What a row taught us

Field notes

What we learned in the rows — and why we do it this way. A Brix reading. Why residue beat bare dirt. The wasp that was already hunting the hornworms. Why we don't sell a season share. Some weeks it's a few sentences. Some weeks it's longer. Come argue with us at the stand if you want. That's half the fun. If you want this week's list, the harvest is the list.

• Practice · 2026-09-05

  When the tomatoes outran the twine

  We were late with the weave on the first tomatoes. Nature kept her appointment. We missed ours. The bed is what that looks like.

• Practice · 2026-08-29

  Why we read Brix

  A refractometer is not a personality. It is a way to know if a plant is making sugar — and if the dirt is getting better, or just staying busy.

• Practice · 2026-08-29

  The weedy bean bed outyielded the clean one

  Same Dulcina, same 75 feet. Bare soil: three bushels. Residue in: twelve — four times the harvest, and the plants are still working.

• Practice · 2026-08-28

  The white rice on the hornworms is a wasp. Leave it.

  Those grains are cocoons, not eggs. The wasp is already on payroll. Leave that one. Pick the ones without rice.

• The farm · 2026-08-25

  Not a CSA. On purpose.

  Around here a half share is six or seven hundred before the first tomato. A $35 box is food you will actually eat, when you can cook it.