August 30th 2012
We were enjoying a leisurely Sunday dinner when it started to rain. “Well,” I said, “that's probably it for the tomatoes.” What I was referring to was late blight, which has been in the area for some time and is brought on by cool wet weather. Sure enough, Monday morning there it was, affecting every plant and looking fierce. Late blight usually means a quick death for tomato and potato plants (the great famine in Ireland in the 1840's was caused by this same fungus) and there is no effective organic control except sunshine. We have had plenty of that since Monday and many plants are still looking more or less green, at least until the next rain. What I'm getting at is, don't be surprised if tomato season comes to an abrupt halt very soon. The writing is on the wall for these guys.
Many growers get upset and despondent when blight hits, but not me! No, as we harvested every tomato we could on Monday I was cheerily singing a merry tune (“we've got the blight”, if you must know, the same tune as the Gogo's #1 smash hit from 1981 “We've got the beat”), happy as could be. How do I do it? Well, I'll tell you. I just remember not to take things personally. Blight kills the tomatoes? Don't take it personally. Car breaks down on the Long Island Expressway during rush hour? Don't take it personally. Girlfriend compares you unfavorably to Joseph Stalin, throws all your possessions on the lawn, changes the locks, unfriends you on facebook? Okay, maybe take that one personally.
In the Boxes:
Eggplant
Lettuce
Garlic
Melon or Carrots
Tomatoes
Colored Bell Peppers
I promise not to give you eggplant next week, except by request. I know it has been a lot. Can I help it if its a bumper harvest? Dana has a really good way of preparing it-- see recipe above. Oh my goodness, I just looked at the recipe. It is way to long for me to type in. I'll just add a link to it somewhere.
Enjoy the tomatoes while you can! Up until now, its been one of our better years for tomatoes. What's a little blight between friends?
Peppers don't seem to care about blight, or much else. Its funny the differences year to year-- last year, we barely had any ripe peppers until the end of September.
I'm pretty sure everyone got a melon either this week or last. If you didn't let me know right away, before I eat the three we have remaining.
Guess what? Potatoes next week!
In other news one of our dear little kids (that's a young goat, by the way, not a young human. Young humans are called children.) came down with a severe case of brainworm. This parasite attacks the spinal column of the goat and impairs their motor skills. Poor Caroline couldn't stand up by herself for almost a week and had trouble walking. Fortunately the medicine the vet recommended seems to be working and after daily physical therapy sessions she is now quite literally back on her feet, if a little wobbly.
Don't forget our potluck picnic and farm open haus is on the 29th of September, around 3 in the afternoon. I'll send more details later, but mark your calenders now!