wrapping up.

This past month has been a whirlwind.  If there were any doubts that summer had ended, the shift in temperatures felt during October confirmed that fall was here to stay.  We began the month with the Farm To Table Dinner at The Lovin' Oven in Frenchtown.  Somehow, in our last post, we neglected to mention the event, which many of you have since asked about.  True to their name, The Lovin' Oven provided an atmosphere that was warm, comfortable and lovely.  The four-course meal diners and farmers enjoyed included goat cheese from Upper Black Eddy's Apittehikan Farm, various vegetables from our fields, and apples from Manoff Market Gardens in Solebury.  It was a great evening filled with good conversation, new and familiar faces, and an incredible meal.  Thanks to Julie and Mike, the restaurant's owners, for thinking of and including us!

For most of the time since then, our efforts have been focused on cleaning up the fields and sowing cover seed, while continuing to harvest on Tuesdays and Fridays for shares.  Here's how part of the front field (where our very first crops were planted) looked as of early last week:

(Click on the photo for a larger view)

The brightest green is actually Buckwheat, the cover crop we planted this summer, which reseeded itself prior to mowing and has been growing along with our fall cover seed (the darker green) in part of the field for the last few weeks.  The cold weather we've been experiencing more recently is having an effect on the Buckwheat, though, which has begun to die.  This is not a bad thing.  While the Buckwheat grew, it suppressed weeds.  As it dies off and returns to the soil, the fall cover crop will have a better chance of establishing itself and providing nourishment for the soil in the months ahead. 

Last week, we also had a chance to share the farm and some of what we've done this year with the crew from Blooming Glen Farm, in Perkasie.  It was a wonderful opportunity for us, and a great way to wrap up our first season.  Tom Murtha and Tricia Borneman, who run Blooming Glen, have been farming for 10 years now.  We appreciated their reaching out, bringing their interns to meet us (two much newer farmers!) and being so encouraging.  All of us cheered for having made it through a tough summer and share the hope that next year will bring a little less heat with a little more rain!

As of today, it's November.  The days are much shorter than they were not so long ago.  The picture below is from about 6:30 last Tuesday, at the end of pick-up.  We strung up the white lights in the hopes that they might provide just enough illumination to get through the last two weeks of evening pick-ups.  Quickly, we discovered that the only way anyone would be able to see anything past about 5:45 was with a flood light!

This Tuesday and Saturday officially mark the end of the season, and it's fair to say that our emotions are mixed as we approach a few months "off".  The rest will be terrific, but we will miss the things that have become routine in the last several months:  planting, harvesting, preparing newsletters*, getting ready for pick-ups... 

To everyone who supported and helped us throughout this year and the community that we are so grateful to now feel a part of: Thank you again and again!   We could not have done this without you, and we're very happy to be able to say: We made it!!!!

*Last but not least: our final newsletter can be read by clicking here.