Hello from Pitchfork & Crow~
We’re getting ready for the Saturday Market, are you? Here’s what we plan to bring to market:
- Beets
- Broccoli Raab
- Bunching Onions
- Chard
- Collards
- Cooking Greens Mix (Kale, Chard, Collards)
- Dill
- Kale (Red Russian & Lacinato)
- Lettuce (Romaine, Butter, and Crispleaf)
- Parsley
- Salad Mix (a mix of lettuces)
- Turnips
- Yukina Savoy
What was it I said last week? Some warm weather would be nice? A little less rain perhaps? I think the weather-people were reading because we’ve had a few gorgeous days this week. Not too hot, but lovely days that suggest this may not be a summerless year after all. But of course no rain means a dry field, which leads to these farmers moving irrigation pipe.
We were a little spoiled last year when it came to irrigating. The land we rented included irrigation pipe and there was enough for a solid set, meaning it stayed in place all season. There were also valves at the mainline that allowed us to irrigate either a portion or the entire field and the landowner was nice enough to turn the water on or off as we requested in case we weren’t able to make it back out to do it ourselves.
Moving one step closer to being an independent farm, we purchased our own irrigation pipe and fittings (sprinklers heads/connections/etc.) this spring. Unfortunately the configuration of our field and our pipe budget means we don’t currently have enough pipe for a solid set that stays in place. Which of course leads to much moving of the pipe as different sections of the field need to be watered. Plus, once one line is moved, it triggers a series of connection changes so that everything lines up again properly.
While at times it has been a little frustrating, such as Wednesday night when we were moving pipe at 9:30pm as the sky was growing darker and darker, amazingly we’re still happy with the situation. Owning our own pipe and controlling the watering 100% gives us complete control over our operation. At least the evenings have been pleasantly warm and breezy as we’re out there setting up the pipe for the next day’s watering. And above all, the vegetables are happier for it too!
We hope to see you at market sometime between 9am and 3pm. The Salem Saturday Market is located at the intersection of Summer and Marion streets NE in downtown Salem.
Thanks!
Carri Heisler and Jeff Bramlett
