Apologies for the slightly delayed update, but it’s been that kind of week, and it’s only halfway over. I know that people are very much looking forward to the Pumpkin Patch again, but I have not had the time to get it put together yet, as the holiday-shortened week and prior commitments conspired against me completing it quickly. Nevertheless, the patch will be ready by next weekend, so hopefully this won’t be too much of an inconvenience.

The weather and plants have definitely moved into fall mode, and though we missed having a frost on Labor Day (9/7), the early morning temperature on the farm was 38.3F. That was close enough to frosting temps that I went and checked a bunch of the gray patches on the ground just after 5am to make sure they were not actually frosty.

The plants in the field have responded to those temps as would be expected. String Beans did not reset new beans until a couple of days later than usual, the remaining Zucchini slowed squash growth to a crawl, the Peppers came close to calling it quits. Still, I’m pushing the plants along, in hopes that the remainder of September will be a bit more forgiving.

There will be Fresh Broiler Chicken again this weekend. After that, it’ll be a week until I have fresh ones again. The plan for third round of Broiler Chickens assumed that even slightly cooler weather would slow their growth, but alas, this has not happened. So as of right now, Fresh Broilers will be available this weekend (the last of the second batch), and the weekends of the 25th – 27th, 2nd – 4th, and finally 9th – 12th. I am taking orders for Broiler Chickens (both whole and half) for pick up from after the stand closes until just before Christmas. This is the last round of Broiler Chickens planned for this season, so please plan accordingly.

Egg demand remained at extreme levels right through last weekend. I have no idea what demand will be like going into mid-September and beyond, but the Laying Hens are producing as fast as they can.

Preserve sales are also very strong, and have been so through most of the summer. Right now the supplies of Strawberry-Rhubarb, Peach, and 8oz Raspberry are quite low. The problem is I do not have enough jars to make more, and it may be a couple of weeks before I can get the time to pick up more from the supplier, but I’ll get to it as quickly as I can.

That’ll do it for this week’s update. I hope you all had a great holiday weekend, and a fantastic summer. Have a great week, and hope to see you at the farm soon.