We are very excited to have you share in our harvests during the cold months this year! While most people think of local produce only being available during the warm months, it is possible to eat local year-round. We will enjoy many stored veggies and fresh ones too! The greenhouse has been cleared out of the tomato plants and planted with salad greens, spinach, arugula, chard, and radishes. In the fields outside we have many cold-tolerant crops growing such as kale, brussels sprouts, and cabbage. So much nourishing goodness coming your way.
Over the past few weeks, we have been working to put the farm 'to bed' for the winter. This involves removing summer crops and plastic mulch, tilling the soil, and planting cover crops. We use a combination of rye, clover, and hairy vetch for cover-cropping the fields. These will hold the loose soil in place during winter rain and snow, scavenge nutrients in the soil leftover from the main crop, shade and prevent weed growth in the spring, and add organic matter to the soil. When we are putting the farm to bed, we have to consider what will be planted in the fields the following season. Always thinking ahead!
Guess what else we did recently? Planted next years Garlic crop! That's right, garlic is planted in the fall, survives harsh winter conditions and quickly grows in the early spring for a late June harvest. Four beds were planted totaling around 6500 future garlic bulbs. The 'seed' for garlic is actually just a clove from a garlic bulb. If a bulb has six cloves, that is six future bulbs. We grow a variety called German Extra Hardy which gifts us with garlic scapes in early June. Lots of the 'seed' we used was saved from the garlic we grew this year. Don't worry, we saved plenty of nice big ones for your boxes this winter!
It was a very dry summer and it seems Mother Nature was saving up all her rain for the fall. Over 4 inches has fallen in the past two weeks! We are farmers, either complaining it is too wet or too dry. Oh well, we get through it and make it work. Thanks again for joining us in our farming adventures. We couldn't do it without your continued support and it is greatly appreciated. Looking forward to sharing our harvests with you this winter!
