Friday, October 26, 2007

End of the season or is it


Finally the end of October is near the pumpkins are almost all gone but we still have plenty of squashes, gourds and indian corn around. Some of our markets finish this weekend but most will continue on until Thanksgiving. The frantic pace will change to a slow frenzy as we get ready for winter and much needed rest. The field crew has begun to get more downtime and with the arrival of autumn rains the entire tempo of the farm changes. The autumn leaves have put on their fiery show of color and are the perfect backdrop for the stunning colors of the autumn squashes, pumpkins and mums. It is a time when most think that all the work comes to a halt on the farm and in a certain sense it does. Now we are preparing the fields for winters rest and springtime planting, the hitunnels are being planted for late winter early spring harvest, crop plans being prepared, assessments of the prior years work being done and the planning begins for the spring work. We start choosing what conferences to attend and perhaps a quick fun trip tucked in somewhere.