As summer approaches, Paul’s Produce has been reconsidering the Farm Stand we have operated for the last four years. This year we have decided not to open the Farm Stand despite overwhelming local support. It has been far beyond what we had expected or planned for, and the demand has continued to grow. It’s not for lack of interest that we’re making this decision. We hope our customers will come to understand our reasons.

As we (Candi and I) continue to age we are looking for ways to continue farming. We realize that we don’t bounce back quite as quickly after long hard days, and Saturdays have evolved into the hardest day of all. We also realize that we should begin paring down the number of crops that we grow for the sake of efficiency. The beauty of the farmers’ market, or selling to restaurants and wholesale markets is that we can more easily focus on our strengths without feeling the need to make a full variety of crops that we’ve come to be known for — especially at the Farm Stand.

Early in the season

A loyal shoppers

Suns in the sun

Lauren with the phitz-phitz

The first staff photo!

“Gotta try thees beans”

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Flowers galore

Updating signs

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Sea of orange

Marisol and Travis

Rebecca and Bea

Our favorite sign

Sun screen

2013, Orange Aprons, Teresa, me, Alexandra and Quinten

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You can still find our produce at the Tuesday Farmers’ Market on the Plaza, 5:30- dark and Friday Farmers’ Market in Depot Park, 9-12:30.

This is the time of year that everything happens at once. Not enough time for much beyond the farm. Turning to the needs in the field is sometimes the best way to cope with scary environmental and political news. Focus on the bounty and abundance can steer one toward generosity and hope.

Planting lettuce has become much more precise and fun for the crew!

These lettuces have been in the ground several weeks.

Left to right: Little Gem, Red Butter and Cherokee lettuce, full grown, this week’s salad

People often ask why we don’t leave the beet greens on the beets. This is the answer. They just don’t look good. But the beets are fine, so the leaves are left in the field to nourish the soil.

Yellow straight-neck squash, in all it’s glory!

First winter squash planting is still flowering!

Winter squash is sizing up under a healthy leaf canopy.

3 melons plantings at various stages of maturity.

Fall’s onion crop is sizing up nicely!

Three weeks of beans. Once these are harvested, we’ll be finished with beans until next year.

New artichoke planting. These little plants should be yielding ‘chokes early next spring.

Looking across the fence, it’s interesting to see how the grapes have been corralled and exposed.

Field of zinnias behind the Farm Stand, invaded by giant pumpkins.

Our Saturday Farm Stand is off to a roaring start. We thank our supportive community. Couldn’t do it without you.

Strange as we adjust to a wet forecast with heavy rains in December and January. Our soils were too wet to plant for months. Transplants were ready but had nowhere to go. Finally we are back planting after a much longer break than in the past 4 years, maybe more. That means we will have gaps in product coming this spring. We already see it at the Farmers’ Market, with far less lettuce to sell than customers are ready to buy.
But we’re rolling along now. Even though, several storms are poised on the horizon, we have taken advantage of the warm, dry spell that we’ve been enjoying for a month. Lettuces, greens, fennel and more have been tucked into the ground, waiting now for a rain, hopefully not too much.

The next beds of carrots.

Collard is beginning to flower next to beds waiting for transplants.

Artichokes are in full production right now.

Transplanted fennel

The bee hives have various degrees of activity. This one was very busy with the spring-like temperatures and numerous flowers blooming. Our insect pollinators are struggling these days, a whole other story.

Leeks

Bell beans in cover crop

Brussels sprouts just before they were tilled under. Aphids got to them.

Snap (on the left) and English peas

Snap peas are close!

Moving irrigation pipes into the field is an essential part of the planting day.

Filling the truck with transplants from the greenhouse before nestling them into the ground.

The small greenhouse has moved! And it’s back in action, just in time.

This view is from the back of the tool. It shows a cage-like roller, which will follow the aggressive disc, to break up large chunks of soil.

Paul with his chain driven hoist, makes the welding far easier.

New discs. They’ll never look like this again.

Our cultivating tractor sits idle most of the winter.