This fall has presented challenges. We had some unseasonably warm weather – 73 degrees in October. This meant it was tough to keep the root cellar cool enough for the roots. Too warm and vegetables will either rot or start growing. Neither helps flavor of nutrition! Once it cooled off, temperatures plummeted. this made harvest tough. The weather needs to be cool but above freezing or the vegetables thaw and turn to mush. This week …
I keep all my receipts and invoices in a box. Today I sorted all the paper and organized it. Now I know what we spent on feed for the pork report. Soon I will get all the figures compiled for the tax lady, Jeanne. After that and the seed orders are finished, I start weaving!
Yesterday while Ken was at a bee workshop, I moved the squash and onions inside to the north east corner of the main floor. The forecast of low temperatures below twenty degrees provided incentive! The squash had been on racks covered with a tarp and with a light inside the racks for heat. I packed bulb crates and got them inside. Then I opened the hay enclosure Ken had made for the onions and garlic …
Greetings from the Garden! This week’s CSA box has salad mix, braising mix, stuffing tomatoes, peppers, carrots, beets, winter squash, salad turnips, onions, garlic, and herbs Field Notes. The “Big Dig” as I call it is well upon us. Spring and fall are the busiest times for a farm. In spring it is planting and in fall it is harvest. This year we have some help. Last Tuesday it was beets, carrots, …
Last week we had harvested the bulk of the carrots. This week we harvested the rest of the carrots, beets, and celery root. Today I got the celery root in sand in the tubs in the root cellar and the rest of the carrots sorted and in tubs over the barrel of carrots we harvested previously. Tomorrow I will get the beets in the next barrel. Then we will bring in the kohlrabi, rutabagas, and …
Each fall there is a period of frost, but days with enough heat so plants can survive and remain alive. Ken erects what he calls hoopettes over crops that will take some cold weather. The season can continue for quite some time. It all depends on the weather! If the snow falls and covers the soil like a blanket, and the frost does not creep in and freeze the soil in the hoopettes, …
This fall has been warm. The root cellar is now cool and the crops need to come out of the fields and into the yard. We cover them with tarps as I fill the root cellar for winter. Here is this year’s winter kohlrabi, rutabagas, and cabbage. Thank you, Suzanne for all your help.
The onions and squash are still outside curing. Ken has created an insulated space for the onions using hay bales and the ground heat. We then covered the onions with plywood and tarp. The squash is in the racks with a tarp to keep it out of the wind and a light to provide heat to maintain temperature above freezing. Once it gets really cold and the house …
Greetings from the Garden! This week’s CSA box has tomatoes, lettuce, braising greens, salad turnips, bok choy, onions or leeks, garlic, squash, carrots, and herbs Field Notes. The forecast looks like fall is finally here. The wide temperature variations have presented challenges for all farmers. Temperatures in the 80’s and rain make it tough to bring the onions and squash into the 75 degree house! Now we will harvest the end of the more tender …
Each year as people bemoan the falling leaves and frost, Ken and I are happy to see how much the falling leaves mean our woods open up to us Oscar loves running through fallen leaves almost as much as going out snowshoeing or cross country skiing with one of us
