Two Feet in the Dirt

It’s funny to be writing this on a chilly and blustery day, but overall this has been an extraordinarily warm fall. By this point, we expect to have gotten our first frost or at least to have gotten close, but temperatures haven’t gotten anywhere near that point. As a result, much of our fall crops are far ahead of where we expect or plan them to be at this point. We’re harvesting lettuce and radishes out of the hoop house that we’re normally not starting to harvest until late November or early December. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that colder weather is on the horizon. While, as a human, it can feel nice to have a warm fall, as farmers, we rely on freezing temperatures to interrupt pest and disease cycles and, as temperatures have warmed over the years, we are seeing more and more pest and disease issues that previously weren’t present in this region migrating north. It’s scary, to say the least. So let’s hope for some cold weather soon.

For those of you who are wondering, we are planning to continue at both the Burke and Shepherdstown Farmers Markets until Thanksgiving. Our final market at both (assuming everything doesn’t grow so fast that we have nothing left to sell!) will be the Saturday and Sunday before Thanksgiving. Our harvest list for this week is below and we look forward to seeing you at the markets!

Farmers Katie & Mike

Harvest List:

• Lettuce salad mix
• Arugula
• Bok choi
• Rainbow chard
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Eggplant
• Kale
• Collard greens
• Beets
• Kohlrabi
• Radishes
• Cabbage
• Lettuce
• Escarole
• Spinach