Seasons Shifting
Fall is in the Air
We've been sensing the subtle shifting of seasons: Cooler mornings and evenings, the sweet scent of fall blooms (and the itchy, watery eyes that come with them), and the instinctive feeling that we should be squirreling away food for the winter months. At the farm this subtle shift signals the time to wind down. Although we are still busy harvesting and planting our last fall crops and cover crops, our focus simultaneously shifts toward putting our garden to bed for the winter months. Our philosophy is to keep the ground covered in order to help maintain soil health. To this end, we'll be planting cover crops like clover, buckwheat, peas, oats and rye. Some of these crops will "winter kill", but their roots and decaying plant material will continue to feed the beneficial microorganisms in the soil.
Weeding Continues
Many of the plants in our garden are reaching their peak and starting the process of flowering and going to seed — including the weeds! We typically try to get rid of weeds before they reach this point, but invariably we have some get away from us when we are busy tending to something else. This past Saturday we had a weed-a-thon in the asparagus patch to tackle some of these said weeds. We enlisted the help of our friend, Serena and made a whole day of it. A huge thanks to her for helping out!! Now the asparagus beds are looking great once again. Unfortunately our asparagus crop won't be ready for harvest until 2023 (I know— it's a long wait!), but we want to keep it weed free in the meantime so that it becomes well established.
Hangin with the ol' Farm Crew
On Monday we visited Northern Harvest Farm to dig potatoes for our CSA shares. The first farm task that John ever had was planting potatoes as an intern at Northern Harvest back in 2011. Needless to say, there was a lot of reminiscing going on as we harvested spuds while reconnecting with the folks that John used to work with. This place is very special to us because it's where John's farm dreams began to take shape and Fairhaven got it's start. It's pretty incredible to look back and see how far we've come from these humble beginnings when John was living in the milkhouse at Northern Harvest Farm.
On the Horizon...
Fall crops are sizing up and will be in our CSA shares soon! Winter squash, apples, more leeks, broccoli, cauliflower, and Asian greens are all on the way!
