Dear KCSA community,
I hope this finds you well.
We are still waiting for a handful of members to allocate their pick-up/u-pick window. Please look in your inboxes and spam folders for the 2020 Intro Package. It is dated 4/27. This document is very important as it not only states the pick-up protocol and gives you directions to the farm, but gives you your pick-up dates and pick-up times for the season. All members need open and read this packet so that you can select your pick-up window via the hyper link.
Can’t find the intro package!? Email us!
As a reminder, here are the most important changes to the pick-up protocol for 2020:
All shares will be prepacked and boxed for a quick pick up
Only one member per share is allowed to pick up and u-pick and must wear a mask
All members must select a pick up window for the season via the link in their intro package
Members must bring their own scissors and containers for u-pick
In last week’s newsletter, we mentioned that we were a little behind due to the weather. At KCSA we always (well, mostly) see the glass as half full! This delay has minimized damage from a recently identified corn seed maggot pest problem (although we had to re-sow all our zucchini and lost the spring broccoli) and it has now potentially saved us from some frost damage during this early May cold snap. Yes, we haven’t quite managed to plant our summer tomatoes, basil, peppers, eggplant, ground cherries, or tomatillos yet! During these lows they all remain nestled in our propagation houses snug and warm!
Everything that is currently planted outside can take a light frost. Protected by our row covers, we are confident everything will be fine. We double checked the hardiness of our strawberry plants and with our very last row cover, we draped it over the plants. Strawberry plants lie dormant during the winter so they are really cold hardy! The flowers, however, can be damaged at 28F. There is a little damage on the petals but I think we managed to save them!
As we remain upbeat and positive, another bonus of all this rain is a delay in setting up our field irrigation system. Yes, we have not needed to water the plants out in the field yet! Running drip tape, moving sprinklers, dragging hoses and placing headers can be laborsome. This has negated some of the extra work we have had to do because of the rain and means the tractor work has been quicker and less frustrating as we don’t have to hop on and off the tractor quite as much.
Another thing we have noticed is the lack of common spring pests like aphids and flea beetles. I’m not sure if that cancels out the seed maggot problems, but we have not had to implement (as of yet) any of our IPM reactive pest control measures.
Some crops like spinach and lettuce prefer cooler temperatures to germinate (let’s not think about all the others that prefer much hotter weather).
And, the heavy rainfall means we can see our drainage pattern in real time!
Ok, the last one is a stretch but seeing the swale and culvert in action is pretty awesome, despite my tears adding to the problem.
Stay safe,
Andrew
