Just a Few Weeks

I’d say the first CSA is just 2 to 3 weeks down the road, stay tuned.

Progress

early spinach

pac choi

lettuce heads

About a month away from some really great salads, reach out if you would like to join in on the goodness. bonavidagrowers@gmail.com

Get in on the goodness

From Cruising Along to…

I wanted to show a happy picture, freshly sprouted carrots, cultivated to perfection, by hand.

2018 thus far has been rolling right along, so much so that I was beginning to wonder if I was missing something. Somewhat automatic. Tuesday, tax day, changed that. Not a catastrophic event, but a minor set back. With winds at 60 mph and gusts recorded at 80 mph, the day was a challenge for all of the vegetables trying to grow in the fields and those of us trying to work along with them. Really resilient crops such as snap peas even took a knock. We lost some plants and a few row covers were torn to shreds, but again just a bump in the road. Time is on our side and we are on on schedule. The hearty live on and the first small harvest of the season happened today. Arugula, spicy green mix and D’avignon radish.

There is no place for complacency, especially in this line of work. Stay on your toes. Experience tells me that time and again. There is something to be said for relaxing, but try to always remember a stitch in time saves nine, one years seeds is seven years weeds. Until next time

We are only human after all.

Back at it

The 2017 season is underway. The greenhouse is stuffed full of young plants and we have carrots, beets, lettuce, spinach and arugula emerging in the field. The plants are growing quickly and if all goes well we will begin harvesting in just a few weeks.  We are thankful to be back for our 8th season at the farm and are looking forward to bringing fresh vegetables to your table all summer long!

delightful

Here we are again in the vibrant phase of the season. The colors, the flavors, wow, just wow!

it’s getting hot out there

With tomatoes growing north to south and east to west this season, we’ve got Little Purdue completely confused.

turning the corner

The fields are all planted, just shy of 2 acres total. It was an experience getting here, that is for sure. The season now changes, sure there are still a few crops to go into the ground, but from here on out it is harvest and maintain. Happy to be growing yet again as we roll into the summer ahead.

trying to hit our stride

This has been one heck of a spring. 5 solid weeks of rain…The sun is out, time to regroup. Some crops are doing great, others not so much. Every season has it’s lessons and this years might be haste makes waste. Trying and trying to stay ahead of the curve may have put me a bit behind. Time will tell, in the meantime I will just keep the forward motion.

rain, rain go away come again another day, or week, or how about next month

What a wet couple of weeks we have had, I wish we could ship a few of our rain clouds to California. Just about 3 weeks of soaking and counting. Last Saturday I arrived at the farm to find large pools in my already soaked fields and about 3″ of water in the greenhouse. Thankfully I learned my lesson in 2013 and there was nothing on the floor, so no problem really. Sadly, some other problems associated with all of this moisture have started to show up this week. My beet crop has contracted cercospora leaf spot, potentially destroying it entirely. This is something that with all of this rain and no sun will run wild and it looks like it has. In any given year, this is something that could be present, but usually nature has her way and it is kept under control. I rotate my crops and the soil is very healthy, but with none of our usual intense sun, it has taken hold. That being said, the good still outweighs the bad. The lettuce heads, the cauliflower, broccoli, and pretty much everything else is looking stellar, just growing away, awaiting the long hot days of the summer to come. Today even gave me a bonus, while digging out and cleaning a neglected corner of the farm I found this happy tiger salamander doing it’s thing. With all of it’s trials and tribulations I am still elated to be doing this very special work. Thank you to everyone involved and I am looking forward to the great season ahead.