2021 CSA Farm Update: Week 5

Welcome everyone to week 5 of the Katchkie Farm CSA! The summer vegetables are just becoming ready for harvest with lots more on the way.

Rain, is that word that can conjure up so many mixed feelings in farmers. Feelings of joy, gratitude, or sorrow. Those feelings are dependent how much rain falls from the sky. Sometimes it is what we would call the right amount, sometimes too little and sometimes just enough. Right now it is on the scale of too much! Last week was what I would call a soggy week. This week is also what I would call a soggy week. The afternoons greeted us with high winds and pounding rain. The end of the week was also more rain, mixed in with thunderstorms. All in all the best thing we can do is accept the fact that it is raining.

Vegetables really need about 1” of rain per week in a typical soil. Sometimes we have to give them this through irrigation, sometimes we do not. What happens when they receive 4” in a week? They do grow more, but just like anything too much is never a good idea. If we have been taking care of our soil and building the organic matter, they can hold more water without runoff and erosion. If we have used our soils in more of an extraction process, they have lost their ability to hold water and most of the rain will runoff and possibly cause erosion. An excess of rain really tells us how well we are managing our soils.

Anyhow, on to the vegetables. This week, eggplant will make its first appearance in your shares. We grow a few types of them, on the farm. Mainly the large purple Italian, with a few Italian heirlooms and a handful of a long purple variety. The array of eggplants grown around the world is vast. From green, to white, to purple to orange, all in a variety of shapes and sizes. No matter what shape or size, the first eggplants are such a treat. Peeled, diced, and sautéed with some garlic and a few chili flakes is my favorite way to enjoy these beauties.

Until next time,
Farmer Jon