When it Rains, it Pours

Rain clouds over Paonia valley and Lamborn Mt.

On a Thursday morning in early July we all woke to a sound that we hadn’t heard in nearly two months. It was a full-bodied pitter patter of rain drops finally quenching the earth’s thirst. I can honestly say that the coming of rain was one of the most exciting events that’s happened on the farm. For two months we had farmed under the flaming sun, drenching the soil with water so plants wouldn’t wilt and racing against the heat when harvesting. When we weren’t hunting for shade we wet bandanas to cool our necks, dunked our hats in water, and stood in the pathways of sprinklers, all to keep our bodies and souls from shriveling in the heat. And then we were in absolute heaven as the clouds rolled in, bringing not just the usual wind and thunder but a vigorous, blessed cool rain… for four whole days. We splashed merrily in puddles and delighted in the cool air while finishing projects in the greenhouses that had been put off for weeks and enjoying some stress-free harvesting days.

The arrival of rain also meant that we might hear the elusive rain crow – the Yellow-billed Cuckoo – calling from one of the many large trees around the farm. Our ears are perked and we can only hope that this farm’s namesake will make an appearance this summer.

As June came to an end we placed the very last of our vegetable and flower transplants into the field. With our long transplanting days over we’ve now begun full on harvesting and … THE WEEDING REGIME.

Everything we’ve put into the ground since late May has a nice groundcover of knotweed, bindweed, thistle, and grass, and for a few hours every day we tackle a small area and pull these unwelcome intruders from the ground. Some crops go faster than others, like kale. The little transplants we put in a month ago shot up and spread their canopies so fast that weeds struggled in their shade, and with four of us working we cleared out 8 kale beds in an afternoon. Some of the crops we direct seeded, like beets, are grossly intimidating. The beds of red and golden beets need no less than an army to clear them of their stifling weeds, and so far we’ve cleared about 20 feet. So daunting a project are they that we temporarily abandoned them to the faster leek beds. One bed of leeks has already been weeded and mulched with straw – these we will harvest in the fall.

Many organic farmers employ the use of black plastic between and around their rows of crops for this very reason. I understand why they do it – a lot of time goes into weeding and mulching without this barrier. However, rows and rows of black plastic every year on a farm adds a substantial amount of waste to the earth, even from the kinds that claim to be biodegradable. We delight in feeling the bare earth beneath our feet and for that we must weed.

 

Our first bed of leeks, weed-free and mulched with straw.

Delights at Market

In preparation for the 4^th of July, Kerry, Sarah, and I spent a culmination of over 50 hours harvesting flowers last week and packing the cooler to it’s maximum capacity. On Friday, Kerry called the troops in and the ladies took up the challenge, creating the most beautiful and numerous bouquets we’ve had yet. At Crested Butte market on July 3^rd, crowds of friends and families paused on the street, their big eyes taking in the towers and tiers and tables of our bouquets. I am proud to say that our flowers left our tent so quickly in that first hour of market that I didn’t even have a chance to take a photo of the display! Long before market was over we had sold every last one, over 100 bouquets, and late-comers woefully watched their neighbors marching down the street with their living works of art, no doubt wishing they’d woken a little earlier that morning.

As strawberries make a final push to ripen their increasingly smaller fruits, we turn to the farm’s next little delight: raspberries! These brambles grow all around the prop house, and last Sunday we collected enough to fill 13 boxes for market. Our two cherry trees are also ending their fruit production, and Connor harvested a final 70 pounds to sell. We’re not a fruit farm but it’s always a benefit to have some sweet treat among the greens and vegetables; people go crazy for fruit. Our next fruit harvest will be apricots from one of many fruit trees around the farm. 

Kerry cuts yarrow and feverfew for market bouquets

Green and red head lettuces for market

Over 5 pounds of basil harvested for wholesale

Eggplant!

The farm's new nemesis: grasshoppers

Tomato Trellising

We never run out of new projects on the farm, and this week our fast growing tomatoes have given us another one! Kerry trellises her tomatoes using string hung from the tunnel's frame. The tomatoes are pruned to three branches, then twisted around their own string so that they are hoisted up off the ground. Some of our faster growing varieties, like the sungold and cherry tomatoes, have branches that are already 3-4 feet long, making trellising them a very slow and very careful project! With help from a friend of Kerry's, we have one row of tomatoes pruned and tied, and many more to go!

Connor, who is supposed to be tying string for trellising ;)

Remember the Prop House? It used to be full of tables with trays of seedlings. Now it's tilled and planted to tomatoes, basil, and peppers!

The Ault Family Visits Paonia

Claire's parents and sister came for a short visit right after the 4th, and we took them up the winding gravel road up Kebler Pass and to Lost Lake. The day was clear and cool as we hiked around a series of lakes high up in the mountains, and we listened to a Swainson's Thrush singing it's spiraling song in the pine trees. We both love and have missed the smells of pine forests and decaying needles on the forest floor, and this hike around the lake reminded us of our midwestern homes. 

Lost Lake

Sun and sunflower