Farmer Kurt’s Field Notes August 23, 2025
It’s been another busy week here on the farm! Jed flail-mowed down the cover crops and even took care of the old beet beds, so no more junkie, weedy-looking rows out there. We also cut back the swiss chard and kale. They had a lot of bug damage, so we stripped them down to the stalks — they’ll regrow and be ready again in a few weeks. Honestly, we’ve had several strong harvests from those beds already, so it’s not a loss, just part of the cycle.
Irrigation has been running nonstop to keep things alive, but the big news is the forecast: temps are dipping into the 40s this week. Not great for the tomatoes. While we do have some ripening, there are still a lot of green ones on the vines. Normally this time of year we’re pushing out bulk tomato orders, but this season, we’re still waiting.
One highlight — we pulled 30 bulk bins of watermelons yesterday for a wholesale order. That was a marathon day, but it looks like we’ll meet the contract. Whew!
We’ve also been getting ready for our organic inspection this week. That means a mountain of paperwork for Corinna to prep in the house. The inspection usually takes about four hours — the inspector goes through our records, checks our field maps, looks at inputs, and follows the produce trail from field to customer. It’s thorough, but it’s how we prove our integrity, and we’re glad to do it.
Jed has been spending all week in the shop working on his “Little A” tractor restoration. He got the final coat of paint on and is hoping to take it to S.C.R.A.P. this coming weekend to showcase. It’s been a project years in the making with his grandpa, and it’s pretty special to see it come to life.
Out in the fields, the pole beans were trellised this week. Sadly, our first planting of field beans got away from us and grew too big too fast, so we lost that crop. Kicking myself a little for that one. Summer squash is also wrapping up — this will likely be the last week. The plants have been strong all season, and I’m proud of how much they produced. Basil is starting to peter out too, as it always does this time of year. Last week we saw it blacken within an hour of harvest — likely because of the cool night temps making it extra sensitive. I also sprayed for flea beetles and seeded more fall crops for CSA — radishes, turnips, and greens.
Pole beans got trellised this week. These plants will grow very tall.
On the family front, we finally celebrated the boys’ birthdays this weekend — about a month late. We had the family over for brats and games. Josiah got his favorite cherry and peach pies baked by Grandma, and Jed ordered the famous “better than sex” chocolate cake. Nobody went home hungry.
And big news: Josiah started school at Toledo Tech Academy this week with three days of orientation. Jed starts school next Wednesday. He also met with a recruiter from the 180th Air Guard last Monday. Corinna and I sat in on the meeting. Looks like we’re moving forward with the next steps for him to get his physical and take the aptitude test. His goal is to enlist and eventually become a crew chief for one of the jets. We’re so proud of him — we know he can do it. Root for him with us!
That’s the roundup from our week — thanks as always for cheering us on.
See you next time,
Farmer Kurt