Summer is still going strong!
Another week has come and gone and here we are in the middle of August! This week marks the halfway point in our Farm Box CSA, which runs through the end of October, so while the summer is almost over for our interns, we are still in the height of the growing season. This week’s harvest definitely illustrated that, with our cucumber beds still going strong, sweet peppers pumping out more than 60 pounds of red bells and mini lunchbox peppers, and an abundant harvest of delicious, sweet Hale’s Best cantaloupes. While our tomato plants are slowing down, we still picked some beautiful heirlooms and cherry tomatoes this week, and our second planting should be coming into production in a few weeks.
As we continue chugging along with our summer crops, it is also time to be thinking about fall planting. We seeded two beds of carrots this week, and will begin planting lettuce, radishes, and beets again soon. The transition between the summer and fall seasons is always a little bumpy, since it can be difficult to shift focus to cool-weather crops while the days are still long, the sun hot, and we’re up to our eyeballs in melons and peppers. This is one of the reasons we take time every November to make the full planting schedule for the coming year, so that in the midst of the summer season, we don’t have to do too much difficult thinking about the when and where of our fall and winter crops. While we don’t always follow our well-laid plans, taking the time to make them sets important groundwork for this time of year.
-Colleen
