2010 Season, Week Fifteen

August 21, 2010 newsletter

This week's harvest:
Eggplant
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Tomatoes
Okra
Onions
Garlic
Basil

This week's farm news:

We had another major flood this week and the farm was doused with TEN inches of rain in less than 24 hours! Because the big flood in May deposited huge amounts of gravel in the branch that flows past our cabin (therefore raising the level of the creekbed) the flash flooding situation was much more scary than in May. The kids' swingset was sideswiped, busted up & moved, Ira's bicycle was buried in gravel, Ira's fish/duck pond (the we just dug this spring) had the pond liner swept out of it & then it filled with gravel. Ira's garden & our flower garden were completely underwater. We're hopeful that all of Ira's fall gourds & pumpkins will fare alright, but the beautiful zinnias & sunflowers are laid flat & covered in mud. :( Needless to say, Eric & I, & Jesse & Beth, were awake for several hours in the night monitoring the situation. Now, unfortunately, the gravel level in the branch is even deeper - in some places we estimate seven feet! - so the next potential flood is a nightmare to think about! We are actually planning to hire someone with a backhoe to dig the gravel out; it's that concerning! Anyhow, our really rough driveway could use a new layer of gravel! If nature gives us lemons, we'll do our best to make lemonade. Cheers!