Finally! In a snap two of my dreams that seemed impossible have occurred. One, we received almost 2 inches of luscious, soaking rain and two, it finally feels like fall!
On being "on"As you've learned from the rest of the crew this year, the person that is in charge of greenhouse, irrigation, and weekend chicken and harvest duties is also responsible for the newsletter. I won't lie, this past week being "on" was a challenge. Maybe the most challenging week "on" I've had all year. Why? Irrigation in the fifth dry week is more monumental than in the first dry week. All those clogged drip lines or holes that mice have chewed in the lines or plants that aren't in the reach of our micro sprinklers become very apparent. When it's super hot and dry, no matter how much I water, I still feel responsible for the wilty leaves on our crops.
It was also a challenge because right now we're in the midst of picking about 5500 square feet of bush beans. These beans are going crazy fortunately, but that also requires lots and lots of picking. Fortunately, Gretchen and Justin offered to help me with my marathon Saturday afternoon bean picking session (thanks!). Bean picking is tedious. One mustn't break the leaves or stems, be careful not to snap the beans, and make sure not to step on the closely spaced plants. Bean picking is like gymnastics, zen, and farming all in one.
And finally, after much radar watching, my weekend culminated with moving our 14 greenhouse tables back into the greenhouse. Let me explain: in the summer when it's time to start our fall crops, the greenhouse is way too hot. We leave our crops in the shade of our big pine tree (making the swing inaccessible...sorry kids!). Because these trays are out in the open they're susceptible to soil splashing, compaction, and losing seed when we receive heavy rain events. Thanks to volunteer and former intern RJ and my sweetheart Justin, moving these 14-100 lb tables 200' to shelter was a little easier. And then after all those six days of hard work and lots of observation and heightened responsibility, on Sunday, I just sat and watched. And laughed and smiled and remembered why nature is so amazing. We asked her to soak us steadily with small light drops of rain so that we wouldn't become flooded or eroded. And she did just that. Yippee!
GROW!--some friends and an inspiring movie about farmers
Christine and Owen Anthony-Masterson are food and farmer advocates. They've moved beyond their professional photography careers and have started making short films. Highlighting a dozen of young farmers throughout Georgia, they hope to educate others about farming, what it takes, how to become one, and why you should know who grows your food and support these farmers. They were featured on Local Planet Atlanta
here. (PS, that photo was taken by them of Gretchen back in the early summer digging potatoes!)
Sweet potatoes and winter squash, oh my!This week's share will offer a choice of winter squash or sweet potatoes. I know it's a tough choice, but don't fret, you'll be presented with both again throughout these fall shares. There's a soft spot in my heart for both of these fall goodies so I thought I'd give you some insight into how the ended up on your table.
Sweet potatoes--We planted our sweet potatoes on the 7th of June. Most sweet potatoes take around 100 days to mature. When we plant them, we actually plant a portion of the sprout (or slip) from a sweet potato. Here at Serenbe Farms, we grow 7 different varieties (you'll get to sample each as the fall shares continue). We've just dug our first of 11 beds of potatoes and are pretty excited about the quality and yield. With sweet potatoes, we get many different sizes, jumbos, regular sized ones, and mini sweet potatoes. They're all good for different purposes, so don't be alarmed if they're not the usual grocery store size. I like using the large ones for sauteing or mashing, the regular sized ones for baking, and the really small ones for roasting. To harvest them, we remove their vines and fork their main stem area. We pull the taters out of the ground and lay them out on tables in our greenhouse for curing. This high heat curing seals any wounds, makes the sweet potatoes sweeter, and allows them to store longer. We plan to dig sweet potatoes like crazy this week so in a couple of weeks you'll have lots to enjoy!
Winter squash--
The name 'winter' in winter squash makes it seem like these guys are harvested or planted in the winter. Not so. They can't even survive a frost. They are termed winter squash because of their ability to store. We actually planted our winter squash in early May, harvested in mid-late July and stored them in air conditioned storage until now. We also cured the winter squash to harden their stems, to sweeten them and so they'll keep longer. We grow many varieties, you'll see delicata squash (my fave), acorn squash, butternut squash, and maybe even a few spaghetti squash this year.
Hope you guys are enjoying these shares! Please continue giving us feedback for this season and for the future!
Cheers,
Paige
