Harvesting Korean Melons and Planting a Cowpea Cover Crop
July 6th, 2023
Our second wave of melons is nearly here! We’re just beginning to harvest limited amounts of our Korean melons while our Arava melons (pictured below) and cantaloupes will be ready for harvesting in the next couple of weeks. Korean melons (pictured above) are a small, oblong-shaped variety that is yellow with longitudinal white stripes. They have edible skin and flesh that has a crisp texture with a moderately sweet, almost pear-like flavor. We love snacking on them fresh but they’re also great paired with our Armenian cucumbers in a salad. We’ll have a limited amount of Korean melons available for you at the Farm Stand this Saturday!
The arrival of high summer means it’s time for a cowpea cover crop! Cover cropping with cowpeas allows us to give sections of the farm a break from production while improving the health of our soil. During the very hot months, it’s also a great way to temporarily shrink the footprint of the farm as there’s less variety of crops we can successfully grow. Since cowpeas are an edible cover crop, we’ll be able to harvest from them as needed throughout the summer. The variety you see blooming below is called “Fast Lady Northern Southern Pea”.
Remember the Purple Martin houses we installed on the farm back in February? We noticed the first scouts scoping out our houses at the end of March with plenty of visitors arriving throughout April. In May, they began nesting with the first babies hatching in June. Now, the fledglings (young birds that have grown their initial flight feathers) can be seen flitting in and around the houses. Check them out in the photo below! If you’d like to see our resident Purple Martins in person, you can come to our next Meet the Farm Tour on Saturday, July 29th at 10am.
Upcoming Farm Events:
Farmers Markets this month: Saturday July 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th from 9am-12pm
Meet the Farm tour on Saturday, July 29th from 10-10:30am (sign up here)
Currently in Season at the Farm Stand: Korean Melons (limited), Assorted Peppers, Limited Cherry and Paste Tomatoes, Eggplants, Okra, Long Beans, Bitter Melon, Armenian Cucumbers, Sweet Potato Greens, Zucchini, Tromboncino Squash, Butternuts, and Basil.
