Catalpa Ridge News–Volume 20 No 5–July 13, 2015

Rain Continues (again) !

We received more rain this week and Thursday was the worst of the week. The round  field, though we have had some losses, is doing ok and we are hoping for improved conditions. Last week we had to start the garlic harvest and this week it was the potatoes.  Since it is too wet to make new beds for planting we are going to plant in the garlic beds. The transplants were started during the week in the greenhouse on the rainiest day so we were able to at least get some work done.

On Monday the crew finished all of the garlic harvest while Farmer Rich was making deliveries to Bergen County.

While the plants are growing well with all the rain, the weeds have taken off as well. One of the projects this week will be to regain control from the weeds.

Franklin Greenhouse Report:  The eggplant and hot peppers are all doing great. The Oriental Green rotation is working out well and you will find them in your delivery this week. The radishes are coming along nicely and the arugula we think will be ready for harvest either next week or the week after. We are getting at least 1-2 items per week out of this greenhouse. The advantage of using this greenhouse during this time of year is the reduction in insect problems. Virtually all of our eggplant production will be coming from the Franklin greenhouse.

Weather Report:   Again more rain fell during the week. The week ended up on a positive note with no rain Friday through Sunday. At least 1 ½” fell during. Though it was too wet to do major field work, the crew was able to harvest some zucchini and work in the greenhouse. Dory was able to seed about 30 flats of veggies for field planting in two to three weeks. The crop rotations are working out well.

From the Fields: The seeded crops included lettuce, Oriental greens, broccoli and cauliflower. This was perfect timing as lettuce, escarole and cucumbers were transplanted just in time to make

room for these newly seeded flats in the greenhouse. The rotations from seeding to transplanting to field planting takes about 2-3 weeks depending on the vegetable variety.

Tokyo Bekana (Chinese Cabbage) recently transplanted & Zucchini rows (upper right)

The cucumber patch that got destroyed by the never ending pounding of rain was replaced with transplants (again). We do hope that it works out this time. The surviving plants are doing ok.

We seeded some favas for fava greens in the back fields. Cabbage, tomatoes & Brussel sprouts in the back field are really coming along great. The sunchokes patches are really enjoying the rain and are growing higher & higher every day.