Well, as you can imagine, it's been very busy. Almost all the spring planting is done except for the crops that we keep planting every few weeks. We keep the cucumbers and squashes planting about every 3 weeks. The tomatoes take the most time each week. They have to be tied every week or so and now all the pruning of the suckers begin. Oh, don't even get me started on the weeding. It's funny how the weeds will grow crazy but what you want to grow is always a struggle. Just part of it.
It's also very rewarding to see those tiny seeds start growing and producing something good to eat. Face it, that's what it is all about. Eating! We all love to eat or I should say I love to eat. There's no comparison in eating something freshly picked out the field. It actually has some flavor and a tomato taste like a tomato.
On a serious note, it's also good to know where your food is coming from. People put their trust in everything found in the grocery store. Yet it seems like more people are getting ill from produce bought there. Many times it's something prepared like lettuce in a bag, pre-cut. But occasionally some whole produce will be tainted like the cantaloupes back in 2009. They killed 38 people! Hard to imagine that a melon can kill someone. It was traced back to manure used as fertilizer and contaminated all the packing equipment. I have always refused to use manure. Just didn't seem safe but I know it can be safe if done correctly. I know things can happen that you can't prevent. But we thrive in growing the safest and best tasting produce that we can. Why? Because I like to eat and eat healthy.
This week we will be adding the irrigation lines on the pumpkins and watermelons. We received a little rain yesterday but we tend not to get much rain in the summer. So regularly watering is a must. Lots more weeding to do and some harvesting to do for the Farm Boxes. It's always a steady list of things to do. And most have to be done on a time frame. I can be talking with someone and at the same time be thinking of what I need to do next. My mentor always told me that the crops are only going to do what you make them do. In other words, if you don't take care of them, don't expect much of a harvest. So it's back to work.
