September 25, 2022
Workshifts for Week of 9/26/22
by Farmer Derek

There will be weekly work opportunities through the first week of November. We'll be harvesting roots and tubers, pulling weeds, splitting garlic bulbs into cloves, and transplanting and mulching those cloves.

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)!

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-for-Week-of-92622-2844/

September 25, 2022
Out With the Old, In With the New
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #19 (Week A) should include broccoli, napa/chinese cabbage, salad radishes, hakurei turnips, winter squash (autumn frost and/or butternut), leeks, garlic, sweet peppers, tomatoes (mostly green), arugula, swiss chard, red mustard, kale, lettuce, eggplant, italian dandelion, hot peppers, okra, and shishito peppers. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include herbs and flowers.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Out-With-the-Old-In-With-the-New-2845/

September 25, 2022
Herb of the Week: Mint
by Gia Yaccarino

Mint (Mentha)

Safe for Cats: No – There are tons of different types of mint and each have varying degrees of toxicity for cats due to the level of essential oils

Safe for Dogs: No – though not toxic, too much can cause GI upset; the suggested MAXIMUM is 1-2 leaves a day

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Herb-of-the-Week-Mint-2846/

September 25, 2022
Wild for Salmon Buying Club
by Wild for Salmon

Editors Note:

Anchor Run CSA hosts two buying clubs each year, in the spring and fall. When you order through the buying club you automatically save 15% at checkout. Follow This Link for instructions on how to order. Your order will be delivered to Anchor Run on Thursday October 20 and can be picked up 1-8pm. Orders are due by 10/14.

We understand and appreciate that not everyone eats fish.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Wild-for-Salmon-Buying-Club-2847/

September 25, 2022
Pivot and Modify
by Farmer Derek

We officially transitioned from outside to inside planting last week. Tardy by a week, the final round of outdoor plants went in, including head lettuce, bok choy, arugula, red mustard, and turnips. We planted the first round of crops in the tunnels, including lettuce mix, chard, spinach, and curly kale. Over the next four weeks we'll make weekly deposits and will eventually fill each of our six protected crop places for November and December harvests.

Except for two, each of our tunnels are of a slightly different design, length, width, height. Five of the six are stationary as well. Four of the six are used for growing during spring, summer, and fall whereas two are only used for early winter. Due to the confines of the covered space, most of our prep work has been done manually. It wasn't until we put up the most recent caterpillar tunnels which have flexible endwalls that we were able to amend and prep with the tractor. Most appealing and influential was the use of our old spading machine which can, in one pass, loosen, aerate, and incorporate amendments and organic matter. Last week, prior to using the spader, I decided to test whether or not I could pull our compost spreader through. It worked. Accomplishing both those tasks inspired me to re-do the endwall construction on the Hoop Tunnel so that I could pull those machines through there as well. So now, including our movable tunnel, four of our tunnels can now be amended and prepped with the aide of the tractor, greatly reducing the amount of labor and time it takes to have these spaces ready for planting into.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Pivot-and-Modify-2848/

September 18, 2022
Changing Colors, Crops
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #18 (Week B) should include beets with greens (!), salad radishes, hakurei turnips, winter squash (autumn frost and/or butternut), leeks, garlic, sweet peppers, tomatoes (mostly green), arugula, swiss chard, kale, lettuce, herbs, eggplant, italian dandelion, hot peppers, okra, and shishito peppers. Some items will be a choice. U-pick is mostly over except for the herb garden (field space is being converted to nurturing cover crops).

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Changing-Colors-Crops-2840/

September 18, 2022
Workshifts for Week of 9/19/22
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)!

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-for-Week-of-91922-2841/

September 18, 2022
Herb of the Week: Anise Hyssop
by Gia Yaccarino

Safe for Cats: Yes

Safe for Dogs: Yes

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Herb-of-the-Week-Anise-Hyssop-2842/

September 18, 2022
Underneath It All, Soil
by Farmer Derek

Last week began with 2.5 inches of rain, most of it falling overnight Monday, which temporarily filled the lower pond for the first time since June. The 5 inches of rain that fell during the span of a week was about the same that fell in all of July and August. The deficit is still obvious as most of the areas around the farm soaked up the moisture pretty quickly, albeit not at exactly the same rate. Ample sunshine, low humidity, and wind helped dry out the ground so that by Thursday and Friday we were able to cultivate a few thousand feet of recent transplants, though one field was in perfect shape to be hoed whereas the other one remained a bit sticky.

We have two distinct soil types on the farm, basically split by the driveway. To the south, the soil has a high clay content, erodes easily, is susceptible to crusting, and dries out slowly. To the north, it's more of a sandy and rocky loam with a higher concentration of organic matter that drains well and dries more quickly. With optimal conditions, such as minimal rain, the south side performs incredibly during late summer and early fall. Crops grown there at this time of year are healthy and can achieve epic size. Trying to grow crops there in the early spring when the soil is colder and wetter is more challenging and is best avoided. The north side soil is much more forgiving during adverse conditions but probably requires more water, though the high amount of organic matter helps retain moisture.

The perfect type and amount of rainfall has helped establish the large areas of cover crops. This week we'll be flipping the rest of the u-pick area into oats and buckwheat. If you notice a strange smell on the farm, it's the buckwheat, currently flowering in a few locations around the farm. Buckwheat is great for beneficial insects and also makes phosphorous in the soil more available to subsequent crops. Maybe that's why it smells the way it does.

This coming week we'll transplant the last of the outdoor crops (didn't get to it last week due to wet soil and the need to prioritize cultivation). We'll also being planting inside the tunnels, with the first round of lettuce mix, spinach, and chard going in. Over the next 3-4 weeks we'll fill up each of our 6 tunnels for November and December harvests.

Happy incoming Autumn and the Equinox!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Underneath-It-All-Soil-2843/

September 11, 2022
Swing
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #17 (Week A) should include beets with greens (!), potatoes, winter squash (autumn frost and/or butternut), leeks, garlic, sweet peppers, tomatoes, arugula, swiss chard, kale, lettuce, herbs, eggplant, italian dandelion, hot peppers, okra, and shishito peppers. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include herbs and the gleaning of other crops (flowers, husk cherries, tomatillos, tomatoes) until time allows for cover crop prep.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Swing-2836/

September 11, 2022
Workshifts for Week of 9/12/22
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)!

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-for-Week-of-91222-2837/

September 11, 2022
Herb of the Week: Lavender
By Gia Yaccarino

Safe for cats:

No – if ingested or absorbed, lavender can cause liver damage and possibly poison cats. Even diffusing lavender (from essential oils) can cause respiratory issues.

Safe for dogs:

No – only toxic if ingested in LARGE amounts; when used with care, using lavender oil topically or with a diffuser can help calm doggy anxiety.

For more details please refer to https://www.aleavia.com/blogs/news/is-lavender-safe-for-dogs#:~:text=Can%20dogs%20eat%20lavender%3F,to%20dogs%20in%20large%20amounts

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Herb-of-the-Week-Lavender-2838/

September 11, 2022
Rainfall Sandwich
by Farmer Derek

It's been a long while since we had two perfect light and steady rain events bookending a week. Timing for today's and tomorrow's precipitation isn't exactly ideal (rather it occur on a Friday evening at the end of a workweek) but sincere beggars can't be choosers. The ground is so thirsty that it would take a lot of water to delay work and keep us out of the fields for an extended period of time. We transplant the final round of outdoor crops this week after 5.5 months of doing so weekly and we'll do whatever we can to stay on schedule. I am grateful for the return of weekly rain events; it relieves some serious farming anxiety and warms the heart.

For another month or so we'll be striving to put fields to sleep for the offseason. Two weeks ago we finished cleaning up the zucchini, cucumber, cantaloupe, and watermelon field. Last week the winter squash plot as well as the bean and edamame field were mowed, composted, chisel plowed, and sown with cover crop seeds. Next up is the field that has been home to the other u-pick crops of tomatoes, husk cherries, tomatillos, and flowers. Following closely behind them will be peppers, eggplant, and okra. The sweet potato and leek patches will probably be the final areas sown in cover crops for the season. Most of the fall crops we'll be harvesting and enjoying in October, November, and December will leave enough crop residue behind or have enough 'volunteer' chickweed to keep the soil covered for the winter months. Also, at some point in the fall the benefits of working the soil and trying to establish a cover are outweighed by the risk of minimal plant growth and coverage to keep the soil protected.

This coming week we also pivot to preparing tunnel space for fall greens like lettuce mix, arugula, kale, bok choy, chard, spinach, and mustard. These areas are mostly manually prepped with forks, hoes, and rakes. Timeliness is everything at this stage of the growing season. Adjusting seeding and transplanting dates forward or backward a week or two can shift the harvest date drastically. Shorter, cooler days lengthen the time for crops to reach maturity. Lettuces can take twice as long to mature in the fall as they do in the summer. In the winter, it can triple. Planting early, mid, and late fall crops too soon though and they can grow fast and be more susceptible to frosts and freezes. Making notes and keeping good, accessible records helps navigate this time of year. It's a fun ongoing experiment.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Rainfall-Sandwich-2839/

September 4, 2022
Greening
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #16 (Week B) should include potatoes, pie pumpkins, leeks, garlic, sweet peppers, tomatoes, arugula, swiss chard, kale, lettuce, herbs, beets, eggplant, italian dandelion, hot peppers, okra, and shishito peppers. Some items will be a choice. U-pick crops are slowing down but should include a handful of herbs, tomatillos, edamame, and flowers.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Greening-2830/

September 4, 2022
Workshifts for Week of 9/5/22
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)!

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-for-Week-of-9522-2831/

September 4, 2022
Herb of the Week: Thyme
By Gia Yaccarino

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

Safe for cats: Yes

Safe for dogs: Yes

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Herb-of-the-Week-Thyme-2832/

September 4, 2022
Maple Syrup and Honey For Sale!
by Susan Klikus

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Maple-Syrup-and-Honey-For-Sale-2833/

September 4, 2022
Incoming Rain (?) Preparations
by Farmer Derek

What looks to be the first real and promising rain event in months is forecast to descend on us early this week. Hopefully it's not a dud. Last week and this weekend we spent a lot of time working towards this eventuality, preparing for a nice soaker. Fields that were previously home to spring and summer crops like zucchini, cucumbers, potatoes, cantaloupe, watermelon, onions, chard, peas, herbs, and lettuces were cleaned up, mowed, amended with compost, chisel plowed, sown with cover crops, and disked to incorporate seeds. About 20,000 feet of beds, or almost 3 acres, was put to sleep for the winter.

We're hopeful this rain event stimulates direct sown carrot seeds also. Our sowing from a month ago didn't tolerate the heat and dry weather so we had to try again. Early last week we received just under a quarter inch of rain. Crops are very thirsty, but rather than add our own water, we're trying to patiently wait for rainfall.

The last of the winter squash (butternut) was retrieved from the field this past week. Winter squash and pumpkins will likely be part of shares for around month or more. The room in the barn they're currently being stored in will eventually be the home of sweet potatoes, assuming there are some in the ground after what has been a very dry summer. This year's July/August rainfall combo is, in fact, our driest in 14 seasons. At the farm during that span we did receive 5.5" of rain, which isn't terrible, and is probably better than too much rain. I haven't checked temperature records but I don't think it's been hotter than other seasons. Either way I'm glad it's September and we're beginning to rest and restore fields.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Incoming-Rain-Preparations-2834/

September 4, 2022
Holiday Pick-Up Observations
by Farmer Dana

Labor Day pick up on Monday will run during normal hours, 1-8 pm. Please note that many members tend to come right at the beginning of pick up (1 pm) on holidays. If you're able, we suggest coming at a later time. The 3-4 pm time is particularly quiet, if you're interested in a speedier pick up.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Holiday-PickUp-Observations-2835/