Garlic time!

October 31, 2019 Market newsletters, Weekly Updates

Garlic is a unique crop in that the heads that you buy were actually planted in the ground the previous season. Every year, we put the next year’s garlic in right around Halloween and for me this always feels like both a beginning and an ending. The garlic needs to be planted late enough that it doesn’t begin growing above ground before winter sets in but early enough that it is in before the ground is too frozen when the soil is still workable. As a result, garlic is always the last crop we put in each year, marking the end of the huge task of planting that takes up...

First frost

October 24, 2019 In the Kitchen, Market newsletters, Other recipes, Weekly Updates

We did indeed get our first frost last Saturday morning and, funny enough, it happened on the exact same day as last year’s first frost! Of course, in line with mid-Atlantic autumns, the weather has subsequently bounced right back up into cool, but not freezing, conditions. However, with the frost comes the end of the some of the summer crops we’ve been harvesting for the last several months. We may have a handful of red tomatoes, but for the most part we’ll be bringing green tomatoes to market this week. I always get excited for green tomatoes, both because they act as a signifier for the winding down of the...

Cabbage & cover crops

October 17, 2019 In the Kitchen, Market newsletters, Other recipes, Weekly Updates

The cooler weather seems to be sticking with us at last and, with some more decent rain this week, it’s starting to actually feel seasonally normal! With the first frost looming on the horizon, we’re starting to move out of the types of work that make up most of the season and into preparations for winter. We’ve finished planting crops in the fields and all but one of the beds in the hoop house are sprouting seedlings of various types. As we reach the end of these plantings, we are instead moving into a new type- the seeding of cover crops that will help protect the soil structure over winter...

Cooling down

October 10, 2019 Market newsletters, Weekly Updates

The weather at last seems to have taken a turn in many senses. Not only is it significantly cooler than the 80- and 90-degree temperatures we saw last week, but additionally we’ve had two solid periods of rain, which is something we haven’t seen much of for the past month. Unfortunately, the cooler, wetter weather has introduced some new late-season disease problems that are causing us head aches with some of the baby greens. With our typical frost date usually falling sometime in the next few weeks, we’re hoping to see some truly cold weather that will help end the disease pressure for the season. I find diseases to be...

Bad weather, good news

October 3, 2019 Market newsletters, Weekly Updates

Everyone reading this blog has been getting a real taste of the main thing farmers think and talk about over the past few weeks- the weather. Recently, NOAA released a drought statement for our area. With DC and areas of Northern Virginia having been classified as “Moderate Drought” with soil moisture levels as low as 0-5%, we’re feeling lucky thus far to have only hit the “Abnormally Dry” stage with 10-20% soil moisture. With a decent rainfall of half an inch on Monday and more rain predicted for the coming week, we’re keeping our fingers crossed that conditions for everyone change soon. On a much better note, we were so...

Two Feet in the Dirt

Archive for October 31, 2019