Summer 2025

June, July, and August on the Farm

With the flurry of spring behind us, we headed into June eager for summer. There's nothing like endless days, flavorful harvests, and a quick dunk under the hose to cool off!

Tomatoes' Return

It's truly delightful to bite into the first tomato of the season. During the few months that these beloved farm fruits are available, we eat a lot of bruschetta, pasta, and of course, fresh tomatoes!

We grow many varieties, including heirlooms like Cherokee Purple. Tomatoes come in a million colors and sizes, but all varieties can be grouped by growth pattern as either determinate or indeterminate. We only grow indeterminate tomatoes because they continuously produce and grow, which suits us well.

We trellis using the "single leader" method, which is excellent for growing tomatoes in high tunnels like ours. The plant is supported by a single string, and all of its side branches are pinched off. This uses space efficiently, lowers disease pressure, and is much easier to manage!

Unfurling Flowers

June is the first month of summer flower varieties, which means lots and lots of color! Springtime pastels give way to saturated purples, rich reds, and vibrant golds as the heat sets in.

We follow 'recipes' as we arrange our bouquets, to keep them a consistent size and shape. As the seasons change, so do the ingredients; but the recipe continues to guide us. For example, in May, we use apple mint; in June we use Euphorbia. Both have similar leaf structure, so they support the final bouquet in the same way!

June is an especially exciting month because some spring flowers are still going, and summer flowers are beginning. They mix into unique palettes and shapes that I particularly love.

Sunny Bounty

Just like flowers, new veggies ripen in the summer. A few favorites include patty pan squashes, dragon tongue beans, and of course basil to go with the tomatoes!

Harvesting vegetables is a full-time job. Sara, our Produce Assistant, helps keep up with all the picking, washing and packing. Each variety has it's own harvest method and storage requirements. For example, tomatoes must stay at room temperature, while cucumbers like to be dunked in water and go into the cooler.

Either way, our vegetables are only stored for very short while, and then they are off into the community!

The Best Vegetable (according to me)

It's garlic! June is when we harvest all of our garlic- and then it lasts us the rest of the year (if we're lucky!) Garlic is planted in the fall and grows slowly throughout winter. In spring the green tops get taller and taller, until they put up their young, edible flowers, which are called scapes. Then we know it's time to harvest.

We dig each bulb up, clean off the dirt, and hang it to cure. Curing allows the garlic to store for longer, but we also bring un-cured, fresh garlic to market. It doesn't have to last long because it won't- fresh garlic is too good to not eat immediately!

A Southern Gem

Another stand-out veggie on our farm is Okra. Okra has a long history with the American South. It has its roots in African culture, and is a vital ingredient in gumbo (as a thickener). The plants grow well even in the high heat and humidity. Fried okra is also a classic in southern cooking. My usual method of preparation is to sauté slices with garlic, olive oil, and salt. It's a very versatile vegetable!

There are plenty of varieties of okra. We grow Bradford, a variety bred by the Bradford family in Sumter, SC, which remains tender at larger pod sizes. We also grow red okra; they taste the same as green, and look how beautiful!

Preserving Summer

Starting in spring, we begin drying flowers. We will use them for harvest festivals and holiday markets, which is months away, but make hay while the sun is shining, as they say.

Although we dry flowers throughout the year, June is the month when we harvest several of our staple drying varieties. Strawflowers are a classic (the pink one in the photos) but my absolute favorite is Ammobium. It's also called Winged Everlasting, because there are 'wings' along the stems, and it's the perfect drying flower! When hung to dry, the little star-white flowers remain perfectly white, which is unusual for a white bloom. They make the perfect addition to wreaths!

The Milkweed Buffet

Although bugs started returning to the farm in early spring, it isn't until the days are truly sweltering the all our familiar friends re-appear. And many of them absolutely bee-line for the milkweed.

Pollinators are actually quite particular about the flowers they feed from. Wasps prefer 'shallow' flower shapes like celosia, while butterflies like 'deep' flowers like zinnias. Bees are quite partial to a bell shaped bloom. But all types seem to visit milkweed, seeking nectar, shade, shelter, even hunting other bugs among the blooms.

Of course, the most renowned milkweed insects are monarch butterflies. Their fat caterpillars appear early and grow quickly. It's always nice to see them, and watch their orange adult forms fluttering over the tops of the milkweed.

We have multiple species of native milkweed on our land, along with other native plants we've grown to support insects. Our crops directly support insects as well, since we grow a broad variety of flowers alongside vegetables. These sunny months with buzzing insects all over our farm feel so bountiful, even beyond the harvests.

As the cool winds of September approach, we enjoy as much time outside as we can!

-Rosa