The Close of Summer
This is it, the last pick up of summer. With it being so warm, it feels like I am quitting mid August! Although we could go another week, we need to shift gears and start fall harvest, plant garlic and button up the farm before we get caught waiting too long. Sooooo be prepared, we are stocking you up with veg this week!!!
The weather has been blissfully wonderful and even though it is dry in the fields, the veggies look so bright and vibrant! I'll be turning on the irrigation today to water field spinach, chard and kale in hopes it will survive well into November. It's the latest I have ever had to water! Usually this time of year, we are frantically harvesting root crops before the ground gets so soggy I can't get the tractor through. I must say the warmer drier weather makes washing much easier too. Jean, my sturdy 66 year old employee, washes over 6000 lbs of carrots in the fall (not to mention other heavy root vegetables). She also helps harvest and weigh them, so that means she's touches the carrots at least 3 times! You may think I am a brutal employer, but we are just making sure we are warding off any osteoporosis by keeping her bones strong : )
I think I mentioned a few blogs ago that I don't grow "baby" or "mega" crops. Well apparently the celery and the savoy cabbage didn't get the memo, because they decided to take off this fall. It's kind of fun...i just hope you can fit them in your fridge!
We hope you enjoyed this season's bounty! I feel like it ended with a bang and we are excited to go for it again next spring! I'm already experimenting with overwintering some new crops so we may have them early next season. We planted onions along with the scallions; an onion variety which should (hopefully) survive the winter and then make a bulb so they are ready to enjoy late May/early June. And soon we will transplant chard and kale in the hoop house. (As soon as we get all of those tomato plants out of there!) The plan is to harvest some late in the winter share and then have some for early summer pick ups. We'll see how it goes!
Hopefully we will see all of you again next summer and we look forward to serving many of you this winter. Thanks for spreading the good news about Little Ridge Farm!!
This Week's Bounty: lettuce, kale, spinach, tat soi, arugula, cabbage, celery, fennel, pepper, kohl rabi, watermelon radish, gold ball turnip, rainbow carrots, beet, potato, onion, leek and winter squash
The Farmer's Table:
- Roasted fennel peppers and leeks
- Apple squash cheese bacon pie : )
LRF Organic Apples for Sale this week!!!
