The farm has just gotten a lot bigger. We've signed a 2-year lease for the 14 acres across the street (also owned by Bob-- our total leased land is now 28 acres!) ... and spent the last few days plowing up the soil. Take a look, it's beautiful. Next year we will be growing all our onion-family crops there, to avoid the nematode infestation we got on our garlic this year (which stays in the soil for a while)... and we'll also probably put our potatoes there, and maybe tomatoes and a few other things too. One challenge we'll have is trying to irrigate, as there is no well, city hookup, or creek to tap from. Victor town laws don't allow us to use either of the two hydrants which are right next to the field. Another challenge we'll have is deer. Luke said that 3 deer watched him plow for an hour, standing not 100 feet from the edge of the field, just grazing calmly. I asked if they were holding up signs that said "Soybeans"... hopefully we won't plant anything they're interested in. Otherwise we'll need some fencing (better than our existing kind)!

Shares are at their hugest summer bounty. Tomatoes are ripening fast and the heirloom varieties are bursting. Watermelons are sweet on the horizon (next week?), and the corn is delicious. The onions are curing in the greenhouse-- the garlic is cured & we're starting to give it out. Carrots! And next up, potatoes (just as the weather starts to get a bit cooler).
Don't miss the pick-your own cherry tomatoes-- orange, red, & purple varieties. 2 quarts per share each week! Green beans overflowing (no limit!) -- easy to blanch & freeze for winter's use. Make pesto, or dry herbs by hanging bunches out of the sun until they're crisp.

Here's a few pictures from Luke's brother's wedding. This is the three-tiered carrot cake (Mud Creek carrots) that Luke made, with cream cheese frosting & edible flowers from the pick-your-own garden (pansies & borage). It was delicious.Each table at the reception had mason jars filled with Mud Creek flowers, sprigs of dill and purple basil, and even small swiss chard leaves! The favors were tiny bags of granola... Maple Cashew of course.

Celebration all around. In two weeks we harvest 100 sunflowers for another wedding, Mark & Courtney's (2nd year CSA members!) It's kind of fun. Let me know if you have a special event you need flowers for, and we can grow them for you next year. People don't think of flowers as being organic, but they are actually one of the more pesticide-intensive crops, because florists want them "perfect". But it's amazing what good soil & a diverse ecosystem will do for most blossoms. I don't grow roses, lilies, or orchids, however, so don't ask!