June field walk

On Sunday afternoon we went on an extended field walk as a family. I had my camera with me and captured many sights I’d love to share with you. This is going to be a plant-heavy tour of the farm, because — well — this is their season of splendor. Hoorah! Now, come along as we visit the farm …

First, proof that I (Katie) was in fact on this walk. You won’t see me again because I was behind the camera. Dottie had been sick last week and perked up for the first time during our outing. Hoorah!

We started our walk by looking at the second-year perennials on the “new land” (which isn’t quite as new anymore. Casey has taken to calling it “next door”). The raspberries we put in last year have their first fruit! These are “Tulameens,” which are hands-down the best raspberry on the planet. We discovered this variety when we lived in Bellingham. This year we won’t have a ton of production, but it’s a start!

Similarly, the filberts have grown and set their first fruit too. It will take even longer to have ‘CSA amounts’ of these nuts, but they are on the way!

Next, we headed to this year’s annual crops, which are also on “the new land.” Casey and Rusty checked the soil texture (or “tilth”) in our sunflower planting. It was beautiful.

See? What a blessing to tend this ground.

Casey showed me our thousands of row feet of lettuce. We are salad rich!

We visited the tomatoes — they are growing vigorously, in need of weeding, and beginning to bloom. Just about right for this time in June! I can’t wait to start eating tomatoes again; we ran out of our frozen and canned ones a few weeks back.

Rusty enjoyed some ruts in the road, which became a series of ponds for a fierce dinosaur to run around.

How were the summer squash doing under the row cover? Almost ready to start picking!

Rusty tromped down this path with confidence. It’s his fourth farm summer, and he can really see the difference between paths and rows of veggies now.

I ooh’ed and ah’ed at the sight of this late spring butter lettuce.

And, what was the most exciting find of the walk? …

CARROTS! We have so many carrots, almost big enough to start harvesting in earnest! Dottie’s ready.

I also marveled at the sight of our vast greens planting: so much chard and kale for the greens lovers!

And, I was excited to see that the summer cabbage will be ready to make cole slaw for Fourth of July gatherings.

But, it looked like we will start picking the spring broccoli even before that …

… and, there’s a lot of it too!

After enjoying the sight of so much abundance in our late spring fields (which made Casey and me very happy), it was time to head back home, across the bridge to the home farm.

Along the way, we picked a quick snack for Rusty from a branch over hanging my mom’s fence.

Cherry season is on here on Grand Island! In fact, it’s the season of many berries. In one day, Rusty ate cherries, strawberries, raspberries, and native blackberries! Or, as he put it to me: “I have a cherry mustache on top of a raspberry mustache on top of a strawberry mustache on top of a blackberry mustache!” Yes, he did have fruit smeared all over his face (and dripping down onto his bare belly). Quite the summer sight. The cherries themselves made quite a sight too.

As we turned into our house, I checked on my parents’ plum trees too. I love plums and am so excited about this year’s fruit set. Mature trees that usually bear (literally) just a handful of plums are loaded this year thanks to the early warm weather during bloom. I mean, loaded. Ripe plums are still several weeks out, of course, but I like to come and look at them and dream of plum sauce.

The pears on one my parents’ trees were also too beautiful to pass photographing. Such a graceful fruit.

And our walk ended on a final sweet note. One of my parents’ rose bushes has never bloomed since they bought the property. Until this year. Oh, it is so gorgeous. What a spring, what a spring, what a spring.

Enjoy this week’s vegetables!

Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla

~ ~ ~

Meet this week’s vegetables:

  • Peas
  • Fava beans
  • Strawberries
  • Kale & chard
  • Head lettuce
  • Bok choy
  • Green garlic
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One Response to June field walk

  1. Elizabeth says:

    Love the photos!! I was giddy looking at them all!!

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