Net Positive
Hello everyone!
The fall is upon us and these cooler mornings are making us feel like slowing down. Which is good because things are slowing down on the farm with us. One of the best things about working in agriculture (or just outside in general) is feeling synchronized with the natural rhythm of the year. Summer crops like zucchini and tomatoes are producing less and succumbing to disease. The leaves are all beginning to fall off the trees.
Me proudly holding a ripe Carmen pepper.
Now saying this is all well and good, but we are also still experiencing 80-degree days and sunshine! Nothings pulls you out of cozy fall vibes like sweating in the chunky knit sweater you put on because of how chilly it was when you left that morning. So fall is here and, at the same time, it isn’t. People have been asking me if this warm weather is good for us on the farm and I think it has been. Our peppers are finally starting to ripen, and I think this little extra push of warmth made that possible. Our fall plantings are also growing very quickly and are loving the dry warmth during the day and the cool nights. And I have personally love that I’m still feeling hot out at the farm. I just hope that it doesn’t change too dramatically into fully blown winter. A more gradual descent would be much appreciated.
Radishes being revealed as the insect netting is pulled away. You can kinda see the metal hoops that hold up the fabric.
On a few of our fall crops we have put on insect netting. The insect netting is a fine mesh that we drape over metal hoops in the ground and weigh them down with bags of gravel. The insect netting, as the name might imply, keeps out insects. I really love these passive forms of pest control. They’re effective, relatively easy to set up, cheap and gentle on the plants and the environment. We have put netting on a bed of radish and on a bed of arugula. Both of these plants are susceptible to flea beetles which leave tiny holes on the leaves. Not the end of the world, to be completely honest, but they can stunt the growth on radishes and give an unappetizing appearance to arugula.
Lovely seed garlic ready to rock and roll.
I have done battle with flea beetles in the past and many of the organic solutions are simply ineffective. At least the ways I’ve used them. The netting works! We will direct seed our plants in the ground and then immediately cover the beds with the nets before the seeds even germinate. The plants seem to love the mild shade that net provides as well.
Our radishes grown under the fabric, versus ones exposed, looked much more vigorous and fuller comparatively. It takes a bit of planning and forethought to get the netting up and sometimes it isn’t logistically possible to cover everything. But seeing how well the netting works really hammers home the need for a proactive approach to pest management. Understanding what’s coming and devising a solution ahead of it saves a lot of time and headache compared to trying to frantically deal with the problem as it's happening. That’s going in the little orange book.
Washing some fresh radishes at the farm.
We are looking forward to seeing you at the Ypsi Farmer’s Market this weekend as always 9am – 1pm. We will have tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, arugula, napa cabbage, green onions, beets, radishes, turnips, chard, summer squash, herbs, and flowers. Sorry about the late newsletter this week. Was experiencing a bit of writer’s block hence a bit of rambling content. These days most of what I think about is the weather, bugs and vegetables so that is what I am apt to write about!
Looking forward to seeing you all at market!
Zach and Magda
A picture we took of the weird hot air balloon flying over Chelsea last week.
