Well September is here and the harvest rolls on full steam ahead. Tomatoes are in their glory, already past peak production in the greenhouse, but still on the increase outside. Very much still that late summer glory, but we’re already noticing the shorter days, and the cooler nights. And because we got our squash planted on time this year, we have the first squash and pumpkins ready. As fall approaches, many people have difficulty letting go of summer. For us, it’s a different mix of feelings. On the one hand, there is so much that has to happen yet before the end of season. The storage crops are off to a nice start, but still have a lot of growing left to do before harvest. We still have a lot of tomato harvest yet to look forward to, or at least we hope they still produce enough to cover the cost of getting them this far. And there are even some fall projects we hope to get to if we can budget the time. On the other hand, we’ve worked hard all summer and could seriously use a change of pace. Already now, the shorter days help with that slightly. Every night we have to wait until dusk to close in the chickens and sheep, and now that comes earlier. But regardless of our feelings, good or bad, we’ll just have to live with the season as it comes.
CSA this week we have: Plum Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Small Cabbage, Carrots, Summer Crisp Lettuce, Cucumbers, and Arugula.
This week we will have fresh whole and half Rustic Ranger chickens.
We are still very short staffed, trying our best to get by with what we have. We made the difficult decision to take a week off from the Duffern Grove market this week because it just isn’t sustainable for Nathan to try to run three markets in a week himself. Next week we are expecting to be back to our regular schedule. We are looking to hire one more person, but are still working on what the job description should look like. Someone who can work on the farm and at market, and either has experience or ready to learn tractor skills is about how far we’ve gotten so far. If you know someone, send them our way. For now we’ve been fortunate enough to bring in some extra help on Saturdays to get caught up on harvesting. It’s not everything we need, but it’s better than what we had.
Well that’s about it for another week.
Until next time,
Happy ordering!
Nathan and Aleta Klassen
https://www.localline.ca/nith-valley-organics
