weather

i don't think people understand how much the weather effects farming...and not only what is being farmed, but the farmers themselves. while much of our produce fields have irrigation, we still can only add more water as needed. we cannot control the sun. we cannot control too much rain. we cannot control the temperature. we cannot control the wind.

if there is too much rain, plants are at risk of just rotting away. mold and fungus are far more likely to be a problem on the plants. mold and fungus can quickly kill plants. and once a plant has it, it's done, there is no turning it around. we've been hit with a lot of rain this fall. it quickly wiped out summer squash plants, cucumbers, winter squash, tomatoes. however, turnips grew beautifully with all that rain.

no sun means no plant growth. plants require light to grow. remember photosynthesis that we all learned about in school? well, apply that knowledge here. in the fall, winter and spring when daylight hours are shorter, plants take longer to reach maturity and take longer to produce. clouds effect plant growth, too. we need to allow more time for plants to grow and mature when they are planted in the early spring and fall. if you have ever been to somewhere like scotland, when summer days can have up to 19 daylight hours, you will notice how beautiful and productive their gardens are. when we plant outside for winter production, we have to plant early enough in the fall to make sure plants reach a good maturity before the days become too short.

too much wind can be especially harmful to fruit trees and knocking fruit off the tree before it is ripe. it can also be hard on tomatoes. any tall-ish plant is at risk of being broken in the wind.

in extreme heat, like 90 degrees and greater, everything really just wants to wither away. the heat wilts plant leaves quickly. cooking greens (kale, collards, etc) don't do well in the summer heat. and everyone is under the impression that summer is for salads. well, not in this area of the country. salad greens practically don't grow at all in the summer heat and dryness. you want a big, beautiful, tasty head of lettuce? don't go looking at a local farmers market in july or august. heat causes head lettuce to go to seed very quickly, before the head has even gotten big enough to sell. and even if we cut small heads, the taste is likely to be bitter. tomato plants like heat and so does okra. i am not sure it can ever get too hot or too sunny for okra. we could have cut okra twice a day in july and august if we had the time...it grows that quickly in the heat and sun.

the farm was hit with two hurricanes this summer. we got a lot of water, but overall, the produce fields fared well. last year, in may, our farm was hit by hail. it was horrible. heads of lettuce were just torn to shreds. squash plant leaves had huge holes in them. tomato plants were just a single stalk. we couldn't attend market for a couple of weeks because we didn't have anything to sell. so what does that mean as a farm and a business? if we don't have product to sell, we don't make money. and unfortunately, not having product can be something completely out of our control...like the weather. but, in general, plants just want to grow. most of what we had in the field didn't die and continued to grow. that hail only set us back by a couple of weeks.

and what about the farmers? they don't sit inside and watch the rain fall or the sun bake. we are outside in the fields in all weather. if it decides to pour on a tuesday, a day we spend picking and packing for markets on wednesday, there is nothing we can do about it, but get wet. what choice do we have? if there is no product, there is no money to be made. the same does for working in the heat. if it is 90 plus degrees outside with high humidity, well you just better drink a lot of water because there is still work to be done outside. and snow...you are outside in your bare hands cutting spinach and kale. it is hard to use scissors when your hands are so cold, but harder with gloves on.

with it being october and markets still going on, but the temperatures definitely falling, i've gotten a lot of 'wow, you're still out here braving the cold.' well, what choice do i have? if i am not out here 'braving the cold,' i would have no chance of making any money. it is easy for a customer to say, 'oh, i'm not going to market today, it's raining,' but what about the farmer who has prepared for market, set up at market and who is standing at market for four hours in the rain?

as i have tried to make it clear with all my posts, farming is not easy. so much success and failure is really out of control of the farmer and in the hands of the weather. what went well this year, may not next year, simply because the weather is different. as a customer, don't be disappointed that there are less winter squash this year, be happy there are tons sweet potatoes. and next year will be different.