Tomato worms...maybe not :)

Unfortunately most gardeners are well-acquainted with the tomato worm. I have been seeing signs of damage and inspecting for the worms and I can't find them?? All I can think of is that those pesky birds that have been poking holes in all the Swiss Chard and Collards are finally earning their keep; they are eating them!! What a relief it is to be going along and not find those ravenous worms!! What a strange season too, I still can feel a coolness in the air today on 07/26/2010 coming off the mountains. The tomatoes are slowly but surely ripening but with well over 100 plants I should be swimming in tomatoes!! The squash is adequate, but not bumper loads like would expect and the greens are doing beautiful still though I have had trouble germinating lettuce and spinach due to the heat spells we did have. The Fall seed order is going in and there will be plenty of greens, beets, carrots and radishes!! Speaking of radishes... I have French Breakfast available this week.. go figure... they are still hotter than the winter radishes, but not bolting. Nice even watering and a raised bed and some milder weather and presto you have radishes!! Anaheim Chiles are coming in too...yum chiles and jalapenos make great burgers!! Check out the website for recipes!! Moonstruck signing off!!

Outlook Address Book

Outlook Address Book is corrupt. Back-up failed for the moment and I need to start recreating address book. Please reply to the most recent email that I sent you that was not bcc. I did forget to do it as a bcc fortunately in the last couple weeks. If you are a brand new client within the last month please definitely email because you may not be on the recent copy I receive. I will not rely on the back up I promise. I will start printing on a daily basis (this is how fast we are growing!!).

Technical Issues

If you don't hear from me for a day or so stand by; technical issues with Outlook. Repairing the problem! Be back soon!!

Three days!!

Every two weeks is my marathon three days; harvesting with delivery to Natural Elements and the CSA delivery immediately after on Thursday followed by Tri Community Co-Op delivery and now the Open Air Market added and then finally Bountiful Harvest delivery on Saturday morning. (By the way I am always wilted when I arrive, but then everyone's great enthusiasm and wonderful support always perks me right back up! Thank you!). This week an added treat of chicken and turkey processing at the Bashaws Friday; yes, I thought I was going to get out of it due to the Tri Community Coop attendance on Friday morning, but lucky for me the scalder and plucker were acting up so by the time I arrived there was plenty to do still?? Believe it or it is a lot of fun! Working as a group and sharing the ups and downs of the farm life with a great set of people is a great day, and I always walk away with a big smile on face and lots of chicken and turkey to sell!! Half of the batch was cut so there will be boneless/skinless and leg/thighs available. The pricing may be confusing because we went by the pound, but trust me the numbers work well and the meat is as delicious as ever!! We have liver, kidney, neck and gizzard packages available too for those who love the extras or use it for raw dog food. I will post prices by email this week.

As for the garden; boy is it growing; I can barely tell I harvested Thursday/Friday. I am wilting in the heat, but the fields are growing inches in front of my eyes and the yummy summer veggies are ripening quickly including the summer squashes, tomatoes and green beans. The cherry tomatoes are slow in coming, but when they do the goal is a tri-colored bag. We have orange, white, black and Sweet 100s out there; now I am anxiously awaiting them to turn color to see what succeeded!! Do you think if I stare at them long enough it will speed things up!! Green beans are one of my favorites and so are the red potatoes so they were on the plate this week!! One of my biggest learning curves has been timing and I am quickly picking up on what needs to be done; basically always have plants in line ready to go and always be thinking 3 months ahead!! It is amazing how my train of thought has changed, but it is working and the results are showing in the fields and in the trays that are waiting in line to go in the next blank spot!! Fall plans are quickly being set in motion and the Moonstruck Salad Mix will be sweet and delicious once again (not as sweet during the heat) and the carrots planted in September will be the sweetest of the year when touched with a bit of Frost in December!! Talk to you soon, Moonstruck signing out for a good night's rest!!

Boy did we surprise each other!

I wonder who screamed the loudest; him or me!! Of course then I am sure the neighbors were even more scared as once again I was talking to myself out in the field, but appeared to be really talking to someone this time instead of the plants! I must have been right on top of him digging away! I was so grateful I did not hurt him! He is living proof that my garden is organic; no way he could live with spraying being done!! There he was living happily with the Yukon Golds and I ruined it. Hopefully he will return to a happy home because I sure could use his help around here!

Need that new field!!

Thank you all in advance who volunteered for the "Planting Day/BBQ" I will be announcing. I am still working on the date; have to decide exactly what is going in and what would be a good time. Right now I wish I had another 50 of these Delicata Squash planted; they are beautiful and a wonderful sweet winter squash and I would love to fill the co-op baskets with them next year in addition to the CSA customers so the new field is badly needed!! Today the family came out and helped me on a few much needed projects and it was so nice to watch the work fly by!! I added more herbs to the herb garden, planted some more lettuce, green beans, radishes, green onions and put in more winter squash, mulched, cleared another row for more green beans and two more rows will be available this week!! Learning the timing is probably the greatest challenge. First lesson I have learned; always have plants in trays waiting to go in the ground!! The website even got a little extra attention too! The thunderstorms cooled the weather slightly and made it overall a wonderful day to be outside. Thank you again for all your support; I am gaining skills by the day and it is wonderful to see the results in the fields!! Almost forgot the new batch of 35 chickens are starting to lay and egg supplies are slowly growing!!! Yeah, they will be in full production by the first of September!

Summer Squash!!

Okay I was freaking out just for a few days or so; squash was not moving; you could see the bright beginnings of the Sunburst patty squash and a little Romanescu zucchini (scalloped edge, cut and ready for display, no work!) but I never knew a zucchini could grow that slow!! The bees were buzzing everywhere, especially in my ear when I was weeding nearby. I kept telling myself you know it is because the nights are so cool. We were still dropping into the 50s at night. Moonstruck Farms is located in a microclimate within Phelan that is about 10 degrees cooler than downtown Phelan so our weather was beautiful during the day and a little nippy still at night, which is great for sleeping but not summer squash. This week the temps jumped into the 60s and guess what you could visibly see the growth of the summer squash overnight. Look for our Sunburst Patty, Green Bennings Patty, Romanescu (Scalloped) zucchini and Yellow Crook Neck in our Summer Squash Mix this week. Don't forget to check out our new website under construction at www.moonstruckfarmscsa.webs.com; recipe page is under construction too!

Well this was the girl's idea; first tomatoes on top of first lavender; a little goofy I know. They become this way when leaving for Grandma's. Yep, the husband and girls are all taking off for Grandma's in Santa Cruz and leaving me at home for a break on the farm until Thursday............ break? Then again, no cooking, no yelling, no asking to have chores done 10 times, no fighting, I get to go to bed at 8 pm if I want to wake up at 5:45 naturally with a good night's sleep, no "I was not supposed to do the dishes, Sierra was!!!". On second thought.......... yippeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yukon and Balsamic!!!!!

The day started off at 5:30 a.m. with further harvest for Wrightwood's first booth sales; I had a lot more than I thought. As I watched my kitchen counters pile up with greens I decided to call up Bountiful Harvest and Braising Greens along with today's leftovers are going to Apple Valley tomorrow. Harvest day is by far my favorite day; nothing better than watching all the bounty pile up though I must admit all the smiling faces as they take their produce and chicken home rivals it!! It is the best win-win situation I can think of; local residents getting the best the area can offer and those same residents rewarding our hard work with smiling faces and wonderful comments. Next in line of great things is finishing the day up with all that great harvest on my dinner table!! Bashaw's Rosemary pork chops are in the oven along with my first Yukon golds of the season with rosemary, bay leaf, shallots, spring onions and balsamic!! Now that is what I call a a great end to a day. Add some steamed greens and I am in heaven!! Moonstruck signing off!!