First rye planting - close-up

I knew the rye was supposed to emerge in about 7 days, but I was still surprised to find it poking up so far today.  For the past couple of days, I’d been seeing a rust-colored fuzz in this section.  My first thought was, “Great, the weeds are back with a vengeance.”  But then I noticed that the “weeds” seemed to be arranging themselves in very tidy straight lines that matched up with the furrows left by the Earthway seeder.  So today I investigated more closely.  And discovered this wonderful fall crop of rye! 

Rye marching down the furrows

The table has been put away for the season.  Thanks so much to everyone who supported us this year!  We’ve learned that we love to share the bounty of our gardens, and we hope you’ve enjoyed knowing who grows your food.  We’re making even bigger plans for next year, so stayed tuned.

Have a great fall and winter, and we’ll see you in the spring!

Mike and Lisel

First rye planting

Got the first of the winter cover crops planted today.  I’m trying a combination of cereal rye and hairy vetch.  The rye should come up quickly, and the vetch should add some nitrogen to the soil.  Used the horse rototiller to work up this 35′ x 75′ section after Tom had disked in the summer’s “crop” of weeds.  A quick field experiment involving the Earthway garden seeder, a plastic sour cream cup, and several different seed plates convinced me that Beet plate would handle the mixed rye/vetch seed best.  It took about an hour and over 70 passes with the seeder to drill the seed, but it all went in.  With the sprinklers set for 45 minutes nightly, here’s hoping the stuff comes up!

Cucumber affliction

Something is afflicting the (few) cucumber plants that are producing fruit.  Anybody recognize this?  Is it a water issue or a viral disease?  It seems to be working its way up from the bottom.  It started with a single plant, but has been spreading to others recently.

Here’s a close-up:

Sick cucumber leaf close-up

I’m trying to keep salad greens going as far into the fall as I can.  Here’s my process:

Freshly tilled and furrowed bed

Drop in the lettuce transplants

Place the wire hoops that will hold up the row cover

Apply the row cover using rocks in plastic pots as anchors

Make sure all is ok

Before too long, you have wonderful lettuces!

Black-seeded Simpson. Yum.

Dad transplanting tomatoes

After an entire summer of helping with the planting, weeding, and farmers market, my help has left the state.  My parents came for an extended summer stay, mostly to be with 4 new grand-babies.  But Dad also made time to spend a lot of hours helping with the farm business.  He helped plant tomatoes and cucumbers, did an enormous amount of hand weeding, helped with the weekly harvests, and spent every Saturday morning with me at the farmers market.

Alas, he and my Mom have returned home for the fall to enjoy a well-deserved rest.  Thanks for all your help, Dad!