DIGGING RUSHTON FARM

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With the heat of summer upon us and the crops growing rapidly in the fields we are preparing for the bounty of summer vegetables that are becoming more prominent in our harvest list each week.  

The first tomatoes have been picked and there are many more to come.  Peppers and eggplant are fruiting as are the cantaloupe and watermelon that are vining out through our north field.  The annual and perennial flowerbeds are overflowing with color as the flowers bloom and stretch into the summer sky.  Love 'em or hate 'em, even the okra and lima beans are looking good.

With over a 150 varieties of fruit and vegetables being grown at Rushton Farm we are committed to trying to provide a full complement of seasonal produce.  There are some crops that we do not grow due to the size constraints of the farm, most notably corn and orchard fruit.  These are also crops that are difficult to grow using organic methods- and Rushton Farm adheres strictly to growing using organic methods.   

Even so, we understand that corn and peaches are a part of summer fare so we will occasionally be offering corn and fruit for sale as add-ons to your weekly share.  All add-on items are sourced locally from orchards and farms that I have known and worked with for years.  Although many of these items may be farmed conventionally they come from sustainable farms and farmers who take great care in the crops they tend.

As we continue through the season we may be adding more add-on items such as cheese and bread.  We would appreciate any suggestions from our members as to what you would like to see in addition to your bountiful weekly share of produce from Rushton Farm. 

 -Fred 

  This month we are trying to reclaim the boundary between the wild and cultivated plants on the farm by employing several strategies of weed management. Weeds are defined simply as any plant growing in a place where it is not wanted. Weeds can be problematic not only because they compete with cultivated crops for moisture, nutrients and light but because they can also act as hosts for pests and disease that can spread to crops.  I should point out that there are benefits to weeds as well.  They can act as a trap crop for pests and can be great accumulators of hard to access nutrients but that is a subject for another newsletter.

 Last year we recognized that Canadian thistle was becoming a common problem in our fields and in response have kept one of our most problematic fields out of production.  In the spring we used the tractor to cultivate the soil multiple times, every three weeks or so, in an attempt to exhaust the rhizomes of this tenacious plant.  We then threw down a cover crop of buckwheat which we are hoping will out-compete and smother the thistle.

Mulching is another weed management tool which we are using on our melons and winter squash.  We use straw to prevent sunlight from reaching weed seeds and as an added benefi,t reduce water loss.  Manual weed control in the form of hoeing and hand weeding is our most common and effective weed management tool.  I have been told by many mentors that the ideal stage to hoe is when you don't have any weeds.  On our scale this is a virtual impossibility but the theory is that if you can use a tool like a collinear hoe to penetrate the soil no deeper than ½ inch you will prevent weed seeds from germinating and the root radicals of the tiniest weeds will be left on the surface of the soil to dry out in the sun. 

The next best strategy and one used more commonly by us is to use a "hula"or "stirrup" hoe to disrupt the root system of more established weeds and leave them to desiccate in the sun.  This is best done in dry conditions to avoid smearing of the soil.  Hand weeding becomes necessary when weeds get to big to hoe.  Plants are more easily loosened when there is some moisture in the soil. Care should be taken not to disrupt the roots of the cultivated crops and on a garden scale it is best to take the weeds out of the garden to your compost pile as long as they have not gone to seed. 

On our scale, we leave the weeds in the pathway to act as mulch, taking care not to walk over the plants we have just pulled and avoid helping the plants re-root.  Morning glory or "bindweed" is one plant that I suggest taking out of the field when possible as it will re-root very easily. 
   

- Ashley