The past week, the first full week of October, the transition from summer to fall was on full display.
The shade cloth over the peppers has come down. The peppers have slowed down and the sun is much less intense than during the summer, so this will help us get more peppers before we stop harvesting for the season.
In the earlier planted fields of tomatoes, we’re cutting the ties, removing the stakes, mowing the fields, and removing drip tape.
Winter squash fields are drying down and the almost-ready squash, or cut and curing squash, that were once hidden under big green leaves are visible. Other fields that have been harvested already lay bare, minus a few split squash, and will be mowed soon.
The flower team is switching from harvesting fresh flowers and making fresh flower bouquets to making dried flower bouquets and wreaths, including cayenne chili wreaths. The preparation for next year’s flowers has already begun as well. Seed and bulb orders have already been placed and last week we got some ranunculus corms in the mail.
While I never feel ready for the end of any season’s produce, the excitement over the new fruits and vegetables makes it much easier. The greens and roots (somehow) germinated and grew through the heat and are looking and tasting amazing. We’ve harvested the first ascolano olives, which have already been brined and are ready to eat. The olive harvest for this year’s oil hasn’t been scheduled yet, but that’s another thing to look forward to.
The transitions weren’t limited to the crops! Last week was Yasuaki and Kosuke’s last week at the farm. They’re heading to UC Davis for two months of classes before returning to Japan in December. We are going to miss them – they’re great to work with, are really fun (and funny) to spend time with, and have been key members of the Saturday farmers market crew in Palo Alto. We all wish them the best and want to say “Hontoni arigato gozaimashita” (thank you very much) for their 13 months at the farm.
It looks like we’ve got another 90ish degree week ahead of us before the temperature transitions to cooler fall temperatures, though it’s much cooler at night than it was during the peak of summer.
– Elaine Swiedler, CSA Manager
