The View From Here

Heading into week 1 of the CSA...

a week early this time

(and the way Will wanted things to work out...last week of May to 3rd week of July)

...all the planning in the world will not force vegetables to do what you'd like them to do. For the most part, everything is going according to Will's Super-Geek-Grid. Dates to plant, days to maturity, length of rows - calculated lbs of produce...quite an impressive excel spreadsheet, and for the most part right on the money...but the first planting of corn had other ideas...ands is ready right this minute!
Actually, We've been picking a bucket of yellow squash every day for a week...let me be clear about this; WILL has been picking a bucket of squash every day. I did want to get some squash flowers this morning to put in the fridge. Stuffed Squash Blossoms, yum. However, even at 7:30 in the morning, the bees were up and busy and every flower must have had 5 or 6 bees in it...and they did NOT want to be disrupted in their activities. Usually, bees sleep in a bit and don't get moving until about 8:30 or 9. Don't know what's up with that, but i know I'll have to get out there earlier tomorrow... but I digress.

The garden is it's usual amazing self, due first of all to Will working like a dog out there every minute he's not 'at work' (ha). But also, our CSA members have been coming out consistently and have accomplished a huge amount of work - without them the garden would not be where it is at this moment. For example, a crew showed up last weekend and spread probably 50 bales of hay, getting most of the tomatoes and peppers mulched. I remember weeks ago (not that many weeks), a young couple worked sop hard training the little cucumber vines onto their new trellis. ok. this morning I picked two 5 gallon buckets of cucumbers! And the vines are to the tippy top of the trllis and trailing everywhere. Beautiful. So, everyone gets corn, yellow squash, cucumbers, basil....and some will get chard, beets, beans. It begins.
Wish us well. This evening, several families are loading up their baskets early, because they already had Memorial Day Weekend plans. Then, in the morning, the big rush begins. I remember it as being somewhat complicated and confusing until we get into the swing of things. We'll see how much our experience with last season has helped us have a smooth operation on Saturday morning.