The days have warmed up now, mostly around 60-70°F (15-20°C), but the nights are unusually cold, dropping sometimes to freezing or a few degrees above. Frost burning off in the early morning sun is pretty when you don’t have anything … Read the rest
With the farmers’ market over, time to turn to fall-and-winter things. This year, I’m for the first time organizing a proper veggie selection for storage (it’s about time I started…training for that future CSA root cellar!). Instead of the usual … Read the rest
This year’s pumpkins eventually made it to the newly roofed farm stand. It makes a nice autumn scene, especially on a fine, balmy fall day like today. I suppose this coming together of pumpkin and stand is a fitting progression … Read the rest
A leisurely late afternoon harvest yielded one trailer and one tiny tractor bucket piled with pumpkins. I didn’t count—there’s more to come—but I’d guess around 70. Pumpkins don’t have a big market value here just yet, but they’re fun to … Read the rest
The pumpkin patch, recently a soothing sea of green, is now a mess of dried out leaves and expired plants. Most varieties were all but obliterated by the last month’s heat and lack of water—no rain, no spare irrigation. Still, … Read the rest
After a marathon session of pigweed pulling, the pumpkin patch appeared, looking rather orderly and much expanded from one month ago. So, all’s well with the PUMPKINS, on to the hopefully last major de-pigweeding of winter squash. I noticed back-to-school … Read the rest
Removed the row cover that had been protecting the pumpkins from the cucumber beetles. The pumpkins are doing fine! The CBs will keep coming, but the plants should grow faster than the beetles can munch. There’s also a chance of … Read the rest