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Farm News From Farmer Paige-
So far we've had a great season. We've received rain just when we really need it, we've stayed on schedule with all of our plantings and we've enjoyed planting in land that's only previously seen cover crops.
Spring meets summer v1.0
This time right around the end of May and beginning of June we start noticing so many remarkable changes around the farm. It's hard to watch our spring crops become weakened by the longer days, warmer soils, and heat, but it's awesome to watch how quickly our summer plants grow with a little warmth. This is my favorite harvest season...right as we get the onset and early crops of summer and the lingering spring crops.
A little about plant families and seasonality
 Brassicas--collards, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, turnips, rutabaga, radish, arugula, tat soi, mizuna, bok choi, Chinese cabbage, mustard greens, kohlrabi, and much more
We plant brassicas in two distinct times during the year: spring and fall. We try to plant some of the shorter maturity crops such as arugula, radish, and some turnips all season long, hoping that they withstand the heat of the summer. The larger crops (the first 5 listed above), we transplant four times during the year. Twice in the winter (late Jan/early Feb) and in the summer (late July/early August). By offsetting our planting dates, we ensure continual harvest and protection in case of a bad weather event.
Chenopods--beets, chard, spinach, amaranth, lamb's quarters
The chenopods are similar to the brassicas in planting timing. We plant chenopods in successions, the chard, beets, and spinach in the spring and fall and the amaranth and lamb's quarters in the summer (both easy to grow summer greens). Fortunately chard and beets can handle heat fairly well in our environment. Certain varieties of chard like Perpetual Spinach will produce throughout the summer.
Umbelliferates-- carrots, dill, parsley, parsnip, fennel
These are spring and fall crops. We sometimes try to extend our early carrot varieties into the summer. Hopefully this year these late plantings will work. Parsley does great for us in the summer, but dill and cilantro bolt quickly in the heat. We plant parsnips in the late summer and dig post frost or store all winter long!
Solanaceous--potatoes,  tomatoes, peppers, eggplant
Our first potatoes will be harvested very soon. We've got 9 great looking varieties and we're hopeful for a bountiful crop this year. Potatoes are planted in early March (here, anyway).
Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant as you likely know enjoy warm, rich soils. They take a while so getting them started early is a good idea. We grow 7 successions of tomatoes because, well, most people tend to like them. We grow over 60 varieties of tomatoes, about 10 hybrid types and 50 heirlooms. Half of our tomato acreage is in heirlooms and half in hybrids. Hopefully you'll enjoy what both types have to offer in taste as well as yield and longevity.
Legumes-- peas,  beans, soybeans
Our sugar snap and snow peas are in their quick decline, but black eyed peas and other Southern peas are in store for this summer.
Beans and edamame are a fairly quick crop and we'll have several successions throughout the season.
Cucurbit--  squash, zucchini, cucumber
We're planting a few varieties of winter squash this year: acorn, delicata, butternut, and spaghetti squash. We'll harvest those fruits in mid-late July and cure and store them for the fall and wintertime.
Summer squash and zucchini are grown in successions. These are fairly quick summer crops and don't need much to produce lots of fruit. Both of these crops do however have many pests and common diseases.
Watermelon and muskmelon take a little while and need a bit of space but enjoy our warm dry weather here. We grow a couple different colors of watermelon, yellow, orange, and red fleshed. Can't wait for melons.
Allium-- onion, green onion,  leek, garlic, chives
We're harvesting all of our onions this week. We grow a couple of different kinds. This year we have less storage onions and more sweet onions which unfortunately don't keep well. We'll be giving you larger amounts of onions over the next month. We'll also cure a few onions and save these for later in the season. We really wish we could grow more storage onions and save them for each week in the season, but our short day length in the summer makes this difficult.
Garlic, however, can store for a long time. We'll give green garlic, lightly cured garlic, cured garlic, and more garlic. (All this assuming our harvest in a week or two is bountiful.) Garlic harvest is a fun time. Pulling the bulbs, tying them up, hanging them to dry...a very enjoyable day during the season.
Well, I believe that's all the major veggie families. I know there are many more, but identifying and sorting vegetables by these major categories helps me to organize what happens on the farm. Perhaps it'll help you organize your cooking or your harvests.
Also, if you garden, remember to try to rotate these crop families (especially if you have pest or disease issues). It'll help tremendously!
Hope you guys enjoy your harvest this week!
Paige
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Find recipes here.
This week's share prediction (shares will contain most of the items below):
(subject to change since we haven't harvested everything yet)
carrots
squash/zucchini!
onions
cauliflower (or broccoli)
turnips
head lettuce(s) herbs
kohlrabi
collards or kale
mustard greens
maybe more!
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