spinachsun

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“Another year gone, leaving everywhere its rich spiced residues: vines, leaves,

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the uneaten fruits crumbling damply in the shadows, unmattering back

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from the particular island 
of this summer, this NOW, that now is nowhere

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except underfoot, moldering

in that black subterranean castle

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of unobservable mysteries — roots and sealed seeds

and the wanderings of water. This

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I try to remember when time’s measure painfully chafes, for instance when autumn

flares out at the last, boisterous and like us longing to stay — how everything lives, shifting

from one bright vision to another, forever in these momentary pastures.” – Mary Oliver, Fall Song

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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The Autumnal Equinox is just a few days away… nature is singing her last sweet songs of summer as we welcome Fall.    We love this time of year.  Starting the day with a wooly and a flannel and by mid-morning we’re in t-shirts.   It’s been a nice change of pace from the unbelievable heat of summer.

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sweet taters

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We started in on our sweet potato harvest this weekend and got a little over half way through!  We plan on taking the rest of the sweet taters out this weekend and get them stored up in the propagation house so they can cure up well.  The big greenhouse has been tilled up in preparation for planting winter crops (lots of greens and fresh eating beets).

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Farmers could be called “professional material handlers” (the term was mentioned in one of Chris Blanchard’s farmer to farmer podcasts) especially this time of the year.  Harvesting the heavy loads of winter squash, sweet potatoes etc, loading, packing, curing until they are moved again to their final resting place for the winter.  Come October and November, repeat all these steps with roots (carrots, turnips, beets etc) and alliums (garlic and onions), etc.  The heavy lifting begins in June with squash and cukes, continues with tomatoes and melons and doesn’t end until November when the last harvests of winter stores that are coming in to the cooler etc.  Infrastructure is so important on the farm and covered space is like gold.  It’s also important to limit the amount of times you are handling everything so you’re not creating double work for yourself.. think: could this go on a pallet and be moved by the forks on the tractor from field to final storage place.. etc  The better we get as farmers the more we’re talking TONS rather than 100’s of lbs.  And nobody understands that more than our backs 😉  Gotta work smarter, not harder.

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It does feel good to have the barn loft filled to the brim, the propagation house is almost at max capacity and soon the cooler will be chock full of goodies too.   Stocking the larder!

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cowscarrots

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We will also begin cover cropping this coming week.  We’ve got our seed and are all ready to go.  There will be tilling of summer crops gone by and readying the soil.  We had such a beautiful stand last year and are hoping our timing is right on again.  (it’s always about timing…)  Cover crops are nitrogen-fixing, soil-conditioning, erosion-preventing, bio-mass-building things of beauty.  You gotta feed that soil so it can feed you!

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There are many transitions for us this time of year…  When we normally would do evening chores after the CSA pick up we are finding ourselves getting to all the animals chores in the midst of CSA pick up.  It’s getting dark by 7:30/8:00pm so it’s nice to have things wrapped up before hand.  A farmer’s work is never done so it’s nice to establish a routine that works with the sun and our bodies.  We’ve been making supper and having it on the table by 9pm and soon we’ll be eating earlier and maybe catching a few extra zzz’s!  So many things to look forward to this time of year.  

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CSA Member Farm Day is coming up!  If you haven’t yet RSVP’d please look for the email invite from “evite” and be sure to RSVP so we have a final number to plan for.

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turnipthebeet

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WHF Pastured Pork!  We have our fall USDA certified pastured pork shares and sausage link shares available!  As well as unrendered leaf lard and pork back fat for all your cooking, baking and soap making needs.  Check the email “Fall Pastured Pork Shares” for more info and email us to make your order.

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WHF Grass Fed Beef!  Our 100% Grass fed, organic USDA certified beef shares will be available SOON.  We will keep all our members posted with the details.

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Cheers to you all, enjoy the week and we’ll see you soon!

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With kind regards,

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your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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kale