That was some rain. We slogged it out Tuesday morning harvesting in the continuous downpour. The rain was actually great and came just in time, though a bit heavy. The engine to our irrigation system died, and the replacement engine had not been put back into the system. So all the plants were really ready for some water by the time it started to rain last night. We’ll get the system set up and ready for the next dry spell, but we have some breathing room now. I spent all day on Sunday discing and moving landscape fabric out of fields in preparation for sowing the winter cover crops. Monday morning I zipped into town to pick up the seed, raced home, mixed up all the different seeds (hairy vetch, crimson clover, austrian winter pea, winter wheat, and tillage radish), spread them over all the empty fields, then harrowed all those spaces to cover the seeds and smooth out the ground a little. Done! Just before the rains began. Most of the farm is ready for winter. There are still plenty of projects and produce to keep us busy for the next two months or more.
Some much cooler weather is headed our way on Wednesday, low in the mid-40s! That’s a big change. Many of the fall crops will really like the cooler temperatures. The greens will sweeten up a bit, the spinach will continue to grow well. The weeds which we have been fighting a losing battle against will start to slow down and perhaps we can get ahead of them. We received the strawberry plants last week. Those beds are already made up and ready to plant the strawberries in. We have over-wintering flowers that are ready to go in as well. The onions and garlic will go in sometime in early to mid-October.