Connecticut Vegetables Stay Cool, July II

Dear Mad Hatters,

As farmers we are obsessed with the weather.  We check the radar several times a day, and plan our lives and harvesting accordingly.  Do I need my rain pants or my SPF shirt?  Fleece jacket or mosquito head net?  Can I pick all of the peas before it rains?  Should I let the broccoli sit in the sun with rain water on it, or should I harvest it before it goes bad?  Can the cabbages take one more day of sun?

One of our favorite weather websites is www.accuweather.com.  Today on AccuWeather there was an interesting article by Alex Sosnowski about the northeast's unusually cool summer, "Solar Cycles May Be Reason for the Northeast's Cool Summer."  Did you know that this past June was the second coolest June on record for New York City.  In fact, the City's Central Park did not warm to 85 degrees at all in the past month, and that's only the third time that has ever happened.  And while they expect the northeast to reach normal warm tempertatures in the coming weeks, New England will stay cool and stormy as the jet stream continues to pull in cool canadian air.   So its Canada's fault! 

And, in most cases, these cool summers are followed by winters with above-average snowfall.  I hope you like skiing!

At the farm, the first of the tomatoes are starting to turn color, the green beans are starting to flower, the cucumbers and eggplants are starting to show little fruits.  Another week or two, cool or not, summer vegetables are coming!

This week Mad Hatter Farm will have:

• Gourmet lettuce Mix
• Spicy Greens Mix
• Kale
• Green Cabbage
• Red Cabbage
• Snap and/or Snow Peas
• Radishes
• Zucchinis
• Garlic Scapes

This might be the last week for peas and scapes, so keep that in mind. 

FYI, Woodbury Farmers Market starts next Wednesday, July 15, from 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. at Hollow Park by the Glebe House.  We look forward to seeing you there, as well as at the Ridgfield Farmers Market on Fridays.

"Mosquito is out,

It's the end of the day;

she's humming and hunting

her evening away.

Who knows why such hunger

arrives on such wings

at sundown?  I guess

it's the nature of things."

-  N.M. Boedecker, Midsummer Night Itch

Alix and Jeff

Mad Hatter Farm

135 Music Mountain Road

Falls Village, CT 06031

T: 860-824-7635

www.madhatterfarm.com