Gully Washer Brings First Farm Set Back!

After a remarkable April of near-perfect weather windows for planting, last Monday's downpour sent water cascading down our hillside plantings of corn, beans and cucumbers. Lakes of silt with seeds that washed down formed at the bottom of the hill. Ten to twenty percent of the plantings may be doomed, but it wasn't a complete disaster. More rain fell on Tuesday and continued to soak the farm. The nice weather projected for this weekend will help dry things out a bit.

I am seeing marble-sized strawberries in the field and that means we may see our very first berries by Memorial Day weekend...only 18 days away! However, our cool weather could delay berries until later in June. I am always concerned about mold and disease issues related to wet weather because I do not spray. But, it has worked for more that three years, so I'm always cautiously optimistic.

We have lots of rhubarb right now and will be harvesting our first arugula out of our greenhouse this weekend. My first peas and lettuce will be ready in about two weeks.

I found some wonderful yellow corn from the desert of California. This corn is tender and sweet and available in our store. It's not inexpensive at 80 cents an ear, but if you're in the mood for corn, it's worth the price (4 ears = 1 Latte). Our own corn won't be ready until mid-July...