Update Saturday the 22nd: Welcome to fall! New items added to farmgate store; some prices lowered. Check it out...
Update Wednesday the 19th:
Whitsend Market Garden on 93.1 CKCU FM (www.ckcufm.com) between 1:30 and 3:30 this afternoon! Here us there...
Thanks again,
Bob
Hey Folks:
A few notes about how the fall season is shaping up. Fall and storage crops are coming to fruition.
I harvested the first round of Kidney Beans this past week. Some were dry enough to start shucking, and the rest are hanging in the barn. Meanwhile, the beds the kidney beans are being harvested from are being prepared for the planting of next summer's Garlic. Seed Garlic just arrived in the mail yesterday.
Red Storage onions are almost ready to harvest, and the Leeks, though small, look like they will yield some tasty stalks. More Green Onions are out there, though I expect they will not grow as large as the ones we had earlier this summer. A few of the large ones are still left for the full shares.
There are two more successions of carrots still in the ground, both smaller Napoli carrots and larger storage carrots for cooking, as well as some heirlooms and White Carrots. More than enough to feed all shares to the end of October and beyond. These should taste great after our first frosts, when the cold weather converts the starches in the roots to sugars.
Chioggia beets are also approaching their harvests, though I expect they will be a bit smaller than the ones that were growing when the days were getting longer. This is another crop that stores well.
The Brussels sprouts are coming along, though the quantity might be very limited. It seems that the Flea Beetles are not being knocked back quickly enough by the arrival of slightly cooler, rainy weather (more compost required!).
As well, the Kale is taking quite a while to rebound, a few customers have had the opportunity to have some over the past few weeks, but the flea beetles are still eating the leaves (more compost!)
The only Radishes that I was able to grow (under a spare row cover) are doing fine. As for the rest of the Radishes, the Beetles ate their leaves, as well as the turnip leaves and while they were at it, they savaged the Rutabaga and the last of my Arugula as well (The Rutabaga and Arugula were also under covers but it seems that the beetles were already in or on the soil at the time of planting.
Damage to this degree is most unusual for this particular insect. I realize that sandy soil combined with hot dry weather is delightful to these bugs, but the bottom line for next year is MORE COMPOST!
The first orangetti squash is dying back, though the younger ones are still going strong. More squash to be distributed in the coming weeks, these can be stored for several months if cured (some are curing now as we speak). The first Pumpkin (way ahead of schedule) was harvested last week and is now curing on our fridge.
The Taxi tomatoes are starting to lose their vigor. They are an early variety that yields most its fruit in the first flush (all shares received them each week at one point). Now that these are ending, the early Moskvich plants are entering their second flush, and the insurance Tomatoes (a round of Moskvich planted late) are just starting. So expect some of these savoury fruits for a while yet. By the way, Moskvich is a cold tolerant tomato, so we can expect to see these even as the nights get cooler. I have also noticed that the Moskvich tomatoes are a bit bigger than they were at the start of the summer. I am not sure why this is.
There should be a couple more weeks of Matina’s, but I expect these will end soon.
The Great Whites have not had a good year; they started out too early and are only producing a small amount of fruit. They have suffered a lot from cracking, which points to either a calcium deficiency or uneven watering. Since correcting the watering regimen for the Moskvich, I noticed a big difference. I have started the same technique with the Great Whites.
The Spinach and Chard are doing great. My only question is how much yield there is. At a certain point this fall, growth will slow down to the point where the cut-and-come-again crops will not be able to keep up with the harvest.
One thing I am certain of is the amount of Potatoes in the ground. I estimate enough for another 8 weeks for all shares at the present rate. Better yet, most of these are excellent for storage, so you will be able to save some for the Christmas-New Year’s eating season.
Once we are finished the current crop of Red Chieftain, the second round of Fianna potato will arrive (these were in the harvests about four weeks ago). After that, there are yellow-fleshed Agria potatoes, which are a Frost tolerant variety – I can leave them in the ground for several weeks yet. In addition, they keep well in storage, so you can continue to enjoy them over the winter. A small quantity of Dakota Pearl potatoes are on the way – these are similar to Yukon Gold, but are better adapted to Eastern Ontario.
Do you recall the short period of relatively cool nights a couple of weeks ago? During that time, I planted some snap Peas. I only had room for one bed, so most of these will cover the full shares only. However, I am pleased to have been able to start fall peas – not a dependable crop in these parts, as our summers are usually too hot. Another one of those little victories that make the potato beetles a mere nuisance in the overall scheme of things.
See you next Friday!
Bob
Whitsend Market Garden grows a broad variety of quality vegetables on a farm near Ottawa, Ontario. Join our CSA: buy your local food in advance and get baskets of delicious seasonal vegetables delivered to your doorstep from June to November. Whitsend Market Garden is on the cutting edge of traditional farming...