Falling Forward
Hi flower friends,
Jenna from the field crew here, standing in for our usual newsletter author Amelia. Finally our busy harvest days have been letting up with pawpaw season winding down, and I thought I would share some behind-the-scenes details of what we’ve been up to beyond the harvest!
As temperatures are becoming consistently cooler and the leaves are beginning to turn, we are turning our thoughts to preparing for next growing season. This week we have been "tucking in" our growing beds, if you will. We put a lot of thought into how we treat the land, and for every completed harvest of flowers or food, we like to give a little something back. All beds that won't be overwintering flowers were given a hearty helping of compost to keep all our little microbe friends in the soil well fed and happy, and we spent some time this week seeding cover crops such as rye and crimson clover. These cover crops will grow throughout the winter and provide the benefits of adding organic matter and nitrogen, acting as cover to keep soil from eroding, and fostering a welcoming habitat for beneficial bacteria and fungal networks to thrive.
Crimson clover: a wonderful cover crop that adds nitrogen to the soil through a symbiotic relationship with bacteria.
“Ray’s Crazy” cover crop mix. Less tame than the clover, but adds so much more biomass. Some species in this mix can even be added to bouquets!
This week we also sent out our yearly soil tests so that we can keep track of our progress in building healthy soil. Each field on the farm, including the oldest plots to the most recently broken ground, had samples dug out to be sent in to the lab for testing to see how much organic matter is in our soil, what minerals we could use more of, and what amendments we can add to help us grow the healthiest plants. Here's a picture of the samples laid out to dry- seeing the range of colors and textures from the heavy clay of newer beds to the rich, dark loam of our oldest beds is a beautiful visual of how far we have come and how well our growing practices have paid off!
While harvesting is one of my favorite activities on the farm, it’s nice to get back to bed preparation and check some things off our to-do list now that the small but intense window of pawpaw harvesting is coming to a close (We may only have another week or two of our favorite native fruit around for sale). However, there has been quite the distraction on the farm that has made it hard to get that much done. The pawpaws may be fading, but there’s a new set of paws on the farm….
Introducing the newest member of the Two Boots family! This little fellow joined us this week and is spending time exploring the farm, figuring out how to walk on a leash, finding out which stick tastes the best, and distracting staff members with his dashing good looks each and every potty break. His initially shy demeanor has quickly evolved into an attentive, loving personality who wants to be with his people at all times. No name yet, but we’ll keep you updated when we find the perfect one!
Sunday, October 10th, 8:00 am - 11:00 am: Johnny’s
We’ll be back at our regular market this weekend with lots of good stuff to share.
This week we’ll have arugula, carrots, figs, ginger, hakurei turnips, radishes, spring mix, shishito peppers, shiitake mushrooms, and pawpaws! Our produce offerings for the year are beginning to dwindle, but we’ll do our best to bring a good selection to market weekly.
We’ll have loads of bouquets, in addition to bunches of mums, celosia, dahlias, and eucalyptus.
Wishing you the best,
Jenna and the rest of the Two Boots Farm crew
An explosion of mums! These fall favorites really seemed to pop all at once after a long season of watching them grow. We will be offering bunches of mums at our Sunday market this week.
The dahlias continue to pump out plenty of blooms, and this week we’ve seen more blossoms in the field at one time than ever before. It’s these magical moments that show us how well our soil management techniques have paid off.
Gray the cat is not amused by the puppy antics and would much rather rest upon her throne of straw. Between her and the puppy, we hopefully won’t have anymore trouble with critters munching on our marigolds!