Fall Feel

We're always somewhat hesitant to sow buckwheat in the cover crop mix due to its ability to flower and drop seed so quickly but we're hopeful that since we waited until late August this year the seeds won't mature in time. Also, the flowers provide so much quality forage for the insects and add some beauty to the landscape that it's hard to resist. When you arrive at the farm and wonder what the strange smell is, it's probably the buckwheat.

Another best weather of the season moment is upon us, following some much needed and appreciated rainfall. Since Ida slammed the region, we've had 3 pretty dry weeks before Thursday's 2" of decent precipitation. The farm is definitely acquiring a fall look with much of the space now covered in an oat and buckwheat cover crop mix. Some summer crops still linger but will probably slow down immensely with the current and upcoming more pronounced cool weather. Fall crops are thriving in the cool, dry, and less humid conditions and we're trying to keep up with the bounty by harvesting storage roots like radishes, turnips, beets, and kohlrabi before they reach the size of a heavily inflated balloon. Besides organizing most of our plantings by crop family for future rotation purposes, we also try to organize around the time of year crops are planted and harvested, to minimize having to run around all over the farm managing different places and spaces. This time of year our footprint condenses and reduces to perhaps a quarter of the summer maximum and all of the harvested crops are coming from 3 of our 7 fields. It's a nice feeling.