Greetings, farm friends!

The days are getting longer and summer is in the air. Black raspberries are ripening on the outskirts of the farm and our summer crops are beginning to bloom. It seems as though a hot, dry spell is setting in after cool, rainy spring. Of course, now that we’re on the cusp of summer, we’re thinking a season ahead to autumn, and next week will plant out heirloom mums.

Since we oscillated between long, cool rainy periods and intense heat waves this spring, we had an abnormally wide gap between the onset of summer crops and the fading of our spring focal flowers, and we’re in a bit of a lull these days. Fortunately, we are making do and cutting every stem that we can use. It’s looking like we’ll have a nice harvest of cosmos and rudbeckia next week, so perhaps we’re back on the road to nice focal flowers. Designing without focals is always a challenge, and with lots of weddings this month, we’re definitely feeling it!

*Field 4 looking good. We’re ready for these summer crops to size up and bloom!*

Most things on the farm are looking good and healthy; however, we are sad to say that it appears as though our pawpaw orchard was exposed to herbicide drift from a neighboring farm as the trees leafed out this spring. Pawpaws, and many other native trees, are particularly sensitive to herbicide drift. There are extensive regulations regarding how and when pesticide applicators are permitted to spray; however, as with any rule, these rules are often broken. Herbicide drift can travel over a mile, and can occur both in windy conditions and through vaporizing at high temperatures.

*Looking at a severely affected pawpaw tree.*

On Tuesday we had our orchard mentor, Jim Davis, out to look at the pawpaws and advise us on what to do. He seems to think that, over time, most of the trees will recover with some tender, loving care, although a couple of them may be severely damaged. We are planning to fertilize the trees, weed around the base of each tree, and do some mid-season pruning to encourage them to grow out of whatever damage they incurred. An inspector from the Maryland Department of Agriculture also visited the farm to observe the damage, and is working to identify the source of the herbicide drift. Once we know the source, we will learn more about the chemicals that affected our trees and when the herbicide was applied. Once we know more about the source of the drift and extent of the damage, we may consider mediation or litigation to receive financial compensation. We’ve submitted plant samples for analysis, but unfortunately it can take up to six months for the lab to complete the full chemical analysis, which means this is likely to be a long, drawn out process.

Drift is a massive problem for small farmers, beekeepers, and orchardists. Despite not being certified organic, we use only organic practices at Two Boots and we care deeply for the land, water, and animals that make up our local ecosystem. The herbicide drift didn’t just affect our orchard, but also the mature oaks, maples, and persimmons that make up the wooded portion of the farm, as well as the goldenrod and other wildflowers that blood there. Walking along the affected perimeter of the farm and observing the extent of the damage is devastating, and we know that herbicides can affect insect behavior, contaminate groundwater, and more. I’m hopeful that the pesticide applicators responsible for this damage will learn from this experience and take more care in future applications, but ultimately I wish for a future in which these harmful chemicals never make it into our ecosystems.

*Dave, harvesting bachelors buttons. Marie Machine (@pentaxjane) came out to the farm last week and took some stunning photos of us harvesting!*

*Amelia and Elisa, photo by Marie Machin*

*Harvesting nigella, photo by Marie Machin*

We’re at the Baltimore Farmers Market this Sunday, June 16th from 7:00- 12:00!

We’re planning to bring bouquets, poppies, snapdragons, veronica, assorted bunches of flowers and Two Boots merch.

And, of course, the Build Your Own Bouquet bar is back!

Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you at the market!

Amelia & The Two Boots crew

Drifting