Wk 26 Summer Solstice

Weed,cut grass,weed,cut grass,the unrelenting cycle starts in earnest as the summer sun passes it's zenith in the heavens this week about 73 degrees above the southern horizon at solar noon for our location of 41 degrees north latitude. I bought a very expensive aluminum coated shade cloth last week for green house # 2 where summer salad is grown in benches. The shade cloth blocks out 50% of incoming light which is still plenty of light to grow salad and tremendously reduces the heat load and evaporation in the greenhouse. We still need fans to move out excess heat and the sides of the greenhouse are rolled up to increase air flow. Summer heat- bring it on.
As the Fourth of July approaches,many Providence restaurants close for a summer break and many subscribers flee to their summer retreats. Newport restaurants just go crazy with business and the Pawtuxet Farmers Market swings to life so a delicate marketing balance unfolds. Micki and I unveiled at the market last week Baby Greens Al fresco, freshly baked breads from Olga's Cup and Saucer and a variety of goat cheeses from local dairies through Farmstead to compliment our salad greens. We sold out. Looks good so far. Where can you enjoy Baby Greens away from home? Newport: The Inn at Castle Hill, Clarke Cooke House, and The Mooring. Narragansett: Trio. Providence: Nick's on Broadway, Citron, Bacaro, XO, Mill's Tavern, Haruki, The Hope Club, Waterman Grille, and Chez Pascal.

Wk 25 Happy Fathers Day

All eyes are on the grand opening for the year of the Pawtuxet Farmers Market located behind the Masonic Lodge off Broad St. @ Rhodes on the Pawtuxet in Cranston this Sat. Jun.21st from 9-12pm. My wife Micki and I are excited to bring to the market local cheeses, breads, and salad dressing to complement our salad greens. Micki also makes soaps and lotions she markets as "Good, Clean, Fun" and they are. We have free trade coffee from New Harvest Roasters, a variety of breads from Olgas Cup and Saucer, and locally produced cheeses from Narragansett Creamery and Farmstead. I am cutting garlic curls which are only available at this time of year- sauteed or baked in olive oil, with our fresh rosemary can make some wonderful dishes. Sage is also available and it is flowering heavily.

This coming Sunday, Jun. 22nd is our Open House hosted by Innisfree Body Works 18 Post Rd. Pawtuxet Village from 11- 1:00pm. Please come socialize, network, and have fun over complimentary light lunch of baby greens, cheeses, bread, and refreshments. Meet the farmer and his wife and speak to David and Saundra about their wonderful services at Innisfree. I barter salad greens and eggs for body work which has done wonders for my broken back. I often tease David about hanging my once used crutches out front as testimony of his skill.

Wk 24

Our first heat wave of the season settled in after a few cool, rainy days beginning this week with temps. in the greenhouses in the low 90s. Fans, shade cloth, and roll up sides to greenhouse keep it relatively cooler than the possible 120-130 degrees. Often salad just goes dormant when soil temps get above 85 degrees. Luckily, lettuce in the outdoor beds is picking up after a slow start. After nearly 20 yrs. of growing experience, I'm beginning to figure out what types of greens do best in particular circumstances in the summer green house. Chard, beet greens, sorrel, edible chrysanthemum, anise hyssop, wild arugula, cutting celery, and now pea shoots with outdoor lettuces makeup the backbone of the warm season blend. Our tomatoes of semi-tropical origins of coarse love this heat and are growing rapidly to the first support wire.

Wk 23 Jun 2nd

High farmer anxiety withstanding, two hoop house lettuce rows will produce their first cutting this week, seven weeks since seeding and two weeks late. With so many variables contending in the nature of market growing, I only recommend it to those prepared to have their hearts broken on daily basis. So much can go wrong. Nimble wits and keeping faith steady the venture. A great addition to the salad mix will make it's debut this week in response to the torpid lettuce- pea tendrills. Began pre-soaking the seeds overnight and sowed them thickly in the green house benches. They will be ready for cutting in twelve days and it seems from my observations that they will take another cutting from the same planting which will save a lot of prep-work and seed.


Transplanted mixed cherry and grape tomatoes in greenhouse #1 which I started from seed Apr. 7th- right on schedule. Two rows trained straight up to eight feet will start yielding the beginning of Aug. through Oct. Tomato subscription and home delivery will start week of Aug 11th if all goes well for ten weeks.


Up date on chicks. After two weeks they have their tail feathers and are fledglings. Some even have feathery feet. They are staying with my niece Katarina, who just turned nine, with mother hen Lucy to be thoroughly domesticated by all the other girls in the neighborhood.
News on the Rocky Hill School Center for Sustainability. The schools program director e-mailed me that he had really tried advocating Baby Greens move to the schools campus but had run into a wall over funding. I continue to look for farmland to purchase near our home in Pawtuxet maybe in Western Cranston. Our predicament at our current site is precarious as we continue to be a tenant at will.