
In all honesty, another "in-between" week with light harvests is a-OK with me. August may not be our most productive month of the year, but it surely doesn't mean we're hanging around the house doing nothing. Spring and summer crops go in a few rows at a time, every few weeks. Fall and winter crops get planted out in huge blocks all at once, which is a daunting project if we're still up to our ears in 12-hour-long summer harvest days. Most of our fall crops are planted out. Most need a thorough weeding. Almost all of the winter crops need to go in the ground in the next week or two, which means more soil preparation, planting, seeding, irrigating, followed by the inevitable marathon weeding party. Sweet potatoes need to be dug, boxed, and cured. Spent summer fields need to be mowed, tilled, and readied for cover crops. The berry canes still need to be cleaned up and pruned back to ensure a good harvest for next summer. Then there's the endless mowing, mowing, and more mowing of a wet summer, lest the grasshoppers move in and destroy it all. All of this happens through the hot, humid dog days of summer. The mere concept of Labor Day tends to be meaningless on a produce farm - but I sure do hope you enjoy yours!