Last week, most folks at the farm spent some time working on weeding, not just the harvest crews. A few wash/pack folks joined in the effort and I even helped pick a few weeds out of the carrot field when I was out and about taking photos. There’re a lot of new plants that need help and protection from the weeds, which can outcompete our crops if we’re not careful. We always want to set up our plants for success, creating good growing conditions that will lead to strong, vigorous, resilient plants that are able to fend off environmental stresses (heat, cold, wind), pathogens, and pest damage.
Setting our plants up for success starts long before we start weeding. The foundation of healthy plants is healthy soil, reflecting decades of care and attention, and many cycles of cover crops, compost, and thoughtful tillage. Then comes choosing good seeds, and caring for those seeds once in the ground (watering and weeding).
There is so much when it comes to farming that is out of our control. We can do everything right and still a crop can fail, whether from weather, disease, or pests. As mentioned last week, this year, we had bad luck with weather and our stone fruit. That wasn’t all: rain fell on our garlic while it was drying in the field in May and wild pigs took out some of our last melon planting. It’s incredibly humbling. Even when we have a great year for on particular crop, we can never claim to know exactly why; too many elements to consider.
In response to the peach situation, a CSA member emailed “For me a great benefit of belonging to a CSA is the sense of connection with the land and the people and the whole process of growing what you send out to us. It’s good to be reminded of how much we all depend on the weather and the changing seasons and so many other factors over which we have no control, and also how important it is to work with the forces of nature and appreciate what she gives us rather than thinking we have to have everything our way all the time.”
We certainly try to work with nature instead of against it, but up to a point. We planted cool season crops in hot summer weather when they were really unhappy so that this week’s boxes would have leafy greens and turnips. It’s a balance of human needs and nature.
As of right now, things look really good. We’ve had great weather and have been able to plant, fertilize, and cultivate (a fancy word for weeding) right on time. I feel nervous declaring that so early in the fall season, at risk of jinxing things. It’s undeniably a great time of year – good weather and a fun mix of produce to cook with as summer and fall produce overlaps. No wonder that so many cultures choose this time of year to celebrate the harvest and bounty!
Which necessitates one more plug for this Saturday’s Hoes Down Harvest Festival. We’ll be putting our weeding hoes (and knives and cultivators) down to celebrate! The schedule has been posted on the Hoes Down website and tickets are still available!
Elaine Swiedler, CSA Manager (with inspiration and help from Andrew Brait!)
