Fall Crops - a lesson from a farmer friend

We were eager to plant a decent stand of brassicas this fall, eager to satiate our hunger for cabbage and broccoli and cauliflower that had yet to be fulfilled in the summer. But due to our lack of a greenhouse, we did not have seedlings started, hence I was making a lot of calls inquiring about organic brassica starts. I’d hoped that our friend Brett of Biver Farms, would’ve had some leftovers (from his own plantings) to sell us. But when I finally got a hold of him, I learned that he hasn’t planted a fall crop in years (besides lettuces, pretty much, and maybe carrots and beets.) He said that by late summer, the bugs have taken over so much of his brassica crop, he would really just be feeding the bugs.

Not so easily dissuaded, I continued my search. I ended up buying the last of a local garden center’s flats of vegetable starts. Hmm. I think I should’ve listened to Brett. We’ve certainly had a plague of pests this year - especially the Harlequin beetles! So between those brassica-loving beetles and some type of larger pest (have yet to discover if they’re rabbits, raccoons, or rats!), we’ve pretty much lost all of those seedlings that we planted.

On the other hand, our lettuce and arugula are coming up great!

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