After a Nor’Easter and upwards of 4 inches of rain at the farm over the weekend, you might think we are finished for 2021. But no, this is not the case. We still sent out 10 different vegetables on Friday. A few of these are still in the field, but we have quite a few under cover in the tunnels.
On Saturday one of our volunteers asked if this extension of the harvest (we were finished at this point last year) was due to climate change. I immediately answered yes. When I thought about it for a minute, I had to change that answer. The unusual late frost, warmer temperatures, and lots of sunshine were part of this extension into November, but there are lots of other factors. Carrie and I really worked at planting intensively, having seedlings or seeds ready to go into the ground. The fix-it team got all our new tunnels up in time for us to fill them with vegetables (some of those are what we are harvesting now). The hard work of volunteers, last summer’s interns, and WWOOFERS prepped this whole expansion. And, of course, Mother Nature weighed in. So it’s not a simple yes, but one of many factors.
This late season harvest makes me want to talk about lettuce. We have grown, harvested, and delivered over 2,000 heads of many beautiful, tasty varieties of lettuce. We gambled with Plot 1 and planted lettuce seedlings amongst a newly sowed cover crop mix. It was a race, and at times it looked like the cover crop would overshadow the lettuce seedlings. I am happy to announce that the lettuce held its ground, and we were able to harvest those heads last Friday. Here is a photo of Finn and Vera (our youngest gleaners) trying to contain their excitement.
The Friday gleaners worked a total of 10 hours picking, washing, and boxing up our 250 pounds of harvested vegetables. We filled Peg’s Prius and several other cars, too! Thanks team!
Carrie is holding a bouquet of Swiss chard and Japanese salad turnips. They are in one of our tunnels, and we will still have some into next week.
What else is going on at the farm? Here are a couple of photos of what is still growing and a “before and after” shot of the Rimmel greenhouse going into winter shutdown mode.
Frost took some tender annuals Thursday night, which triggered the digging of the sweet potatoes. We harvested some beauties! (Full disclosure, this photo was staged by me, largest ones on top!)
We tucked a nice big clump of lemongrass into the Rimmel in hopes that it will be there for us to divide and replant next Spring. Looking forward to growing some more culturally appropriate foods for some of our recipients.
Hoses are being drained, beds are being protected from Winter erosion, dahlias are being dug, and we are still planning on harvesting for another two weeks. If any of these interest you, come join in the excitement that Finn and Vera experience when they hang out with us!
Seriously, a big thanks to everyone who came to help this week in all kinds of weather.
~Theda
