new land

The last couple of weeks have been absolutely crazy since we found out that we may not be able to finish the season on the land that I rent for farming. There’s a long story, but, basically, the owners are going through a messy divorce, and at least one party wants to sell the land, and I can’t get a commitment that I’ll be able to stay until the end of the season. I have already planted quite a lot of things, so I’m hoping I can stay long enough to harvest those crops. But I’m very reluctant to invest in planting more without more confidence that I’ll be able to harvest them.

Aside from this uncertainty, the worst thing about all this is that I’ve spent years improving the soil, and I am now in better shape for planting than I’ve been in any previous spring. Instead, all that good soil is likely to have houses built on it …

That’s the bad news. The good news is that we quickly found some land in Mercer County that looks suitable, made an offer, and the offer has been accepted. In the long run, we may well be better off. I’m certainly excited to have a place not just to grow vegetables but also to plant trees!

Of course, I can’t get on that land immediately, and it will take some work to get ready for planting. But much of the planting should happen NOW, not later. Between that and the fact that my focus will now at least in part be on making sure I am ready for next season rather than just focusing on this season, my supply of vegetables for the market this season will be affected. I don’t know how much exactly and I am hoping to have something through the season, but I expect there will be weeks when my selection will suffer.

This week’s items

Items we plan to have at the market this week (an asterisk indicates unusually limited quantities):

  • Beans, dry (Fort Portal Jade, Peregion, Pinto, Red Silk, Rosso di Lucca, Tiger’s Eye)
  • Broccoli*
  • Cabbage
  • Chard
  • Collards*
  • Cowpeas, dry (Black Crowder, Calico Crowder, and Whippoorwill)
  • Herb plants (basil, chives, French thyme, rosemary, and sage)
  • Kale
  • Lettuce (butterhead and Devil’s Ear)
  • Microgreens (peas and sunflower)
  • Mustard greens (Red Giant)
  • Potatoes, new (Red Gold)
  • Radish, summer
  • Radish, winter (Lilac Daikon and Watermelon)
  • Squash, winter (Butternut, Seminole, and Sonca)
  • Strawberries
  • Sweet potatoes (Murasaki and Orleans)
  • Turnips (Japanese salad)

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