Harvest #14 (Week B) should include watermelon, carrots, Italian dandelion, fennel, head lettuce, cilantro, dill, basil, zucchini, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, shishito peppers, onions, and scallions. Some items may be a choice. U-pick should include herbs, snap/string/green beans, edamame, cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, blackberries, and flowers.

We're just about halfway between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox. There are probably a few fancy names for this time, but none come to mind. This August has been kind to us so far (we'll see what tomorrow's storms have in store). After the heat and humidity and excessive rainfall of July, August has been a dream. I'm sure we'll have a few more days in the 90s, but this weather is sure a wake up call to incoming autumn.

We're always planning ahead and thinking down the road because crops need to break dormancy and germinate months before they're consumed, and ground needs to be prepared for their homes. It's a bit strange to visualize harvests for October and November right now, but this must happen now in order to harvest then. Plant growth varies significantly throughout the year (obviously), thanks to daylength and temperature, and I find it more difficult to change gears and prepare for the slow down after summer compared to dealing with the increased growth rate in late spring and through summer.

For fall harvests, there's a fine line between starting crops too early, where quick growth results in too-early maturity and susceptibility to later cold, compared to starting crops too late, when they don't have enough time to mature before the harvest season ends or cold and darkness put the breaks on their rate of growth. Because we added two additional weeks to the Main Season CSA, we'll be harvesting a bit later in November for a larger group than we've had with the Late Fall CSA.

In November my preference is to harvest most crops in tunnels where we don't have to deal with frost and random too-cold nights like we do for outside crops (and where our fingers stay a bit warmer while harvesting). It's probably impossible to pinpoint an exactly perfect time to start all the crops for all of the tunnels for the final four weeks of the season due to wildly fluctuating temperatures. To deal with this we simply grow many different crops in multiple successions. It's easy to overthink it all, but it's also good to strive for perfection a little bit, then know when to put the breaks on that thought process.

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

Some things to look forward to on the farm.

Join Amanda Crooke of Locust Light Farm for a medicinal tour of our herb garden. Amanda will walk you through the herbs, demonstrate how to harvest them, describe their medicinal qualities, and give you tips for storing and using them. You'll leave feeling inspired to visit the herb garden at every pickup. Amanda is an engaging speaker, host to an incredible wealth of knowledge of all things herbal. We are fortunate to have her share her wisdom and hope you'll join us for this fun and enriching event!

Members: $10 - sign up here
Non-members: $15 - sign up here

Join us for a relaxed evening on the farm, munching shared dishes and catching the beginning of a firefly light show. Bring a dish to share, your own place settings and beverages. Hope to see you there! (shared dishes do not have to incorporate farm produce)