Hi all,
Vegetable farmers follow a simple rhythm: Seed, plant, harvest, repeat. We know the season’s coming to a close when these activities begin to cease – first the seeding, then the planting, and finally the harvesting. This year’s seeding is done, and with the exception of some trays of cilantro and lettuce plants destined for our hoophouses, so too is the planting. Our seedling house, once bursting with promising young vegetable starts, is now a curing house, filled with sweet potatoes busy converting their starches into sugar and awaiting their appearance at our market and CSA tables in a few short weeks.
Though fall signals the end for summer crops like tomatoes and peppers, you wouldn’t know it from looking at the plants. Despite being less than a month away from a hard frost, these plants continue to flower, exhibiting an effervescence and optimism that is both impressive and foolhardy. And so one important activity we’ve done this week was pruning the top 3-5” of these plants in order to tell the plant to stop thinking about growing and focus on ripening. It’s tough love, but I’d much rather end up with a bushel of red peppers than two bushels of green ones.
Though fall is an ending of sorts, it’s also a beginning for certain crops like sweet potatoes, leeks, and winter squash that require the entire year to reach maturity. Another group of fall specialties are those that prefer cooler days – spinach, rainbow carrots, and broccoli – to name a few, and you’ll notice as we enter October how they continue to taste sweeter and sweeter.
The fantastic thing about September is that you don’t have to choose between the tomato-mozzarella sandwich or the roasted root vegetables. It’s that special time of year when we still have the last harvests of summer crops while also having those heartier vegetables that make you want to turn on your oven.
HINGHAM MARKET MOVES TO STATION STREET SATURDAY!
Saturday’s Hingham Farmers’ Market will take place at 95 Station Street (big parking lot behind the Fruit Center Marketplace) due to the annual Touch-a-Truck event at Hingham Bathing Beach. We’ll be back at the beach on September 30th!
FALL CSA
We have a few spots remaining in our Fall CSA – you can sign up directly on our website.
Thanks for reading,
Adam
You'll still find red tomatoes at our stand for the next few weeks!