Beausol Gardens 2009 CSA newsletter #13

Greetings, Beausol locavores:

The newsletter will be fairly brief this week (that probably elicits some relief as well as disappointment?). Deb and I just returned from a quick drive to the Boone, NC area for an herb conference. It was a mixed experience: partly too scientifically detailed and thus irrelevant to why we went (to learn more about growing and using medicinal herbs), partly insufficiently detailed in the aforementioned information and very useful in exposing the possibilities thereof. It did very much whet our appetite to further investigate the subject. The dogs were definitely happy to have us home: Maya is making it hard to write this as she is demanding so much undivided attention! What a lovable pest!

The farm is in a generally very good condition due to about an inch and a half of rain received over the last week, coming in very manageable and beneficial half inch increments. (of course, the weeds have enjoyed the moisture also!) We got back too late to double check the status of the crops, but Friday before we left, things were looking good:

Lots of tomatoes ripening, more peppers ripening, more eggplants, more squash, squash, squash. I think we can get another week of edamame for you, then we must wait for the next planting to mature. There is definite abundant evidence of the elusive okra flowers, finally. So okra (pods, not flowers) will start appearing in shares. Cantaloupes are sizing up nicely, I
think they may start appearing in shares next week. The snap beans are also displaying baby beans, so we could get some this week - definitely next week. The summer green onion planting is doing well, we may pull some this week or next. And the summer lettuce is doing very nicely... the rain is really helping - the heat, not so much.

The Triangle area cucumber crops have been hit hard by downy mildew this summer. Our plants were looking pretty sad and very much at risk when we left. Late last week we treated them successively with organically approved hydrogen peroxide and a fungicidal bacterium.
Coming in this afternoon, it looked like we MAY have saved our cukes.... or at least delayed their demise. One of my first tasks will be to ascertain their condition on the morrow.... here's hoping.

We have gotten many positive reports on the potatoes. I hope you all are enjoying them. Keep them in a cool dark place until eaten. Unlike sweet potatoes - the cooler the better with the "irish", but not freezing.

That's about it for my information overloaded and road addled brain tonight.

This week's shares should contain... yes, you guessed it: squash. And tomatoes, eggplant, peppers (sweet, Anaheim and jalapeño), edamame, herbs and the full shares will get some okra and maybe some snap beans. The flower shares should have a combination of zinnias, celosia, gomphrena, ornamental grasses, gladiolas, basil and the echinacea may still have a few blooms on them.

See you soon.
Harry