Good day readers, today I am writing to you from a very special place: the top of a mountain, the summit of summer, the peak of our farm season. It is always a trek to get here, and a bit treacherous near the peak, but before we know it, we will find the flats of fall while cruising right along to a peaceful winter. It happens every year, but nevertheless, it is always worthwhile to stop and smell the mountain sage.
From here, we can see that we are surrounded by lush green fields, some speckled yellow with giant blooming sunflowers in our cover crops, others glisten with ruby red globes of delicious tomatoes, and emerald and golden columnar gems of refreshing cucumbers, zucchini, and summer squash. It really is glorious, once you wipe the sweat from your eyes after the climb. And climb we do, from the cool, cloudy spring seeding, all the way to the summit of August, the work we do gets slowly more intense, keeping in step with the weather. Seeding, then planting, weeding, and by the time you get here, you’re doing it all at once! But then, the release, the cooling and slowing of our season begins, as the hard parts become lessons and memories of the past.
The view from the top of Mt. McDonald isn’t always this nice; there are a lot of paths to choose from on the way up, and surprises and obstacles that create a unique journey year after year. This year, however, is one of the nicest views I’ve seen yet. Our crew, the real stars of this
show, is still in high spirits as our interns have mostly returned to their studies and the heavy harvests lie in waiting. It always feels a little tougher this time of year, like the sheer cliff face that awaits climbers just before the summit. But we are ready, we are here, and we are moving forward to the flats of fall. After a few weeks of harvesting thousands of pounds of tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers, we look forward to the coming weeks of cool weather and simpler harvests. Just this week, we donated over 2000 lbs. of produce to our pantry partners, a number that, just a few years ago, would have been more than 1/3 of our total yearly donation, in just one week! It overjoys me to see how abundant nature really is. Scarcity? Where? Not with Mother Nature, she knows how to provide for her children, and we can learn some great lessons from her in providing for our own. Never take more than you need, always give what you don’t, and helping the ones around you is never more work than it’s worth. Wisdom to grow by.
As the farming goes, we have planted the last of our large fall crops, nearly 2 acres of mixed fall brassicas; cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, napa, kale, that will all be gracing our plates through October and November. There are still greenhouse plantings, and some small successions or radish, turnip, kohlrabi, and the like, but the big planting pushes have become a thing for next season. Now is the time for big harvests! I have already mentioned the vitality of our summer crops, but we are also working through loads of long-storage crops that have done very well this year. We are only halfway through our onion harvest, which looks to total a few thousand pounds, a new record for our crew, and by far! Our winter squash will be ready soon, providing 2 acres of hearty, succulent squash for those heavy fall and winter dishes. There are untold numbers of potatoes waiting to be dug, as early as next week, that have gone dormant for this year and have thickened their skins for our culinary enjoyment. Although it is hard to estimate, the potatoes seem to be nearly as productive as last year. If this is the case, I am going to thoroughly enjoy the potato salads, mashes, chips, fries, and everything else potato later this summer and fall. Potatoes have become a favorite farm food, not that I didn’t like potatoes, but I was so surprised at the fine taste of fresh farm potatoes. The heirloom and local potato varieties we use here start as seeds from Wisconsin; from there, they develop into succulent spuds that make any dish great! Add in some farm onions and garlic, and you can’t possibly go wrong!
All of this being said, it is great to be writing to you all again! I hope your season has been going as well as ours, or better! With the support of our volunteers, farm subscribers, members, staff, and the surrounding community, we have been able to do great things here at Green Earth Harvest. Our soils are getting richer, crops are happy, and more importantly, the crew is too. As tiring as it can be, the gratitude that I feel for being part of this lively, lovely community gets me through the sweatiest and longest days of the year, and I thank you for that; we all do. This program means so much to us, it allows us to restore the land we occupy, reinvigorate the bodies we nourish, and reimagine how our modern lives can be lived in a healthier, happier, simpler, yet more robust fashion. So, a hearty summer thank you to all for coming along for the climb. I can’t say exactly where we are headed, but I can promise you the journey is worthwhile.
Happy harvests everyone, cheers! ~Farmer Russ