October

 

It's not over; the tomatoes

 

I love tomato season

 

Tomato season is here!!!

 

Melons

 A cloudy day following transplanting 

  Is about perfect 

Especially for the melons;  they don't enjoy the process 

100 years ago

 When I was young 

 We never even considered putting them out until May 15-20

Even then,  we'd put milk jugs over them to create a mini hot house 

 It worked ok.   

  Back then I'm not sure I even dreamed of growing them in a greenhouse 

Now it seems somewhere between luxury and necessity 

    

 See you at the market Saturday 

j

Transplanting has begun!!

 

Tomatoes progressing nicely We need rain

 

Tomatoes in a few weeks

 

tomatoes, daffodils, melons

 

Tomatoes!!

 

Tomatoes 2023

 Tomatoes 2023

Yesterday, a rain day,  felt like the right time.

  Maybe restlessness,  or maybe I'm more patient on a rain day.

 I never wear a watch when planting.   I need to be free of all that. 

25 varieties of tomatoes.   

   I predict (hope) fresh tomatoes June 15th 

      - also, poblano and aji amarillo peppers 

  

Starting tomatoes soon

 

Tomato galette

 

Pumpkin time of year

 

Honey; soon

 

More Melons!!

 

Selling schedule

Plenty tomatoes.   Melons very soon   

 I'll be selling them Wednesdays at Mother Earth gardens down in Longfellow 3-6pm 

   Saturdays at the mill city farmers market 8am-1pm 

 

Awful dry out here

 

  Yesterday we tilled the sweet corn under 

 Poor germination and too many weeds 

   33 years of corn.   None this year 

  I'm a little fearful,  but not sad about it 

....... in the afternoon I made the new market logo 

I like it 

 Whimsical 

  The spiral reflects the melon tendrils and my favorite bread scoring design 

Tomatoes and melons soon

 

Crop report

Crop report 

Awful dry out here,  so the crops are a bit of a mixed bag 

  - Melons look very good. Many many small fruit.   Two greenhouses full and two small fields.  Probably the most plants ever 

    Should have ripe melons the latter half of July 

   - tomatoes are beautiful and excellent fruit set.   Two greenhouses full of them ... seems like they're a little behind normal.   For about a month I've been saying two weeks until ripe.   I suppose eventually it'll be true 

  - winter wheat and newly seeded alfalfa look good enough.

• pumpkins emerged nicely and I think about average/normal crop 

Sadly,  the squash planted a week later did not fair as well; The ground was quite dry by then, and not a single squash has emerged.  Not one. 

   I'm holding out a little hope because I'm not sure who I'll be without a squash crop .

   The sweet corn about the same as the squash.   I usually plant every week for 6-8 weeks,  but stopped planting because it wasn't germinating in the dry soil,  so why continue .... I'm letting it go.  It's a bust I can not fix. 

   We're putting our efforts where there's return,  and try to get the most out of what we have. 

    I've had real good help, paid and volunteers, and am pleased with our progress