A bit of frost and suddenly everything turns to gold. Warwick is a good 5 degrees below the coastal cities, though it’s not all that far. Those 5 degrees mark our transition to closing down the farm. It’s time to tractor over the weeds and clear the plots. Also, this year we picked up winter rye as a cover crop, which is grown in late fall as a way to prevent soil erosion.
Brussels sprout plant is loaded and toppled. I did not remove the top leaves this year, wondering if it does indeed result in smaller heads. This plant is fairly hardy and will tolerate quite a bit of frost until November.
What do you do when the stray horseradish roots from last year sprout and grow conspicuously where they should not be? Dig it up, wash, and garnish a bloody mary drink of course. They can become invasive so leaving even one small bit of root will quickly turn into a horseradish patch the next season.
Checking on the daikon radish! They can grow to 2 feet or more in prime conditions.
With the bit of rain on Sat, some of the dry corn actually are sprouting on the cob. The ones I’ve collected are going into a dehydrator for a more thorough drying. Planting 3 types close together resulted in some interesting hybridized corn colors. One type was a red miniature popcorn seed, and it hybridized with the full-size to form a large all-red corn. This might just incentivize me to get a grain mill!
Fun event this weekend at Greenwich’s Garden Education Center where I participated in a little vegetable stand for their Dahlia Show Open House. Bringing back 14 crates of veggies in an open back truck, under tarps and bungee cords was a first for me. I was hoping to bring back a vertical stand to lay out veggies, but decided last minute that it would be better not to have a metal rack fly off the truck on the NYS thruway.
Here’s an up-close look at a share of our CSA this week. I’m glad to be moving back into leafy vegetables.
I waded into the pumpkin patch and found these guys ready to pose for the camera.
By wading, I mean battling through tall weeds, looking at a field of still-green vines, and plottng how to step through without destroying too many vines.
The nexus of pumpkin varieties. This is the end of the winter luxury pumpkin, meeting up with a French heirloom Rouge Vif d’Etampes, with a jack-o-lantern type sneaking in on the right.
This Rouge Vif d’Etampes surprised me. I am fond of growing heirlooms and have learned that they don’t always produce well, or uniformly, or timely, or in enough quantities. This is a deep red, gorgeous, cheese-wheel shaped squash, that announces its presence in the field.
Another surprising hit, the miniature white pumpkin. I’ve tried several times with larger white varieties to no avail. But these little guys seem have prospered. We cut them, and store them out of the sun so they don’t get a sunburn and turn yellow. Usually pumpkins sit in the sun to cure, which forms a hard shell, and allows it to keep for a long time. Out of the sun, it needs to stay at 85 degrees with good air circulation.
The delicata squash, still blooming and vining.
Winter luxury pumpkins are coming soon! Beautiful netted skin. Dry flesh, not stringy. This makes a wonderful pumpkin pie, the first type that got me cooking pumpkins and the only type I will use.
All the upfront weeding, and watering during the drought is paying off in the form of old-fashioned, sugar baby watermelons. Using the plink/plunk flicking of watermelons, we determined this one was ripe enough to try. It has turned red throughout, has a crisp texture, and is sweet!
Canteloupes, on the other hand, fared well-enough on the sunny side. On the dark side touching the ground, they are experiencing some softening and rotting. Oops. With the last two rainy weeks, the moisture from the ground is taking a toll on the fruits. Growers need dry weather around harvest season, and often spread mulch under the fruits to keep it dry.
A good year for shiso leaves. These are lush and stand five feet tall. I have to try a stirfry and see if the flavor would be suitable as an alternative to spinach! There is a drink recipe to react shiso with lime juice, which turns a muddy brown infusion into a bright pink cocoction.
Nature’s checks and balances in action. Hornworm caterpillar edging along a tomato vine. Parasitic wasp larvi feeding on the caterpillar. If I look at the picture too long, it gives me the heebie jeebies.