Weekly Updates from the Farm

This has been one of those weeks farmers appreciate: a healthy mix of rain and sunshine—and cantaloupe season is beginning.

While summer is in full swing, we're already thinking about fall. In one field we're picking tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers as fast as they ripen; a few rows away we're tarping beds and spreading compost for the harvests of September and beyond.

Well… summer has settled in. After one of the wettest Junes in years, the heat has swung in to stay awhile — so we've shifted our rhythm: sunrise harvests, swim breaks, and the quiet lesson that resilience is about responding well to change.

June has decided to keep us on our toes this year. Instead of settling into a hot, dry summer, we’ve been dodging rainstorm after rainstorm — and reflecting on adapting, high tunnels, and the sunshine finally on the horizon.

Over the last few weeks, we've been sharing the framework we use to make decisions at Millsap Farms: Planet, People, and Profit. Today, Farmer Curtis talks about the third pillar — why a profitable farm is what keeps us farming.

Part two of our Three Pillars series. Farmer Curtis on People — why a truly sustainable farm should improve the lives of everyone connected to it, from our crew to our CSA members.

A little housekeeping on crooked carrots and quality control, then Curtis kicks off a three-part series on sustainable farming with the first P: Planet. The story of how we weed the soil before we ever plant.

Splish-splash, not only did our vegetables take a bath this week but so did we! A soggy week of puddle-jumping farm work, a camouflaged jumbo zucchini, and bright snapdragons holding it down while the Millsap family floats the Buffalo.

This week's cooler, wetter weather has been a gift to some crops and a challenge to others. The greens and brassicas are shining, the protected crops are tucked into warmer spaces, and the farm is doing what it does best: adjusting, growing, and feeding people through whatever the season brings.

When we got started in farming nineteen years ago, we had an important decision to make: synthetic chemicals or organic practices. Farmer Curtis on why we chose organic, nineteen years in.