Vol 13 No 2 - Week of June 16th

Score of the week: Members: 150 Lettuces / Groundhog: 400 lettuces

Last week we reported that a groundhog decided to break into the fence and eat 100 of your lettuces. Well he enjoyed them so much that he came back and ate 300 more! Unfortunately this caused a loss of 2 whole deliveries. Farmer Rich staggers the plantings and it was the second planting that the groundhog ate. So far the 3rd & 4th plantings are ok. Hopefully we can keep him out. Meanwhile there is a new crop of baby rabbits prowling around the outside of the fence and peeking in. It seems they like they are inventorying the crops.

Remnants of the lettuces that the groundhog ate this week The rain has been coming at fairly nice intervals this season. We hope to get a rain before the Monday deliveries. Our irrigation system has been working perfectly, though we do have some plantings that need more than irrigation, such as another planting of lettuce, cilantro and favas. They need to get some overhead watering in addition to the irrigation. We have the irrigation system in the Franklin greenhouse on timers at 2 hour intervals. Our crew is mulching to keep the weeds down between the plastic rows on the raised beds. The nice thing with hay is that it will break down and add organic matter to the soil for next year. From the Fields: The favas are starting to “bean” up though got set back by the 100º temperatures. We hope to start harvesting the potatoes for next week. The broccoli is looking really good and the 3rd planting of lettuce has not been eaten. We are having problems with the cauliflower. They just seem to be stalled with only small heads. The outside planting of collards, cabbage & kale are all happy as well as the celery & herbs. Our lower greenhouse has squash, tomatoes and cucumbers all coming along nicely. Weather Report: Needless to say it was hot-hot-hot last week. This has affected the cool weather crops such as fava beans & lettuces. There was a minor hail storm that came through the end of last week and fortunately did not cause any damage. We’ll have “cole-slaw” in the fields if a large hail storm arrives. Animal report: Other than the groundhog & rabbit visits, seems like there are no other major problems to report. They seem to be prowling around the perimeter waiting for an opportune time to break in and feast. Apparently a deer is eating the potato plants in the back field which is something you normally do not hear them doing. They don’t seem to touch the potatoes in the front field. The back field’s garlic crop is showing some problems which Farmer Rich will be investigating this week. Farming Quote of the Week: “When one eats, one should not forget those who till the fields.” - Anonymous Chinese Proverb Greenhouse Pix: Tomatoes getting bigger every day

Pick of the Week: click on the links below or to the right to bring you to the delivery specific to your pick-up location. Deliveries will be of similar variety & poundage, but may contain different items. This time of year we may have some crops ready but not enough to deliver to all our drop-off locations. What we do is start to filter them in each week to a different drop-off until there is enough to delivery to everyone. This week Hoboken Midtown & Jersey City will be receiving tomatoes. Next week we will start with our other locations. A nice early taste!

• Recipe Links
• Beth Haverim Shir Shalom Delivery
• Hamburg Delivery
• Hoboken Midtown Delivery
• Hoboken South Delivery
• Hoboken West Delivery
• Jersey City Hamilton Park Delivery