From the Farm: Fall is Here and We Couldn’t be Happier
Fall is here and the weather is finally starting to catch up to the change of the season. The daytime highs have been in the low 80's which is quite refreshing for those of us in the south who have endured mid to high 90's for the past several months. I probably sound like a broken record, but fall is a really enjoyable season out at the farm. All those greens and root vegetables that you didn’t even care to look at anymore back in April, are now a sight for sore eyes after taking down countless tomato cages and cucumber fencing.
Our fall plot is prepped and ready to go and we have already direct seeded a number of our cool season crops. We now have a variety of carrots, beets, radishes, spinach and turnips that have germinated and broken through the soil surface. We will be setting out the rest of our fall transplants over the next few days on our raised beds covered with plastic mulch. When planting on raised plastic mulch beds, it’s best to plant on cooler or overcast days so the plants don’t wilt as much when they are first put in the ground. The plastic absorbs a lot of heat, which is a good thing in terms of soil temperature underneath, but can be a bit of a shock to young transplants.
I mentioned last month that our Yuca plants took a hit when the storm came through; however, it looks like we are going to be able to salvage the majority of the planting. Most of the stalks were just laid down and not actually broken so we were able to stand them back up with a little support from some t-posts. We were able to get all of our cover crop seed planted in the areas where our summer crops previously resided. There is still one area that contains late plantings of tomatoes, squash and peas, but that will also get cover cropped once those crops are harvested. Now we just need a little rain to get our cereal rye/crimson clover mix up and growing!
If you haven’t started looking yet, it’s a great time to take the family out and round up some pumpkins! I would recommend going to a farmers market or local “you-pick” operation, as this will help support your local community and create a bigger economic impact for the city or county that you live in. A few churches in our area also sell pumpkins and this is a big fundraiser for them each year. Farmview also has some great looking, multi-colored, local pumpkins for sale. I hope everyone has a fun-filled month and I wish you all a happy fall growing season!
Brad manages our farm operations, which include our certified naturally grown farm outside Madison and the Kelly family’s plantation in Leesburg, Ga, known as Rock House Farm. Rock House Farm produces grass-fed beef, heritage Berkshire hogs, and two varieties of heirloom corn, among other crops.
Our fall plot is prepped and ready to go and we have already direct seeded a number of our cool season crops. We now have a variety of carrots, beets, radishes, spinach and turnips that have germinated and broken through the soil surface. We will be setting out the rest of our fall transplants over the next few days on our raised beds covered with plastic mulch. When planting on raised plastic mulch beds, it’s best to plant on cooler or overcast days so the plants don’t wilt as much when they are first put in the ground. The plastic absorbs a lot of heat, which is a good thing in terms of soil temperature underneath, but can be a bit of a shock to young transplants.
The Garden at Broughton Weathered the Storm
I mentioned last month that our Yuca plants took a hit when the storm came through; however, it looks like we are going to be able to salvage the majority of the planting. Most of the stalks were just laid down and not actually broken so we were able to stand them back up with a little support from some t-posts. We were able to get all of our cover crop seed planted in the areas where our summer crops previously resided. There is still one area that contains late plantings of tomatoes, squash and peas, but that will also get cover cropped once those crops are harvested. Now we just need a little rain to get our cereal rye/crimson clover mix up and growing!
Pick a Peck of Pumpkins
If you haven’t started looking yet, it’s a great time to take the family out and round up some pumpkins! I would recommend going to a farmers market or local “you-pick” operation, as this will help support your local community and create a bigger economic impact for the city or county that you live in. A few churches in our area also sell pumpkins and this is a big fundraiser for them each year. Farmview also has some great looking, multi-colored, local pumpkins for sale. I hope everyone has a fun-filled month and I wish you all a happy fall growing season!
Brad manages our farm operations, which include our certified naturally grown farm outside Madison and the Kelly family’s plantation in Leesburg, Ga, known as Rock House Farm. Rock House Farm produces grass-fed beef, heritage Berkshire hogs, and two varieties of heirloom corn, among other crops.