This week is one of those rare serendipitous weeks that are hard to come by in August. It's a fair bit cooler. The steam machine has backed way off. No rain for a few weeks now, which means I have all the fall and winter crop plots - almost an acre - nicely worked up and weed-free. It will continue to be dry; I like that for planting the cool-season crops. I'd rather gently irrigate where I need it than see bruising thunderstorms pound the seedlings to a pulp and wash out all the little tiny shallowly planted root and greens seeds.
The hot steamy weather has made it tough to get anything started in the ground so far; anything I've planted has wilted as soon as it germinates, despite my best efforts. It's just been too hot; the soil will burn bare feet, which means the soil far too hot to support little seedlings of just about any kind. Nor have I been able to move most of a few thousand veggie starts out of the shade, let alone into the field.
A break in the weather means this week is THAT week. I'm betting I won't get another near-perfect chance. It all has to happen now, or we won't have much to eat for the next six months. Timing is everything in farming, especially when trying to grow through the back half of the year. There will be no deliveries, pick-ups, or markets this week. All attention is going towards getting the cool-season crops planted, transplanted, happy and hale in the ground.
Thanks as always for your business, and for your patient understanding. We'll see you all again the week of August 29th.