Swing of Summer

It’s reassuring to get rained out of field work for a few days. This is the time of year when it’s usually not a good thing to feel “caught up”—because that usually means you’re not getting enough rain. With precipitation now in the forecast on a somewhat regular basis, we’ve got to schedule our work strategically. There’s always a balance between taking care of the crops that are already growing and continuing to plant so we’ll have crops to harvest later in the year.

Before the rains this week, we prepped some ground for the broomcorn crop we’re growing for Sunhouse Craft, cultivated all the growing crops in the field, and direct-seeded some more sweet corn to stay on track with our succession plantings. We got rained out just before seeding the broomcorn, which was a real bummer, but it’s all set to go as soon as the soil is dry enough to get back into the field with the tractor!

Last week, we transplanted some heirloom corn from our friend Susana Lein at Salamandar Springs Farm on the other side of Berea. We are growing some of her variety because it produces wonderfully tall and strong stalks on which we intend to grow heirloom pole beans. Timing is everything when growing these companion plants. We plant the corn first, and when it’s about six inches tall, we interplant the bean seeds. These pole beans grow tall vines that will wrap around the corn stalks and grow vertically.

Look for “new” potatoes to show up in CSA shares and farmers’ markets this week. You can only really get new potatoes straight from your own garden or a local farmer because the skin is simply too tender to withstand a lot of handling. These come straight out of the ground without allowing time for the skins to harden. They are so tender you can almost wash the skin right off. And talk about primo eating! It really doesn’t get any better than fresh, new potatoes. We hope you enjoy!