I can’t believe that it is 95 degrees F here today. The lettuce, chard, and other cool weather crops are really struggling on these hot, dry days. The wind has also been pretty relentless for much of the spring as well, which takes it toll on the seedlings and transplants in the gardens. But, despite highs in the 90s and lows in the 30s, just in the past 8 days or so, our spring crops are doing nicely.
I have been harvesting lettuce, chard, asparagus and various herbs for several weeks now. Our chickens love the lettuce. They are so funny when I go out to the garden by the chicken coop to collect lettuce for our evening meals. They get excited and make all sorts of cute sounds anticipating that I will chuck some lettuce over the fence for them. Which I inevitably do after they put on such an entertaining show.
Chard, Lettuce and Arugula
Basil
In preparation for starting our farm stand in the near future, I ordered a selection of baskets from The Texas Basket Company [1]. These baskets will be perfect for displaying our produce and they work well for harvesting and carrying veggies around the farm. They also inspired me to take some pictures, one of which I used on our new business cards.
Farm Produce in New Baskets
Herbs and Greens in Baskets
The market garden raised beds are now complete! Of course we still need to install irrigation and to remove some oak branches to create more sun, but this garden is full of growing things already. I like the trellises that Ron installed in the northern-most beds. They will be plenty sturdy enough to support cucumbers, cantaloupes, squash and small pumpkins. They can also be used as a north wind break when covered with row cover cloth.
Completed Market Garden Raised Beds
Trellis in Market Garden Raised Bed
We are planning to open a weekly farm stand here at the farm on Saturdays sometime this spring.
Stay tuned for more farm news.
Happy Easter!