- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Hot peppers
- Eggplant
- Cherry tomatoes
- Kale or chard or collards
- Parsley or basil
- Onions
- Green onions
- Daikon radish
- Winter squash?
- Pears or apples or asian pears (all getting sweeter, try me again!!)
- Prune plums
- Garlic
- Potatoes
This week we continued the weeding, the transplanting and the clearing of green houses to make room for fall and winter crops. I’ve seeded a ton of spinach that looks like it will go to seed before it ever provides us with leaves. This is part of the frustrating change of season type of planting. You don’t want to miss having a fall crop but you could seed too Early and the plants get too much heat while they are doing their growing. This sends them the message that they should produce seeds and thus they bolt before we ever harvest any leaves. I have two beds of spinach and radicchio that look questionable and will just have to see how that turns out.
Prospera, the annual Virginia Garcia Fundraising Gala was a big success , during the 1 hour live event we raised $155,000. There is still the opportunity to contribute on line and even bid on the auction items. You can contribute here:https://virginiagarcia.org/prospera2020/ , bidding is open until 8/31.
This was the first Saturday in >25 weeks that I did not go to the farmers market, instead we spent the night in McMinnville doing socially distanced camping with Diego and my sister and her family. Really nice to sleep in for once. It was also fun to hang out with people that you care about, eat camping food and have Juvencio tour us through all the beauty that made us buy that property. We walked to parts of that piece of land that I have not seen for years. The trees that were planted just five years before we purchased the property are now quite large and it feels much more forested . We were able to see the beaver dam and the way that that mammal changes the landscape as there was no running water; the streambed and ponds created by the den were able to be explored. We visited with the cows and wondered at all the calves that were born this year. Black, brown and a few white with fuzzy ears and curious eyes. They seem to enjoy a good life.
We definitely felt the chill in the air last night signaling the end of summer. Even with warm days expected all next week if it drops down into the 50s the plants will get the signal that it’s fall. The sweetness will return to the greens and the silly tomatoes will begin to split. For now there is an abundance of cherry tomatoes, it seems like more than ever (I think I say that every year). The peppers are turning red and getting very sweet and the fall broccoli is sizing up. The beans are in flower again hoping to give a few weeks more of those delicious summertime favorites. They will likely be on your table next week but you’ll have to keep your eye out for the occasional empty pod. The water, although on drip irrigation is spotty as some of the holes get clogged with sediment and make the watering uneven. I think this is what causes some of the pods to be filled with air and be rather stodgy and lack flavor and frankly taste horrible. So as you’re snapping your beans make sure they snap and if not toss them into the compost and go onto the really good ones.
The movement for racial justice must stay front and center. The killing of black people in this country continues and the backlash we all feared is happening. White supremacists feel emboldened by Trump who urges them on with his rhetoric. Please continue to find ways to support the movement by taking to the streets, writing letters, making calls and sending your money to help with the fight. I am so deeply saddened and outraged as we see the shooting of yet another black man. I hear the voices of so many idiots saying that systemic racism does not exist; VOTE THEM OUT and change the system that allows this to go on and on and on!