Prepping for Fall

The fall equinox is here, probably this farmer's favorite time of year. Last week we rushed around cleaning up multiple locations on the farm, pulling up weed suppression fabric and irrigation lines, removing tomato trellising, mowing crop residue, in order to sow and incorporate cover crop seeds to nurture and protect the soil over the winter. It's a joyous time, because once those cover crop seeds are sown, that field is effectively put to bed until next season and can be safely ignored until we begin updating our crop plan and rotation this winter. The cover crop plants will scavenge for and absorb nutrients and photosynthesize the sun's energy, adding to the soil food web, which will then nourish the produce crops next spring as the cover crop plants break down in the soil.

Last week we also sowed the final produce seeds of the season (lettuce mix, endive, arugula, mustard, bok choy, swiss chard), completed the final outdoor crop planting (bok choy, arugula), and transplanted the first round of tunnel greens (lettuce mix, head lettuce, endive, radicchio, curly kale) for November and December harvests. So far 2.5 of the 6 tunnels are planted. Over the next month we'll fill the rest of the space with successions of swiss chard, spinach, lettuce mix, arugula, mustard, and bok choy.