BEETLES AND TOADS
The peas are already on their way out. It seems like they just started fruiting and the first row we planted is already starting to fade to yellow vines. Unbelievable how quickly we are breezing through the summer.
We Grow’s shares may look a little different by the end of week seven as SO many things are on the verge of being ready. Green beans are about two inches long and coming on strong. Zucchini is coming along, but not in quantities large enough for every share yet. A new planting of mustard is on deck as well as the Swiss chard. The cabbages look fantastic, but will be a couple of weeks out yet. Broccoli is probably two weeks away.
We have been having a bit of trouble in the potato field. In the past, we’ve never had a problem. Matter of fact, any other year it was more of a problem figuring out what to do with our excess bounty. But this year, we have an infestation of wire worms. After some research, there is no treatment for wire worms (larvae of the click beetle) once they’re established. And we planted a LOT of potatoes. Like 1,800 feet of potatoes! We debated on the issue and decided we can’t just throw away all the spuds. We aren’t going to be selling them, but we will be giving them to our members and asking you to do as we have been doing and trim off the bad spots. They still taste delicious, but the flesh damage is a bit of an inconvenience in the kitchen and will prevent them from becoming a winter storage crop. The only good thing is we now have the knowledge on how to prevent this next season.
We went through our five bee hives on Friday and three are doing really well with two supers on top and two are not quite as productive. We were elated to see our new colonies fill out the new frames in such a short amount of time. There was some honey-filled rogue comb we had to remove, so we got to enjoy fresh honeycomb all evening. Fresh honey is amazing! We love to talk bees, so just ask if you want to learn more.
With sticky fingers,
Eric & Rebecca