One week ago we didn’t know how high we would see temperatures soar late last week and into the weekend. The movement of Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas disrupted our regular rain patterns and we saw our ground get dusty dry in the last few days. The thermometer has hit triple digits a few times this week and our fall plantings are showing it. Luckily we’ve got a lot of sugar cane aisles that create a microclimate during this hot early fall season. We’re seeing much better success in our green beans planted between the sugar cane versus those in the open field (the shade from the cane keeps more moisture in the beds of green beans and takes a little of the morning and afternoon heat off the crop). We’ll be planting lots more beds this week between cane rows thanks to a new leg of mainline irrigation installed this weekend (almost a quarter mile in all). With this new extension on our mainline we’ll be able to efficiently irrigate blocks that were not possible before. Wish us luck keeping all of our fall crops happy. -Farmer John