Hi Folks, We have gone very quickly from our first frost to our first snowfall, with about a half an inch of heavy wet snow blanketed the farm this past Thursday. While there was no concern about damage to the remaining crops from the snow by virtue of the temperature, I was a bit worried about damage to some plants, especially the lettuces from the weight of the snow and its potential to break off leaves and branches.

Hello Everyone, We had our first frost of the season this past Saturday night. I must confess that it caught me by surprise. I had last checked the weather websites on Friday and they were calling for a low of 37 degrees, giving a safe margin of error.

Hello Everyone, It was an unusually cool September, although the weather is so strange anymore it’s hard to say what is normal. I know I have been promising string beans for the past couple of weeks, but they have been growing slower than I’ve ever experienced in the past.

Hi Folks, We’ve been taking advantage of the dry conditions during this past week to dig as many of the potatoes as possible. The potato digging machine that I own does not work well when the ground is wet and up until now we have been digging most of the potatoes by hand. This is not only a slow and laborious process but leaves some potatoes behind and many that are damaged by being speared by the pitchfork.

Hi Folks, We continue to enjoy dry, but somewhat cool conditions here at the farm. This past Saturday night we came perilously close to having our first frost of the fall. But for now we have been spared and the temperatures are predicted to be more moderate for the next 10 days.

Hello Everyone, We received a good steady rain last Friday and Saturday that was, for a change, needed and appreciated. The fall brassicas crops are growing nicely and the many rows of seed I sowed during the dry spell have germinated well. In several weeks we will begin to have radishes and the white salad turnips as well as arugula and other greens.

Hi Folks, The dry weather this past week has finally allowed me to plant many of the fall root and greens crops that I have been trying to sow for weeks. Now of course a little rain would be appreciated to get them sprouted and growing. We have also been busy transplanting lettuces and brassicas for late season harvest.

Hi Folks, The weather has continued to present challenges during this past week. The frequent rain does not give the ground ample time to dry out enough for me to prepare ground or plant seeds. In addition high winds which accompanied a storm on August 21 tore the plastic off the high tunnel greenhouse at the Blairstown farm.