July is full of risk and opportunity. What we do from now to the beginning of August will pretty much determine the final trajectory of the season. After that point, very little we do will change things, so staying on point and hustling now are paramount.

Which is not to say it’s easily done. Just this morning I was standing with crew member Hannah in front of the chalkboard I use to list the week’s tasks, unsure of where to begin. What’s most important today? Transplanting the fall cabbage crops so we have food to harvest for the shares in October and November? Finishing laying the drip irrigation on the crops behind the deer fence so we can be sure to keep them thriving throughout this dry spell? Or weeding the sweet peppers? Or the broccoli? Or the beans? Or chasing down another of the other eight things on the list?

We opted to finish running the irrigation, then to begin transplanting, and to tackle the weeds later in the week. Was that the right decision? We’ll know in a month.