By Alex Kaiser, Helen Shim, and Angela Hoy
Work parties for early September focused mainly on harvesting and making sure our overwintering crops are off to a good start!
Alex gave tips on when to harvest winter squashes, looking for a yellowing stem that’s starting to harden. The idea here is that if the stem is still soft and green, the squash is still getting water and sugars from the plant, so it’s best to leave it longer. Harvesting at the right time is also important for storing the squash.
We harvested two other Black Futsu squash, a delicious and prolific Japanese pumpkin variety. They start out a very dark green and then turn a dusty brown/orange when fully cured off the vine.
Lots of beans, tomatoes, tomatillos and cucumbers were harvested as well since we're right in the middle of summer crop production!
We also harvested and thinned some baby Siberian Kale that was direct sown in July. This is going to be an important source of greens this fall, winter and into the spring. Siberian Kale is very cold hardy as the name implies and has deliciously tender flower shoots that are a great bonus to the leaves!
Coriander tasting
The beans we grew this year are Purple Peacock and a French Romano bean. Both are good producers in our climate and stay tender for a long time on the vine.
Our blueberry bushes are already getting fall colour as well with the nighttime temperatures getting lower! This time of year is all about keeping up with harvests and making sure our winter plantings are off to a good start!
Our next work party is Sunday, Sept. 17. Sign up to join a guided work party here! No experience necessary and all are welcome.
