Beausol Gardens 2009 CSA newsletter #7

Greetings, Beausol locavores:

First let me make a logistical plea to those who receive your shares pre-packaged in the recycled bags: please be sure to return your bags this week. We also will very much appreciate it if you could wipe out the bags before returning them. Thank you.

The farm is transforming as the season progresses - both quickly and slowly. The wrens in the barn breezeway have fledged.... at least I assume and hope so. Today they were all gone and Friday they were in the nest, packed in tight, huddled together looking mostly like real birds instead of the weird little wobbly mostly-mouth creatures they have been. The goldfinches seem to be quite randy these days: we watched four bright males streaking around the field in hot pursuit of a single female. It makes sense that their mating season is later since they are seed eaters and need to wait for the seeds to be available to raise young. I think I cannot decide if the bluebirds, goldfinches, cardinals or red-headed woodpeckers are my favorite birds to see. I
very much enjoy the flash of bright colors of each. I cannot tell how the phoebes are doing but the parents are still returning to the nest then swooping out to hunt again. The crows are
getting a little bolder hunting the fields. I can't tell what they are hunting.... hopefully not our seedlings. Some woodpecker has found the perfect tree in the pine woods south of the fileds to rap its territorial announcement. All day it seems to be filling the whole county with drumming.

Japanese beetles are increasing in numbers and damage caused. This week I went to get the flame weeder out and the propane tank was covered in little baby praying mantises. The lightening bugs are putting on a wonderful show each evening. I seldom see honeybees in the perennial flower beds, but Deb reports there are many there competing with the bumble bees. I see the honeybees mostly working the clover around the farm, but today, when I went to check on the summer squash, it sounded like a hive in swarm mode with all the honeybees working the squash flowers.... it reminds me of when the bees were working the crimson clover earlier this spring. I think it is time (probably past time) to check the honey stocks of our hives.

And the squirrels are often complaining about something... probably our or the neighbors' cat prowling the woods.

The flowers are rioting out here!! Gladioli have burst forth. The Sweet Williams (Dianthus) are shouting for attention. Statice and zinnias are blooming. Cone flowers (Echinacea), bee balm and daisies are ecstatic. The satin flowers (Godetia) exploded and will soon be done. They are lovely delicate flowers which only bloom during a short period only a little longer than Saponaria. And they are on the top of favorite foods list of Japanese beetles.

The summer squash are starting to produce! I hope there will be enough for at least the full shares to have a taste this week. And the Sungold cherry tomatoes are starting to straggle in! Summer is nearly here. The broccoli is maturing in larger quantities and the cabbage is getting larger and firmer.

I hope you enjoyed the beets last week. There will be lots more this week. They are so sweet, even Deb conceded they were tolerable. (I loved them: both boiled and roasted.)
As perverse as it may sound, the GOOD news is the potato vines are starting to die. We will begin harvesting them when they are have finished withering... maybe in a couple of weeks. And the sweet potato slips must be putting out good roots, since they are no longer wilting In a short while the vines should start running. We planted lots of winter squashes and watermelons this past week... late, but not too late.

The companion planting experiment is yielding mixed results this far. The peas were tolerant, if not pleased, to have turnips sharing theirfoot space. We definitely had a good crop of peas, I wish there had been more. But the turnips were down right indignant about the
proposition... they never did fill out their roots, though some of the greens were reasonable size, but buggy. A rather big disappointment. The lettuces were very happy to have shared their beds with carrots, but the carrots seem nonchalant about the arranged relationship. In a couple of weeks I think we will begin eating carrots... then we will see how they responded to the crowded conditions. I fear the lettuce shaded the carrots too much, which is why the carrots are late. The beets seem delighted to be nestled in under the broccoli, and the broccoli, in turn, are ecstatic with the responsibility of sheltering the beets and growing very big strong leaves! I think this is the best companion experiment this year. I hope the broccoli heads are equally healthy. We'll find out soon.

This week we will continue our deluge of greens, minus the lettuce. It is done for a while.

The shares will contain Swiss chard, kale, garlic, onions, beets, basil, other herbs. Maybe cabbage and/or broccoli. The full shares should hopefully have a taste of summer squash and a taste of sungold tomatoes. The bouquets will have combinations of statice, Dianthus, snapdragons, ornamental grasses, zinnias, Rudbekias, Echinaceas, sunflowers, gladioli, daisies, godetia, yarrow, and probably others - things are happening so quickly.

See you all soon.
HArry and Deb