From the Farmers
Our END OF THE HARVEST FESTIVAL is this Sunday, October 3 from 2:30 to 5:00 pm. This final festival celebrates the end of our CSA season.
We had our first hard frost – 29.7 degrees on Saturday night, and that marks the end of most of the veggies. So this week will be your last share box. You are getting two weeks worth in one box in this final share(and one trip to pick it up). We think these veggies will keep well enough for you to get them all at once instead of spreading them over the next two weeks. Thank you all for being a part of Nitty Gritty Dirt Farm this season. We have loved being your farmers this year in spite of it being a trying season of soooooooooooooo much rain.
At the farm this week, we’ve been working at tearing out the melon and basil plants and then tearing out the plastic mulch through which they’ve been growing all season. The plants go into the pickup to be hauled to a big compost pile on the back of the farm, the plastic gets wrapped in bundles to go to the solid waste and recycling center, and the last few watermelons go to the appreciative pigs. We’ve been trying to do a few rows every week rather than waiting and cleaning it all up at once. It is a hard, dirty job with none of the excitement of hard, dirty jobs in the spring. So far the bok choi, cabbage, tomato and melon rows are all done and those parts of the fields are disked over. We still have all the squash, peppers, eggplant and flower rows to clean up.
We’ve moved the sheep ewes in their electronet fence again, getting them one step closer to their final move in with the rams for breeding. Next week we will be dividing them into two groups – one to be bred to Lazarus and one group to be bred to Jedediah. We’ve begun feeding them shelled corn – called flushing – to get them gaining weight – the eventual goal of this is that gaining weight at breeding time results in a higher percentage of twins and triplets, rather than single lambs being born.
Gigi delivered three goat wether (castrated males) kids to the livestock auction. We’ve kept one that we’ll turn into sausage soon. We also have a new animal visitor at the farm. His name is Diablo and he is a purebred Toggenburg goat buck. He is here for a month long stay with our group of three adult does and three doe kids for what last year's interns called sex camp. Diablo may have an impressive pedigree, but he also has an impressive stink! I remember now why we don’t keep our own buck.
Now that most of the crops are done, we‘ve been letting our Black Star chickens roam. They love it – scratching through the goat and lamb pens and the perennial gardens around the house. All summer they must stay penned up and have their weeds and veggies delivered to them, so they don’t peck up the field crops. It is delightful to see them having such a great time free ranging.
We look forward to seeing you on Sunday at the Festival. We’ll be playing our annual FARM GAMES, serving you a variety of soups featuring farm products along with fresh baked breads, home brew beer and wine. Depending on the weather there will be hayrides and outdoor music.
This is also the time to sign up for next year. We are taking reservations (and $$$) for CSA share memberships. If you sign up and pay now, you can get your 2011 share at 2010 prices. (See the sidebar for more information.)
See you at the festival on Sunday…………Or until next season…………..
What’s In Your Share This Week
Squash – assortment of squash and pumpkins
Carrots – Cosmic purple and Scarlet Nantes
Onions – Mars (red) and Sierra Blanca (white)
Kale
Swiss Chard
Radishes – Crunchy Royale
Arugula
Herbs - Thyme and Sage
Hot Peppers - Newmex Joe E Parker, jalapenos and serranos
