Lighter rain than forecasted so far
The weather forecast for this week predicted that we would be in the middle of a big rain storm right now and it has been raining but much more gentler than forecasted.
Over the last three days we’ve only gotten just over an inch of rain on the farm. There is more rain in the forecast today and tomorrow but until it happens we won’t know how much there actually is.
The benefit of the lighter rain is that it is able to slowly soak deep into the soil where the plants roots can use it or it goes into the aquifer that we will use to irrigate in the summer.
We aren’t going to be at market this upcoming Saturday but will be at at the following Saturday, January 3, with carrots, lettuce, mandarins, grapefruit, leeks and more.
Having all the rain even though it is fairly light has made the soil muddy so field work is not possible right now. It works out for us as we can spend the time cleaning and doing office work to wrap up the year and in preparation for 2026.
Before the rain the soil was already slightly muddy from all the cloudy and foggy weather. Harvesting the carrots they were decently muddy, especially for the fact that we haven’t irrigated them since early November.
Usually when we have a dry spell in the winter it comes with sun that dries out the soil and means we have to water to prevent the plants from getting stressed out. If the plants get stressed out there is a higher chance pests will eat them and the plants could go to flower sooner than they are expected to.
Luckily we have had the fog through the period of rain before this week.
Next week it is forecasted for the rain to let up and the sun to peak out for a few days. The sun will come with a drop in temperatures that could go below freezing.
Today is our Dad’s birthday, he would have been 65 years old today. We will get to celebrate with our sister by doing our favorite activity together which is eating Ben & Jerrys ice cream.
He was someone who always tried to innovate and improve, he liked to be on what called, “the bleeding edge”. There were so many trials that didn’t work out but others like heirloom tomatoes propelled the farm in the early years to success.
The combination of our dad and mom’s skills kept their farm going and built a strong foundation for it to thrive. It showed us that it was possible to farm successfully for a long time.
This photo is off us with our parents in the greenhouse they built on their farm around 1998-99. We were involved in the farm from a very young age and found enjoyment in that. We spent lots of time in the field eating strawberries while they were working and went to the farmers market almost weekly which was a blast but it all also taught us a lot which has helped us start our own farm.
