Threshing, Bed Shaping, Tomato Challenges

Our first seed crop of the season is ready for threshing.  We planted the kale in our hoop house in September and let it overwinter as food for the farm crew.  Extracting the seeds by hand is a time-consuming (but fun) process.  Will have to develop a better system for future harvests.

Shaped the final beds of the season using the rotary plow on the BCS.  In total we now have 50+, 60’ permanent beds.  Hopefully this will represent some of the last substantial tillage we have to do on the farm. 

Our field tomatoes have been a challenge so far this season. We brought in a cohort of predatory insects (including lacewings, predatory wasps and aphidoletes) to fight back an aphid infestation, which seems to have made an impact.  We also sprayed the plants once with neem oil, which we are generally opposed to doing except in extreme circumstances.  

Now, though, the plants are showing some signs of wind-stress, including unsightly, curled leaves that look almost like a rolled cigar.  The undersides of some of the bottom leaves are almost coated in a layer of sand.  We put up a burlap windbreak for temporary protection but in the long-term tall, perennial hedges could be planted to shelter this section of the farm.

— Robin Hackett, Farm Manager