It has been so busy these last few weeks that I never got around to writing a newsletter last week. Since nobody asked about it I wonder if anyone missed it…
Anyway, it is about to get even busier. The forecast for Friday night is 39 degrees. What does this mean for the farm? Well, it depends on the rest of the weather. If it is 39 degrees and windy it will just be cold and everything will survive. If it is 39 degrees and rainy everything will get cold and wet but will survive. If it is 39 degrees and calm with no cloud cover we will get frost and kill any of the frost sensitive plants. Without wind to mix up the atmosphere the air becomes increasing cold the lower you are. With our farm being in a valley we get the coldest air – air that is colder than the forecasted temperature. And if the air is cold enough we will get frost. A cold rain will have the same effect as wind – a mixed atmosphere. So we all have to hope that if it is going to be cold that we get some rain or wind to accompany the cold. Then the summer veggies will continue (there are still plenty of fall veggies though even if the summer ones perish).
So what do we do to prepare for the potential first frost of fall? Our first priority is to harvest any crops that are susceptible to frost. But we have to balance that with the chance that we won’t have frost. So in years when we are fairly confident that we will be having our first frost we will harvest as much of the warm season crops as we can. We’ll harvest every tomato, even the unripe ones. We’ll harvest all the beans and peppers. We’ll get any melons, etc. But if there is a reasonable chance it won’t frost we would prefer to leave the tomatoes to continue to ripen. So this is the dilemma we are faced with. Do we harvest all tomatoes including the green ones thus ending effectively the tomato season with or without a frost? Or, do we take a chance and leave the green tomatoes out in the field risking that they will freeze and become worthless but possibly extending the tomatoes season for another few weeks?
If the forecast indicates a prolonged cold snap we would pick every tomato. If the forecast is for a short dip in temperature for a night then we might risk leaving them out there. Our most likely scenario this season is we will harvest all the ripe tomatoes on Tuesday and Wednesday – time permitting – and watch the updated forecast to determine if we need to harvest the rest on Thursday and Friday.
At the same time we would really like to get all the winter squash harvested and put into the greenhouse to cure. A light frost won’t harm the squash but every day they are left in the field is another day for something to go wrong. One thing that can go wrong is squash bugs and cucumber beetles piercing the skin of the fruits. My original plan prior to hearing about the cold snap was to harvest the squash on Tuesday and Thursday. Now with the potential for frost we need to reassess the situation to allow sufficient time to harvest the frost sensitive veggies. So we have to balance the risk associated with leaving the squash out with the benefit of getting more veggies harvested before they perish. A tough decision. With enough help though it can all get done prior to the cold snap. So if you are looking for a fun way to get some fresh air do not hesitate to come out to help this week.
So what will we have in our shares this week? Not sure. With the forecast of rain on Wednesday it precludes us from digging potatoes and carrots (something we would do on Tuesday is not for the cold forecast). We do have plenty of garlic and onions so you will be getting those two items. We will harvest a bunch of peppers before they freeze. I’m sure there will be tomatoes. If we have time we can get the rest of the second planting of beans. (The third planting of beans is just now producing tiny beans. We need a week of warm weather to get them to eating size). We will most likely have winter squash. There are tomatillos and cherry tomatoes waiting to be harvested. We’ll have to make the final determination of what we can accomplish by sometime Wednesday…
Just a quick reminder to RSVP for the Garlic Planting Extravaganza! It will be October 4th starting at 1:00 PM and going until the garlic is planted. Following the planting we will have dinner and a bonfire. Rain dates are the 5th, the 11th, and the 12th. Hopefully we don’t have to reschedule any later than that. There is plenty to do for all regardless of your physical capabilities. Please let me know if you will be here and how many people are coming so that I know how many lobsters to buy.
Most other shares (Fruit, Cheese, Eggs, Seafood and Salmon) have been given out this past week. There are still a few MeatShares to distribute though.
Q: What does a cloud wear under its raincoat?
A: Thunderwear!