It has been a little while since my last update so I would
like to recap the last couple of weeks on the farm. We had a little heat wave followed by a
little tornado. Separately these events
might have been damaging but together they had the potential to be
ruinous. We must have a guardian angel
in overalls because the damage to the vegetable crops was fairly minimal. True, some of our cool weather crops bolted
from the heat stress and many of our summer crops were greatly hastened in
their decline but the greenhouses still stand, our deer fences still stand and
none of our trucks, tractors or people were damaged. We are in pretty good shape for the rest of
the season and any gaps in production caused by the storm will be made up for
with the abundance of the fall harvest.
This week we are hoping to find the time to finish
harvesting onions and winter squash.
Clearing out these large sections of field will allow us to seed a cover
crop of rye and peas which will protect our soil over the winter and enrich it
for next season’s plantings. Our goal is
to cover crop as much of our fields as possible by mid October. Also on the agenda this week is thinning and
weeding our final planting of fall carrots and seeding our final greens for the
season! If we manage to get through
these tasks I am hoping to tidy up some of our supplies left in the field from
some of our summer plantings. Tomato
trellising needs to start coming down and landscape fabric and stakes (used to
control weeds in the driving rows) need to comp up.
Although summer is ending we are only about half way through
the season. With two full months to go
we still have a great diversity of veggies ahead of us. If you haven’t seen one of your favorite
veggies yet there is a very good chance that it is still maturing. Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, daikon
radishes, watermelon radishes, parsnips, spinach and many more are still on their
way.
Whats new this week: Kale, yellow onions, shallots, garlic, delicata winter squash
And now a message from our sponsors:
This
SUNDAY is Family Farm Day!
Don’t miss the farm’s biggest celebration of the
year. Grab your friends and join us for some good ol’ fashioned fun on
Sunday, September 21 from 10am—3pm (RAIN OR SHINE). The family-friendly event
features local healthy foods, music by Ben Rudnick and Friends, barnyard
animals, and traditional farm crafts and activities including pumpkin painting,
pony rides, and a hay obstacle course!
Trustees members: $20 per car. Nonmembers:
$25 per car. Admission includes all activities.
