Rain! Rain! Rain!

Many people have been asking me, “How is all this rain affecting things on the farm?” I’ve been telling people I’m JUST beginning to get nervous. Up to a point, rain is good, it helps the crops grow fast, and means we don’t need to irrigate. However, it’s now getting to be SOooo rainy, that we are seeing a few signs of over saturation. Peppers, tomatoes and eggplants are showing minor signs of rot and disease. Nothing seems alarming yet, but we are keeping a close eye on these problem areas. Wetness encourages the spread of disease, as it is a hospitable environment for fungus and bacteria to spread.
Wet soil is not good to disturb, since working wet soil can cause compaction and degrade soil structure and soil ecology.  As a result all this rainy weather has made it difficult to till our beds on schedule. Right now, we are turning under many spring crops and trying to get those beds ready for plantings that will be ready in the fall. A week ago we had a stretch of three days (Saturday, Sunday and Monday) that were dry enough to work our soil with the tractor, and that is all I did for those three days in order to catch up! Mondays are harvest days and I was really impressed that Emma (farm apprentice) and the rest of the crew were able to get the whole harvest done without me- thank you Monday crew!
Another difficulty brought about by the rain is simply planning the day! Not only has the weather been wet, but it has been variable and hard to predict. Our days are packed and we take each morning to plan out the day’s activities in order to most efficient with our time and properly prioritize all of our time sensitive work. This weather has proven to make those plans difficult to follow and everyone has had to be particularly flexible out of necessity.  But of course, every time you change the plan, it slows down the day and adds a little inefficiency to change gears. On that note, I am grateful for the upcoming volunteer day Sunday (yesterday by the time you read this), and I hope to be able to feel a little more “caught up” with some extra helping hands.
On another note, I want to thank the die-hard you-pickers who have been out in the rain to harvest their flowers, herbs and beans. I am happy to see your dedication and love for the you-pick section!

Rain Update

It seems like every year we talk about how strange the weather is. I wonder if there is such a thing as a “normal” year anymore. Having been in Philadelphia only 5 years, I have to rely on folks who have spent their whole lives here to give me a perspective on the current year’s deviation from “normal.” In the last five years, according to the locals, I’ve experience extraordinarily snowy, cold winters, as well as extraordinarily mild winters. Last summer started hot and dry, then turned to extremely wet. This summer started early and was at first very dry. The last few weeks have relieved the drought locally and we’ve had some spectacular down pours! This is the first year we have had a rain gauge at the farm and I’ve become quite obsessed with checking it! My father (who is a professor of meteorology) would be proud. I was curious to see if we had “caught up” on rain fall yet this year. Turns out while we are ahead of the average rainfall for the month of August, we still have a ways to go to catch up to the yearly average. However, it is remarkable to look at last year’s numbers and see that the month of August was about three times as rainy! Here is an interesting review, from NOAA.com:

Precipitation (inches)	Observed Value	Normal Value	Last Year
Month to Date	4.36	2.22	12.95
Since June 1	8.78	10.00	18.22
Since January 1	19.9	26.74	35.75

A Soggy Update from the Farm

The rain is proving to be relentless! I’m sorry to say that it seems like every time I turn around some new disease is spreading. Most recently, the winter squash and peppers are really suffering. I think the peppers have Phytophthera, a soil born disease that thrives in wet conditions. As a result, the peppers wilt almost overnight and then the fruit quickly begins to rot. To try to prevent the disease from spreading, I’ve been ripping out peppers as they become affected. I seem to be ripping out 5-10 plants a day! Unfortunately there is no organic control for Phytophthera. You might be seeing more green peppers in your share and less red, yellow and orange ones as a result because we can’t afford to leave the green ones on the plant, waiting for them to turn color, since they will likely rot before they do! The winter squash were looking beautiful and strong until a few weeks ago. My best guess is squash bugs. Sadly the leaves are shriveling and the plants are dying prematurely, before the fruits have fully ripened. So far it looks like the acorn are fairing slightly better than the butternut.