foxlinecityfarm

We have not had any rain here since May 26th and that was recorded as just under a half inch in our rain gage. It was already dry at that point and we were optimistic that rain would come soon.  Here we are today with nothing from the sky and Scott just checked the meter and we have irrigated 340,000 gallons of water.  Gardening without rain and extreme dry heat has given us a few challenges.  Scott and I each had our separate “freak out” days last week about these challenges and difficulties.  We quickly regrouped and powered on.  It is exhausting to garden in the heat and we are limited to what we can do…..watering takes up much of our time.  So, I think we were feeling we were slipping a bit behind and do to situations out of our control that we could not fix or change…. I think the garden heard we were weary and really showed us this week that it is all worth the effort.  A huge bounty of quality produce.  We are amazed and grateful and a bit proud too.

Maeve always adds a bit of humor and fun to our days….she was dressing for a “Gala Ball” while we were prepping boxes.

The beans are doing wonderful.  We pulled the first planting yesterday and will replant a 4th rotation here this week.  The second rotation is in full swing and the 3rd just about to start.  Our broccoli plants sent out tons of wonderful side shoots after cutting and we are able to provide almost a pound to everyone of these tasty treats in this weeks box.  3 weeks of broccoli!  We made the decision to cut most of the  cauliflower.  It really does not like heat and we are thrilled that we have cauliflower at all this year!  The variety is called Amazing which is kinda funny to me….Weather reports tell us it is going to be another long hot dry week so we felt this was the best decision no matter the head size.  We feared the heads would become “rice like” and not be  of good quality.  Another planting is started in the greenhouse for Autumn harvest so hopefully it will appear again at the end of the season with more substantial head size.

Take a look at the Watermelon Patch. WOW!

My favorite watermelon Ali Baba forming…..

The watermelon patch is loaded with tons of little baby watermelon forming….It is really pretty to look at and Scott makes sure that it is watered constantly.  Another big goal was to have a wonderful watermelon harvest this year and we are well on our way.

Beautiful fruit hanging from the plant.

The eggplant has just started ripening….we harvested 15 and they are in the “extra box” this week.  The plants are heathy and covered with beautiful velvety flowers.  What a change from last year when we had to add hoops and cover the row to keep it warm in hopes that we would get something before the frost.

An heirloom beauty just about ready for picking.

Tomatoes are around the corner……..And there is a bounty out there!

Cherry Tomatoes.

I think next week these tomato wonders will be in the boxes.  I can’t wait!

We are still having trouble with the zucchini patch.  It appears the squash bugs and squash vine borers are visiting.  We have lost 17 plants to this terrible pest.  It is disappointing that we will not have the volume of this summer staple right now.  However, we did see trouble on the horizon with this crop a little over 3 weeks ago and started new plants in the greenhouse immediately.  We planted a new patch this week with the seedlings way WAY on the other side of the garden.  We should have harvestable fruit in about a months time.

Our Fall crops look robust and determined….. lettuce rotations doing well too. It is a relief that so much looks so strong and healthy.  It would just be nice to have a nice steady slow all night rain-take a deep breath and say “Phew, we made it”.  Hopefully this week there will be a bit of relief.