I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that time has gone as quickly as it has, but to see on the calendar that we’re coming up to Labor Day weekend is still a bit depressing.  However, since there’s nothing any of us can do about it, let’s look at what it means for the farm.

As I had said last week, crops will begin fading out as we head into September.  Some will simply be natural cycle completions, while others will be as a result of the colder evenings.  I’m finalizing the plans to mitigate the impact of the all-to-soon regular frosts that occur on the mountaintop.

Of late, people coming by the stand have two main questions for me: How long will you still have crop “X”, and how late into the season will you be open.

To answer the second one first, I’m going to try to keep the stand open to the end of October (Halloween).  There are, however, too many variables for me to guarantee that, and in the end it will come down to when the first hard freeze takes place.  People familiar with the weather on the mountain know all to well that that can occur much earlier than generally expected.

In regards to specific crops – I will keep all of them going for as long as I reasonably can, and will simply point people to these weekly updates, the What’s Available page, or the email newsletter for the latest info.

On the topic of crop availability, I have to report that Snap Peas have officially finished.  The brown rust leaf fungus I mentioned last week was just too fast, and spread far too quickly through the last planting.  Also, Yukon Gold potatoes are running down to the last few I have for sale.  This was due to being shorted by the seed supplier, so there was only a single row planted this season.

Onions should be ready this week, a little late and somewhat small, but here nonetheless.  And to keep everyone apprised of the situation, winter squash will be just another few days or so.

PUMPKINS!!!  Yes, it’s time for pumpkins.  Starting Thursday there will be a “pumpkin patch” set up to the side of the stand for selecting the “perfect” pumpkin for your needs.  There will be a selection of sizes, from the larger Jack-O-Lantern (25+ pounds) down to the mini Jack-Be-Little (~4 ounce) ones.  There will also be decorative gourds and corn stalks available for your Autumn decorating needs.  Unfortunately, the Indian Corn is not yet ready, though it will be put out when, and if, it actually gets to size.

I think that’s about it for this week.  Thanks again to those who have come by the farm.  I truly appreciate your support and encouragement.