Our Favorite Weeding Tools
March 29th, 2023
The return of warm weather means re-establishing our weeding regimen! Weeding makes up a large percentage of our farm chores so we wanted to take the opportunity to share the various implements we use for this task.
The Collinear Hoe: Pictured on the far left, it has a 7-inch blade that is great for weeding bed tops and shoulders. It moves in one direction (drawn towards you) to cut through and remove weeds.
The Scuffle or Stirrup Hoe: Located in the middle in Farmer Bethany’s right hand, this is our most invasive hoe. It’s good for removing bigger weeds and working in the aisles between our beds. It’s incredibly efficient as it works by being both pushed and pulled.
The Hand Hoe: Held in Farmer Bethany’s left hand, this smaller handheld implement allows us to work in tighter areas. It’s great for working around crops like our leafy greens that are larger and have grown closer together.
The Wire Weeder: Pictured on the far right, this is the least invasive weeding implement we have. It doesn’t have any sharp edges and is good for weeding freshly planted beds.
We’re starting to harvest leeks and bulb onions for you! These bulb onions (pictured above) are immature and not meant for long term storage. We’re harvesting them as a way to thin out our onion beds and allow the remaining ones more space to size up as they mature over the next month. They have a mellower taste than storage onions and can be used in exactly the same way. Our leeks (pictured below) are one of the least pungent tasting alliums and have a lovely sweet flavor that intensifies when cooked. We recently sauteed them with some of our chard for a pizza topper and it was incredibly delicious! You can get both our leeks and bulb onions at this Saturday’s Farmers Market.
Did you know that we plant our summer and winter squashes at about the same time? All squashes prefer warm (but not blazing hot) temperatures and will not tolerate freezes. Since winter squashes take about twice as long to reach maturity as summer squash varieties, we don’t plant multiple successions of them. As you can see below, our summer squashes are already flowering and will soon yield fruit! As for our winter squashes, we’ll be harvesting and curing them in the summer, just in time to provide some delicious diversity as the temperatures begin to soar.
Upcoming Events:
Farmers Markets this month: Saturday April 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th from 9am-1pm
Special Earth Day Farmers Market Event: Saturday, April 22nd from 9am-noon
Meet the Farm Tour on Sunday, April 30th from 1:30-2pm (sign up here)
Currently in Season at the Farm Stand: Kohlrabi, Cauliflower (limited), Broccoli (limited), Beets, Carrots, Hakurei Turnips, Radishes, Romaine Lettuce, Kale, Collard Greens, Cabbage, Scallions, Leeks, Bulb Onions, Swiss Chard, Cilantro, Parsley, and Dill.
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