Get into summer before it's too late

Transplanter and Cultivator
Saturday's Market Menu:
Canteloupe: new
Watermelon: both yellow and red
Turnips: new
Sweet corn: bi-color
Cucumbers
Summer Squash
Tomatoes: heirloom, roma, and beefsteak
Cherry Tomatoes: Sungold and grape
Beets
Eggplant
Potatoes: Yukon Gold and Norland
Cut Flowers
Leeks
Onions: red, sweet, and yellow
Garlic

Summer is just flying by if you havn't been paying attention.
It seems like just last week I was selling lettuce and early brassicas like kale, but I can already see the end from where I stand. Frost seems to appear by the second week of September...for those of you counting, that's just three weeks away!

New Pictures

Market menu for Saturday, August 19:
Watermelons: Sunshine (yellow variety) and Sugar Baby (regular)
Tomatoes: cherry tomatoes, romas, heirlooms, and regular beefsteak varieties
Potatoes: Yukon Gold and Norland Red
Corn: Bodacious bi-color variety
Onions: yellow, sweet, red
Peppers
Beets
Garlic
Leeks
Some yellow beans...
Flower Bouquets
Turnips
Radishes

My Uncle Duane was visiting our farm back in July and he lives for taking pictures! He lives in California and so it was great he could spend a couple of days with us. Some of his shots are below.

Sunset over Greenhouse looking North















Barn with pasture and thistles















Moving drip irrigation lines...my dad helping, my grandmom supervising.














Setting up irrigation...a common sight in July

Hot!

A absolute nightmare heat descended on Minnesota last week. My father-in-law follows weather like a hawk online and he said Vergas had a temperature of 97 and a dewpoint of 83 last sunday for a heat index of 122 degrees!! Man, it was insane.

As you can imagine this is not good for any crop. Even vegetables like melons and tomatoes which really like heat just shut down and try to survive, especially with such little moisture in the soil. Luckily we got nearly an inch of rain last Friday night, so I think all the plants have made it "over the hump." So, pray for a solid 80-some degrees with a weekly rain from here until frost.

Saturday's menu:
Juliet paste or plum tomatoes (new)
Taxi yellow tomatoes (new)
Valley Girl tomatoes (new)
...all these small, early-variety tomatoes are just coming in, so supply won't be great.
Beets (new)
Mix of Cherry Tomatoes: Grape, Sungold orange variety, and Washington Cherry variety
Cucumbers
Summer Squash and Zucchini
Sweet Onions
Red Onions
Garlic and a couple Garlic Braids
Bok Choy
Last of Broccoli
Red Cabbage
Cut Flower Bouquets
Norland Red Potatoes

I'm out of town until Friday night, so let's hope I have time and energy to pull off harvest!