Yes, we’ve traveled 16 weeks throughout the CSA season number 19 at Lida Farm.

I often feel that week by week zips on by at lightening speed, but, when I think about the whole season, it feels like a lifetime ago.

All told I think things turned out all right considering the very long stretch without rain, which, when it finally did fall out of the sky, came down like waterfall. Neither of these things are conducive to growing crops. If this is our new normal or consistent pattern, vegetable farming and all farming for that matter will need to look different. We cannot have ground that’s like hard baked pavement get beaten by 3 inches of rain in an afternoon and expect to keep productive topsoil for the next generation, especially if we rely on a lot of tillage.

For us, I know we need to take on practices that create a good crop while conserving moisture – this entails more intensive growing through better use of greenhouses, plastic mulches, and drip irrigation. In the field, this means significantly better fertility management and cover crops to hold water and build up organic matter. This will allow better water retention and overall tilth. The issue, however, is carving out the time to make these things happen, increasing costs for inputs and setting aside land to the practices.

I’m all for these improvements, and we’ll start some of the effort this fall. But, really, the plans and implementation will get shouldered when my mind and body are fresh – in the spring!

In the box:

• Buttercup Squash
• A few Delicata Squash
• Watermelon Radish: Yes, the big white thing (s) are radishes. Try a quick pickling recipe with them: https://www.seriouseats.com/pickled-watermelon-radish-recipe
• Rosemary
• Carrots
• Beets
• Brussels Sprouts
• Russet Potatoes
• A couple Red Onions
• Head of Galic
• Rutabaga(s): Some got to a nice size, but others stayed a bit small, so you may get a few. Orange in color.
• Roma Tomatoes: Really great for saucing instead of fresh eating