I hope everyone had a nice Fourth of July. It was great to invite this year’s Norman’s crew out to the farm to see for themselves where the magic happens and show off our hard work. There may have been a few fireworks as well.  This week has been tough to gauge at the stands. One day super busy the next quiet, the next busy again. Everyone seems to be on their way out of town, or on their way back in. It has made coming up with a daily order a bit of a wild guess.

At the farm we are picking tons of zucchinis, cucumbers and onions. It feels like a celebration when sunflowers are kicking off and we are expecting to have an abundance over the next few weeks. Blackberries and raspberries are increasing in volume. Blackberries are always on our tables, but raspberries are a bit trickier to work out the logistics because they are so much more fragile. They are like a special guest that pops in whenever they want. We need to make sure we can pick, pack, distribute and sell all in one fell swoop, so when I’m asked will we have raspberries tomorrow, my standard answer seems to be, “I hope so.”

We should be picking our own cherry tomatoes this coming week. Eggplant and greenbeans are just around the corner. Peppers and heirloom tomatoes shortly after that. You know summer has arrived when we driving across the bay bridge for corn and cantaloupe from the eastern shore. This past week we donated some 65 cases of vegetables to Nourish Now I believe. It’s nice to find a home for all our produce and to keep picking so our plants continue to produce. If you know of any chefs, restaurants or caterers looking for cucumbers and zucchinis please send them our way.

I’ve heard from many that our first round of South Carolina peaches from several weeks ago didn’t ripen very well. However, for the past two weeks we have received rave reviews and I have tasted both yellow and white peaches and think they are great. They are also freestone. We should be transferring over to local peaches in about a week or two. We would like to wait until they are as big and beautiful and freestone as these South Carolina ones so it doesn’t feel like we are going backwards. On the other hand we did pick up some local nectarines and our Pennsylvania sweet cherries are so plump, juicy and sweet right now. Have a great week everyone.

Yours Truly,

Farmer John