Farmer Kurt’s Field Notes (June 26, 2026)
This week has felt like we finally settled into our summer rhythm.
Harvest and pack have been running smoothly, and I think a big reason is that we finally have the right number of people in the CSA. We’re not constantly racing the clock like we have in past years. Everyone has enough time to do the job well, and that makes harvest days a lot more enjoyable.
The black raspberries have been keeping us busy. We’ve been picking every other day just trying to stay ahead of them. A few people asked why there weren’t more available in the online store. The truth is, berries are tricky. We never know exactly how many we’ll have, and their shelf life is short, so we tend to be a little conservative. Last week we actually ended up with more than expected, so we hurried a bunch over to our Perrysburg pickup rather than let them go to waste.
If you’ve been hoping to get some, don’t wait too long. I expect they’ll probably only be around another week, maybe two if we’re lucky.
This week is the first Fruit Share pickup of the season.
As many of you know, the late spring frost hit a lot of local fruit growers pretty hard. Because of that, we’ll be sourcing some fruit from a little farther away than normal this season. This week’s cherries are coming from New York, while the gooseberries and red currants are right here from our farm.
Looking Good in the Fields
One of my favorite parts of this time of year is seeing everything that’s just around the corner. The broccoli is starting to head. The Swiss chard looks fantastic. I know some of you were expecting it this week, but I decided to harvest dinosaur kale first. The chard won’t be far behind. The summer squash plants have started setting fruit, so those are coming soon too.
Between the tomato rows, I seeded a cover crop of rye and clover. Instead of leaving bare soil, we grow another crop there to shade out weeds and feed the soil. It helps improve soil health while reducing weed pressure later in the season. It’s one of those jobs most people never notice, but it pays dividends all season long.
Our pear tree has a nice crop developing, and the pawpaw trees are absolutely loaded this year. I may actually need to thin some of the fruit because there are so many hanging on the branches.
Thursday night brought one of those storms that gets your attention. We had strong winds and about an inch of rain in roughly 30 minutes. Thankfully, everything came through in pretty good shape, and we were back in the fields the next morning.
The garlic scapes are finished for the season. We intentionally leave a few scapes in the field as indicators. Once those flower stalks stand straight up, we know the garlic bulbs have reached the right stage for harvest. They’re almost there, so garlic harvest should begin very soon. The tomatoes are also growing taller in the high tunnels! We’ve got multiple levels of tomato twine now!
A Fun Summer Squash Fact
The summer squash plants are just beginning to set fruit, and this is one of my favorite things to point out every year. Did you know that every zucchini or summer squash plant grows two different kinds of flowers?
The female flower has a tiny baby squash already attached right behind the blossom. That little “mini zucchini” is actually the fruit waiting to grow.
The male flower, on the other hand, grows on a long, skinny stem and doesn’t have a tiny squash behind it. Its job is simply to produce pollen.
Bees move pollen from the male flowers to the female flowers, and once pollination happens, that little baby squash begins to grow into the zucchini you’ll eventually harvest.
I’ve included a video above where you can see both types of flowers growing on the same plant. Once you know what to look for, you’ll never look at a squash plant the same way again!
If you’d like to learn more (including why your plant sometimes makes lots of flowers but no zucchini), check out our full blog post on the difference between male and female squash flowers.
Jed roto-tilled cover crops. Josiah and Glen made an edger for the lanes of the beds. That keeps the grass from creeping into the beds. We’ve spent a lot of time weeding this week. Every rain seems to wake up another crop of weeds, so staying ahead of them is a constant battle. We’re preparing for a big flush of weeds this coming week with the warmer weather.
https://youtube.com/shorts/Rh8IQai4wbA?feature=share
A Couple Personal Highlights
Corinna found me a desk during the Elmore garage sales last weekend. For the past few years I’ve been working off a folding card table in the living room, and somehow my “office” had slowly spread across the floor and onto the kitchen table. She decided enough was enough. I spent Friday moving everything into my new workspace, and I have to admit…it’s a pretty nice upgrade.
She also surprised me with a hammock for Father’s Day. I’ve been taking a 30-minute nap in it during lunch almost every day this week. Good surprise.
Hope to See You Sunday!
If you’re able to make it to our Farm Open House this Sunday, I’d encourage you to come. Take a walk through the fields, see where your vegetables are growing, and get a look at all the crops that are just beginning to come into production. There’s always something new happening this time of year, and it’s fun to share it with you.
See you on the farm!
— Kurt