Not-so-Lazy Summer Days
Greetings!
Y’all, it’s hot out! Fortunately, we’ve been gifted a bit of rain over the course of the past week, which we were really starting to need. Last week we spent a lot of time running around and fretting over irrigation in our fields!
Things have slowed down a bit on the farm this week. With the end of the Spring wedding season and so many people away on vacations, business tends to be a bit quieter in July. This week, we’ve taken advantage of this quiet and spent our time focused on weeding, maintaining our perennial plantings, and tending to other projects that get pushed aside when we’re busy with massive harvests and lots of planting. Of course, things never stay slow for too long! Next week we’re making 150 bouquets for the DC-based Community Foodworks market share. We’ve never had an order for quite so many bouquets, so we’re excited for the challenge! Fortunately, we’re not lacking in flowers right now.
Our summer crops are loving these long, hot days, and the shishitos are pouring in. We’ll have tons available at the market on Sunday! Finally, our cherry tomatoes are picking up the pace, and we can tell that our heirloom tomatoes aren’t too far behind. You may get lucky and find them on our market table! We’re anxiously awaiting the arrival of a big tomato harvest— this year we decided to give our high tunnels a break from tomatoes, which means we don’t have them as early as we usually do. Soon, though….
We mowed those sunflowers last week and replaced them with a buckwheat cover crop, but the rest of the blooms in this field are just beginning to shine!
Good Dog Farmers Joanna and Bryan
Spotlight on our Farmer Friends
On Thursday we had the opportunity to take a break from the day-to-day Two Boots grind and lend a hand to our friends Bryan and Joanna, who own Good Dog Farm. We spent the day digging potatoes in their enormous potato field, and by the end of the day, we’d managed to pull 3,000 pounds of taters out of the field! (We couldn’t have done it without the help of their cool old-school potato digger, similar to the one in this video. It was great to have a change of scenery for the day, and it’s always good to remember that we’re part of a fantastic community of farmers who are always willing to help one another out.
Bryan and Joanna started Good Dog Farm in 2016, and they’re doing an incredible job! They have three high tunnels in which they grow produce year-round, and they specialize in storage crops, such as potatoes and winter squash. This year they’re particularly excited to be growing a crop of dry beans. Bryan and Joanna have a ton of knowledge about and experience with farming, and it’s always a joy to talk with them and learn from them.
Together, the Good Dog farmers are growing some of the best veggies around. Their CSA is full for their Summer 2019 season, but think of them in the future when you’re looking for a great CSA program. We’re lucky to know you all! Thanks for letting us help out this week!
Just a few of the spuds we harvested on Thursday!
This week at the JFX market we will have arugula, carrots, cherry tomatoes, shishito peppers, bouquets, bunches of flowers, and maybe heirloom tomatoes
Save the Date
Saturday, July 27th - Centerpiece Workshop at the Farm - Participants will learn to design their own centerpieces with flowers from our farm, sip wine from our neighbor’s vineyard, and tour the farm in this late afternoon summer workshop. Sign up early!
Saturday, August 10th- Flower Farm Dinner- Join us for an intimate seasonal dining experience on the farm prepared by Wilde Thyme. We will roam the farm, share a meal made with produce from Two Boots and other local farms, and enjoy an evening on the farm at the height of the season.
If you haven’t stopped by the market to see us recently, this weekend will be a great time to do so!