It is nearly the month of the Great Pumpkin and around the farm we a running head long into the rapidly changing season. One look at your watch when the beautiful Autumn sun sets or a glance at he alarm clock as the dawn breaks and the realization of how little day light remains becomes quite pressing. We are in full on Fall mode here making the difficult decisions of which crops to pull and which ones to hang onto to a little bit longer. The main push for Fall/Winter preparedness is two fold. Outside we want to both plant as much cover crop as we can muster as well as prep and plant any areas for some last cuts of greens before the weather keeps us in the tunnels. Inside the idea is quite the same except there needs to be a little more timing and strategy. Planting too much all at once will lead to an early flush, yes easy harvesting at first but we will come up short in the coldest months. We also must decide what mix of different veg to plant, though the choices are much more limited compared to the main season. As far as root vegetables are concerned all the beets and carrots are in the ground but we’ll still do a few seedings of turnip and radish. Then there are the greens. A mix of lettuces, Asian greens, spinach and some specialty things like claytonia, will begin to populate the high tunnels in the coming months. And who can forget Siberian kale, chard and mustard greens, which already occupy the heated tunnels and will be showing up bunched all Fall and Winter. It’s no small feat switching the tunnels over from Summer to Winter while also planting into and protecting the outside soil, but it is work as important as harvesting, sowing seeds or even buying and eating veg. Each small pieces of the whole, making up the Powerful Good Food Movement.
This past week on the farms in addition to preparing for the forecast of heavy rain and wind, it was business as usual harvesting and getting ready for the markets. Now of course as many of you can imagine when the weekend weather is troubling it does create a logistical challenge when it comes to harvesting. We here at SLG live by a simple rule set forth by David, if the market is on we will be there. So as a result we still must get a significant amount of the harvesting done before we will have any idea how bad the weather will be. The challenge comes in striking the right balance between bringing enough to markets to meet the needs of the customers, while not bringing so much that a lot comes home. Luckily for us and other growers, we have confidence in the love and support of you the Good Food People. We have witnessed and our hearts have been warmed by it. Year after year through adverse market conditions whether it be wind, rain, snow, cold or a combination, you all have shown up for us supporting the thing we do. This weekend was no different. In spite of the wind and rain familiar faces appeared, keeping this Good Food thing going and showing us and growers like us just how important what we do is. We can’t be grateful enough to all of you for all the love and believe us when we say that we are putting it right back into the soil and veg.
As the season winds down another inevitable thing that takes place is farmer’s markets ending for the season. Bitter sweet as it is, like many other things seasonal we just have to go with it. The Sunday Chester Market has only two more markets dates remaining. The next two Sundays will be your last chance of 2026 to see SLG and all the other vendors in the unique setting that mixes the town with the farmer’s market. Not only is this an excellent place to spend a market Sunday but the past 5 or six markets have been tough weather wise with two even being canceled. For many of the vendors who do that market these slower days hurt the bottom line and having so many adds up. So we want to encourage you to come out these next two weeks not only to experience the great Village of Chester and all it has to offer but also to show some extra love to all the market vendors who could use a strong end to the season. We hope to see you at the market and promise you won’t regret it.
Have a Great Week