When Ray's oldest son moved into his house in Mineral Springs last year, the first thing we noticed was a beautiful apple tree in the front year. One of Ray's favorite pasttimes is pulling fruit from a tree - it reminds him of his youth when he stole fruit from orange trees around his Dad's house in Florida. Trust me when I say I have to restrain him when he sees a fruit tree anywhere! This week he was able to harvest beautiful Union County, spray-free apples from this tree so we could share them with you. We don't know the variety, but they are sweet and crispy and perfect for apple pies or fresh eating. They have been a welcome change from blueberries at our house.

 

The young lady that has been in the booth during the last two weeks is my daughter, Cristina. I have been recovering from a very bad allergic reaction to a insect bite on my upper lip. I was not a pretty sight! Cristina became very involved with the farm since she volunteered during my earlier handicap (it's been quite a year!) and we are thrilled she wants to be part of the family business. I have been spending the last two Saturday mornings with my granddaughter Raquel. After 5 years of 7 days a week farm work, it's been wonderful to switch gears for a day and enjoy the farm through the eyes of a toddler. She already takes the lead in feeding the horses and donkey and makes sure the chicken is where she needs to be. She still hasn't learned the difference between a flower we can pick and a plant we don't pick, but we are working on it.

 

The weather continues to be a challenge. We have not benefited from any of the rain showers that have passed through the area over the past two weeks. We are hand and drip hose watering, which will keep plants alive but will not give them enough to really thrive. Our tomato plants are loaded with green tomatoes, but with the loss of our first planting because of too much water all at once, we will be sharing tomatoes a bit later in the season than we had hoped. Other farmers in our area have seen their corn crop dry up in the field before getting any harvest. The early rains made the corn grow very tall with lots of leaf but with shallow root systems because they did not have to "go deep" for water. Now the rain has stopped when the corn needs water to form kernels. The large leaf area is transpiring lots of water in the heat. All these factors mean very little local corn in this end of the county. The Matthews Farmer's Market has cancelled it's annual Corn Roast fund raiser due to lack of corn.

 

We are busy sowing seed for fall crops of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce. Even though it is the heat of the summer, these crops will be put in to mature into the cooler weather and mature before frost. Some crops, such as collards, Brussels sprouts and carrots actually benefit from a light frost. If you are interested in some plants to try in your own yard or in containers on the patio, please let me know. I would be happy to include some in your share.

 

What are those bundles of sticks in our booth this week? That's rosemary wood, which is wonderful on the grill when used like you would mesquite wood chips. Soak the sticks in water for at least 20 minutes then put them on the coals or in your grill's smoke box to create a wonderful rosemary smoke flavor to your meat and veggies.