Growing Through the Seasons
Growing Through the Seasons
The colder temperatures and diminishing light start to move all of us indoors. That doesn’t mean we stop cultivating crops, we do it a little differently. Instead of working primarily in the fields we are busy planting and harvesting in our high tunnels and greenhouses. These methods are a way to extend the growing season… Read More »
The colder temperatures and diminishing light start to move all of us indoors. That doesn’t mean we stop cultivating crops, we do it a little differently. Instead of working primarily in the fields we are busy planting and harvesting in our high tunnels and greenhouses. These methods are a way to extend the growing season allowing us to supply you with farm fresh products when you want it most, through the holidays!
The holidays are a time for gathering around the table with the ones you love to enjoy delicious meals and we work hard to supply you with all that you will need to eat farm-fresh. Our holiday harvest weekly box of produce provides community-supported agriculture members an opportunity to savor farm-to-table meals. You can learn more about our Holiday Harvest on our website.
The chillier nights also create a change to our farmland as nature prepares to turn inward. Dry beans, popping corn, and the remainder of the tomatoes have been harvested and our farm team is underway with fall tillage of these crops. The fall tillage is an important part of soil conservation practices as it involves loosening, aerating, and adding compost to the soil. This helps us get an early start in the spring so our planting is on time and optimized to keep up with the demand for food. Aeration and tiling create an optimum environment for next year’s crops allowing the roots to more readily access nutrients and moisture ensuring healthy crops and produce. This tillage also helps eliminate weeds and incorporates organic matter into the soil improving its overall health. We add composted nutrients all year round, especially in the fall when it is the ideal time to prevent soil compaction with less moisture present.
Getting Ready for Winter
Work on a farm is never done and preparing for winter is a time when our team will fix fences, and perform maintenance and upkeep of tools, tractors, and equipment. Our farm production team is also busy with the planning of the next season. This involves buying seeds, settling on crop rotations, and learning new farming innovations. If you visit our farm from year to year you will notice different crops have been planted in different fields. Crop rotation is part of sustainable farming practices and aids in soil health while optimizing nutrients and reducing undesirable pests and weeds. Learn more about how we grow healthy soil on our previous blog.
Our farmers are also still planting and growing with the help of our high tunnels and heated greenhouses. High tunnels,
also called “hoop houses” are temporary structures that extend the growing season. High tunnels are semi-circular structures with steel frames and double-walled polyethylene covering that allow solar radiation to naturally warm the tunnels. Greenhouses are heated structures where plants are grown in pots on a table, unlike our high tunnels where plants are growing directly in the ground. Watch this video for a beautiful view of the tunnels and greenhouses.
A visit to our farm store gives you a great glimpse of the wide variety of homegrown produce we continue to harvest this time of year. Coming from the fields and orchards are apples and winter squashes along with broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, beets, and kale. Produce is harvested from the high tunnels are radishes, lettuce, arugula, and spinach.
In the next weeks, our fields will be ready for their long slumber with the help of our knowledgeable farm production team. Their work and careful tending now will support these fields until the dawn of the next growing season. Come visit our farm for the last days of the picking season this month. We can’t wait to see you on our farm.
