'Bout Time

Well, it IS about time to write a post.  It is also about time that I haven't posted in a while.  Running around with six athletic kids is very tiring.  Sitting down to write a blog post seems like an extra homework assignment.  Finally thought I would summarize what's been going on at the farm.

This season has been one of the hardest seasons of our ten we have been growing.  We have had very wet, very hot, very cool, and very damp- making for another typical, atypical fall/winter in the Bay area.

Ants are a real problem this year.  They have been chewing the stems of transplants and killing them.  We lost two crops of broccoli, one crop of kale, and a collard crop due to their behavior.  This is the first time they bothered  cole crops.  Thankfully, we are finally getting things under control (even if half of the season is behind us).

This season we are growing on the eastern side of the property that borders Hwy 39.  The soil has doubled in organic matter.  This means our soil fertility has increased with additions of cover crops and organic soil amendments.  Our annual soil test reported we only needed to input nitrogen this year.  Looks like things are working out in building up our soil.

There are some growing changes this year.  We are growing strawberry 'Sensation' instead of 'Camino' with much success.  This variety produces berries earlier in the season and they are much larger than Camino.  We added pole beans, baby bok choy, downy mildew resistant cucumbers, and screened our greenhouse so bugs can't enter.   We have been late with tomatoes but they are growing with reckless abandon.  We should soon be picking them.  Pole beans did well for a few weeks but seem to have slowed down.  They are very tasty and extra long and I can grow them in the greenhouse during the winter.

Snow peas are just starting to yield.  Beets, beans, carrots, mustard greens, scallions, lettuce, and sweet corn are being planted this week.

Hope to keep you updated from time to time...