Farm Update 07-23-20

Another shorter update for this week, since there is not too much new to report. Work, as usual and with the expected challenges, is progressing at the usual pace. So to quickly recap, the woodchuck menace has been dealt with accordingly, the weather conditions continue to cause problems, the weeds are beyond prolific, and I’m just managing to keep the bug population in check.

As far as specific crops go, Tomatoes are growing, but very slowly, the Broccoli and Cauliflower are simply not growing, and the early Cabbage plantings are a complete loss. The Lettuce for the next week or two has all bolted to flower due to the intense sun, and I have no idea what the Snap Peas are doing, since they don’t want to flower at all. On the positive side, Local Tomatoes are available this week, as are Local Blueberries.

So, as you can see, it’s all pretty much normal and usual (or to use the proper term – SNAFU). Regardless, I’m pushing ahead with all the usual plantings and preparations. Oh, and one other to note – I’m not sure why, though I have suspicions, but the chickens are still laying smaller than expected eggs. By this point they should be laying mostly Large and larger eggs, but are still laying just under half as Medium. I’ll be adjusting what I can to get the bigger eggs, hopefully over the next couple of weeks.

For those interested in the meat chickens, I will be taking contact info and number of birds wanted this week. Depending on how big the chickens look, I will either start the slaughtering this coming week or the following. Pricing calculations so far look like it will be about $5/lb, though this is only a projection using current info, and is not to be considered the sale price. Additionally, there will be a period of time after processing when you can pick up the birds before they are frozen. This will usually be within 72 hours of when the processing is complete. So, if I slaughter and process on a Thursday, the birds can be picked up refrigerated but unfrozen until Sunday afternoon. Most of the birds will be immediately frozen, so if you want them fresh, you’ll have to make sure to request it.

That’s all I can think of right now. Hope you all have a great week.