Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - scientific method /wet fields

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Leigh Hauter <lh AT pressroom.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: scientific method /wet fields
  • Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2002 07:53:58 -0400


no moderator please but a little civility and even though we all might want to pontificate on a wide range of semi-related issues, lets keep to market-farming.

Which brings up the subject of rain. Here in Northern Virginia we are having the worst drought since they started keeping records almost 140 years ago. I know my fields didn't get any rain at all for the past 2 months, and hardly any for the two months before that.

And then yesterday and last night 3 inches fell and it's still coming down.

I don't do markets, I do subscriptions but I have 60 shares that need picking and delivering today. (I picked 50 yesterday in the rain by myself because my help thought rain meant no work and didn't show up - he doesn't have a job today). Early this morning another local CSA farmer called to ask if I was thinking about cancelling delivery for the day because of the saturated fields (he got an inch more than I did).

I know my grandmother, who was wise about such things, said 'never, ever, go in your garden when it is wet. You spread disease.' But she didn't have the pressure of 'the market' making her get out there and do things she would think ill advised.

So what are peoples thoughts on this? Do you harvest even when your fields are saturated? Do you handle it like just another harvest day, do you cancel harvest completely, or do you, say, harvest squash but not arugula. Okra, but not basil.

It would have been nice if last night's 3 inches had spaced itself a little better and come down, say, an inch every 3 week. We would have still had a drought but at least some of the trees that died in the past couple weeks would still be alive.




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page