With the warm days and cool night we’ve been experiencing for
the last few weeks it is beginning to feel a great deal like fall. Of course it is still too early to be
thinking this way but I am really looking forward to winter squash and root
crops and crisp clear autumn mornings.
It is still dark when we arrive for work now, a clear sign that the
changing season is approaching.
By and large the fields look great for the approaching late
season crops. Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower,
and even sprouts are looking large, healthy and almost entirely free of
weeds. This winter squash, which once
spread like a carpet across field 2, has begun to wilt from powdery
mildew. This is a sign that we will need
to harvest soon. Huge yellow onions and
their slightly smaller cousins the shallots sit fat and happy in the field waiting
for us to collect them. I have
justifiably high hopes for an outstanding fall.
My hopes are a little less high for an outstanding tomato
season. Our crop is suffering from the
fungal infection Early Blight! Although
early blight isn’t as virulent as late blight, it is still fairly crippling to
tomato plants. We are hoping to get a
couple more good weeks out of the tomatoes before they succumb. This is sad for all of us but such is life on
a farm without toxic fungicidal sprays.
You may have noticed that my updates have lacked a little
color lately. If you have some good
pictures of the farm and you’d like to share, please email them to me at rwood@ttor.org. I’d love to publish your submissions on this
blog and bring back the color. Thanks in
advance!
What’s in the share: Lettuce, escarole, beets, carrots, summer
squash, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, watermelon,
What’s new: Leeks,
celery
