It’s been a dry few weeks, so the rain last night was a blessing. Only a quarter inch, so not much compared to the inch weekly needed for most vegetable crops, but we’ll take what we can get. And since we already had some sprinklers running, we didn’t let a little rain dampen our enthusiasm for getting the potatoes watered.
In the field, beets are ready, and the first planting of mini romaine and multi leaf lettuces looks beautiful. Cucumbers are coming on strong in the greenhouse, and we are seeing the first cherry tomatoes as well. Asparagus is still holding on for one more week, and it looks like the strawberries made a bit of a comeback after being baked and dried in the heat at the end of last week. Garlic scapes are now in full swing, and we have a few green onions available as well. In a few weeks the carrots should be ready, so we’re looking forward to those as well.
This week in CSA we have Mini Romaine, Garlic Scapes, Green Onions, Arugula, Beets, Asparagus, a few Cherry Tomatoes, and Oregano.
We haven’t really had rain since we cut hay just over two weeks ago, so the pastures haven’t grown back very quickly. We had a few spots left un cut for the sheep these last few weeks, but they were getting sparse. What continues to amaze me though, is that with rotational grazing, even when it’s dry, there is still green grass to move the sheep onto. And now that they are off of that paddock, it can grow back for later in the summer.
The chickens are still growing out on pasture, just not quite as fast as they would have a month ago. The heat really gets to them and they won’t eat for most of the day. On the hottest days we’ve been trying to help them beat the heat by misting them with water a few times per day, but you can still tell they would rather a cooler summer day. One more week and they will be freezer ready so we’ll try our best to keep them comfy until then. Also, if you want a fresh chicken next week, shoot us an email, or take your chances on our inventory at market. This batch the birds will be smaller than the previous two, and since half chickens were so popular from the last batch we’ll be doing more of them this batch too.
Well that’s about all the news I can remember right now. We could still use some more rain, so if you see any rainclouds, blow them over our direction.
Happy ordering!
Nathan and Aleta Klassen
https://www.localline.ca/nith-valley-organics
