Rain, Grain and MesclunFolks,

The rain continues! I will grumble about it being so wet but at least I don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of crop standing in the field. I am afraid that is the situation that many of our corn/soybean farmers find themselves in and it doesn’t look good for them. Of course, it is impossible to drive  humongous machinery on such wet ground but perhaps even more troubling for them is the fact that their crops have not been able to dry out. It is critical that corn and soybeans dry out considerably before they are harvested so that they don’t rot/mold in storage. That drying has not occurred this year and as it gets later in the year it becomes increasingly likely that it won’t before true winter comes. It’s a dramatic situation. Most grain farmers are in a great deal of debt to landlords as well as the fertilizer, pesticide and seed companies. These weather conditions are creating real hardship for all of them and may prove truly catastrophic for many. And more rain is in the forecast………

On a more positive note:

We have some beautiful greens available this week. There are a couple of large patches of lettuce that have finally matured to cutting size. We’ll have some spinach available as well- although not as much as I expected. I have lost two of the spinach beds altogether by allowing them to be over-harvested before they were well established; one more lesson for this year.

Late fall is when the members of the mustard family really excel. These include: the kales, the Asian Greens, radishes, turnips and Brussel Sprouts. Mustards really like the cool weather and the cold seems to bring out the best flavors in them.

In any case, today you will be able to cut a spectacular mix of mesclun-sized salad ingredients as well as radishes, turnips, Swiss Chard, Kale, Leeks, Italian Parsley and celery.

Be warned that we have some very soggy conditions out there today. It will be muddy. I’ll be available this evening to show you around and help you harvest what you are looking for and I’ll be happy to harvest for those who don’t want to brave the elements.

Looking forward to seeing you!