Harland’s Creek Farm is preparing for winter. All of the fall planting except for the garlic, which we always plant in November, is done. In this area, garlic is an overwintered plant. It stays in the ground for six to seven months. We grow hard-neck garlic which is a bit more difficult to grow but is easier to peel and has a better flavor than soft-neck garlic. Our whole farm makes use of raised beds, which is good for a plant that stays in the ground for so long because the water from winter rains drains away from the plants. The first thing garlic does is to grow roots and pull itself down in the soil to as protection from freezing.
Other winter prep tasks include removing tomato cages and structures we set up for supporting cucumbers, peppers, and eggplants, cutting the debris from summer plants and weeds that got away from us, applying mulch, and planting late fall cover crops in places where we had late summer vegetables. We also have overwintered vegetables in our tunnels and will soon be putting down mulch in the tunnels. Winter itself is devoted to equipment and building repairs, and by late winter we will be in our greenhouse growing the early spring transplants.
Harland’s Creek Farm rotates the main vegetable growing areas over a three year period. We rotate over G, H, and I. Next year we will be in Plot G which has had an entire year under cover crops...first Sudex grass and field peas. We planted crimson clover in late September and now have a good stand going into the winter. Next year Plot H will get this gentle, nutrient-building treatment. Plot I, which had the main crops this year, will have crops for part of 2021 and will be entirely under cover in 2022. The cycle we follow is the same that people have followed for ages and ages because seasons are absolutely controlled by the rotation of the earth around the sun.
We are largely dependent upon the weather to farm and are we working to adapt to the new uncertainties introduced by the fast warming of the earth.
