FARM REPORT: August 2007
Farm Report – August 2007
As I write this, the temperature is approaching 100o, and Charlie is in Maine! And the farm is thriving.
One of the major challenges in operating a farm for a CSA is finding the right people to take on the different jobs that need to be covered, and now, almost half-way through the CSA season, it seems that Charlie has the right people. In addition to his wife Gina and their children Mae (12) and Conor (8), his team includes Amy and Mateo. Amy has the responsibility to prepare the shares for the market pick-up. (It was Amy who convinced Charlie that he could take a few days off to join his family in Maine). Mateo has assumed much of the responsibility for the field work – harvesting the crops, cleaning up the beds, and planting new seedlings. And, indeed, the field looks great as the rows of tomatoes stretch beyond their 7 ft. supports and some rows look ready to be replanted.
While the weather is going through a hot spell, and rain has been sparse, the fertile beds are surviving quite well. One of the concerns as the season started was whether the wells could support extensive irrigation, but the rains have been frequent enough so that the need for irrigation has been limited.
Another interesting development that has developed during the year is that Charlie is connecting with other organic farmers in the area, including Caryn Phillips and Tony Lagano. Caryn has continued farming part of the land that previously provided produce for Sprout. Tony has a small (40 member) CSA based in Louisa County. Charlie has arranged to trade some of his excess crops (such as eggplant and cucumbers) for chard and potatoes and onions, providing more diversity for our shares.
Insects continue to be a challenge. Japanese Beatles have been more-or-less controlled by the bug-bags, but they severely impacted the bush bean crop. The crops have been protected from Flea Beatles and Harlequin Bugs by the use of Reemay® row covers.
As beds are finished (such as the corn), the old plants are pulled and the beds are “solarized”. This process involves taking up the plastic mulch and the drip tape, working more compost into the bed and then covering the bed with clear plastic sheeting which allows the sun to heat the beds to the point where weed seeds are killed to a 2 inch depth. Then the plastic is removed, drip tape replaced and the bed is reseeded and covered with burlap. These beds are then irrigated regularly for a week and seeds will sprout in 3-7 days, at which point the row covers are put in place.
So expect some of the “spring vegetables” in the next few weeks – including lettuce, arugula, beets, cabbage and turnips. And, of course, the summer crops will continue – tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, squash melons … and we should start to get pole beans.
John Gallini, SPROUT Member and CORE Volunteer
As I write this, the temperature is approaching 100o, and Charlie is in Maine! And the farm is thriving.
One of the major challenges in operating a farm for a CSA is finding the right people to take on the different jobs that need to be covered, and now, almost half-way through the CSA season, it seems that Charlie has the right people. In addition to his wife Gina and their children Mae (12) and Conor (8), his team includes Amy and Mateo. Amy has the responsibility to prepare the shares for the market pick-up. (It was Amy who convinced Charlie that he could take a few days off to join his family in Maine). Mateo has assumed much of the responsibility for the field work – harvesting the crops, cleaning up the beds, and planting new seedlings. And, indeed, the field looks great as the rows of tomatoes stretch beyond their 7 ft. supports and some rows look ready to be replanted.
While the weather is going through a hot spell, and rain has been sparse, the fertile beds are surviving quite well. One of the concerns as the season started was whether the wells could support extensive irrigation, but the rains have been frequent enough so that the need for irrigation has been limited.
Another interesting development that has developed during the year is that Charlie is connecting with other organic farmers in the area, including Caryn Phillips and Tony Lagano. Caryn has continued farming part of the land that previously provided produce for Sprout. Tony has a small (40 member) CSA based in Louisa County. Charlie has arranged to trade some of his excess crops (such as eggplant and cucumbers) for chard and potatoes and onions, providing more diversity for our shares.
Insects continue to be a challenge. Japanese Beatles have been more-or-less controlled by the bug-bags, but they severely impacted the bush bean crop. The crops have been protected from Flea Beatles and Harlequin Bugs by the use of Reemay® row covers.
As beds are finished (such as the corn), the old plants are pulled and the beds are “solarized”. This process involves taking up the plastic mulch and the drip tape, working more compost into the bed and then covering the bed with clear plastic sheeting which allows the sun to heat the beds to the point where weed seeds are killed to a 2 inch depth. Then the plastic is removed, drip tape replaced and the bed is reseeded and covered with burlap. These beds are then irrigated regularly for a week and seeds will sprout in 3-7 days, at which point the row covers are put in place.
So expect some of the “spring vegetables” in the next few weeks – including lettuce, arugula, beets, cabbage and turnips. And, of course, the summer crops will continue – tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, squash melons … and we should start to get pole beans.
John Gallini, SPROUT Member and CORE Volunteer
Labels: Farm Report
posted by powdered @ 6:03 PM
2 Comments:
Thanks, John. This report is so informative and enjoyable to read.
John, thank you for the updates.
Would you please send out a quick email to the membership? I am interested in helping create a SPROUT cookbook. If anyone is interested in helping please contact me at
conner.jen@gmail.com
thank you
jennifer conner
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