Flipping the Farm

Flipping the Farm
Last tomato harvest...or second to last?

Ian came when no one welcomed him and beckoned in an unexpected cold front for us midwesterners, turning a predicted warm October rather chilly.  That's hardly anything to complain about when flipping through photos of the havoc he wreaked in Fort Myers :(.

Even so, he changed the game here.  And we are flipping the farm sooner than anticipated...a good reminder that a.)meteorology is not a perfect science and b.) our job working with this living system is to respond to what's given to us.

Every year we watch the ten-day forecast around this time, prepared to pull up overground irrigation...swooping in to save it from bursting in freezing temperatures.  We button up and inevitably refurbish our heated growhouse in order to move our shoots and microgreens operation inside.  We redesign the hoop house...exchanging the summery jungle look of rows of tomatoes crawling to the ceiling (and some back down to the ground :0), and get inspired by the new hues: a red, purple and green carpet of salad mix, radish tops, and whatever other cold crops Rich has in his playbook.  The hens' (and Charles') coop gets winterized, we have garlic to tuck in the ground before Thanksgiving, and Rich tarps and preps some ground while it is snow and saturation-free so that it will be ready to receive early spring transplants.

And all of this and the little loose ends like getting some trees planted and cleaning up the home garden...this big last push before our slower season...it makes our annual trip off of the farm that much more coveted.  It's almost like the bedtime routine around here with little ones...we can see the light of getting off our feet and letting our minds wind down, we just need to get those teeth brushed, shut the chickens into the safety of their coop, read some books, sing some songs, and go back for Jack's second goodnight kiss 10 minutes after we tucked him in.  And then a great big sigh ahhhhhh.