We have gotten a few good soakings of rain over the last week which has been much appreciated. But with the intensity of this summer's sun, you would hardly know it by looking at the dusty fields! The forecast for temps in the 80's and 90's with slight chances for further precipitation means that we will surely be irrigating once again. The hot weather of a few weeks ago forced us to hold off on transplanting our fall crops. The added moisture to the soil last week enabled us to finally do some bed preparations. Brussels sprouts, cabbage and broccoli will begin filling up the center field.

The boom/bust cycles of insects and pests has made its presence known here on the farm. We are seeing more aphids on our zucchini and summer squash plants than I have ever seen on any farm. Sadly, we have had to remove about ¼ of the mature, fruiting plants and discard them. It's not so much the aphids themselves but the diseases they carry. We are removing infested plants, hoping to slow the spread of disease. Although they are in the same family as the zucchini, it appears (for now) that cucumbers and melons are less preferred by these pests.

The greens and cooler weather crops have come and gone and the hot weather crops of summer are within a week or so of our grasp. There is heavy fruit set on all of the tomatoes. We have seven different varieties of tomatoes in our first planting but only three of those are beginning to turn color. Similarly, we have four varieties of eggplant in the planting but only one of them is currently fruiting. Over the long term, these plantings will provide us with a variety of tastes, shapes and colors making the harvest more enjoyable for both farmer and consumer. But here we are scratching our heads trying to most equitably distribute that which is coming in unevenly. So we ask for a little patience over the next week or so while the many different varieties mature and begin to ripen along with the rest of the planting.