It is undeniable now, with temperatures in the mid 70s to mid 80s, summer weather is over. No more upper 90s nor 100+ degree days. I like this. I feel like I can work easily in this weather. Yesterday it was cloudy all day long, which made for a beautiful day and kept me energized.
In places where I already have the t-tape and no more cash crop action, I am putting in a winter cover crop. Vetch and Rye are my choices. Vetch because it fixes its own nitrogen and its flowers are nectaries for beneficial insects; Rye because its root mass is extensive and keeps nematodes in check.
The cover crop is going in slowly right now, but by mid/end October it should be completely in here. In cooler spots, it should go in sooner - by the time the rains are showing up, or mid-September abouts if you’ve got the irrigation and it cools down.
Covering the field with these great crops is more than essential in my eyes. It is as important as any cash crop would be, because it adds to the soil health; whereas a winter without cover would severely degrade the soil at Wildgrace Farm.
Andrew
I didn’t address this, but we had a serious frost here last weekend. I know I touched base about it, but now I am starting to understand just how serious it was. It didn’t really do much damage here at Wildgrace - 10 or so tomatoes, a few brassicas, etc - but the other farmers in the area got hit big time.
Some of my farmer friends lost all of their brassicas, all of their fruit…everything they had out. Even down in the valley, in Davis, they had a freeze (which set a record for the latest freeze down there), and lost tomatoes and all the other warm season stuff.
I saw it coming, by looking at the forecast, but I really didn’t believe it was going to get as cold as it did. I mean, a couple of days prior, it was 85 here, with 52 as the low!
So, that is farming. We can’t control the weather. We can’t control the gophers. I have a tough enough time controlling myself and my own mental state, let alone the forces of our great mother.
Let’s all commiserate with our farmers. Let’s show them more support than ever, knowing that this job is at once both gratifying and impossibly frustrating and confounding.
By the way, it was 85 again today.
They are turning the dirt and hoping to be successful enough to turn a profit, and to become a valuable part of their communities as suppliers of organically grown food.
Peaceful Valley is giving them a head start by offering them special pricing as part of this Freshman Farmer program.
| Freshman: | |
| New Farms Coming Soon! | |
| Sophomores: | |
![]() | Daily Grace Farms Crescent City, CA |
![]() | Freestone Family Farm Vernal, UT |
![]() | Wise Moon Farm Redding, CA |
| Graduates: | |
![]() | Coyote House Farm Palermo, CA |
![]() | DeepSeeded Community Farm Arcata, CA |
![]() | Driftwood Farm Fort Bragg, CA |
![]() | EarthDance Farm St. Louis, MO |
![]() | Ellwood Canyon Farms Goleta, CA |
![]() | Four Frog Farm Penn Valley, CA |
![]() | Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm Poulsbo, WA |
![]() | Home Plate Organic Farm Orleans, CA |
![]() | Honey in the Heart Farm Nevada City, CA |
![]() | Willow Springs Farm Penn Valley, CA |
| Coyote House Farm Palermo, CA |
| Daily Grace Farms Crescent City, CA |
| DeepSeeded Community Farm Arcata, CA |
| Driftwood Farm Fort Bragg, CA |
| EarthDance Farm St. Louis, MO |
| Ellwood Canyon Farms Goleta, CA |
| Four Frog Farm Penn Valley, CA |
| Freestone Family Farm Vernal, UT |
| Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm Poulsbo, WA |
| Home Plate Organic Farm Orleans, CA |
| Honey in the Heart Farm Nevada City, CA |
| Willow Springs Farm Penn Valley, CA |
| Wise Moon Farm Redding, CA |