Market Farming

[Lynn Wigglesworth <lynnw AT chilitech.net>]

At 11:20 AM 8/31/04 -0400, you wrote:
>  Everybody's pumpkin and winter squash crop was damaged in NJ this year.
>We were hit with downy mildew early in July a disease that normally shows
>up in late August. This stunted the crop at the point of fastest growth.
>Heavy rains brought on Phytophtora rot which took advantage of the weakened
>plants along with powdery mildew that appeared two weeks ago in the state.
>This is the second year in a row NJ farmers will loose out on the fall
>pumpkin crop. 

I tried something new this year and have had pretty good luck with my
winter squash so far. I have a farm, and have piles of composting
manure/waste hay/sawdust. I don't spread the compost until it's two years
old, so I planted all the winter squash on one year-old compost piles. They
are high and dry, out of the swamp that is the rest of the market garden.
The compost is 'done' enough that it drains well, and squash naturally like
compost, anyway. There is some downy mildew, but the plants are still
healthy enough to support a lot of fruit.  The zucchini (NOT on compost
piles) are looking pretty awful. So even if the rest of the garden drowns
(my last batch of sweet corn is tasseling at 2' tall), I'll have pumpkins
and gourds and Blue Hubbards!

Lynn Wigglesworth
Peasant Farmer
Tioga County, PA
Lynnw AT chilitech.net