Those aren’t tan lines – it’s that dusty out there! If you own a pool or beach house, I’m sure you’re enjoying this weather. Me? Not so much. 12 hours of 80s and nothing but sun are brutal for this fair skinned farmer. At this point, I’d settle for a cloudy day! I’ve spent the last week bulking up my irrigation for this rough stretch. With our heavy wet soil, I’ve never really had to irrigate. A few sprinklers here and there always got me through dry stretches, no problem (other than that epic drought a few years ago). But we’re a month into a super dry stretch and the forecast is high 80s and 90s with no appreciable rain in sight. If y’all could do some rain dances for me, it would be much appreciated!
Welp, yesterday was a day I can’t wait to forget. It was supposed to be a great day – the first CSA pickup of the year coincided with my first born’s birthday! I spent days prepping so that I could be free to enjoy the birthday by pickup at 10am. Despite a few expected hiccups in our first big harvest/wash/pack, things were going well. Just before the pickup started though, my easy day blew up – literally…the transformer right in front of the house on the street blew. National Grid was on the scene in an impressively short period of time, but when he replaced the fuse it blew again and he had to call for backup. Power’s out, not a big deal right? We can’t run the AC units (which aren’t installed yet anyway) but otherwise?
Turns out, yes when the greenhouse hasn’t been watered yet and is kept from cooking by an exhaust fan and the thirsty cows run out of water, it becomes a big deal. I got an inverter out and had to keep cycling through my electric fence batteries to keep the fan powered, but I really felt powerless when the cows ran out of water around noon and I got an email from National Grid that the power wasn’t expected to be restored till 430.
Fortunately a generous friend/CSA member offered his generator to power the well to water the cows. We ran down the hill to pick it up and as we were unloading it off his truck back at the farm, I saw a beautiful sight. Literally as the tractor bucket with the generator touched down to unload it, the cavalry (3 National Grid trucks) crested the hill. After confirming power was imminent, we put the generator right back up on the truck and all animals and plants were watered as soon it was restored. Other than some agitated animals, the only casualty was one tray of pea shoots that got cooked in the greenhouse.
With great watering effort, the garden looks fantastic. This is my first year growing peas, and they’re sooo good. I actually seeded them back at the start of March when it seemed like we were going to have a decent spring. They then sat in the cold ground for months and finally took off last week. Who knows how long they’ll last with this heat, so get them while you can. And those onions! Their tops (eat like scallions) are literally up to my hip, and the bulbs have just started bulking up. And there’s so much more good stuff. Here’s the link: ready, set, order!
Veggie Ordering and Pickup Procedures: Put your veggie and egg orders in online before midnight Sunday. The website has been a little buggy so if you don’t see a wide variety of items or you see items out of stock, try refreshing your browser. Also confirm on checkout that you have the correct number in your cart. New this year, we’ll have your order bagged up and available for you to pick-up from 4-7pm Monday on the farm at 64 Potter Hill Rd in Grafton. Pickups are in the long white garage on the left across from the big red barn at the crest of the hill.