Field News: Turn, Turn, Turn

This time of year I can’t seem to get The Byrds tune out of my head…”to everything, there is a season…” We are in the midst of letting go of the field crops, not only to harvesting them, but their presence in our fields. The once green, lush landscape is shifting to freshly tilled and seeded fields of cover crop and rows of mulch for planting our garlic this fall. Our flower fields, decimated by the first frost on October 9th, no longer bare blooms of any kind. The main fruits of the season come in the form of our high tunnel produce and flowers that have been protected from these early cold days, the hardier field crops that recover (and sometimes even improve in flavor after frost!) upon a morning thaw (winter carrots & kale) and the storage crops that will be tucked away all winter to bring us continued nourishment (potatoes, cabbage, onions) …not to mention the apple crop we are still gathering all month long.

Before the frost came we were hitting the pinnacle of harvest, all summer crops running parallel to the fall bounty. It’s an overwhelming yet magical time of year to be a grower AND a consumer! Imagine having the option of a fresh tomato sandwich OR delicious roast squash for dinner?? Now that mother nature has forced a change of pace, things are starting to feel a bit more manageable for our menus and our task lists. I wouldn’t go so far to say that things have officially slowed down -but they have certainly shifted. It’s less of a daily sprint and more of a well paced 1/2 marathon – we’ve a certain amount of time to get specific, larger projects done, preferably before the holiday season, so that we may all enjoy a more relaxed feeling around the needs of the farm during the time of year when resting, gathering with friends, catching up and enjoying a warm meal should be accessible to all!

That said, we will continue having and sharing the harvest all winter long at our Farmer’s Markets and will have our on-site Farm Stand open until Thanksgiving – so plan to visit us for all of your holiday cooking needs!

Dahlias and Tulips: Ships Passing in the Night

Now with first frost come to pass it’s time to begin not only field clean up, but replanting. It’s the time of the year when the last of the flowers is laid to rest and it perfectly intersects with the planting of next season’s very first blooms. Though these flowers never meet bloom-to-bloom, they are roommates for just a about a week of time in our cooler as bulbs and tubers. The dahlias have just been lifted from the ground and are awaiting their winter divisions and our tulips arrive snug in crates awaiting their late October/Early November planting.

This block of labor takes place over the course of just a few weeks – but it is a heavy lift….a final push to the finish line of the season. We dig up nearly 5,000 clumps of dahlia tubers that must be brushed off, crated and hauled out of the fields – it’s roughly 500, 40lb crates and our bodies feel every ounce. Then we shuffle (many) tulips crates of similar size out to the field (this season over 30,000 bulbs!!) and plant them in their temporary hand-built raised bed frames which are filled bucket by bucket with compost. It’s a beautiful dovetail for the closing of the past season and sparking the smallest and most appropriate amount of joy and excitement for the next…without interfering with the rest we all have on the forefront of our minds and bodies following this end of season slog.

While it might sound like be-petaled bunches are all done …fear not! Our prized fall beauties, the heirloom mums, have just stepped into their season. Expect to see a few bunches at market this weekend, followed by a full and over flowing parade of subsequent blooms in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. This flower has a stellar vase life and an unmistakable scent that always brings me right back to the pumpkin patch. We love her and we hope you do too!

More on Apples: Meet Some of the Varieties

We’ve a whole heap of fruit coming in from the fields right now. Some of it you’ll see at market, some of it will be arriving later this winter as soft cider, and some of it will be going into our first batches of hard cider for next season. In the meantime, enjoy this sweet introduction to some of the special varieties we have on the farm and stay tuned for what’s next!

Farmer Spotlight: Markets and Farm Stand

The market crew is the heartbeat of our farm. Market days are long and tiring…the energy and effort they take can easily out pace a day of working in the fields.This team wakes up SO early to get to the farm, lift and shuffle a heap of heavy bins into our market vehicles, make the journey to market, unload and set up a breathtaking display and then spend the day smiling at customers, talking about how amazing our farm goods are and making folks feel appreciated and supported when they step into our tent – only to break it all down and do it backwards when the market closes. It can be a challenge for farms when they are not able to have the field farmers present at market to share the news and details of the farm and crops with our customers, but this awesome team we have assembled does an outstanding job bringing the stories and excitement from the fields to our supporters – a true lifeline connecting the worlds that lie on either side of the market, a vital role we cherish! You also must note that these team members play utility here on the farm and never shy away from helping out the field crews with big projects – in fact most of them are wearing at least 2 hats at any given time…making them true treasurers here on our team. Be sure to say hi and give them an extra sprinkle of gratitude this week at market – it’s squash season and those bins are HEAVY!

Thanks for chuggin along with us month after month this season and for stopping in to read a little bit more about life on the farm and getting to know us just a bit deeper by digging into The Dirt with us ❤

We hope to see you soon – stay nourished!

Love,

Your Farmers