By Lynea Petty, Food Production Manager

Summer is here and I am late with this post! Out at Bloom Farm, we are harvesting lots and also continue to notice the difference between in-town Hailey growing, versus Quigley Canyon growing. Point being: what I write here is simply a guideline, and you will notice variations depending on where you live. For example, in central Hailey, our Napa cabbages were ready 10 days earlier than at the farm; our peas were ready 12 days earlier, and the list goes on. The lesson is always patience and understanding for your microclimate. 

We are still waiting on summer squash and cucumbers due to rather late seeding. Peas are about 1 week away from finishing; green beans are about 1 week away from being ready. All in all, it’s a decent succession of different items.  We are ever vigilant with row covers and insect netting for grasshoppers and flea beetles, our two biggest unwanted veggie eaters.

Also of interest, we discovered a much larger population of Symplans in our soil than anticipated. So we have planted about 6 times as many potatoes as we originally planned, in order to dissuade these arthropods from sticking around. With that much space now in potatoes instead of other crops, we are experimenting with lots of interplanting – our fall cabbages and broccoli are now nestled up to these very potato plants. We’ll report back on how that works out!

If you want carrots and beets yet this season, plant immediately. At least out Quigley, we find we cannot plant these any later than early to mid July and still get good sized veggies. 

Here is what we are up to this month: (see resource list below)*DS = directly seeding into the soil; TP – transplanting from a tray begun in the greenhouse

Week of July 6:Greenhouse/Indoor seeding:  head lettuce, cilantro
Outdoor seeding and transplanting: Radish DS, Turnips DS, Bok Choy DS, Green Onions TP, Cilantro DS, Carrots DS, Lettuce DS, Broccoli TP 

Week of July 13: Greenhouse/indoor seeding: nothingOutdoor seeding and transplanting:
 Cabbage TP, Arugula DS, Lettuce DS, Head Lettuce TP

 Week of July 20: Greenhouse/indoor seeding: head lettuce    Outdoor seeding and transplanting:  Radish DS, Cilantro DS, turnips DS, Bok Choy DS, Kale TP, Chard TP, Green Onions TP, Cabbage TP

Week of July 27: Greenhouse/indoor seeding: cilantro
Outdoor seeding and transplanting: Arugula DS, Lettuce DS, Head Lettuce TP, Bok Choy DS

Looking ahead to August: have these seeds ready to start: radish, lettuce, cilantro, spinach

Where to find resources:Compost – Winn’s Compost. Sun Valley Garden Center. We buy in bulkFertilizer – all can be ordered online, some can be purchased locally at garden stores; and garden stores are also happy to order it in for you specifically. Organic pelleted chicken manure: https://www.therichlawncompany.com/richlawn-5-3-2-organic/ ; Bat Guano: https://concentratesnw.com/catalog/soil-amendments/ferts/44-8-3-1-planb-hi-n-bat-guano/; Alfalfa meal: https://concentratesnw.com/catalog/soil-amendments/ferts/40-org-alfalfa-meal/