12/13/1
Over the past couple of weeks we have had several light freezes and all 
the summer stuff is gone.  We are picking minor amounts of chard and 
spinach.
Plans progress of a second new blackberry planting.
All farmers markets are now closed for the season.  
My ISP, inetport.com, suddenly suspended operation; my current email 
address is mckemie@austinfarm.org.
If you have an interest in following the development of the new market 
being planned by the Sustainable Food Center, send me a message to that 
effect.

11/25/1
We escaped a threatened freeze before Thanksgiving; right now it looks 
more certain that we will get our first freeze 11/29 or 11/30.  Our 
last patch of cream peas will be killed with no harvest :-(  We are 
about 1/3 to 1/2 way through the Fall green beans.  Okra continues to 
produce, though reduced by cool weather.  Peppers are peaking in 
production.
Recent rains have finally have brought up most of the planted spinach.  
The oldest spinach is quite holey and in bad need of spraying.  Though 
there is some pickable spinach out there, we will probably wait another 
week or more and devote the available labor to harvesting freeze 
susceptable crops.
Farmers markets are doing very poorly in spite of having an unusually 
good supply.  We had our two currently best markets (Westlake and 
Georgetown) closed for Thanksgiving.
I need to prepare the field for this winter's blackberry planting.  
Last winter's planting continues to look good as we continue to work on 
the weeds and grass.  The hedges will be only knee high for next year's 
May harvest, but I expect around 20 gallons a day peak.  Followed next 
year by more like 60 gallons a day.  Next year, I will probably 
advertise blackberries only here and to "old" customers on my email list.  
If you are not on it, consider subscribing through a link at 
http://austinfarm.org

11/12/1
Long dry spell has been good for the plants.  We pick the first of the 
green beans today; there are some very good looking cream peas coming.  
Unfortunately, we can get a freeze just any time now.  Some carry-over 
tomatoes are producing, sadly small, ugly, and hard to sell.  I'm into 
my third planting of spinach; the first had a very poor stand and we 
are working on filling in the spaces; the second looks good and the 
third is not yet up.  Probably some spinach production in four weeks or 
so.  We continue daily pickings of okra.  Persimmons are all harvested, 
with just a few boxes left 
in the cooler.
The new blackberries continue to look good; I am looking for time to 
prepare the field for this season's planting.

10/13/1
Well, here I am again.  Finally.  Rainy spell a few weeks ago ruined 
most everything that was near producing.  Peas are just starting to 
look a little promising again; we've only been getting 10-15 lb/week.  
Okra has kept on keeping on, though cooler weather is slowing it down a 
bit.  Green beans are coming, maybe three or four weeks.  There may be 
just a few tomatoes from a few plants that I have carried over; planted 
in May.  Golf ball size fruit at this time.  
We did not pick many pears, due to lack of labor and poor sales prospects, 
and those are all gone.  We continue to pick a few off of my one Kieffer 
tree.  We are getting a fair number of persimmons.  
First of the spinach is planted and just starting to come up.
With the available labor, we have been working on the new berry patch; 
most of it looks real good.  Next year we will have a crop on around 
8,000' of knee-high rows.  I am now planning on planting about that 
much more this winter, bringing the total new blackberry planting to 
about 3 acres and 15-20K feet of row.  Of the old plantings, I have 
only about 1/4 acre left standing.

8/26/1
Labor shortage is aleviated.  Now that most of the crops are in or 
gone.  Pea volume is picking up due to new peas on old plants and new 
plants.  Okra continues to do well.  Getting about a bushel of tomatoes 
about twice a week; ugly things.  Most of the watermelon are harvested 
and in the coolers.  Cantaloupe continues, now in manageable 
quantities.  Started picking the last asian pear variety, Seuri; 
suprisingly good.

8/8/1
Labor shortage continues, but, with the main crop of peas lost and 
tomatoes gone, we are keeping up.  Lots of okra.  Watermelon is peaking 
or has peaked.  Too many cantaloupes; they are selling slowly at 
farmers markets.  And, with Round Rock and Geogetown closed, there are 
too few markets.  At the farm I am offering cantaloupe for $6 per 
bushel, about 8-15 melons depending on size.  Pick your own okra: 
$.50/lb.
Getting ready to plant some more squash and peas.  Trying to get water 
plumbed to new berry patch, which is suffering.

7/27/1
Peas are now hard to find and picking times have increased.  Prospects 
for new crop set on the old plants are good.
The tomato crop is just about over.  No canning tomatoes available at 
the farm, they are all going to farmers markets.
Okra continues.
We had a large watermelon pick a few days ago.  Very nice melons, 
mostly large seedless yellow flesh.  They should continue for a month 
or so.

7/24/1
And even farther!  Peas in the newer fields are going un-picked and 
drying at an alarming rate.  We are picking about ten bushels a day and 
u-pickers are averaging about 1 per day, out of potential production of 
about 50 bushels a day.
On the bright side, we are doing fantastic business at farmers markets. 
All my competitors seem to be out of both tomatoes and peas; we set new 
sales records regularly.  During "normal" times, farmers market sales 
are about 15-25% of total sales.  Now, they are about 80%.
Watermelon are starting; we are trying to get them picked before the 
coyotes get them.  VERY nice melons.
We are starting to leave okra unpicked to attend to more valuable 
crops.  U-Pick okra anyone?  $.50/lb.
We continue to put a few pears in the cooler for ripening and later 
sale.
Some bell pepper is being sent to farmers markets.

7/18/1
And farther behind!  No improvement on the labor situation.  I have 
started looking into buying a bean picker, a mechanical device which 
would strip the pea plants but only require a tractor driver for labor.
I did just buy a new larger pea sheller so that I can keep up with the 
shelling and keep the field hands in the fields.

Okra production has climbed to about 1.5 bu per day and that is getting 
close to farmers market demand.  Squash has been very popular in the 
markets, but it is declining and I have had no labor to get more 
planted.

Many pears are now pickable, but there is little prospect for getting 
very many picked.

I am offering pick-your-own peas for $8 per bushel.  I will shell up to 
2 bushel batches for $5.  That results in a cost of about $1 per 
shelled pound compared to our current retail of $3.50.

We have been picking a few Super 45 cantaloupe and they are very high 
quality as expected.  I didn't get as many planted as I wanted.  Due to 
lack of labor.

We have also picked a few watermelon, but most of them are still a few 
weeks away.

We had some Edamame soybeans, a new crop, but did not harvest any due 
to uncertain demand and lack of labor.

7/8/1
Due to lack of labor, we continue to fall behind.  Contact me if you 
want to pick peas yourself.

Okra continues at about 1 bushel per day, far below demand.  20th 
Century pears are just about all picked; I expect to be out this week.  
About three acres of cream peas and two acres of blackeyes are 
producing heavily, but not being thoroughly harvested.  About two acres 
of purple hulls and three more acres of cream peas are just begining.  
Second planting of squash is now producing and the Tatume planting is 
producing heavily.  Super 45 cantaloupe will start soon.  We got a poor 
stand on the 4th pea planting a couple of weeks ago.  Harvest pressure 
prevents any more planting.

6/30/1
WOW!  I'm really having a hard time finding time to do updates here!
The first batch of tomatoes, Surefires, are gone and we're well into 
Bingos and other varieties.
Okra started a week or so ago and, though giving us about a bushel a 
day, is not up to demand.
We had our first pea pick yesterday, about two bushels.  Much more to 
come.  I have been down to only three field hands for a week now, so we 
are doing only the most important and valuable tasks; I really need 
about 8 men.  So, we are selling peas in the shell for the first time 
in many years.  There are about three acres of peas starting, about 
three more that will start in 2-3 more weeks and more farther down the 
pipeline.  So, we hope to have peas for several months, maybe into 
November.
The first of the Asian Pears, 20th Century, started yesterday also.  
Looks like a good crop.
We've been getting about 1/2 week worth of rain about every week, so we 
have not yet started irrigation seriously.
The first half of June we were setting new sales records at SunCity, 
RoundRock, Georgetown, Elgin, and Bastrop farmers markets.  Now that 
other sellers have tomatoes things have calmed down a bit.
6/2/1
Alright, Cindy, thanks for your attention; I'll keep writting.  Please 
remind me if I'm tardy.
    Tomatoes are flowing now.  I'm on the verge of starting to sell to 
grocery stores.  Also, I expect we will have a good supply of canning 
tomatoes probably starting tomorrow, Sunday.
    We only have a few hundred feet of squash, but it is producing 
well; several boxes a day.
    Green beans do not take this heat well and are declining.  Peas, 
however, are thriving.  No pea blooms yet; peas are probably 2-3 weeks 
away.
    I surveyed the okra this morning and found a few; we will probably 
pick tomorrow.  No great volume for a week or two.
    At farmers markets, people keep asking for watermelon and 
cantaloupe.  Usually the first of those appear in this area in late 
June.  I plant mine late and usually don't have them until late in 
July.
    We are getting a few boxes of peaches every couple of days.  All of 
them are going to farmers markets.
    The worms have been replaced with grasshoppers.  I have started 
using Carbaryl (Sevin) on peas and beans to knock some of them down.  
Plan to put out some NOLO bait in the next few days, also.  Last year 
was a very bad year for grasshopper, but I didn't worry too much about 
them; I should have, they did a lot of damage.  This year, they look 
worse.

5/28/1
    Well, I see I have been neglecting this column.  If anyone reads 
this, let me know and I will update it more frequently.
    We are still picking a little asparagus, just a pound or two a day.
    Tomatoes just started last week; still very low volume.
    We have a suprising amount of white fleshed nectarines.
    We've been getting quite a few calls about blackberries; we peaked 
at about 8 gallons a day and are now down to a couple.  The new 
planting is doing well and we hope to offer some pick-your-own next 
year with good production the year after.
    We've been planting A LOT of peas and should start picking in three 
or four weeks.  Blackeyes were planted first followed a couple of weeks 
later by cream.  And then purple hulls and more creams after that.
    Just planted the seedless watermelon a couple of days ago, yellow 
ones this year.  I look for production late July or August.
    The worms have abated; they didn't do too much damage to tomatoes, 
but they stripped the tops of a lot of carrots and finished off the 
declining spinach.  Now we are seeing a grasshopper build up.
    Last year, the okra plantings failed.  This year, we will have a 
lot.  Starting soon.

4/25/1
    Asparagus continues to decline.  We are able to dig as many 
potatoes as we want; in a couple of weeks we will need to dig them all 
and store them.  Tomatoes are coming along well; we started staking 
some today.  Spinach is about gone.  Heavy outbreak of worms.  Although 
we got about 1/2" of rain the past two days, we are still dry.  
Starting to think about setting up irrigation.
    Planted a few squash, cucumber, cantaloupe and watermelon this past 
week.
    We should start blackberries in two to three weeks and then peaches 
short afterward.  Not very many of either.

4/11/1
    We started digging potatoes last week; it's not really time yet, 
but we are selling some small ones at SunCity on Tuesdays and Westlake 
on Saturdays.  Same deal on carrots: too small right now, but we are 
pulling some anyway.
    Made the second bean planting two days ago as well as the first 
orka planting.  Its getting a little dry.
    Asparagus has dropped back to about 15 pounds a day and we are 
selling all of it at the two farmers markets.
    Tomatoes are coming along well.  Still waiting for some wet soil to 
make the second planting.

3/26/1
    Cultivated the potatoes for the first time today.  BEAUTIFUL!
Cool weather again slows asparagus.  Spinach flows.

3/24/1
    The labor shortage seems to be over, now that I have lost three 
fields of spinach to old age.
    Most all of the first load of tomatoes are in the ground and the 
second load is awaiting planting.  
    First planting of potatoes are in need of their first cultivation; 
the second planting is coming up well.
    The first planting of green beans was made about a week ago; not 
yet up.
    Return of warm weather is bringing the asparagus out well.

3/16/1
    Tomatoes have been trickling into the ground; I have caged a few 
and plan to stake more.
    Potatoes look good.
    We lost about two acres of spinach due to lack of picking labor, 
but I just got a couple of more pickers so I hope production improves.
    I hope to get the first of the green beans planted this afternoon.
    A few rows of chard were planted and they are up.
    I went to my first market of the season at Westlake last Saturday; 
I will return this Saturday if the weather looks good.  Spinach and 
asparagus are what I have for sale.  The daily asparagus pick ranges 
from about three pound up to about 25 pounds, depending primarily on 
the overnight temperature.

3/4/1
    165 years and 2 days ago, the Republic of Texas was declared 
independent of the Republic of Mexico.  Until April 21, prospects for 
Texas were bleak; the Alamo fell and settlers were in full flight 
before the invading army of Mexico.  Both crops and homes were being 
destroyed to deny assets to the Mexicans.
    Blackberries are coming up.  A few rows of chard, the last of 
the spinach and potatoes has been planted.  A load of tomato 
transplants has been hauled and is waiting to be planted.
    A week of wet weather has slowed both planting and spinach harvest. 

2/25/1
    Just added a "photo gallery".  Check it out.
    This morning, I finished planting peach trees; about 130.  Potatoes 
are starting to come up.  Asparagus has resumed prodution after the 
recent cool spell.  Spinach production continues, though the first of 
the white rust has appeared.  Plan to haul the first load of tomatoes 
this coming week.

2/18/1
    We had a little freeze this morning, hopefully our last.  Still 
thinking about tomatoes.  Finally starting to plant peach trees.  
Spinach production is going as well as can be expected with the short 
labor situation.  Got some 1/2" of rain a couple of days ago; right on 
top of some newly seeded spinach.  Still no potatoes up.  Asparagus had 
started coming up before this last cold spell.  Got three pounds on the 
first picking and 8 pounds two days later.

2/11/1
    Spinach continues to go well, though I could use more labor.
    All the blackberries are planted and peach nursery stock has 
arrived and is waiting to go in the ground.
    Weather has allowed much ground preparation in the past couple of 
weeks.
    We may have had our last freeze yesterday morning.  Or maybe not.  
Anyway, the weeds are growing well and it's time to start thinking 
about tomatoes.  At least ordering them.

2/2/01
    We now have as much spinach as we have labor to pick.
    Most of the blackberries are planted.
    Most of the onions are planted.
    The first of the potatoes are planted.
    Thinking about making the last spinach planting.

1/17/01
    A new year, a clean slate!  Spinach is coming in fairly well.  The 
labor situation has improved.  During the recent dry spell, I got the 
new blackberry patch ready to plant.  About 1/4 ac of onions are 
planted.  Plan to plant soon 1+ acres of red potatoes.  Made some major 
seed orders a few days ago.  Waiting for peach and blackberry nursery 
stock to arrive.

12/20/00
We abandoned the green beans to the regular freezes that we have been 
experiencing.  Spinach is coming along well; we have been selling a 
little for the past few weeks.  Third planting is in.  Early crops in 
the next several months will be spinach, carrots, and onions.  We may 
put in some potatoes next month.  Or February.  Labor continues scarce.
We are finally getting some field preparation done.