We are in the dog days of summer at the farm, but the summer crops are coming progressing well and we are looking forward to cooler temps.
The summer heat has been taking a toll on the farm crew the last few weeks and as a result the guys have started coming in earlier to take advantage of the cooler morning hours. After a few more weeks of temperatures in the mid to high 90s, we hope to get some relief when September rolls around.
Other than a total lack of rain and truly parched soil, things are going well at the farm. I can tell you with great certainty that without irrigation we wouldn’t be able to grow the first thing this year; however, we are blessed to have two productive wells that serve us nicely.
The first tomato crop is fizzling out and it will probably be a few more weeks before the later plantings start to produce. We will have another big flush of summer crops soon – squash, zucchini and cucumbers – as the second plantings of those are starting to put on bright yellow blooms. We are still harvesting peppers and okra and will continue to do so for at least another month. The guys are working hard to keep up with the pea picking and it seems that we are always at least a day behind. This time of year always proves to be a classic case of “too much to do, and not enough time or labor to do it.”
The pumpkins and butternut squash are vining out rapidly and if we can keep the plants healthy and relatively bug-free, we should have a nice crop this year. We will start direct seeding carrots and beets this week and will continue to plant collards, broccoli and cabbage in seed trays. When we get to the end of this month we will start direct seeding arugula, turnips and radishes. We will also begin seeding lettuce, spinach and Swiss chard.
I wish you all well and hope that you aren’t getting discouraged by the heat. Just remember that cooler days are right around the corner now!
Brad Kelly
Business Development
Kelly Products, Inc.