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If you haven't noticed by now, farmers love to talk about the weather. For something we have no control of, it is constantly on our minds, for better or for worse. It's a reoccurring topic among the interns this summer and we can now say that we have had a July. 18 confirmed tornadoes in 23 days is mind-boggling, especially when 16 were confirmed in a week. I have friends who farm throughout Upstate, Central and the Finger Lakes, and some of the damage and conditions have been astonishing. I think that I speak for most farmers who sell to local communities that we appreciate the support throughout challenging and unpredictable growing conditions.

As the summer semester winds down for the students, they are really in a nice groove. They have a pretty good idea what the week looks like and are continuing to improve in their daily farm tasks. I appreciate all of their enthusiasm and hard work. This past week we were busy working with the tomatoes, getting them suckered and trellised. The students were amazed at the growth since the previous week. The cherry tomatoes are responding extremely well and should be part of the CSA share in the near future. Additionally, we planted a ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵion planting of cucumbers in one of the greenhouse beds. We like to have a long season of cucumbers, so doing multiple plantings in a season will allow that to happen. There are some plants in the current planting that are close to 15 feet tall. Feel free to take a look inside the greenhouse if you want to check them out. It is very impressive. We were also able to trellis the hot peppers that we grow in pots in the greenhouse. The plants get pretty big and need support, so we do a basket-weave trellis. Instead of supporting each individual plant, the basket-weave supports multiple plants at the same time by creating a "basket" around the plants with string on both sides of the plant and then tied off on posts at the two ends of the row. It's a very effective way to support plants in a low-tech way. Our last big greenhouse job was to liberate the eggplant from the weeds that were competing for nutrients. The plants are big and beautiful, and we are seeing the first baby eggplants starting to form. It shouldn't be long before they are part of the share, as well.

Speaking of the CSA share, this week we are seeing two new arrivals to the choice. There will be the first hot peppers of the season. There will be mostly jalapenos, with a sprinkling of cayenne peppers. We grow 3 different jalapeno varieties and 3 different cayenne. There will also be a mix of bell and frying peppers available. Additionally, there will be garlic, basil, garlic scapes, cucumbers, kale, rainbow chard and black currants to choose from. 

Have a great week!

-Farmer Todd