What to expect in the rest of your shares

Many people have wondered what remains of their share this fall, especially given these dry conditions.  Let me give you my best guess. 
    We should expect a small to moderate harvest of sweet potatoes, which we're planning to begin next week.  You will probably also get a few more butternut squash, and lots more garlic.  Your broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower survived being transplanted, but they have been very slow to grow, and the deer and groundhogs have been using them and the sweet potato greens as an emergency fuel now that the dry weather is stunting their usual clover diet.  Perhaps they will produce small heads in October, or perhaps they will wait and produce bigger ones in November--it's hard to say.  The kale and collards are doing surprisingly well under the circumstances.  Everyone should continue getting a half pound or so each week, and much more if it ever begins raining again.  They also get a bit sweeter once the first frost hits.
      Your baby mustard greens, lettuce, spinach, arugula, carrots, beets, cilantro, dill, radishes and turnips were planted in August in two fields--a small one that can be irrigated and a large one that cannot.  We have not had a soaking rain since then, so nothing has germinated in the large field.  Only a bit of arugula, baby mustards, turnips and radishes have matured in the small field, and we will be doling them out carefully to everyone in October.  In September, when our grim circumstances were becoming apparent, we tore out some poorly-producing squash and cucumbers and dug some more beds near the washing station so we could seed more greens and roots that could be irrigated.  They have all since germinated in happy abundance, but I don't think they will be ready to harvest until November.  Carrots and beets need so long to mature that it didn't make sense to replant them, so I'm sorry to say that this is going to be a carrot and beet-free fall. 
     We still have some beans, cucumbers, summer squash, peppers, eggplants and okra.  You might have noticed that these summer crops slow down their production as the weather cools (the dry weather is contributing to their slow-down, as well).  All of the summer crops die abruptly with the first frost, which usually comes in early or mid-October.  It's been unusually warm, though, so perhaps we'll keep them a little longer. 
     We have planned for your last shares to be November 8 and 12.  November 18 and 19 (the Friday and Saturday before Thanksgiving) will be the gleaning weekend when you can pick all you want of what remains.  I don't think we'll need to make any changes to that schedule, but we'll certainly keep you informed if we do. 
    Autumn is usually my favorite season, and the farm's most abundant one.  It saddens me to have to eek out such a small share to everyone this October.  I deeply appreciate how understanding everyone has been.  Our customers seem to be taking this dry spell in stride, and that helps me relax and keep a better perspective on the viscicitudes of farming. 

Comments

[Monique]

It has been so wonderful for me to be a part of the farm this year. I am even enjoying sharing in the fruit of the dry conditions. I just feel more connected. Ordinarily, I would only notice that my lawn is dry. Now, I feel closer to the earth, knowing that if it does not rain, the crops (some of which are "my share", will be slow to grow. Thanks for an amazing spring, summer and fall.