Forty four degrees this morning? It looks like fall is officially winning the season battle; at least for now. While it does mean summer may be leaving, it also means that fall is on it's way and along with the cooler temperatures and changing leaves, our crop variety, too, will be changing. Onions are being harvested and cured, winter squash will be getting harvested as soon as the totes arrive to put it all in (they seem to have gotten a little lost in transit), and the first fall exclusive crops like leeks will be finding their way into the mix this week. This time of the season is one of the most exciting for us, as we can finally break from our routine of tomatoes and cucumbers into something different. You'll never hear anyone around here complain about having to stop picking cucumbers or summer squash, as it is a rather monotonous, daily task in peak summer - though, we'll probably wish we could still have some in a few short weeks when it sets in that it'll be another nine months before we get them again.
We're progressing with our fall planting and will be clearing out the remaining cucumber tunnel this week to make room for fall crops - the other one that we cleared out a few weeks ago is growing crops of salad mix, radishes and beets that should be ready sometime in late October through November.
The next couple weeks are going to be busy for us as we say goodbye to most of the tomatoes to make room for more fall greens. Once we remove the tomatoes, we won't be stopping there; we'll be tearing down two of the smaller hoophouses from the other property and moving them down to the main farm (along with building another 34x72 hoophouse, because, why not?).
The chickens are finally getting into a routine of going into the coop at night (typically all but one - there's just always got to be that one), so we're going to start moving their coop around the farm this upcoming week to get them used to that as well. While they used to be a challenge to do in the past with less-than-ideal infrastructure, we built the coop to eliminate the challenges (thanks to inspiration from people much more innovative than we are), i.e. put it on wheels, wire mesh floor that doesn't require cleaning, leakproof 24/7 water system, roll-out nest boxes to keep the eggs clean, rain-proof feeders, etc. It should give us and the chickens a bit of a quality of life boost, so it's a win-win for both. Another couple months and we should be getting our first eggs.
Well, it's probably time to get back to work (anyone who picks up on farm knows we have a bit of a project going on inside that we're trying to wrap up - hopefully by the next time writing this, we can share it with everyone).
Have a good week!
Brendan & Greta
