Oct. 25, 2009: Week 22+

Farmer Erin wanted to go out with a "bang" so the distribution was as follows:

4-6 hot peppers (small)
1 cauliflower

1 rutabaga
1 celeriac (shown to right)
1 head of green cabbage
1 head of red cabbage
3 lbs carrots (orange)
1 lb carrots (purple)
1 1/3 lbs of mixed greens (aragula, red mustard, mizuna, tatsoi, curly frill): = about a "gallon jug"/non compacted
4 miniature heads of red or green leaf lettuce (like single serving size)
1 swiss chard bunch (giant)
2 1/2 lbs onions
2 1/2 lbs potatoes
3 lbs parsnips
2 butternut squash
choice of (2) : fennel (2), bunch of radishes, bunch of beets, bunch of turnips, small carton of broccoli, regular or dinosaur kale

[Probably 18-20 lbs of 13-15 types of organic vegetables...]

Oct. 25, 2009: Week 22

It was a beautiful fall day to end the season. The sun was out, the wind was cool, but not too brisk, and we had a lot of helpers. The first job was to harvest the lettuce heads (114 count); with 5 helpers. "Cut under the head in the ground so the leaves do not fall away." With 5 helpers, the cutting, washing, and storing task took about 20 minutes. Then on to the parsnips; this time we needed 142 lbs. since we were also harvesting for the final distribution for the Thursday pick-ups.
Parsnips are harvested like carrots with a pitchfork, plunged straight down with a lot of effort and delicate manuveuring (that is, jumping on and pulling the pitchfork, without piercing the parsnip).
Even with help, washing nearly 150 lbs of parsnips takes some time, and that was the majority of the rest of the afternoon before the distribution stations were set up at 4pm.

What will happen on the farm in the fall? Well, some of the crops stay in the ground until Thanksgiving harvest. For the "early bird" members who sign up for 2010, there is a special thanksgiving share that will be distributed. I am guessing onions, parsnips, carrots, potatoes, and spinach, and probably more...

The bigger question is "What will I do now"? I have accumulated many books for winter reading. Some are social commentaries about food consumption, some are gardening books, some are environmental. I will continue to be here.

Oct 18, 2009; Week 21+

We received another celery root, another head of cabbage, some greens (mustard, mizuna, tat soi), chard, potatoes, red onions, carrots, turnips, and some more Delicata squash. My wife has been making a lot of soups and stews with the root vegetables.

Oct 18, 2009; Week 21

This is my second to last week and there are still things to be done. The cool weather vegetables are still growing slowly. hopefully the spinach will be grown by Thanksgiving. There will be a special Thanksgiving share of greens, potatoes, onions, etc, for those paying members that renew for next year in November.

We harvested turnips, radishes, cabbage and more celery root. We also harvested some greens -- I think it was tat soi. We still are distributing stored onions and potatoes. The farm had visitors for a garlic planting festival who had rode down from Rochester on bicycles. I planted a few bulbs before my shift was over. Garlic is planted in the fall for harvest the following spring.

Oct 10, 2009; Week 20+

Pretty much the same as last week: Remaining Peppers (some green bell, other mostly hot), celery root, a head of cabbage, greens (mustard, mizuna), some smaller eggplants, potatoes, red onions, carrots, and some more Delicata and other squash.

Oct 10, 2009; Week 20

The weather is much cooler so washing the crops is not as refreshing as it was in the hot summer sun. One errant spray of the hose and you can get soaked with a resulting chill that stays with you the whole day. (Trust me on this one.) There was a whole cart of scallions to be prepared for distribution. Scallions are very labor intensive. The stalks have to be gently separated by their white base, any brownish dry skin has to be peeled away, then washed, and trimmed.

Erin decided to harvest all the peppers. Peppers enjoy the sun and heat of the summer, and now in fall, we are approaching frosty nights. So anything worth harvesting was taken. We did them all: green (bell), Hungarian hot wax, cayenne, Jalapeno, as well as some other black and green types. Occasionally I would chew on a green pepper when I found a nice one; since I am not a hot pepper fan, I wasn't as courageous. Instead of bending over or crouching to harvest, we pulled the whole plant out and could examine the plant as we stood up. We ended up with about 4-5 bushel baskets.

We also covered the carrots and swiss chard plants with a white cloth. This fabric-type tarp is as long as a row and needs to be secured with rock bags every 10-15 ft or so. So the both the bags and cloth need to be moved to the new location. It was a long day.

Oct 3, 2009; Week 19+

Some green peppers, another celery root, greens (tat soi, mustard, mizuna), a head of cabbage, chard, eggplants, 2-3 lbs potatoes, red onions, carrots, scallions, beets, and more Delicata squash (4-6 count).

It has become our new favorite at home; it is shaped like a small hoagie sandwich, but the green and yellow skin is thin and edible. The u-pick herbs (oregano, basil, cilantro) are still available.

Oct 3, 2009; Week 19

We harvested more carrots, celery root and eggplants. The eggplants are spoiling so finding the remaining good ones (black, not purple or scarred) were difficult. All in all, the eggplant crop was incredibly abundant. We also harvested some fall squash; mostly butternut and spaghetti.

Sept 26, 2009; Week 18+

Green Peppers, Celery Root, 2 lbs greens (choice of tat soi, mustard, mizuna), chard, eggplants, 2-3 potatoes, 3 lbs. red onions, carrots, and some squash.

Sept 26, 2009; Week 18

There are still crops on the first field but the back field is mostly covered by “grass” now, perhaps a few rows of peppers, eggplants and fall crops. There is broom corn in the back, and some flowers that are starting to seed. It was only two months ago that this area was covered with hundreds of vegetable plants.

We started to harvest the celery root. The stalks are thinner and bushier than regular celery; it the round base that is used for cooking. These celery roots were the size of melons and sometimes two hands were needed to pull them out. Then with a knife, we cut off the stringy roots leaving a whitish ball.

Then we scattered rye and vetch as a cover crop. After a good year of harvest, the soil is spent of its nutrients. Planting a cover crop will keep the soil in place, as well as providing nitrogen. The vetch is specifically used for nitrogen replacement; Erin plucked one tiny plant up in a currently growing field to show the tiny white part of its roots which is providing the necessary replacement. Also, when it is time to plant in the spring, these covers will be turned into the soil with additional compost. I have learned that proper soil maintenance and replenishment are vital to farming success.

PS There will be about two more weeks: For Sunday pickups the last distribution will be October 25. Thus, I have two additional weeks of work.