Spinella Farm

The CSA and the market both went very well on Saturday. It was cool to see the excited faces of the CSA members as they went along the table selecting the fruits and vegetables that they wanted. A couple of first timers said they felt guilty about the produce they were taking. I told them that this is how it's done and they won't be ashamed when they get home and prepare the fresh food for their families.

Asparagus is about two weeks from finishing. The strawberries are done. We're looking ahead to the fruits. The peaches and blueberries are two weeks late. We don't grow our own blueberries so we purchase them from the DiMaio family in Hammonton, blueberry capital of the world. Butch told Dad on Sunday that the blueberries are two weeks late except for the Weymouth variety which has a couple of berries here and there. However, some unscrupulous growers are buying berries from other parts of the country and labeling them Jersey Fresh. I don't have respect for someone who does things like that especially when they show up at our tailgate markets. Then I have to answer to my customers who know we have early berries and tell them they are not local. It gives all of us a bad name when the customer becomes wary about the origin of the food.

The snow peas are exploding in the field. Unfortunately, the deer have started to nibble on them but since it's going to rain four of the five days this week, I am hesitant to use the egg whites spray because it is expensive and will become ineffective after the rain hits it. So I'm taking my chances that the deer will leave them alone for a few days until I can get the deterent on them.

Everything else is fertilized. That late lettuce looks great! The bush lima beans are up as is the edamame. Now the work really begins!