September-Not Yet

I'm not sure it's time for pumpkin pies yet, but the squash in the field ripened early and the seconds sat staring at me from the curing table.The kitchen calendar reminded me that it was still August as I fired up our ovens to roast the first batch of squash, either cracked from the excessive rain we got the week before or otherwise too small to be chosen from the market basket. Just like a tomato approaching peak ripeness, if its plant drinks to heavily, a squash's skin will crack, revealing the flesh underneath, a prelude to spoilage. They've got to be cured and put to use. The weather had cooled appropriately for this production, enough so to justify throwing the windows open on all sides of our small farmhouse, moderating the temperature and permitting the outdoor sounds. And within twenty minutes at 400 degrees, a sweet smell of earthen caramel whirled through the air, perfuming the house: honeynut squash nearly tender, juices bubbling brown and candy-coating the sheet trays. Was the scent carried outside? Did it ride the breeze to Rick's house next door to tell him that pumpkin pie season came early this year?

The four of us have been rising to shine and crashing to burn out our flames at sundown for months of summer flow. The kids are integrated into our work on the farm, as they vacillate between playing in the woods and house and, and keeping us company in the field or wash room. They understand Thursdays to be wholesale delivery days, or the days when mom leaves for a while and brings back treats; and they dread Fridays when we harvest and bake all day and into the night for Saturday's market, too tied up to join in their games. It's all too good to be true, even "dreaded" Fridays. They were true until the first week of pumpkin pie baking, when the sound of little croc-d feet padding through the grass was gone. It didn't seem like time for school yet, except that the calendar said it was. It didn't seem like time for Jack Oliver to be in school full time, standing with his little lunchbox slung over his shoulder like a career man off to the nine-to-five in the collecting pool of kindergarteners waiting in Miss T's queue with a worried look on his face. Not yet.

But the year printed on the calendar told me it was so. And you know, Jack's incredible, burgeoning vocabulary and even more explosive curiosity told me too. He's bursting at the seams with energy and playfulness to be set free with peers on the playground, and a sponge of a brain to be fed a variety of ideas and perspectives. It's time for exposure to broader challenges and experiences, it is yet.

And back on the homefront, Rich and I have more than we can probably get done this autumn by which to distract ourselves from the quietness around the house. We are nowhere near the time of the year when we can let our guards down, not yet. But a morning will come when the first frost slows the farm's metabolism and suggests dormancy. The plants will thaw in the daytime temperatures to put forth their last fruits, or to store their sugars in their roots, sweetening our winter carrots, and we will take deeper breaths and linger over our morning coffees a little bit longer. And that's when I'll take stock of what a year it's been.

Updates from the Farm:

-Oakwood Market and Fall Harvest: Our weekly farmers market has treated us so well. Rich and I continue to enjoy working the booth together. This month we will be adding fresh ginger, broccoli, cauliflower, etc to the offerings. Plus mini pumpkin pies and custards (gf) too. We won't miss a Saturday :). 9-noon at 22 Orchard Drive.

-Time to Cover Crop: It's time to get our fall cover crops in. We intend to use more on-farm fertility rather than using off-farm organic compost. In between vegetable plantings, cover crops prevent soil erosion, provide food for the soil life, suppress weeds, and ultimately replenish the soil nutrients.

-Flash Drought: This growing season has posed significant challenges. This August was the driest on record in 133 years in our region. We have been able to irrigate thanks to a great reserve of water from the heavy and frequent rains from this summer. But irrigation does not provide as storms and rainfall do. We are rolling with the punches as best as we can.

-Processing Veggies: Now is the time I put up vegetables. Freezing and canning and curing. We will offer bulk tomatoes and peppers for customers to do the same and I will be roasting, pureeing and freezing honeynut squash for holiday pies and more.

-Preparing 3 acres for pollinators: The same contract we signed with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to install our two latest high tunnels included a contract item to take acreage out of production and install native pollinator habitat. We will be making time this month to prepare the space for winter seeding. We're so excited for this project and grateful that our local NRCS chapter is so incredible to work with and facilitate great projects like this.

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