We somehow find ourselves at the end of August. What’s happening in the fields of Full Belly Farm?

Almond harvest! We grow four types: Mission, Nonpareil, Padre, and Peerless. They all are ready to harvest at different times. We started a month ago with Nonpareil, followed by Peerless. This week we’re harvesting Padre and Mission will be last. The timing couldn’t be better – we just ran out of almond butter. Don’t worry almond butter lovers, it’ll be back soon!

We’ve had some wonderfully crisp mornings, and we’ve got a week of “chilly” days in the 80s ahead of us. However, fall is still far away. The summer rush continues and the cool weather won’t last. The temperatures are predicted to rise again, and over the course of the farm’s history, some of the hottest days have come in September. Good thing we still have plenty of refreshing melons! Still, as the sunrise gets later, we’ve shifted our workday start back to a leisurely 7am!

Planting continues in earnest! Kale, broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, and chard have been transplanted. The first succession of carrots, spinach, and broccoli raab have been seeded. Lettuce, parsley, and cabbage are next on the docket. And very importantly, now that the sheep have finished munching on the melons in front of the kitchen, that field was cleared and planted in sudan grass, which a month from now will be a lush green maze for Hoes Down attendees!

Lush and green also would describe the seas of winter squash plantings that you can see around the farm and in the photo at the top. Most of the squash still need more growing time but in some of our earlier planted fields, we’re going to start harvesting delicata, acorn squash, and red kabocha any day now.

While I’m perfectly content to keep munching away on tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini, I know that the seasons will change and soon enough, roasted winter squash with some kale or broccoli will sound great. So thank you Andrew and team for getting all those new crops in the ground!

Elaine Swiedler, CSA Manager