Farm Life Vegetables and Berries

The End of the Tunnel

Although we’ve yet to feel the autumn chill, we’ve still felt the winds change as the rain fell this weekend – intermittently, but heavy nonetheless – before yesterday’s downpour, that is. This week’s harvesting has been done with our boots on and with water on our backs. It’s not like we have a choice : the weekly window is short, whether for harvesting or basket prep. The good news is that the recent rain will be beneficial for all the green manure we’ve sown these past few weeks, which was getting to look (and no doubt feel) pretty dry. A good soaking will boost the plants, and combined with more warm weather to come, their biomass should increase significantly. It’s all good, but we’re itching for some cold weather now – as cold air, near zero in fact, increases the sugar content of certain fall crops, like beets, for one, and carrots, for another. Meanwhile, it’s curtain call for our solanaceas. Literally. The tunnels which have sheltered our tomatoes and eggplants will be dismantled this week and stored away in the warehouse, packed away until next spring. Meanwhile, fall cleaning is under way and the fields will gradually be swept clean, so to speak, of their seasonal clutter of agricultural tools and implements, much to this farmer’s satisfaction…