Celery

A little weeding...

Last year, the farm was aesthetically pleasing for most of the season. The rows were (mostly) neat and tidy, and we were proud to show it off. This year, it’s quite aesthetically displeasing. Yet, despite the weeds, it’s been a good year so far, so we’re just not going to worry about what it looks like this season.

We did, however, need to clear out one spot, or risk losing our celery, which Jason started from seed in February and tended to for weeks before we transplanted it in June.

This was the sitch on Sunday morning:

Believe it or not, there were four rows of tiny celery in this mess, as well as rosemary.

We pulled a few weeds by lunchtime. Haha!

Getting better. The celery looks droopy because it literally hasn’t experienced full sun in weeks.

Way in the back, there was a section of celery that was a lost cause. Some kind of grass that was nearly impossible to pull had taken hold (and was no joke 4 feet tall!). We salvaged any celery we could from that section and transplanted it. Then, we mowed the grass down. The celery and rosemary are tucked all snug in straw and getting a long watering. On the far left, you see heirloom tomatoes.

Here’s proof that we do crawl out from under the weeds every now and then. Fingernails mostly clean. We had my best friend and her children stay with us last week, and she took Silas and her boys on an adventure day. We declared that we were wrapping up farm work in the morning and doing something fun — just the two of us. We checked out Davenport Fruit Farm Cidery and Winery — what a cool place! It was so nice to relax for a few peaceful hours. And, yes, we spent much of that time talking about… the farm!

And I’ll close things out with a tomato photo because we’re elbows deep in tomatoes right now. Enjoy the rest of your August. Nights are getting cooler. School’s about to start and we’re half way through the CSA season.

~ Stella

Celery harvest

People are surprised to learn celery grows here. It does quite well. We transplanted celery in early spring in the Big Tunnel.

Celery sold in grocery stores has a reputation for being sprayed. Whatever insects plague farmers on big celery farms have apparently not discovered our tiny celery patch. We have plenty of insects here that gravitate to other produce, but the celery barely had a mark.

We harvested the outer stalks and left the small shoots to grow. This week’s celery harvest is bound for our CSA members.

Celery.jpg

~ Stella