Author Archives: Russo Family Farm

Tomato plants are growing wild in all directions. These are all over the place, need to be staked, and would benefit from some pruning. The twine supports took forever to tie, and are proving too paltry for these plants, so … Continue reading →

The weedy patch in the middle of the farm are the garlic rows. We started cutting off the scape, or the flowering stalk, in mid-June and farmers say to pull up the garlic 2 weeks after. When garlic stays in … Continue reading →

Summer is in full swing with the start of the summer squashes. The yellow pattypans tend to be bell shaped, and the green ones are flying saucers. This is an heirloom zucchini, Costata Romanesco, and boy does it get large … Continue reading →

I start with this uplifting picture of sunflowers rising on the farm. It greets farm trucks rolling past, cyclists pretending they are doing the Tour de France in Orange County, residents who walk their dogs. And it allays the massive … Continue reading →

Good news, garlic scapes are here! Bad news, I lost the exact sequence of the garlic varieties. I jotted the list on at least 2 places last season, but cannot find them. I laid them out geographically, with French, German, … Continue reading →

There was a teeny bit of rain last week. Here’s hoping enough rain and enough heat fuels this summer so these watermelon and grow grow grow! I started the green beans a tad early this year, and so far they … Continue reading →

How does an unlicensed citygal drive a tractor? With engines roaring of course. Insert key and start engine – Gear needs to be in P for Park, otherwise the engine won’t start Press down with left foot on the clutch – … Continue reading →

The wheel hoe helps tremendously in weeding rows. You walk alongside a row, and the blade scrapes beneath the soil to pull up young weeds. I ordered additional blades so that it can go over a row of young seedlings … Continue reading →

There has been little rain, though the chives don’t seem to mind and are ridiculously lush. I transplanted several plants by a foot in an attempt to straighten out the bowed row from last year. During the transplant, I split … Continue reading →

We went from a long, cold, snowy winter to a short, dry spring.  Over the weekend, a tinge of humidity hung in the air, reminding me how hot summer in the fields can be. But today was a good day … Continue reading →