(CSA Newsletter: Main Season Week 16)
Meet this week’s vegetables:
Each season — spring, summer, fall, winter — here at the farm we have to think one to two entire seasons ahead of time. As fall creeps up on us this year, we’re rushing to make use of the last warm weeks for many tasks for this season and beyond.
We’ve been busily planting more vegetables for fall and winter harvest. In the spring, we feel pressure to get plants in the ground as early as possible simply to have them as early as possible — but, we also have the luxury of knowing that the season is warming up everyday and that a delayed planting will actually grow faster than an earlier one, somewhat making up for any loss in time. In fact, two plantings planted a month apart in spring might be ready for harvest a week apart in early summer. That’s just the reality of increasing temperatures and day length.
Now, we work with the opposite reality: two plantings planted a week apart in late summer could be ready for harvest one or two months apart in winter. It’s a different sort of pressure and one that’s easy to forget about when ground prep is easy (compared to spring!) and the weather still feels warm enough.
But, warm days or not, fall is approaching. Quickly, perhaps, although no one seems to have a clear forecast for the next few months. We’re planning for an early fall, just in case. Better to be surprised by sun than by rain.
In addition to finishing our fall vegetable planting, we focused a lot of energy on our western vegetable field, which has been fallow this year (we grew veggies there in 2007). We had hoped to sow a ‘cover crop’ on the ground in early summer but were delayed by our lack of reliable water, as well as other unexpected stresses. (‘Cover crop’ refers to any plant grown for the benefit of the land rather than to harvest. A related term is ‘green manure.’)
This week, Casey spent the better part of three days working up ground, drilling cover crop seed, and setting up irrigation. Thanks to his dedication, we now have the entire 4+ acres sown. We can’t wait to see it green up — soon, we think!
We sowed three different cover crop ‘treatments’ this fall in order to experiment with what’s best for our particular site and for spring integration. This spring, we struggled to work in the oat cover crop we inadvertently sowed (long story). Oats are high in organic matter, which means they take a long time to break down. So, we’re trying out some other combinations that we hope will provide more nitrogen (legumes ‘fix’ nitrogen in the soil), add some long-lasting organic matter, and be easier to integrate in the spring.
Our first ‘treatment’ is a blend of fava beans and red clover. Both are legumes (nitrogen fixers). Fava beans are very easy to work in (and consequently offer little organic matter). So is red clover, but it offers some persistent organic matter. Both also have extremely long taproots, which can serve to both break up hard pan (the hard layer below the surface formed by years of very large equipment driving over our ground) and ‘mine’ lower strata for minerals. We imagine this first acre will the first we attempt to work next spring.
The second ‘treatment,’ on two acres, is a blend of fava beans, red clover, and sudan grass. This mixture will hopefully have the same benefits of the first, plus the added organic matter from the sudan grass. Sudan grass is a tender plant, so it will probably die this winter, making it easier to integrate in the spring.
The final acre is planted to red clover, sudan grass, and rye grain. This will be highest in organic matter, and we imagine it will be the last area we work in next spring. The rye will keep growing through the entire winter and produce a lot of biomass. We’ll see whether we find that beneficial.
This is the first time we’ve been able to intentionally sow our cover crop with adequate time and tools. We used an antique 8-foot wide grain drill to sow, which allows for precision spacing rate (as opposed to a broadcast spreader, which is what we’ve used in the past with spotty results).
Having enough water to irrigate is also super exciting. We’ll get much more growth now than during many months this winter, giving the plants a head start over the cold weather.
Our interest in cover crops is more than just curiosity. As I explained earlier, ‘cover crop’ refers to a wide range of crops and purposes. For us, the goal is primarily general soil health: erosion prevention through the winter, increased organic matter, decreased compaction, promotion of soil life, etc. But our ultimate interest is in cover crops as a source of primary fertility.
Can we really eliminate all off-farm inputs besides seeds? Maybe we’re crazy, but we think maybe we can if we continue to dedicate every other year to fallowing and cover cropping our land in a legume-based mix. Two researchers from OSU are embarking on a project with a similar thesis this fall. So, maybe we’re not so crazy after all.
We’ll see. We’re very open to being wrong about our theory, but either way we’re eager to see the results of our fallow/cover crop regimen
Planting and sowing naturally has us thinking about next year in other ways well. We’ve begun thinking about next year’s budget, seed lists, and other plans. As we do so, we wanted to make sure we could include your feedback too.
So, it’s time for our annual CSA survey. I hope you picked up a copy at the pick-up (if not, you can find a copy attached to this post). The questions are basic and open-ended; we’re simply looking for any feedback you’d like to offer. If you are willing, please fill out your survey and return it to us so that we can respond accordingly as we plan.
We have many ideas about what we can improve upon next year (and thoughts on what has gone particularly well this year) — we’ll share some of our thoughts next week, after we’ve given you a chance to share yours. And, of course, you can always share praise, criticisms, questions, or other comments with us at the pick-up. The written survey is simply a formal ‘take pause’ moment in the midst of a long, diverse season of experiences.
Thank you in advance for your thoughts. We hope you’ve had a wonderful CSA experience so far this year, and enjoy this week’s vegetables!
Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla
You probably already know this, but Wintergreen Farm operates on a biodynamic model and they include beef cattle as part of their on-farm fertility system. Every fall they slaughter and sell the meat to CSA members. Certainly a major undertaking, but a big step toward sustainability.
By the way, your produce is just as beautiful, delicious, varied, bountiful, and enjoyable as Wintergreen! We love it!