I checked the weather Tuesday evening and saw that the first frost was scheduled for that night. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but with the growing season stretching on for two extra weeks, I let down my guard. Of course, that meant that moments after I checked the weather, I was jogging out to the garden, muttering at myself, to cover anything that shouldn’t be frozen. I pulled row cover over the remaining squash and spread the recently sown winter rye with black plastic.
That hardy cover crop will continue growing until I tarp it in the spring, but it needs a healthy head start in the fall before frost (whoops). Hopefully, the same plastic sheets I will use to kill the rye in a few months will help it germinate now; I’ll only leave it on for a couple days, perhaps pulling it up occasionally to let the seeds (and later, seedlings) breath and get some sunshine while the sun’s up. In the spring, the tarps stay on for at least a month to smother the “green manure” and any weeds.
Tomorrow should be a beautiful, sunny day, if a bit chilly, and I plan to be set up at the New Market Farmer’s Market! I will have butternut squash, sweet potatoes, garlic, hot and fire salt, and perhaps some collards and kale. This might be my last market for the season, so make sure to come out and say hello! But since I missed most of October for varying reasons (vacation, weather, etc.), I might set up again next week or the following Friday if the weather is nice.
Update:
I found out right after posting this that the New Market Farmer’s Market has once again been cancelled for tomorrow. So sorry for the inconvenience! I will let you know here and on Facebook when I will be attending my final market for the season, so keep your eyes open. In the meantime, please contact me if you would like to arrange an on-farm or in-town pickup of veggies or handmade items: butternut squash, sweet potatoes, garlic hot and fire salt, collards, kale, dish cloths, scrubbies, skillet handle covers, Harry Potter scarf bookmarks, mug cozies, and produce/gift bags.