November 2011 : Harvest

This might be my favorite photo of the year. Francie is helping harvest the broccoli. The farm to fork distance doesnt get any shorter than this!

Even though we are done with markets for the year, we are still growing for our own table. We underseeded the cool weather crops with a winter rye cover crop, so there are few disadvantages to letting these hardy crops grow as late into the season as possible.

This is Francie's first full year on the farm and she already gets it. When she wants some food for dinner or a snack, I head towards the refrigerator and she points to the farm. Now I get it too!

We walked out to the broccoli together and while I was busy trying to harvest a few heads she was already busy snacking away.

Week of October 17 2011 : Drainage

Here is a photo of Nathaniel helping with the drainage. The plastic snow shovel is certainly not an effective digging tool but is much safer than a steel dirt shovel. All he really wanted to do was get muddy anyways. And this year there has been no shortage of mud!

Moments after this photo was taken, he also got his feet stuck.

This year Berta the rotary plow served another purpose. In addition to the usual tasks of plowing and making raised beds, this fall she also made drainage swales. With two passes lengthwise through the lowest area of the field, we are able to drain nearly all the surface water. Surface drainage is no substitute for underground drainage but the time vs. benefit ratio justified the extra minute of labor.

This fall seems to be warmer than normal, particularly overnight temperatures. The first frost still has not occurred. (Update - the first frost did not occur until October 27). Although the summer crops probably would still be growing and producing had we not turned them under, the quality and taste would be disappointing. The broccoli and cabbage, on the other hand, are still growing well.

Week of October 10 2011 : Bluebirds

Here is a photo of our male Eastern Blue Bird. My "camera" is really a Blackberry. The photo function works well but has an annoying characteristic: there is a several second pause between clicking the button to snap a photo and the photo actually being snapped. Produce doesnt move very fast, so the photo function works well enough to capture photos of sweet corn, etc. But birds move much faster. So I am particularly pleased with this photo ... which is to say I got very lucky.

This year was another successful for our Blue Birds. There were two broods. The first brood contained five eggs and all 5 fledged on June 2. The second brood contained four eggs and all 4 fledged on July 26. The Tree Swallows also had one brood with seven eggs and all 7 fledged on June 26. The protective guards worked as intended and we lost no eggs or birds to predators.

We finally planted the winter rye cover crop. Ideally we like to finish fall tillage and plant the cover crop second to last week of September. But we will delay tillage and sowing if the cash crops are doing well. This year we didnt have a choice and had to delay due to significant rainfall.

The conditions never were ideal and more rainfall was always in the forecast. I had a very narrow window to get it all done so I put fresh batteries in the headlamp and worked until 3:00 AM to turn under the crop residues and sow the winter rye. Let's just say no neighbors stopped over to thank me for getting the work done. But it did rain every day for the next six days and conditions only dedgraded from there.

We wont get much top growth this fall or next spring, but will get sufficient root growth to make it worth the effort.

Week of October 3 2011 : More Pumpkins

Here is a photo of Nathaniel posing with his pumpkin. It reminds me of the classic photo of a father and son posing in a snow covered corn field with the son's first buck. Now I understand what is so significant about the photo. It's not the deer (or pumpkin), it's the magic of sharing time, sharing smiles and sharing success.

His first hunt was a disaster. He sat in the pumpkin patch then cried and screamed. The sound really echoed through the valley. All the neighbors were out for their evening walk and witnessed the tantrum. Good photo opportunity gone bad.

Now onto his third pumpkin hunt and the experience shows. He didnt settle for a pumpkin along the edge of the corn field. He walked all the rows once then he returned to the biggest and orangest pumpkin of all.

Week of September 26 2011 : First Pumpkin

Here is a photo of Francie claiming her first pumpkin. Last Halloween she was 3 months old, and not very mobile, so her first attempt to hunt a pumpkin was a bust. What a difference a year makes. Now she is very mobile!

For Nathaniel, this was a rare moment of unprompted sharing. He patiently coached Francie to pass on the small pumpkins and the green pumpkins. He guided her along the edge of the pumpkin patch until he found one worthy of his little sister.

She still doesnt understand why we want to go hunting for pumpkins. All she knew was her brother pointed and screamed when he saw this pumpkin. So she instinctively cradled it and claimed it as hers. Whatever this strange orange thing is, wow, it must special.

Week of September 19 2011 : Squashed Truck

Here is a photo of Francie dancing in the squashed truck. Hey I am excited about the Blue Hubbards too! The photo doesnt show much of the recently squashed tail gate. It will rust quite a bit during the winter. Soon it will look more like a farm vehicle. Hopefully for Christmas I will get spongy rubbers to fix up the bumper just right.

The Blue Hubbards were a success again this year. Each year hubbards have the same sales pattern. We take bring them to the last four markets. Many people look and show interest the first two weeks but very few sell. We drive to market, and home from market, loaded down with hubbards. BAAH. But the last two weeks of market, suddenly these turn into the best sellers.

It's a big squash and its a big commitment. Even the 'small" hubbards weigh around 6 pounds. But the taste and texture are worth that commitment. Its a unique experience of sweet and nutty and dense and creamy.

So as I am loading the squashed truck for final market, I always make sure to leave several behind so we can enjoy all winter long, too.

Week of September 12 2011 : Tradition

Each summer, I fall at least weeks, if not months, behind our blogging schedule. I try to post weekly during the market season and monthly during the off season. As harvesting chores demand more time the first non essential chore to be sacrificed is blogging. I am not a talented writer and during peak season I dont have time or energy to compensate for lack of natural ability.

So each year, it is tradition, after the season is over, to review notes and catch up on the posts. That's why there is such a disconnect between topics and dates. Field grown tomatoes and November? Factor is a ten week lazy delay and it makes sense.

Here is a file photo of our Sun Sugar cherry tomatoes out in the field. These are the tomatoes that won the Best Tasting Cherry Tomato contest at the Geauga Fresh Farmer's Market for the second year in a row.

We grow as many heirloom varieties as possible but the ultimate measurement of our varieties is taste. We grow the varieties with the best taste even if it is a hybrid. Everybody has different opinions and preferences so 'best taste' is a hard decision. So we are particularly pleased when market customers agree with us.

The Sun Sugars are an interesting variety to grow. They have good growing characteristics, except they require more pruning than typical cherry tomatoes. When picked at early ripeness they have a slight classic tomato taste mixed with a sweet taste. As the fruits vine ripen though the slight classic flavor is replaced with a sugary taste. We dont push our luck to far, as fruits tend to drop as they ripen.