Hey Y’all, Farmer Brenton here. Ada asked me to check in and say hello, which I’m happy to do because it’s literally the BEST FALL SEASON ever. Things are looking so amazing at the farm right now. Somedays, I think about how I wish we could have volunteers out to the farm right now or even host a big event and just show the beautiful fields to everyone because they really are looking amazing. Does anyone out there want to take a short video of the fields right now? Maybe that’s a way that we can show you all just how amazing the crops are looking. Maybe I say this every year, but this really is the best season.

Scott shoots Brenton, Brenton shoots Scott. Even these cell phone pictures capture the broccoli's grandeur!

Dark, leafy, glossy broccoli greens. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

It’s been a very mild and consistent fall - not too much rain which, because we irrigate our farm, isn’t a problem. Also, the temperatures: we haven’t had a freeze yet, and the plants are loving the cool and steady morning temps and the warm (but not hot) afternoons. Not too hot, not too cold… the optimal growing conditions for all of our fall crops. Just check out the size of these broccoli plants in the picture I took of Scott this Tuesday (above). The heads of broccoli are sized to match! Huge! In late summer and early fall, I found myself on the tractor almost every day, working honest farmers’ hours from sunrise to sunset to make sure we meet all of the planting windows for our fall crops. Perhaps more than ever before, we were on-time and on-schedule, and we’ve got the beautiful vegetables right now to show for it. All this to say, right now I’m able to truly sit back, “relax”, and breathe a very big sigh of relief. The plants are growing, the pests are under control, and the tractors and delivery vehicles are humming. I’m so proud of the farm right now and of each and every employee who has been working so hard this past year to make this thing happen. Our team feels very in sync these days.

As much as they can ever be, things are on autopilot at the farm, which gave Temo and Vicente the opportunity to work on a project that’s been on the to-do list for quite some time: building a perimeter high-fence on the north side of the farm… where the hogs like to sneak in. We’ve been pretty lucky for the past two months, suffering minimal hog damage, but we’re building this fence to hopefully keep it this way. We aren’t able to fence the entire farm, but we’re hoping we don’t need to: one side is a high bank of the Colorado River (which they can’t really climb up), the other side is a neighborhood (which they avoid), but the final side is where we’re looking to keep them out. It’s amazing what damage a group of hogs can do to a field of beets, for example, in one night. We’re talking acres and acres of destroyed crops. Temo and Vicente are doing an awesome job at the fence… doing it right and not doing a sloppy job at all. They’re so skilled at so many things.



In addition to the fence, we’re getting closer than ever to being able to start construction for the barn facilities in Garfield. This project has been a dream, very slowly in the works, for 3? 4? 5 years? We’re inching our way to being able to start things. I can’t wait to share more about this project with you when the time is right. For now, check out this new sink we installed near our lunch barn. Little improvements like this really help the work environment for our crew. More sinks, means more people can wash their hands at once, meaning a longer time to kick back and enjoy your lunch break.

Brenton, Adam, Jack, and checking out the future plans for the barn. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

New sinks might not seem like a big deal, but they're somewhat of a lunchtime game changer! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Other projects at the farm right now? Well, I know Tracy and Andrew and Krishna are working hard at Hergotz to get everyone awesome Thanksgiving boxes. Aside from the busy harvest schedule over here, we’re also really tied up getting onions and leeks into the ground. If you’re a gardener reading this, it’s time to plant garlic right now, too. In order to have big beautiful onions in the spring, we have to get them in the ground now so they can over-winter, develop strong root systems, and be ready to bulb up in the spring. We’re also cropping planning for the spring, and believe it or not, planning for the Spring transplant sale. It’s almost time to order those seeds.

Thousands and thousands of onion and leek transplants in the greenhouse, getting ready to make their debut in the field. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Leek transplants hardening off outside before getting put into the ground.

I’m not yet sure what I’m going to be cooking for Thanksgiving, but as usual, I’ve been cooking lots of Thai food at home lately. This week I made a really awesome beef curry…. I don’t normally use beef in my curry. This one included beef, coconut milk, plus added some peppers and ghost peppers from the farm. I used jarred curry sauce this time.. I usually make my own, but it can take so long. But I did toast up some coriander and cumin seeds, and made a paste with those and some almonds, and then added that to the store-bought sauce which amped it up. It was so good.

Thanks for reading. Be sure to check out Scott’s pictures of the farm this past month.. Things are looking so awesome. I’m so proud of our farm team, and all the managers working together to make this a smooth and bountiful fall season. Thank you, also, for supporting JBG. We’re so glad you’re here!

 

Reminder: the farm will be closed next Thursday. Please note the changes to our CSA Delivery Schedule.

Perfect green cabbage heads. Photo by Scott David Gordon.