Farm rambles
Time for transitions again.  It seemed so effortless to pass from spring to summer, summer to fall before I started farming.  Sure, I had to get ready for school to start or find a summer job, make sure I had an adequate swimsuit and fall coat.  The days getting shorter, the nights getting cooler, and the crispness in the air means so much more now than height of cross country season.  As a farmer, I feel blessed to have a more developed connection to the way our planet moves and changes our seasons.  The change to fall really means: Time to plant out those brassicas!  Start thinking about planting garlic and strawberries and onions! Time to eat salads and greens!  Rip out those summer crops and cover crop all the empty land!

I love fall.  It's probably my favorite season.  The smell of a good fall breeze smells better than anything else. The appearance of the changing leaves frames the farm oh so beautifully.  The fall veggies are fantastic, each week getting sweeter as the nights get colder.  But, while fall is my fave, each season is different and has it's highlights.  In the fall after our big plantings in late October, we just sit back and watch the crops grow.  We do have to harvest and maintain and weed and watch for pests, but none of these are quite as arduous as they were back in the summer.  Fall gives us a chance for introspection.  To ask ourselves, where could we have done better?  How can we improve for next year?

So, with this thought, comes a newsletter about our CSA surveys.  Then, I'll send you our spring/summer survey.

CSA Surveys--why are they important?
In the wintertime, I order seeds and plan for the next season.  I have a spreadsheet where I catalog exactly where, how much, and when we plant each seed of each type of vegetable.  My plans change every year and my biggest impetus for change is the survey that will soon reach your inbox.  

I first take all of the 'specific' vegetable data figure out which crops you would've liked to have more of and less of.  With this, I juggle the plan to reflect your preferences.  Then we take in to account all your other ideas and opinions.  Ideally we get a little closer to perfect each year.  

I urge you to fill out the surveys, we can't please you and other
customers more next year if we don't have feedback.

My survey results
I'm going to go through what I thought was adequately represented in the shares and what I thought we could have done better with.

Let's start with the bad:
--potatoes:  wet spring caused much seed piece rotting.  Our harvests were scandalously low.  Fingers crossed for next year (but I did learn...wait, wait, wait to plant until the weatherman isn't predicting lots of rain to come).
--garlic:  the garlic that we sent in the shares was delicious but not quite pretty.  Because of last year's surveys we planted less this year, but it didn't do as well with all the early spring rain.
--green beans:  well, you wouldn't have guessed from this week's share (all of our back's are SORE! from picking), but we didn't have great luck with green beans early in the summer.  We were trying to plant around the window of on of my least favorite pests, the Mexican bean beetle.  Luckily, we have had a great crop the last 2 weeks to help you forget about our green bean-less
summer.
--onions: we need to plant more.  agree?
--radishes: we needed to plant more in the spring/summer.  Fall radishes are coming on great though!

Now the good:
--Cauliflower and broccoli and cabbage:  if you can remember back to May and June, we had fantastic harvests of each of these crops.  They were sizeable and delicious!  Can't wait till fall's crop.
--Tomatoes:  I think we did the best yet on tomatoes.  We planted a number of varieties and successions and have successfully had tomatoes in the share since the first week in July.  One of our volunteers said "I feel like I've gotten $400 worth of tomatoes to date, I never would've splurged this much at the market, but to have the bumper crop is so perfect!"
--Eggplant and okra:  You asked for less and we postponed our plantings so we could still give you some, but it would be later in the season.  You'll still get more in the fall shares.
--Green onions:  while our onions were in scant supply, it seemed we had an endless amount of green onions this spring and summer...trust me, I remember washing them (a lengthy chore).
--Edamame:  maybe you got sick of it, but we sure did have a lot!
--Basil, parsley, other herbs:  Yep, basil grows well here.  Enough said.
--Head lettuce:  we harvested head lettuce later into the summer than I ever had before here in Georgia
--Melons:  we teased you with melons early on, but you asked for more.  We planted more and our yields were amazing!  I love going out with a bang for the summer shares and meeting your melon needs.  (there will be more in the fall share :)

My farewell
I do say farewell to all of you spring and summer shares that cannot make the fall share happen.  I wholeheartedly appreciate your support for sustainable agriculture, clean food, Serenbe Farms, and those of us that are growing your food.  

For all of you joining us for fall, get excited about a great season.  We'll be digging our first sweet potatoes and sunchokes in 2-3 weeks!  Lettuces are getting bigger! Our first brassicas are out of their awkward transition from greenhouse to field!  Can't wait!

I say adios until September 29th.  Justin and I are taking a whole week long vacation to Idaho.  We'll be away from communication, hiking, biking, soaking in hot springs, and climbing in the Sawtooth and White Cloud Mountains.  If you need anything, contact Natalie or Brandon (natalie.sevin@gmail.com, brandon.dyches@gmail.com).

Many thanks to the interns for holding down the fort.  And thanks again for your support.  Happy eating!

Paige