Week 11

I would love to tell you about all the fabulous food I made last week but all I can think of that I ate were eggs, peaches, tomatoes, burrata and tater tots.  I will have to see if I can pull it together a bit this week and feed myself a little better.  We did get some food put up for the winter though and that is a relief. 

With almost all our transplanting done we are focused on weeding and harvesting.  We had a year of horrible weed management in the front field by South Bay Road last year and killing weeds has been a never ending mission this season.  Most of that field is being doubled cropped which helps push down the weed bank.  Of course that is only if we stay on top of all the weeds that germinate this season.   When we hand weed beds we are only killing weeds that have germinated from the top couple inches or so of the soil.  There are still millions of weed seeds deeper in the soil.  Having multiple crops in the same year means you are working the field multiple times, bringing more weed seed to the top to germinate and be killed (hopefully).  The downside is that excessive tilling has a negative impact on the quality of the soil.  It can damage soil structure, decrease organic matter and effect the ability for the soil to hold water. 

Mechanical tilling, when it was first introduced, or even just mechanization in general, was a boon to farmers.  Suddenly farming became easier.  For example, cover crops and fertilizers could be worked into the soil better.  Previous crops could be tilled in quickly and beds made more level.   It is interesting to think about how what was once seen as progress and the way of the future is now looked at with concern...kinda like tater tots...which while horrible, really do taste amazing on a tired August afternoon.

Have a great week. 

Lettuce
Carrots
Cucumber
Napa Cabbage - I love this stuff! 
Celery - 
Potatoes -  Harvest Moon has a dark purple skin and a gold flesh. 
Tomato - Small Share
Cherry Tomato - Large Share
Broccoli - Large Share