The end of another farm year feels real this week. We are rushing to gather up the last tender crops of summer so we can give them out to you over the next few weeks. Winter squash, eggplant, fennel, tomatoes are all coming in, ripe just in time to be brought out from under the cold nights that are getting colder. The last couple weeks of September are always a bit crazier than normal as we move in several directions, closing one season and getting ready for the next. With one eye focussed we harvest like mad all these tender crops, while with the other we are look ahead to the next summer. Adding compost to fields to enrich them, mowing high grass in the pastures to allow the young grass to emerge and sowing fertility enhancing crops to gather this year’s lost nutrients and protect the soil over the winter are all acts of devotion to the season to come. These late season sowings of what we call “cover crops” (meant to cover the ground for the winter) always seems the craziest task we undertake. The season is closing, we are overflowing with food and yet we work extra-hard to sow hundreds of pounds of seed over acres of ground all in the name of next year’s fertility. Most of these cover crops are a combination of traditional grain crops (rye, barley, oats and wheat) combined with a legume (peas, clover and vetch). The grain quickly covers the ground, shading out late season weeds and soaking up nutrients left behind after the vegetable crop. The grain crop also provides a protected environment for the slower growing legume to develop slowly in the understory. As the legume gets larger it gathers nitrogen and outgrows the early grain crop until both die over the winter or become late season sheep feed or wake up and grow stronger next spring.
Sign Up for 2013 Now!
We’ll be sending out a sign-up email later today about signing up for your 2013 CSA share. If you are interested in joining us again next season we urge you to sign up now. Your commitment now allows us to plan, purchase and hire for next year. We will start taking new members from the wait list on October 21st but would like to give you, our current members the opportunity to renew with us first. Sign ups will be online with a new system that is easier to understand but still allows for the use of credit cards, electronic checks and payment plans. It is also possible to sign-up online and mail us a check the old fashioned way.
Lamb for the Freezer
There are still order forms for whole and half lamb for your freezer. these are our grass fed lambs, processed with your directions to the butcher. Pickup a order form at pick-up or email us for a digital copy…
What’s In Upic?
Cherry Toms
Green Beans -last week
Flowers
Herbs
What’s In The Share This Week?
Broccoli
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Chickories
Chard