patience

Dear Readers,

Moderation is key; this overly wet weather has effectively set us back two weeks. Plants just don't grow without sun to feed them, and flowers don't bloom in the rain. The dianthus is doing its very best though:

We discovered this spring that slugs are a serious menace to our crops. They really like landscape fabric, maybe because it's dark and cool and wet underneath. 

The sunflower, zinnia, and daucus crops in landscape fabric got completely eaten within the space of two nights.These are some of the survivors:

You can see that in the high tunnel, where things stay dry, the sunflowers did just fine:

Thankfully, the majority of our crops are doing alright. Aside from the slugs, we're battling weeds. It's difficult to weed when the ground is so soggy, so we're a bit behind. But I'm grateful that these few sunny days will give the soil a chance to air out, and then we can do some weeding.

Farmers all over Maryland have been commiserating about their issues resulting from rain. Many farmers have employees, and their staff has run out of things to do in wet weather. I've heard stories about fields becoming flooded, peony disease spreading from too much wet, and greenhouse plugs getting too big for their britches because fields can't be tilled until they dry.

All I can say is that to all of you who buy local, thank you for your patience and understanding as we do our best to grow for you. We'll share our harvests the minute we have them!

I wish you all a tan,

Laura Beth