False Fall??? 🤞🏻
Magda at the Belleville Library talking seeds.
I have been having some mixed feelings about this cooling weather that we’ve experienced these past couple weeks. On the one hand, it feels amazing to wake up to a brisk cold. Feels even better to work outside and not sweat a ton. On the other hand, cold weather spells impending doom for most of our plants. And I don’t want the season to end just yet! Many are saying this cooling is just a “false fall” and that we can expect weather to heat up again. I suspect this might be true since, over the past couple days, temperatures have been in the 80s by the afternoon. However, Farmer’s Almanac is saying that we should anticipate a long, harsh winter in Michigan this year. So maybe we just need to begin preparing for snow. But until it arrives, we are still plugging away at the farm!
Teaching our cat, Cheese, how to cook with our tomatoes and kale.
Throughout August, we have been preparing our fall crops. Arugula, spinach and bok choy have all been seeded and are almost ready to put in the ground. We also have radishes and turnips coming up as well. This time of year is an interesting one for me. The season isn’t over yet but I find myself already doing a lot of reflection. I love thinking about the future and about what we’ll do differently; what we are going to do the same or even better next time. I try to capture all these thoughts in my notebook as they come up so I don’t forget them come winter, when I will really sit down and properly digest them.
My little orange notebook I (Zach) carry with me around the farm.
All this preemptive excitement about next year sort of clashes with the reality of the current moment, hence why this time of year is interesting. Magda and I are dog tired. The finish line is almost in sight, and we just have to power through. The desire to do more but not really having the energy to do it can be pretty demoralizing. I find it important to take stock of all that we have accomplished and remember the potential the future has for change. Maybe we didn’t get those cabbages to grow this year but next year… next year we got a plan. I also remind myself how important rest is for our bodies. Sustainability for our bodies, long term, has always been a priority for us. If you don’t give yourself space to rest and recover you aren’t going to be working well or for very long. True sustainability is good for the earth, the plants, our community and our bodies.
A beautiful winter squash I plucked a bit early. The stem is close to dried out and I was eager.
Tomatoes are here! I know, I wrote about them at some length last week but I am still so enamored with them. We are extremely excited to be supplying some our heirloom tomatoes to Zingerman’s Roadhouse for their annual Heirloom Tomato Dinner. It is going to be an amazing event with incredible food. If you’re attending be sure to say hello to us. We love chatting with you all.
More lovely tomatoes coming in. What variety are the? We are closer to finding out!
We will be at the Ypsi Farmer’s Market this coming Saturday 9am-1pm. You can expect us to have kale, chard, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, eggplant, green onions, napa cabbage, summer squash, flower bouquets and herbs.
We hope that you are all taking some time to rest and enjoy what is looking like an amazing Michigan fall.
Peace!
Zach and Magda
Look at this cool bug.
