Scorching heat - no rain, weeding, ripe berries, music & fun at the farm, new cucumber find, hayride safety, baby melons, the crops keep coming.
Three more weeks by with scant chance to catch a breath.
In mid June the rain spigot turned off. The last day we had more than .03 inches of rain was June 16. We received .01 inch on July 4 – a traditionally rainy day, and another .04 inches total on July 12 & 13. This essentially total lack of rain has been compounded by a string of hot weather and sunny cloudless days. The hottest day was Friday July 21, maxing out at 98°F, followed by three more days with greater than 90°F temperatures. We are now maxing out in the mid 80’s, with cooler days forecast. The maximum temperature is reached pretty reliably at about 5 pm. The crew is now starting work at 6 am and quitting at 2 to escape the worst of the heat.
The weather forecasts have been for cooler days, but we still kept getting scorchers until finally today has been cooler. It looks like it will max out in the low 70’s.
The plants, both the weeds and selected crops, are thriving in the heat where we have managed to supply sufficient water. The peas are done. The Napa cabbage, bok choi, spinach, and some of the cabbages are taking a beating. On the other hand, the cucumbers, summer squash, & onions are thriving. We have tasted just a couple of tomatoes and are hoping to have tomatoes for sale next week.
Along with all the weeding and watering there are several new developments.
July 8 to 15
In the week from Saturday July 8 through Saturday July 15 we weeded beans, peppers, tomatoes, summer squash, eggplants, cucumbers, Jack O’ Lanterns, winter squash, lettuce, the pie pumpkins for the school tours, pickling cucumbers, onions, leeks, lettuce, melons, watermelons, miniature pumpkins, and of course the corn maze.
On the day before I had noticed that a few Marionberries were ripe, so Saturday July 8 we mowed the paths and tied up stray new canes. We did have some happy Marionberry pickers that day. The Marionberries are now at their peak, and the thornless blackberries are starting to ripen. On Tuesday the 25th we mowed the blackberry paths to allow better access by pickers.
This was the week we started harvesting lots of cucumbers and summer squash. We also started harvesting some of our Walla Walla onions.
Enrique tilled the fallow fields to prevent weed seed formation. The soil is too dry now to sow cover crop seed unless we water the fields. Since I’m continuously watering something, I don’t see how we can make that happen. There is a 30% chance of rain forecast for next Sunday. We’ll be watching the forecast closely to see if we should take a chance and spread the seed.
We added new rope handrails to the hayride wagon steps, making climbing up and down a lot easier. These have been received well. We also drilled holes in the step hinges so we could pin the steps in place.
Stella, Tillie, & Tyrpsie at the farm. We finished the new goat enclosure on Tuesday and moved the goats and ducks down to the farm.
Saturday July 15 was one our monthly farm celebrations – the Raspberry Rhapsody. We were fortunate to match the date with our peak raspberry production this year. We are still picking lots of raspberries, but you have to look harder now.
One highlight was Danielle giving her first solo hayride. We had a number of musicians. John Lockney, Bob Aldridge, Michelle Grace, and Carol Calhoon from Raging Zephyr all performed. We also had a voice recital by Andrew Calhoon accompanied by Hartwig Eichberg.
Carol Calhoon, John Lockney, and Bob Aldridge performing at the Raspberry Rhapsody.
July 16 to 22
This year Carol and I went to the Sequim Lavender Festival on Sunday July 16 and stayed Monday and Tuesday for the North American Lavender Conference. We have some lavender in our herb garden and it has always been popular. We did learn a lot. I’ve long had the desire to get a still to distill essential oil from lavender and our other herbs. Now I’ve gotten dangerously interested. I’m still working on deciding if the idea is a passing enthusiasm or if we should expand in that direction. Watch for further reflections.
We finally finished the last improvement I had in mind for the hayride wagon. We added a board to keep kids from sliding out below the top rail.
The Ford 8N tractor and our hayride wagon, featuring a new safety rail, painted white.
On Thursday July 20 we weeded the flower and herb gardens and hilled the potatoes
The sunflowers are starting to bloom. Some of the other flowers in the flower garden are also coming along.
The potatoes look to be doing well after a somewhat slow start. I was concerned the wet spring made the soil too wet after planting, but the potatoes are looking good so far. I haven’t started digging around yet.
One of the crop variety finds of the year for me is the Miniature White cucumber. White to pale yellow, they have the size and form of a small pickling cucumber. Their taste is mild and refreshing. One of our customers bought some to pickle. I’m anxious to find out how they turned out.
Cucumbers "Miniature White"
We have grown some beautiful cabbages, both red and green. The red cabbages have been very popular, but the green cabbages are apparently too large for most folks. Next year I’ll look for smaller varieties.
We have been struggling to keep up with the watering. On Friday the temperature at the farm hit 98°F. The soil dries out even faster in the heat. I had the suspicion that our well wasn’t delivering as much water as in the past so on Friday I called in the pump and well service folks to check out our system. I guess the good news is that the system is working to specification, so I don’t have to find the money to fix it.
Lots of weeding this week.
July 23 to 28
Still more weeding this week. Tomorrow we will have finished what I hope is the last weeding of the winter squash & pumpkins.
On Monday July 23 I found lots of tiny melons and watermelons in the melon patch. The watermelons have grown considerably since Monday.
Small cantaloupe forming on the vine.
A tiny watermelon - ready in a few more weeks.
The Armenian cucumbers have finally started producing. Lots of folks have been waiting for these. We have some nice radishes now – if you like spicy. We have dug up some of the garlic. The Inchelium Red did particularly well this year. I’m hoping to start the main harvest next week. The thornless blackberries have started to produce. We should still have a week of good picking in the Marionberries. The raspberries are still ripening up, but picking is getting slower.
Several of the winter squash varieties are turning light orange. I’m sure they still have a way to go, but it’s an exciting sight to see. I’m also seeing lots of gourds forming under the foliage.
Today we finally got the farmstand set up to accept credit cards. We have a wireless device, since there is no phone line at the farmstand. Our regular customers have gotten used to bringing cash or a check, but many first time customers reach first for the plastic. It is clear that a lot of folks don’t carry much cash. After we got set up this afternoon, almost half of our sales used either a credit or debit card, so I guess it’s about time we accommodated our customers.
We are going to try to do both the Bellevue Arts Fair and the Scottish Highland Games this weekend. I'm hoping for rain at night and cool weather during the days.
We do have more weeding to do (always), but I’m thinking we are past the worst of it. Next we start in on the corn maze. Watch here for clues about this year’s design.
Next week: Tomatoes!
What’s playing today in the Jeep CD player?
Lunasa – The Kinnitty Sessions