First Fall Farm Shares Delivered

Due to the brutal and extended heat and drought that we have been enduring here in central Texas our fall crops have been slow to start, but the recent moderation in temperatures has allowed our early fall crops to get going and has somewhat revived some of our late summer crops. So, we were able to deliver our very first CSA farm shares last week. We are now officially “in business” as a CSA farm! Last week’s shares included basil, okra, eggplant, southern shelling peas, peppers, pac choy, swiss chard, mixed greens and farm eggs.

This past weekend we were blessed with 2.5″ of rain. We haven’t had this much rain in a two-day period in well over a year and I can tell you it was very, very welcome. Each inch of rain that we get puts 1000 gallons into the rainwater collection tank that is connected to our greenhouse gutters, so not only do we get the initial benefit of rain watering our crops, we also get a secondary benefit of being able to irrigate with rain water instead of well water or treated lake water. If we were to get an inch or two of rain every month we would be pretty much assured of success in our farming business, but with only two to three inches a year like we received this past year, we are pretty much assured of failure. Needless to say, we are hoping that the severity of our drought will decrease enough to give us a fighting chance of success in our new farming venture.

We planted lots of bell, jalapeno and poblano peppers in early July which are now setting lots of fruit. It was kind of tricky getting those pepper transplants to survive in the mega-heat this summer (the tomato transplants that we planted at the same time did not survive), but we created shade structures to keep them out of the direct afternoon sun which seems to have done the trick and they are absolutely covered with fruit now.

Peppers, Basil and Arugula

Close Up of Bell Pepper

Close Up of Early Jalapeno Pepper

Close Up of Poblano Pepper

I’m glad that I decided to hedge my bets on the tomato transplants that I planted in July, they all suffered such heat stress that they succumbed to pests and disease, by starting more transplants to plant in early fall. The new fall crop of tomatoes is doing quite well so far. The Peacevine cherry tomatoes are already setting fruit, and the Green Zebra, Celebrity and Big Beef all have blooms on them.

Close Up of Peacevine Cherry Tomato Cluster

Tomatoes in the Market Garden

We also have Cider Jack and Baby Pam Pie pumpkins growing in the market garden. I am optimistic that we will have pumpkins by the end of the month.

Market Garden Pumpkin Patch

Close Up of Cider Jack Blossom

The winter squash; Delicata, Honey Bear, Carnival and Nutterbutter, are all growing rapidly and setting lots of fruit.

Close Up of Carnival Squash

Winter Squash Patch in the Market Garden

The zucchini and yellow straight-neck squash, as well as the cucumbers, are also doing well. I figure as long as I cover this bed during cold snaps we should get good yield from these crops for a month or so at least.

Summer Squash and Cucumbers in the Market Garden

Also growing in the market gardens are Perpetual swiss chard, Packman broccoli, Pac Choi, Georgia Southern collards, bush green beans, cow peas, dill, cilantro, parsley and thyme.

Broccoli and Herbs in the Market Garden

Perpetual Swiss Chard in the Market Garden

Pac Choi in the Market Garden

Bush Beans in the Market Garden

In the one-west planting area we have snap peas, snow peas and radishes coming along quite well. Also direct seeded in this area are potatoes, carrots, beets, tat soi, chinese cabbage, kale and Rainbow Mix chard, all of which are starting slowly. I am also starting transplants of all these crops, except for the root crops, to backfill any plants that don’t come up and to progression plant in order to keep supplies of these crops going through the winter.

Mammoth Melting Snow Peas, Sugar Daddy Snap Peas and Cherry Belle Radishes in One-West Garden

The oldest growing area, the herb garden, is home to more potatoes, sweet potatoes and southern shelling peas. I still have much work to do in this area to refresh and re-dig the beds before I can plant more crops here. Hopefully I will get this done in the next couple of weeks.

Yukon Gold, Canela Russet, Sangre Red Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes and Cow Peas in the Herb Garden

Another exciting development at the farm is the completion of our vegetable preparation and packing area in the greenhouse. I am so grateful to my son Justin who provided the countertops and to my husband and partner, farmer Ron, who installed the counters and sink, and constructed the support shelving. Washing, preparing and packing farm shares in our kitchen has been very inefficient due to limited counter space. This area is going to make those jobs so much faster and easier!

Vegetable Preparation Area in the Greenhouse

Hope you are having a glorious fall so far.
Carol