David and Julia just sent us this update:
Dear CSA Members,
Thank you so much for your support and patience and your words of encouragement throughout the past weeks of slim harvests. It is time to give you an update on how things developed since our last e-mail in which we had shared with you our trouble with the irrigation.
We have good news in that we have been able to supply an abundance of water to our fall crops including: lettuce, pac choy, chinese cabbage, kale and swiss chard, tatsoi and broccoli, turnips, salad greens, radishes, carrots and beets.
We did have to abandon a good third of one of our fields on which we were growing all the cucurbits (squash, cucumbers, winter squash and pumpkins) in order to be able to supply enough water to the fall crops and the remaining summer crops with the small well we are now using – this decision was relatively easy since the plants had been heavily impacted by the lack of water over the summer. As a consequence of this drought, the winter squash yield this year is not very good. Equally impacted is the potato yield – which is probably going to come to an end soon.
The recent cold nights took a toll on the field tomatoes which have slowed down production to almost nothing. We have a beautiful second succession of beans that is yielding abundantly at the moment and should continue to do so for the next three weeks if the weather holds up and we don’t get any early night frosts.
So you should expect to see more cooking and salad greens as well as root crops going into fall – but keep in mind that the usual basics of potatoes and winter squash might be missing this fall.
Thank you again for your continued support!
“Know Your Food!”
Julia and David Smagorinsky
Woodbridge Farm LLC
30 Woodbridge Road
Salem, CT 06420
phone: (860) 531-8090
e-mail: woodbridgefarm@sbcglobal.net
www.woodbridgefarmonline.com