MOTHER NATURE
Is there any profession greater impacted by weather than produce farming? We don’t think so. Our entire season rests in the hands of Mother Nature. We’re not talking about having to work in the rain a day or two, that we can handle. Rather the uncertainty of what the weather will bring averaged across the whole season. High temps and drought? Cold nights and rain? Wind, hail, flash-floods… it really is a miracle any produce is grown at all!
This past week of cool weather really put us into “fall” mode and is creating a bit of anxiety about the rest of the season. The new plantings are only starting to grow and cool weather is slowing their progress. If we would have predicted how quickly summer was coming to an end we would have done things a little differently. Perhaps more row covers or a second high tunnel. Alas, maybe summer will return this week and everything will work out in the end. Because we have got a field FULL of tomatoes that need some more time to ripen. It better warm up a bit! Please?
The upside to all the rain this past week is that the ground was soft enough to plow the old hay field on the back of our property. This area will be replanted next spring after we till under the cover crop with something different, something of more value. We aren’t 100% exactly what it will be yet. Our first round of grass hay sold well, but there appears to be a flood in the hay market in this area this fall that will likely carryover into next season.
In this week’s shares, we are distributing the last of our beans. There won’t be enough of one variety for everyone, so you will get whatever we have left. We really need a little heat for our corn to ripen nicely. We’re going to attempt to include it this week but we may not have enough ripen at once. Carrots! Probably our family’s favorite vegetable. Thank goodness the second planting came up strong and is doing fantastic. Expect these for a few weeks. And thanks for bearing with the whining of a bad weather spell!
With cold, wet feet,
Rebecca & Eric