Assess, Observe, Reflect, Plan, Cope

A big day of transplanting last week with some child and dog distractions. We transplanted about 7,500 plugs into 2,000 feet of raised beds. Crops included head lettuce, lettuce mix, bok choy, arugula, endive, and hakurei turnips.

Each weekend I walk or bike around the farm, visit each field, look at most of the crops, perhaps take some pictures, document the growing season, and make a to-do list for the upcoming week as well as take any pertinent notes to add to our digital ongoing farm production please-remember-in-the-future document. The last couple of months have been a challenge, a grind, but with a new month, cooler temperatures, and lower humidity (and maybe the light is seen at the end of the proverbial growing season tunnel) we can feel a bit more relaxed and less overwhelmed.

Overall it has been a good season of production and the rains haven't been terrible. But there is an added undercurrent of anxiety I'm assuming is due to the current pandemic, political turmoil, and the ongoing climate crisis. It's a mental challenge to steer past or through all the negativity we're bombarded with while considering what seems like the grim position the world is in. It's pretty hard to find anything to read that puts a positive spin on the future health of us and this planet. In the midst of these troubles the farm is a consolation. Immersing ourselves in the work is many things at once: a physical and mental outlet; an opportunity to affect the environment around us positively; a space and nourishment to be comforted by. We hope that the farm is a bright spot in your lives too, at least that is what we strive to provide. But I digress...

Crops look great. Late summer kale is the best of the season. Summer crops are still trickling in. Fields are being cleaned up and sown with cover crops. Storage crops are being retrieved and have decent yields. Outdoor transplanting is just about finished for the year while very soon we'll embark on tunnel transplanting. There's two more weeks of seeding for tunnel production then that's all finished until late February. My brain is beginning to think about winter travels, downtime, registration for 2021 Main Season CSA as well as staff needs, big farm projects, longterm goals, and retirement (joking). This weather is a welcome relief and joy and I hope you're relishing it as much as we are!