The farming season goes quickly in Ontario, or it seems to when you’re in it. While the winter can seem endless and by February we are feeling antsy for the spring to begin, the summer seems to whiz by in a flash. Just as we’ve satisfied our craving for crisp spring greens, we’re already gearing up with the sweet fruits of summer – cucumber, zucchini and tomatoes. Just as we begin harvesting the season’s first carrots, we’re already seeding carrots to be harvested in November! Indeed at every step of the way in the growing season we are always looking ahead to what comes next. For example, we’re already working in spent crops and prepping ground for cover crops that will keep the soil protected for the rest of the season and into the winter. We’ve already planted our late fall brassica crops like cabbage and broccoli, rutabaga and kohlrabi and Jeff and I are already planning what will go where in next season’s garden (and in the years ahead) so that we know what cover crop to put in and how to anticipate when to work new ground.
We’re now at week 7 of twenty weeks of the summer CSA and beginning that transition from spring crops to the hearty, much loved vegetables of summer. Last week we pulled all of our garlic from the field and set it to cure in the barn. We’ve dug some of our first potatoes and we’re just beginning the tomato harvest.
This week has so far been the first with any dry days in about two weeks. The constant rain has meant we’ve had to put in some crops late, have lost one or two to weeds that could not get dealt with or to rotting in flooded fields. While many of our crops are faring just fine despite the constant downpour, a few look worse for wear such as our winter squash which seems to be suffering from lacking fertility, likely because of the soil being so water saturated. At this point in the season, it still remains to be seen if other crops will suffer from the cool, wet weather but we’re hoping for some hot, sunny days to come!
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