What’s been going on?

Can we have another week off and come back to cooler temperatures this time? “Week off” would be a misrepresentation of the facts, somehow it seemed we like we were over scheduled and just went from one thing we needed to do to the next. Sometimes that happens when what appears to be open time gets filled with all the things you haven’t gotten done the last few months, you know like getting the car tires rotated. We did have several enjoyable meals with friends and I did escape to the mountains for a few nights. In between there were tomatoes, peppers and flowers to pick; turkeys to move, water and feed; soil tests to pull, mowing, mowing, mowing. We’re back and ready to face the end of the season.

It does seem like with the heat and the rains that the grass and weeds are in overdrive. Some of it grew a foot in a week so the first job for the guys was to join in with us to try and beat the grass back so our collective quality of lives would be better. We are now in the early stages of taking things apart for the winter. I know it’s only August but when you spend most of the year building and installing things to support and grow plants, you have to pace yourself on taking it all down. Already we have taken out some flower trellises and lots of irrigation lines. Today the earliest tomatoes get pulled out of the little sliding tunnels to make way for Thanksgiving and winter vegetables and flowers. They gave us all they could over the last ten weeks but now look really sad.

The next few weeks we will continue planting vegetables for Thanksgiving and, believe it or not, flowers for next year. Leeks, Collards, Beets and Carrots next week and then in early September the first of the overwintered flowers like Larkspur and Bachelors Buttons. The cycle sometimes seems surprising in it’s timing but after years of doing it we’ve gotten used to it and know that it is what has to happen. Soon it will be time for winter cover crops and all the rest. What week off?

Picture of the Week

It was 51 degrees at 6100′ last Saturday, hmmm.

What’s going to be at the market?

I thought we had seen the last of the Wednesday markets with 100 degree temperatures, come on out, we’ll be there.

The great Limelight Hydrangeas are still here, these late season dense headed, hydrangeas are maybe the best of the bunch. The Crested Celosia festival continues but with less gusto . A few Zinnias to go with some nice Sunflowers. Betsy’s beautiful bouquets. Plenty of fragrant Oriental Lilies in white and pink and Asiatic (non-fragrant) Lilies in yellow.

As you all know August is when it becomes all about Peppers. I think we nearing full selection with only the very hot Habaneros missing from the collection. In hot types there are plenty of Anaheim, Poblano, Jalapeno, Serrano, Cayenne and Passilla. Padrone and Shishito, the Spanish and Japanese snacking peppers, just quickly coat them in a pan with some hot olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and eat the whole thing. The Peregrine Picante Pimientos are back with nice red, slightly hot, thick fleshed fruit. In Sweet peppers we have good supply of Purple Bells, lime green Cubanelles and Corno di Toros. Looks like the first of the of the Red, Yellow and Orange Bells this week too. If it is not too hot we may bust out the roaster for the first time Saturday.

Tomato supply is light. In Reds there is a small supply of Big Beefs and the last of the Ultrasweets. A better supply of Cherokee Purples from the last planting. Some nice Roma’s. In cherry types there is a pretty good supply of Sungolds, with a few pints of Grape tomatoes. There is a smattering of other colors around too.

More of the awesome Italian heirloom Eggplant. Basil to go with tomatoes. Figs too! Summer Crisp lettuce maybe by Saturday!

Hope to see you all at the market!

Alex and Betsy