![]() We’ll soon see the end of those as they’re ripening over the next couple of weeks. The tomatoes you are receiving last week and this week were born from flowers that were pollinated about 6 weeks ago before the heat became so intense. It’s not just the high day time temperatures, it’s the combination with our high humidity -raising the heat index to over 120 many times in the past month- plus high overnight temps – upper 70s, even low 80s- all together meaning the plants don’t ever get a sufficient reprieve. Lots of stress hormones are secreted in these conditions telling the plant it’s unsafe to reproduce, that the plant won’t be able to sustain life. Tomatoes are especially sensitive to this issue and this is precisely why East Texas is such a difficult growing region for tomatoes. The plants may produce lovely leaves, abundant flowers, and establish healthy roots, but any flowers that are pollinated and would become little baby fruits all self abort. It includes eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers- all the “night shade” crops. It may prove to be a very brief tomato season for us.ĭid you know there’s a whole family of summer crops that won’t produce fruits when the average daytime & night time temperature reach a certain level? It’s called the solanaceous crop family. Almost anything available here in ETX was trucked in from other regions of the country.) Those of us who waited to plant our summer crops were really lucky in missing that late freeze, but it got intensely hot really quickly in June, and that can cut various crops’ productivity really short. (FYI, this is the same reason you’re not seeing many local peaches, blueberries, blackberries etc. A long cold spring well into May, including a late hard freeze in mid April meant many area growers lost their tomato crops. It’s been a hard year for tomatoes (for all summer crops, actually!). This week was our second harvest and we expected to get much more in week 2 than in week 1, but that wasn’t the case. Last week was our first large harvest for the CSA. The other tomatoes are tricky to tell right now. Sungolds have peaked, too, and will draw down. Cucumbers were probably at their peak last week and will gradually decline from here. ![]() We won’t have nearly as much of it over the next few weeks. Squash and zucchini are reducing productivity pretty fast. Peppers appear to be increasing in abundance too, and will likely peak soon. Eggplant are just beginning and we think will grow in abundance over the next couple of weeks. Okra is almost ready, melons are getting close, too. Our summer harvests look like they’ll last between 2-4 more weeks but the weather dictates all. ![]() This will help you be aware of what’s coming and what’s leaving, why some crops may be more abundant and others lean. Make it a personal challenge to see if you can use up every bit without any going to waste (This might need to include sharing with friends or neighbors) Welcome to week 5 of our Summer season! Justin teased in the barn yesterday when we began filling the large shares that we should open our notes to you this week with “I’m sorry the box is so heavy!” Ha!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |