Harvest #20 (Week B) should include broccoli, cauliflower, napa/chinese cabbage, salad radishes, hakurei turnips, winter squash, leeks, garlic, green peppers, tomatoes (mostly green), arugula, swiss chard, red mustard, kale, lettuce, and italian dandelion. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include herbs and flowers.

Last week we continued cleaning up fields and putting them to sleep for the winter months, planted another round of crops in a few of the tunnels, seeded the final round of greens for transplanting later on, and did a lot of harvesting. With Ian incoming we knew this might be the final chance to sow cover crop seeds this fall. We harvested the rest of the leeks, green peppers, and first planting of fall beets; removed stakes and twine; pulled up fabric and drip tape; mowed; chisel plowed; spread cover crop seed; and worked the seed in with the disk harrow. We sowed oats which will terminate when it gets cold this winter and allow us to probably plant peas early next April. We sowed rye in spots where we don't think we'll grow any crops until later in the season. Rye overwinters and grows vigorously in the spring. When incorporated after plowing and working in, it takes a couple months to break down and re-feed the soil and the following veggie crops.

Three tunnels, or 62% of covered beds, are now filled with late fall and early winter greens. We transplanted another round of lettuce mix, spinach, chard, and kale last week. These spaces were prepped with the tractor after spreading compost and gypsum but were planted by hand. After planting we watered in each plug (about 5,000 total) to make sure there is good root to soil contact. We'll eventually apply drip tape and will irrigate the tunnels about once a week.

After 31 weeks of sowing seeds in the greenhouse, we finally deposited the last of them (arugula, mustard, kale). These will go in ground in about 3-4 weeks and will hopefully be ready to harvest at the end of December. They need to be decently established by mid-November when daylight drops below 10 hours per day; growth really slows down then.

Hope you're enjoying this rainy weekend!

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

As soon as the ground dries out enough we'll begin harvesting sweet potatoes!

Dividing garlic bulbs into cloves will be easy-on-the-body work in the barn and will take place over a few shifts during the latter half of October and/or early November.

If you signed up for a CSA share with work discount but are unable to work please consider remitting payment in lieu of work sooner rather that later.

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

FYI:

Safe for Cats: Yes- but moderation is key – too much can be bad and cause diarrhea and vomiting

Safe for Dogs: Yes- it only has sedative effects for dogs (it can even be used to help calm an anxious pooch!)

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.