From the Fields - Thaddeus
The tomato vines are haggard and brown. Hiding in their vines is the last of the season’s tomatoes, most of which have deep cracks that show the end of the season is near. Next to them, winter squash plants are beginning to fade, but hidden under their leaves are winter squash gems that are ready to be picked up and put into storage for the fall.
Not far from these fields are the early summer fields that have already been disked. These fields will be left empty until the middle of October when we will plant cover crops and begin our rain dances.
With the summer crops on their way out, the focus has shifted to the fall vegetables. Kales, chards, lettuces and cauliflower transplants have been arriving weekly from the greenhouse. Carrot, radish, beet and bok choy seeds have been sown into fields each week since the beginning of September. The colors and designs created in the fields by these plantings can be more beautiful than the setting sun.
The transition from summer to fall is written all over the fields. Last week, clouds began stacking up above the mountains that surround the farm. Slowly the swirls of grey clouds built into a mass that covered the entire county. The first splash of rain arrived shortly after; it was only enough water to wet the dust and fill the farm with the glorious smell of freshly wetted dirt.
The rain didn’t slow down our farming, but it did refresh the spirit of the farm and left a rainbow overhead as evening came in. Soon all the summer crops will be done, and our fall harvest will be in full swing.
