Week 13, 2011

It is quickly warming up. It is unfortunate that our lettuce doesn't stick around to enjoy. As soon as it starts looking nice it gets hot and bolts (sends up a flower stalk). This has happened the last two years. I wish we could figure that one out.

We have started to harvest the rainbow swiss chard. It looks beautiful. We cooked some up, boiled first for two minutes, then sauteed in olive oil. Anna said that it tasted like corn??? I think we decided as nice as it looks, we prefer bok choy or napa cabbage as a green side dish.

The peaches are sizing up nicely as are the loquats. It looks like it will be a decent harvest this year. I kept waiting at the farm for my mulberry trees to break buds and when I checked them they were all dead. I have a tree at the house and it grew about 15 feet or more in just two years. I was hoping that it would make a nice quick fruit crop, shade and some cover for birds. I was really surprised that they couldn't handle the low temperatures. I will need to find out the temperature range for that plant and rethink my plans. I seem to do that a bunch out at the farm. As in the case of my perches for birds around the crops that have bugs. Good idea for the birds to stop at the crop. It was working well. It also worked well for the farm cat. She loved the idea as I discovered a pile of feathers near one of my perches. I will need to rethink that idea and remove cats from the farm. I am waiting to find out were her kittens are before we let her go. I discovered my annual wren nest in the shop and it made me sick thinking that the bird would have to dodge the gauntlet to nurture its chicks.

I am beginning to think that we might have a few weeks of slim pickings at the farm until the warm season crops get ready to harvest. If the fruit fill the void we will be OK. We are waiting on zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, cantaloupe, calabasa, and watermelons. Grow! Grow! Grow!