A Note from Layton at Quail Hill Farm | Summer Weather
September 1, 2022
By Layton Guenther
I have spent recent days sowing the last crops of the year: rows of tatsoi, arugula, cilantro, spinach and other greens percolate amidst the silt loam beds on Birch Hill. With a little luck, these seeds (some the size of your smallest freckle, others even more miniscule) will yield verdant rosettes of green.
This summer’s weather conditions, which the U.S. Drought Monitor calls “Severe Drought,” have been challenging, to say the least. Longtime Quail Hill Farm members will remember (as I do) seasons of uninterrupted lettuce, radish, turnips and greens: no longer. Erratic and often prolonged hot and dry weather scuttled some of our plantings for the summer– while we have new plantings in the ground now, you’ll notice a gap between certain succession plantings. To add insult to injury, about six weeks ago, we had a deer (or several) that got into our greenhouse, and ate about 50 trays (about 7,000 plants worth) of late summer and fall crops.
Such is the project of Community Supported Agriculture: sharing the risk (and reward) of diversified vegetable farming.
And lastly, we recently bid farewell to Sabeena Prescod, our first 2022 apprentice to wrap up their season with us. Sabeena was a steadfast and devoted farmer, anchoring our crew with her passion, integrity and focus. Thank you, Sabeena!
See you in the fields,
Layton
Layton Guenther
Director, Quail Hill Farm
LGuenther@PeconicLandTrust.org