Last week was one of the coldest weeks that I can remember for mid-October. We usually experience some light frosts in early October but nothing like what happened this past week. With the temperatures dipping like they did, we focused on clearing out the hoophouse tomatoes and peppers so they wouldn’t be a complete loss. After harvesting those crops, we turned our attention to the field and got as many beets out of the field as we could. That was an eye-opening experience for the students. It was last Wednesday and it was a cold and wet day. As we were out there, the rain turned into sleet for a while. Just as morale was deteriorating, the sleet/rain stopped and the sun was shining. But that was short-lived, as the sleet returned. Everyone persevered through it and we were able to accomplish what we set out to. I also had a window to prep the ground where our garlic is going to be planted for next season. I was a little nervous about getting the tractor back in the field with how wet it has been but the weather cooperated for a couple of days and I was able to get in late Friday afternoon. If everything goes as planned, we’ll plant garlic next week.
Well, after a promising start to last week, weather-wise, the wet, cold weather has come back with a vengeance. Looking ahead at the forecast things don’t look too great for the remainder of the season. We had our first sub 40 degree night over the weekend and it looks like our first frost will be hitting us later this week and the possibility of the dreaded 4 letter S-word. But we shall see. With temps dipping below 40 degrees and the threat of frost coming, many crops will perish with the cold temperatures. It’s been a good run but all things must come to an end. It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Light frosts will actually start to sweeten many of the crops that are still in the ground. And we still have a lot to get out. My hope is that there will still be enough time before we are in consistent sub-freezing temperatures. We’ll do a big push this week to get out as much as we can. We’ll actually start with the peppers and tomatoes in the hoophouses since most of our remaining field crops can handle the weather. Even though the hoophouses add some extra warmth, the lack of sun and close to freezing temperatures will surely mean the end of those crops. If we get them out this week, we should be able to have them for the remainder of the CSA season.
The wet weather of October continues. We got close to 3 inches of rain last week and the fields are an absolute mess at the moment. There’s standing water in some parts and soupy mud in others. We haven’t gotten enough sun to really dry things out. A lot of the late season field work I was hoping for may not happen. I’m just hoping for enough of a dry spell that I can do one last field prep of where the garlic will be planted later this month. One of the benefits of being a mostly human-powered farm, is that we are still able to get out into the fields to harvest and some cleanup projects. It’s not ideal but we are able to do it. I feel for our neighbors who have livestock or dairy operations and are struggling to get corn harvested or hay cut. Aah, the joys of farming.