Availability for August 16

We missed our chance at rain today, and the next chance in the forecast isn’t until next weekend. Five straight days over 100 degrees tied a record for consecutive 100+ days set back in 1952. The growers have reported to me that their crops are drying on the vine, despite all the irrigation their wells can handle.

Still, there are over 250 items listed on the website this week. More than ever, the quantities on any given item are limited, but there is still a lot of produce to go around. I see 43 listings of tomatoes, 23 of peppers, and a whole slew of new types of melons.

Those of you more used to northern growing seasons may be surprised to see the slowdown (and the next couple weeks are likely to be worse). In most of the country, this is prime veggie season. Here, though, it’s just too hot and too muggy to keep the production up—especially when growing organically. The heat puts stress on the plants, and the bugs that aren’t killed off by our mild winters just start right in. The result: a few weeks of not much production.

It’ll pass soon, though, and the tomatoes, eggplants, and other summer items will pick right back up and keep going until first frost. In the meantime, the Fall crops will start coming in and you’ll see why Autumn is really a prime (and overlooked) season for in the garden.

We thank you for all your continued support. Even taking the orders we couldn’t fill into account (and everyone who placed an order had at least something to pick up), last week set a new sales record. More communities are looking into moving to the Locally Grown model, and more growers in the Athens area and wanting to sell here, thanks to you!

We’ll see you on Thursday from 4:30 to 8pm at Gosford Wine!