Midsummer
Hello all! We are in the midst of the CSA summer season and things are in full swing at Morven. The squash and cucumber plants in the hoop house are producing at an impressive rate, and we already have more squash plants in the ground in the outside beds. Blink and some of the squash and zucchini grow to be the size of an infant child! We have encountered an interesting pest in some of the squash plants, however. The squash vine borer moth has lain larvae in the base of some of the plants in the hoop house, and these little fellas are attempting to eat their way out of the squash plant as we speak. These creepy little dudes can take down a whole squash plant because the larvae destroy the plant at the base. We are working on preforming something akin to emergency squash surgery to remove these aspiring moths to remedy this situation and save the affected squash plants!
Recent days in the garden have included a lot of weed whacking and tilling, as we are in the process of preparing beds for the end of the summer and into the fall. Our tiller is gas powered and very temperamental, but super important in helping us break up the tough clay soil that we Virginians apparently possess in spades. We also just laid down a occultation silage tarp in field B in order to kill existing grass by depriving it of light and cooking it under the black tarp, preparing the way for carrots, beets and greens! Perhaps the most important development this week was our nearing completion of the new wash/pack area at the garden! We will commence using it this week. Here is a photo of the interns moving the last item out of the garage, where the previous wash/pack area was.
Our bee class with Ken and Karen of the Central Virginia Beekeepers Association continued this week. Previously, we have learned a bit about the life cycle and division of labor unique to these industrious apoideans. Did y’all know that bees can give their comrades specific directions to find nectar and pollen by performing a dance? cause I sure didn’t. Humans and bees are the only two animals on Earth that can communicate directions to a food source like this without having to lead their kin to the food or leave a trail. This week we actually opened up the hive in full beesuits and attempted to find and tag the queen. While we couldn’t find her this time, there is evidence that she has been active within the past 5 days and the hive seems in excellent shape, plus we got to practice using the hive tool to remove the frames and examine them.
In recent days at Bellair we have harvested eggplants. Now, I for one have never paid much attention to eggplants in general but having picked them, I was struck with how beautiful these plants are! Their leaves are laced with purple veins that fade down into elegant purple stems, and this is just one of many varieties! The fruit come in all shades, shapes and sizes. There is even one variety that looks like purple and white marble, as seen below. We also peeled onions this week again and my hands still smell like onions at thisvery moment.
We are growing our own eggplants at Morven and they will appear in your shares at some point down the line. Anyways, hope you have an awesome rest of your week, see you guys at pickup!
Logan