It was COLD this past weekend – cold enough to give us our first frost. First frost on the farm is an important time, because, as Farmer Ric says, it marks the official shift in the seasons and the absolute end of the summer growing season.
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t lots to do to wrap up the season and get ready for the cool-weather crops that are coming. Farmer Ric has been hard at work preparing for the transition: harvesting the end of the summer crops that would not have made it through that first frost, like chile, eggplant, and tomatoes, and protecting the remaining outdoor crops from the cold, windy nights by covering the rows with remay – “which is like a blanket for plants,” says Ric. (There are some beautiful pictures of Farmer Ric with his remay on Facebook.)
Ric has been especially busy in the hoop-house. Our passive-solar hoop-house – the same in concept as a greenhouse – will keep Ric’s crops warm and protected and help extend the growing season all the way through winter. Farmer Ric has all 1,400 feet of the hoop-house packed full of kale, rainbow chard, bok choi, radishes, turnips, carrots and more.
The first frost can feel sad, because it marks the end of the summer, and WOW has summer been good to us. But like Ric says, it’s just another shift – another change in the seasons. And, for us, a chance to reflect with gratitude on what the past season has given us, and look ahead as its end clears the way for something new.