Seed to Table

There is no better feeling than pulling the season’s first radish out of the soil, chopping it up, and hearing the satisfying crunch as you eat it in a salad just a few hours later. The dry spell has finally broken up here in Canton, NY and the garden seems to have taken off over night! We have been eating salads filled with Seed to Table grown lettuce, spinach, kale, and, of course, radishes. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, the weeds have been growing too. As we have just about finished planting beds in the remaining garden space, our future time will be divided between the chores of weeding, watering, and harvesting.

Although we have been getting more rain here recently, the weather has been wacky; some days blistering hot and others cold enough for a sweater. The farmers around here say it has not been typical June weather or, for that matter, typical spring weather at all. Some say that the growing season is at least two weeks ahead of where we were this time last year (the effects of global climate change perhaps?) When Sophie and I headed home this past weekend, the days were on the cool side and we decided to protect our pepper plants with row cover. Alas the temperature climbed into the nineties while we were gone and literally baked the plants. Thankfully, nearby Nobel Farm donated enough peppers to replace our loss.

We have been finding that our connections with the local community have been invaluable as we tackle this garden – from receiving tomato trellising advice from Josh (a local CSA farmer who we help out every Tuesday) to receiving free chicken manure from Brian of Bittersweet Farm. It feels good then when we help out with the Campus Kitchens Project on Mondays, giving back by serving a free meal to community members. And it seems like we will be able to give our first donation of garden veggies to the Project this coming week!

Looking forward to more harvesting, eating, and sharing,

Cindy and Sophie