Summer at the Farm

The hustle and bustle of planting slows a bit now as we lean toward September. Once we finish up carrots and lettuce at Griffin, harvest activities will shift to Ames Creek and Willows for a spell as hot crops, greens and a dozen other crops hit their stride. This is the time for huge daily harvests, and in the afternoons our crews are dusty and dog-tired. On the west side of the Ames farm, a quarter of our seventy acres of potatoes are in full flower, and are reaching the stage of growth known as “tuber bulking”. Sounds yummy; they’ll continue to size up straight through September, and should be ready to harvest just as the weather turns. Wild blackberries ripen in the hedgerows and will undoubtedly soon attract the attention of our resident black bear. Stands of sturdy winter leeks are fattening; their thick blue-green tops adding a stripe of saturated color to the farm landscape. Overhead, skies continue to be sunny and clear, and it should be another excellent week for summer stargazing, if we can stay awake!