Farm Update October 1, 2016

The end of the monsoon delivered nearly an inch of rain at the farm – 0.85″ in the last week. The total rainfall at the farm since late June is 8.01″ – a pretty good rainy season this year.

Lately we have planted two types of beets, onions, carrots, lettuce mix, salad mix and radishes. Today and tomorrow we will get in the parsnips, rutabagas, kales and various greens.

We have started removing the shadecloth from the growing beds in preparation for the fall and winter growing season.

If you have signed up for the fall/winter CSA season, your email address will be added to the next CSA newsletter email distribution list and you will start receiving emails in a few weeks.

As mentioned in earlier newsletters, if you would like to sign up for our next CSA season, we will continue taking payments/reservations for our 16-week fall/winter CSA share program, deliveries for which will begin the middle of November and run through the middle of March 2017. Shares will cost $250 for 16 weekly deliveries. We will have the forms at the markets this weekend and they are also available on our website, here.

okra plants full of blooms
okra plants full of blooms
Okra plants full of blooms
watermelons are almost ready

 

Farm Update Aug 6, 2016

It has been raining everywhere around us, but not at the farm. Since July 28 we have had only about 0.4″ of rain – less than a half-inch. It has been frustrating to watch it pour down in all directions, but just barely hit us. This is a good example of the spatially discontinuous nature of the monsoon rains. Maybe today.

Despite the lack of precipitation, it has been nice and humid; plus we have had several cloudy and cool days. These conditions are great for our crops, so they have been growing well.

The farm dinner at Agustín Kitchen has been postponed again, probably until sometime in late September or October. Please pardon the changing dates as we work with the restaurant to find a date that works for all parties involved. We will keep you informed as the planning proceeds.

In the meantime, we will be getting ready for the fall planting. Samantha, our summer intern, has finished her internship and returned to Las Cruces for the fall semester. We thank her for her help this summer! Steve is hanging in and putting in a lot of hours with me as we take up the slack. We have commitments from one person to start the first week of September, a wwoofer who says he will probably be here the last week of August, and a several applicants for fall internships. Bear with us as we bear down. (As Wildcat who spent 15 years studying at the UofA, I just couldn’t resist that reference 😉

IMG_0631_cornoditoroitaliansweetpeppers copy
Corno di toro Italian sweet peppers
IMG_0632_babyokra copy
Baby okra