THIS WEEK’S HARVEST
Heirloom Tomatoes (See Week 13’s newsletter for variety descriptions), Sweet Corn, Metechi Hardneck Garlic, Rainbow Chard, Bok Choi, Bel Fiore Radicchio, Fennel, Cabbage, Carrots, Eggplant, Summer Squash & Zucchini, Olympian Cucumbers, Walla Walla Sweet Onions, Sweet Peppers, Poblano Peppers, Assorted Head Lettuce
U-PICK
Check the u-pick board for updated weekly limits. With the ash settling on produce, we recommend washing all u-pick produce before consumption
Albion Strawberries: For some reason there has been an insane explosion in the population of yellow jackets in Green Valley this year. They have just discovered our beloved strawberries and are eating them because they love sugar. They do not sting unless you accidentally squish one — be aware while picking.
Cherry Tomatoes: See week 10’s newsletter for variety descriptions. There are a lot of soft, overripe cherries tomatoes because of the intense heat wave last weekend.
Frying Peppers: Shishitos, Padróns | See week 5’s newsletter for harvest tips
Jalapeños: Located below the Padróns
Yellow & Red Thai Hot Peppers: Located next to the Jalapeños
Husk Cherries: Located just above the gnome homes in the garden | See Week 9’s Harvest Notes for tips
Herbs: Rosemary, Thyme, Tulsi Basil, Thai Basil, Purple Basil, Oregano, Marjoram, Tarragon, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Vietnamese Coriander, Culinary Lavender, Culinary Sage, French Sorrel, Lemon Verbena, Lemon Balm, Perilla & Purple Shiso, Chamomile, Green Coriander
New Flowers: There are two new beds of Cosmos and Zinnias blooming right next to the farm strawberries!
HARVEST NOTES
Bicolor Sweet Corn: We avoided growing sweet corn the past three years because it is a heavy feeder and takes up a lot of space — but then we caved like when you cave and order in pizza on a Saturday night. Before you do anything to this sweet corn, take a bite of it raw. It’s like candy.
PICK-UP SCHEDULE
The 2020 harvest season runs from Saturday, June 13th til Tuesday, December, 8th.
Saturday pick-up runs from 9:00am - 2:00pm
Tuesday pick-up runs from 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
U-picking is open 7-days a week, sunrise to sunset. Please close the gates behind you on off days.
FARMER’S LOG
OF SMOKE AND ONIONS
This week was our first week oriented around a big harvest — the storage onions — and with this harvest we began of the Fall Phase of our harvest season. As one of our farmer heroes, Dan Kaplan of Brookfield Farm near Amherst, MA, put it, “After a winter of planning. A spring of getting going, plowing, and planting. A summer of crop growing, putting out fires, keeping plants alive, staying hydrated. We arrive to a fall of harvesting, of playing the cards we've been dealt, of reaping what we have sown. Or another way to look at it: Winter is dreaming and scheming, Spring is action, Summer is fretting, and Fall is acceptance. And that is where we are heading headlong right now. That first hurdle into the bittersweet final place where there's nothing more for us to do, or worrying about — just plain being with what is.”
We had a nice intro to this phase this year.
This week, Monday had us doing our usual pre-harvesting for Tuesday — except with a 6:00am start time and an extra speed in our step to escape the heat (110 here!). We harvested cukes and squash and carrots as fast as we could, and called it a day and got inside by 1:00pm . David went to Santa Rosa to shop for parts to build a new root washer. A seldom reported, but very important part of farming — hardware store shopping!
On Tuesday we did our main harvest, washed, Anna ran pick-up, Kate chipped away at more garlic, and David prepped for the Great Onion Harvest.
Wednesday - Harvest Day. We woke up to a cool-fog-smoke mix so thick that the sun never seemed to rise. To kill time before harvest, we hoed mustards and lettuce and weeded leeks in a light so dim it was hard to distinguish the colors of the plants. (Good thing we weren’t harvesting tomatoes, we wouldn’t have been able to see their colors.) At 10:00 am we started pulling onions! 6 volunteers, including David’s parents! braved the eerie skies and helped filled bin after bin with large orbs of Zoey Yellow Onions and the last Cabernets. The truck ferried loads back and forth as fast as she could while a separate team laid out the onions carefully to cure in our little greenhouse. (Be sure to take a peek in the little greenhouse — our onion hoard is a sight to behold!) It was our best onion crop ever at GVCFarm, we will be enjoying large beautiful large orbs all the way til mid-December. Thanks, volunteers, for all the help planting, weeding, and harvesting these beauties, this was a community supported bumper onion crop!
Yesterday, we harvested nightshades and squash, prepped beds for our last direct seedings, and transplanted the last Beets, Bok Choi, and 3rd to last Lettuce succession of the year. At the end of the day Kayta sowed Easter Egg Radishes, Fancy Mix, and Arugula and David built a new irrigation line for Fall spinach.
Today, we did our big harvest for Saturday, David had another Santa Rosa adventure scavenging bike rims for the root washer, and after washing, Anna and Kayta planted some Cosmos and Amaranth in the garden and finished trimming our Lorz Softneck Garlic.
And so, life goes on on the farm. We’re keeping our heads down and trying to stay positive in what has to have been one of the most harrowing weeks in memory in California and the West Coast. We hope you are all staying safe. Sending love to you and yours…
See you in the fields,
David for Kayta, Anna & Kate
