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Blame it on the equipment
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Today was a day where I really wished I had super awesome photography skills. Sadly, I don’t have those skills.
Instead of acknowledging my lack of superior photography skills, I’m just going to blame it on not having the equipment (I have an iPhone 7).
I also don’t have the ability to change what I decide to take pictures of and tell you about.
So you’re just going to have to imagine the pretty bronze color that the lettuces on the left had this morning. At least you can kinda of see how incredibly awkward head lettuce looks as it’s growing, all gangly with leaves every which way, while the red leaf and the romaine are looking all elegant and purposeful.
The head lettuce doesn’t look as mutant-looking in the pictures as in real-life though, darn it.
Next on the struggle-to-take-a-good-picture-of list is fennel. I’ve been taking pictures of the seedlings in trays for a few weeks, and they just got in the ground. 28 blurry pictures later, here are the little fennel plants. Can you see the itsy bitsy bulb forming? So cute.
True to us, this batch of fennel is planted in two different places in the same tunnel.
Because… why not.
There were also awesome shadows in the hydro-house. I promise, I took this picture of arugula this morning, and there was not a storm going on outside the plastic.
I don’t know if you remember, but a few weeks ago I talked about how we have to carefully pick what is planted in the hydro-house in late fall.
One of the things we have to combat is the moisture in the air. A wet environment has all the neon signs and freebies and whatnot to attract all the harmful bacteria, fungi, viruses, and insects.
This picture of arugula, while it doesn’t capture the beauty of the morning sun streaming over it like I intended, does show how damp the air is. You can see water droplets on the arugula. This is not from a watering system – the plants get all their water needs directly at the roots. Rather, the air condenses, collects on the plastic, and falls onto the plants.
Boom. Neon welcome sign created.
This is not an issue in the summer as the tunnel is open and the wind dries things out. Nor is it an issue in the dead of winter as the air is plenty dry then. Just late fall… and some spring.
So we adjust. The arugula will go bye bye in a week or two and it’ll be hello lettuce, lettuce, and lettuce – and the trials of escarole, and Tokyo Bekana (they were looking good in the seedling trays. They got moved to the big plant channels, and nothing’s labeled, so… no pictures because I can’t identify what is what, sorry).
Thanksgiving week schedule
It’s very easy. We’re open normal days and hours except for Thanksgiving Day itself.
So, open 9-6 Mon-Wed, closed Thurs, open 9-6 Fri, open 9-5 Sat (and always closed Sun).
Seasonal Recipe Inspiration
Butternut Squash Soup (make now and freeze for Thanksgiving)
Twice Baked Potatoes (make now and freeze for Thanksgiving)
Did you know Ruth is working on a children’s book? It’s based on the best family at the best farm (our family at Highland Orchards, in case you missed the memo). We just got the first round of illustrations back and they are soooo perfect.
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About Highland Orchards
Completely surrounded by suburbia, our small farm has been growing beyond expectations since 1832, just north of Wilmington, Delaware.
Growing a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and flowers, Highland Orchards provides true “farm fresh” for the community all year. If you want to shake the hand of the farmer who grows for you, here is the farm! With plants in the ground or under cover in tunnels, we grow for every season. A family farm, we have three different generations involved in running the farm right now.
Come see us to eat fresh, eat local, and eat well!