One word to describe the last four days: reasonable. If you push me for two words: completely reasonable. Mid 80s Thursday and Friday, and then this weekend! Sorry it’s not beach weather, but y’all have had plenty of beach weather this summer – this farmer weather is long overdue. It’s still not what I would choose after 1.5 months of drought (that would be 75 and a steady rain from morning till 5pm…oh how we need some rain), but I can work with and in this. But last week? Cruel and unusual. It was hilarious how the crew marveled at how comfortable it was on Thursday with a high of 85 – one of them said it felt like spring. I imagine if we had more days like these sprinkled through the summer, I wouldn’t be on my own in September….I felt like quitting a million times the last month myself. But the collective crew minds are made up at this point – I have a few leads on help, but please spread the word for me I need a farm(h)er to help me finish off the season!
Lots of great veggies are coming in, though it’s not our typical August abundance with the lack of rain. Here is the link to order.
If you think I’m being dramatic about the drought, check out the copy and pasted intro to UMass Extension’s weekly VegNotes. Sounds a lot like my complaints, but the striking part is that these reports are aggregated are from the well-equipped huge farms in our state that have been in business forever, and are accustomed to the typical challenges of farming.
The prolonged hot and dry conditions are really starting to take a toll on plants and people alike. We are hearing reports from around the region of poor crop growth, dropping flowers and wilting leaves, and slow ripening of fruit, all leading to lower yields. Corn ears are not filling properly leading to shortages. There are also widespread reports of irrigation disasters like broken pumps, pumps pulling mud in low ponds, empty ponds not refilling, and acres of crops being tilled in because they cannot be adequately watered. On top of everything else we’ve gone through already this season, the drought feels like another heavy burden to carry.
Sorry to leave you on a sour note, but with it being so reasonable out there, I need to get some long overdue work done before the girls wake up. Oops, and now they’re up – there goes that thought!
Veggie Ordering and Pickup Procedures: Put your veggie orders in online before 8pm Sunday. The website is 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 of each item in your cart. The two pickup windows are working well, so we’ll keep it going. Choose your pickup window while checking out online: 1230-2pm and 4-5pm Monday on the farm at 64 Potter Hill Rd in Grafton. Pickups are in the long white garage on the left across from the beat up tan and red barn at the crest of the hill.