Almost Overflowing

The weather on the far is nice but a little more of the light showers that they have been getting would be nice.  Produce is still looking nice.  It looks like the sweet potatoes should be ready to harvest in a week or two.  So dig out that sweet potato pie recipe.

There are still plenty of tomatoes on the vine.  So many that Andy is offer tomatoes by the pound.  Canning tomatoes are those tomatoes that just don't make the grade for our CSA boxes.  They might be smaller with a few nicks and bumps on them.  But the are great for canning.  If you would like to order some they are 50 cents a pound.  Hurry and place your order by emailing cedarmorefarm@gmail.com ASAP because frost is just around the corner and once it comes that will be the end of the tomatoes.  You will be billed at the end of the month.

Just a friendly reminder...please return your empty CSA box each week.  And any containers (green baskets and jars with rings) from previous weeks.  This helps keeps the cost of the CSA down and recycling/reusing is a good thing.

The boxes are so full this week that they are hard to close!

More on the Growing Methods...Andy though it was important that he list the products that are used on the pants to defer insects and disease...Neem oil, Garlic spray (this is made from his own garlics grown in the field) Mycotrol O, Montery Insect spray, Pyganic, Dipel, Surround and Champ (a copper spray).  These products are all approved by the NOP (National Organic Program).  Andy likes to think of them as band aids.  They use them to help the infested plants get back on their feet.  The primary focus at Cedarmore is to rebuild the soil.  Mycotrol O, Montery Insect spray and Dipel are beneficial bacterias that will infest insects and their eggs.  They have been found to be very affective in controlling certain species of insects.  Surround and garlic spray work more by deterring insects away from the crops.  Surround forms a white coating on the pants that insects don't like.  Garlic has a bad smell that insects don't even like.  Champ or copper sprays help prevent disease.  Pyganic is used primarily to control those tough cucumber beetles.  No other spray seems to work on those pesky beetles.  The down side to Pyganic is that it will also kill the beneficial insects.  For that reason Andy only uses it when he has to.  It is supposed to be non-toxic to humans and animals.