If the fact that darkness will have set in by 5 this evening isn’t enough of an indication than the frosty morning temps should be. Here we go again welcoming another month. This time of year means many things to many people but to us farmers a few things come to mind. First off is a slight panic “oh no a frost is coming”, followed by the realization that this happens every year and things will survive. Then a touch more panic “there is alot of stuff we need to get covered and fast”, leading into “there not enough light in one day to get it all done”. This last bit is important because sure there isn’t enough time, but that means more down time each day for the farmers. Which by this point in the season is warmly welcomed no matter how much is left on our to do list.
Circling back to that can’t get it all done in a day feeling. That is where we found ourselves last Tuesday with the following evenings low reaching 28-29. The majority of our outside plantings had received at least one layer of row cover and Tuesday’s lows teased the perfect hardening off temps around 30-33. Jen and Sam had worked tirelessly all morning and we were confident in our outside preparation, so we turned to getting row cover in place for the high tunnels. A simple enough task, sure we do have around 15 of them these days but we had brand new rolls of row-cover. The one thing we didn’t exactly factor in was moving those rolls around weighing about 200lbs each. Nothing impossible mind you, we had everything nicely covered by mid Wednesday. Just a good reminder of what goes into preparation for and winter growing itself. Not to mention taking the total weight of something into consideration when ordering supplies (note to self 22×1000 is the limit for row cover).
With mostly all the high tunnels planted and ready ready for the months ahead and the outer fields either in last of the season plantings or cover of some form. What else is there for the restless farmers of SLG to do? Worry not we aren’t out of the fields yet. Two main tasks loom on the horizon for the coming weeks. First and foremost is the seeding of our overwintered carrots. We are less than a week away from that magic time of year and Joel sits eagerly with 100k carrot seeds by his side, obsessively watching the weather in an attempt to choose just the right day. Equally as important yet not quite so time sensitive is the planting of the Love Garlic. The cool weather and darker days has not stifled our ambition concerning garlic as we ambitiously plan to plant 300lbs this year around 100lbs more than the previous. This year 200lbs is our own saved seed with the remaining 100lbs coming from our trusted friends at Fort Hill Farm in western Connecticut. Garlic continues to be one of our most in demand crops, our soil seems to love it and yes we Love it too.
Speaking of Love and being in Demand, as the market seasons wind down we can’t help but say it again to all you Good Food People out there. Thanks for supporting us and allowing us to fill your bellies and homes with our veggies, flowers and Love. We are at the point in the season with only 5 more market weekends on the schedule. 2 more markets left for the Madison season this Friday the 10th and the 17th. In addition too this the last 2 markets will run an hour shorter from 3pm-5pm. That makes 5 more Saturday markets in New Haven 11/11, 11/18, 12/2, 12/9 and 12/16. With the winter market returning early January stay tuned for details. This year we will not be having a pick up day Thanksgiving week so plan accordingly.
Have a great week