CSA Newsletter #19
I think this week is the beginning of when we are going to begin our fall cleanup in earnest. Although we have had some gorgeous days, the temperature hasn't been too warm and more importantly, the nighttime lows are starting to hover around near that frost zone. Tonight is going to be the coldest night of the fall, with a low around 30. The hustle whistle sounded and I reprioritized some jobs for the week. After the tomatoes for this week's share were harvested, we went back through and harvested all the remaining beefsteak and paste tomatoes that were green and "light blush". We have two different types of hoophouses and these are planted in the one that just has a single layer of plastic covering the frame. The heirlooms are planted in a hoophouse that has a double layer of plastic. There are still cherry tomatoes in the beefsteak house too but I ran out of time today to harvest them. I put a thermometer in the house to check in the morning and should be able to visually tell how the plants did later in the day after they have warmed up. If everything looks good, we will clear out what is reasonable of the remaining cherry tomatoes. The remaining fennel was harvested, as well. The greens and turnips that are also planted outside should be fine with tonight's low without additional covering.
It was funny because yesterday I started a list on the classroom whiteboard of what the remaining tasks for the season are and had a discussion with Jamie, one of the interns about why, when and how we do them. The one caveat was that the weather could alter this list in different ways. Less than 24 hours later, the list has been reprioritized. This is another thing that I really enjoy about farming. Even though there is a framework for how the season will look, the details are different from year to year. Heck, no two days are the same but in the end, each season is an experience to build upon and to give you tools in your tool box.
As the season winds to a close, some of our summer crops finally said goodbye in last week's share. The basil, shishito peppers and paltry bell pepper and eggplant harvest are done for 2022. The tomatoes are still kicking around but this is probably the last week for mostly "vine-ripened". There will still be hot peppers, hakurei turnips and fennel this week. The fresh ginger is making a return, as well as the kale mix we had earlier in the season.
Have a great week!
- Farmer Todd