It's been a quiet week on the farm, where I pack peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes alongside my dad and three brothers.  The eggplant squeaks as it travels down the wash table.  The tomatoes give a rainbow of colors as they creep along.  The peppers bring me to tears - and then I remember that the hot batch was supposed to wait until later to pack with a laugh.  Four generations of vegetable farmers right here on the home farm cover a lot of years on the same product - food.

Is it Fall Already?

I love to throw out jokes when folks act surprised that the summer is ending and that seasons are changing.  We love summer.  We hate July record-setting high temperatures.  We love the cool nights in the fall when we get to wear our long sleeves.  We hate leaving the house before the sun rises.  I manage time to the point of obsession on the farm.  Time isn't a mystery, I have the privilege of engaging and focusing on now.  I watch the squash plants come out of the ground, unfurl their leaves, race upward, flower, grow fruits, thin out, droop, then wither.  I turn the soil, knowing that it doesn't happen in one day, and it always happens in alignment with the calendar.

Field Outlook

The fall harvest is full of corn, peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes right up until that first killing frost.  The last cuttings of summer greens happen over the next few weeks.  Yellow squash has a gap right now but will be back in a few days.  The apple season kicks off strong (the Macoun startup the first week of October).  Peach season is winding down.  The winter squash has been picking strong, and we have pumpkins ready to decorate.