Summer paid us a visit last week, bringing some warm temperatures and ground dry enough to cultivate and hoe. Fairly quickly, we were back in irrigation mode. Our sandy soil has a short memory, and once we go 4 days without a soaking rain, we need to add the water ourselves. The farm is almost at cruising…
What a difference two weeks of hot temperatures can make. We’ve seen some big leaps in crop growth, with the summer squash and cucumbers leading the way. They have been trickling in over the last few weeks but really started pumping out fruit last week. We’ve put them on sale this week, and made some…
This is one of those weeks when I sit down to write the farm news and I have trouble remembering what happened during the blur of activity that was last week. I remember an unbroken string of rainy days, and I know we picked strawberries in that rain (and lots of people came to the farm…
One thing that’s crazy about this time of year is that even though we are at peak daylight hours (the summer solstice is Thursday!), there never seems to be enough time to get the work done. Planting season is still in full swing with winter squash, Brussels sprouts, more cukes and summer squash, fall cabbage and…
Farm News After a very soggy and cold start to the spring, last week’s bright sunshine and warm temperatures gave the plants a good shot of growth and even had us bringing out the irrigation pipes for the first time this year. Of course, the warmth and sunshine has also had the same effect on the…
Farm News Welcome back to Fort Hill Farm for our 17th season! I remember back when I started, I would ask older market farmers if growing fresh market veggies ever got easier, and most of the would respond with a resounding “no.” There is just so much that has to happen in the spring to get the…
Farm News It’s fitting that one of the craziest weather years we can remember was topped off by a 6-inch snowfall in the second week of November. The snow caught us off guard and has caused us to put off tasks like mulching the garlic and strawberries until the white blanket melts off. With frigid…
Farm News We’ve had several nights in the mid 20’s which has effectively ended the outdoor growing season. That’s not to say we still don’t have a whole lot of food out in the field. The crew has been busy covering some very nice lettuce, bok choy, spinach, and baby kale to get the crops through…
Farm News Given the string of showery weather we’ve had lately, I think we have a good idea what it’s like to live in Seattle. Luckily the clouds have been punctuated by a few of those brilliant, clear days that represent what we idealize as fall in New England. Whether it’s rain or shine, we’ve…
Farm News Even though the trees seem a little behind in shedding their leaves, the frosty mornings last week made it clear that the end of October was near, and it was time to get the garlic planted. We have been curing our sweet potatoes in a small greenhouse, and we made extra use of…
Farm News This week old man winter is giving us a preview of what’s to come in late November. While folks in Anchorage bask in unseasonably warm weather, lots of cold air has been pouring into the Northeast. Last week brought us some big frosts, and it looks like the hammer is coming down this…
Farm News Last week brought us more head scratching weather, as we sat there on Thursday trying to parse a forecast that had a hurricane remnant passing over the farm, followed by a frost warning …Within 24 hours of each other! What was left of Hurricane Michael brought some gusty winds that made covering the…
Farm News (Note: we are having technical detail with our image uploads. Please check out facebook for this week’s photo log!) The shorter days and turning tree colors tell us that fall is here, but it’s been hard to tell that from the temperatures. We are well into October without a frost warning in sight,…
Farm News Last week was a whirlwind of downpours, harvesting, late-season weeding, and the last of the season’s field plantings. On Tuesday we had one event that brought down over 2 inches of rain in an afternoon. That kind of moisture makes it difficult for us to keep the last of the late fall plantings on…
Farm News Last week we crossed the equinox, and fall officially began. Like clockwork, the daily highs plunged into the 60’s, which felt like a deep freeze after the preceding weeks of hot and muggy weather. It’s also left us wondering where all the days with highs in the mid 70’s have gone. Conveniently, that’s…