing 2 new staking systems and keeping them frost-free without fossil fuels. We peeled 2 large inner plastic layers on and off them every morning and every night (given we don’t live on our farm this was quite a feat) and have pruned, weeded, watered and staked them. Much to our disappointment they just aren’t producing in either tunnel! In one tunnel the plants have a few tomatoes despite the lack of leaves (see picture below) and in another tunnel, our heirloom tomatoes, pruned to one main stem, are nearly touching the top of the 15 foot high tunnel but are not producing many tomatoes at all! Did they get too hot, too cold, not enough nutrients, too much water, or not enough? We can’t figure it out. This has been a humbling season for tomatoes for us, especially given our productivity last year and the fact that my Ph. D is in tomato diseases!

But, this is a good chance to explain to you why we have a CSA and a Farmers Market stand. We bring to farmers market items that we just don’t have enough of to give to our CSA members as well as items that you have received and we have a little extra. To make ends meet, we need income from both a CSA and a farmers market stand, but we always make sure that our CSA gets at least wholesale value throughout the season (often it comes out to about half the market value). Please know that summer crops start producing slowly, but we have A LOT planted in the field (including tomatoes) and that they will come on strong from mid-August until frost (usually the end of September).

Meanwhile, onions are beginning to bulb, peppers, eggplant and green tomatoes are swelling, and sunflowers are starting to pop. The farm is thriving and there is much to be grateful for this year, including our surplus of greens of all kinds!

As always, we look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Linley, Peter, Reid, Charlie, Tim, John