10 More Weeks of Harvest

September is here and we're beginning harvest week #17 out of 26, so there are 10 more weeks to come to the farm for your Main Season CSA shares. What's after that? Soon we'll announce sign ups for our 6-week Late Fall CSA season which runs mid-November to the end of December as well as our inaugural 8-week Winter CSA season which will run from the beginning of January through the end of February. Details and additional information are forthcoming.

Besides thinking about and planning for late summer, fall, and winter, we're continually busy retrieving storage crops, helping the crops battle weed pressures, and putting fields to rest for the colder seasons. We've now retrieved about 90% of the potatoes and will gather the rest this week. 100% of the #1 grade winter squash are safely in storage. With the help of workshifts all of the fall cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, and celeriac were successfully weeded and look healthy. Next up for weeding are beets, chard, kale, and asparagus. Fields of spring peas, summer beans, edamame, lettuce, and herbs, as well as potatoes, have been transitioned to a cover crop mix of oats, buckwheat, daikon, and clover to scavenge nutrients and protect the soil over the winter. Each time there is an anticipated rain event we make an effort to establish a cover crop wherever is available. The lack of rain this past month has been a challenge but amazingly it has been enough to initiate germination and enable the plants to grow.

This past Saturday we moved our pastured laying hen flock to a new 4-week location. I'm installing crisscrossing wire over the area to deter hawks while the electrified netting theoretically fends off foxes, raccoons, skunks, dogs, and weasels.