We’re past the middle of September now, but we’ve still got pretty full fields. Where the cucumbers have come out, I’ve planted spinach seeds. The snow peas are up where we used to have beans and early beets. But the zucchini is almost done, and the tomatoes are ripening very slowly now that nights are getting cold. Noah’s back in school now, so I’m without my helper during the week. We ate a lot of Top Donut donuts this summer (farmers need fuel).
We’ve peaked in terms of how much we can earn at the farmer’s market–tomatoes are a big driver of sales and our harvest is dwindling fast–but beets and beans are helping to keep sales somewhat steady. I think there’s a good chance of us breaking even for our first year, which will feel like an accomplishment
We’re already thinking about next year. Our order of 10 pounds of seed garlic arrived last week, and tomorrow I’m driving to Wayland to pick up another 6 pounds from a local farmer. We ran out quickly this year, so for next year we plan to plant about 1,000 heads. Which should give us enough for ourselves, too. (This year, we didn’t save enough for our own kitchen, and it’s almost gone already.)
Like any farmer, I have hopes for the weather. Right now, I hope the big wind tonight doesn’t blow over too many of our tomatoes and tomatillos, and I hope we get a warm stretch of weather, to ripen the final surge of tomatoes hanging on the vines. Farming is a constant balance between hard work on few things I can control and the many aspects of life beyond my influence. (Not unlike writing plays and novels.)
Here are some photos from the past two weeks:
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