October has arrived and for the first time in years, it actually feels like Fall. Admittedly, our bodies are still adjusting to cooling temperatures. Increasingly shorter days means all farm hands on deck while the sun shines in all its glory. All in the family have been very busy preparing for Fall. We have nearly gotten all of our long season crops planted and now we take a breath… a short one anyway! Check out what’s been happening since we last spoke.
The Produce
Okra has been growing like crazy! Finally with cooling night time temperatures it is slowing down. Thankfully we have been able to freeze quite a few gallons and should be set for the Fall.
Eggplants, for the second year in a row, have proven to be the divas of Bain Home Gardens. They finally decided to get with the program and are gifting us with delicious treats. All four varieties are coming along nicely, three of which are under the cover of Hoopty. We hope this means we can reap benefits for a few more months a least.
Asian greens are loving the cooler temps! Sadly the bugs love to munch on them as well as everything else! We have already enjoyed these as baby greens in sandwiches and cooked the mature greens in stir fries. We are filling more beds with these type of greens and they are available to purchase today on our listings page.
We also recently harvested the first mustard greens of the Fall season both green and red varieties. These were planted in succession. In about a month we should be harvesting from our second planting and so on and so forth. We always plant an obscene amount of greens because we like to freeze them for use later in Summer when it is a bit harder to come by tender greens.
The farm is finally starting to look like a farm again since the beginning of our Fall make over! FINALLY!
Replanting
When Sally hit last month we didn’t know what to expect. Our biggest concern of late has been the high tunnel (Hoopty). We are always concerned about the possibility of wind damage. Fortunately that was not a problem. The high water levels did wash away some newly established seedlings in the field areas. Since we had many of these on stand-by for the Fall plant sale, we simply replaced those from our own stock. Sadly this meant we had to remove these from the sale. Thus replanting has been done for mustards, collards, broccoli and chard. Although we are working hard to rebuild stock for the continuation of the Fall plant sale, we cannot guarantee that there will be any plants available. If and when they are, we will make an announcement. Here is hoping!
New Crops
One thing you have come to know about Bain Home Gardens is that we thrive off growing the unexpected or unconventional. It takes a lot of research, prayer and a whole lot of experimentation! The rewards far out weigh the losses in most cases. Over the past few years we have mastered growing long beans, kiwano melons, Thai eggplants, & most recently Jamaican Scotch Bonnet peppers. On the agenda this Fall is artichoke. We experimented with one variety last Fall with no success. No worries; our tenacious spirit fueled more research and this Fall we are trying our hands at a different variety. Who knows how this trial will go. However if successful we should have our very first artichokes early 2021.
CSA Season
October marks CSA season! It is an exciting time for us. It is finally time to share all that we have planned and grown with our members! Not to brag but our CSA members are the absolute best! We strive to grow diverse crops so our members have a healthy abundance in their eight week shares. Therefore supplies for non members maybe limited the during the eight week CSA. Please check our weekly listings page. We do have a little extra love to go around.
This Weeks Listings
This week we are happy to add our Asian Greens to to our listings page. I just had some scrambled with eggs and cheese – YUMMY! In addition Mr. Bain Home Gardener just gave the go ahead to list his pet project – Scotch Bonnet Peppers! Both of these are now live on the listings page!
This year is almost over and I’m sure you may share the sentiments of others we have spoken to who say, “Good riddance!” However this year has taught us a lot about ourselves. We have come to understand the true meaning of friends, family, love and togetherness. We have grown in ways we didn’t recognize we needed to and for that I have to say to 2020 – THANK YOU! Of course the real thanks goes to our heavenly father for supporting us and helping us to grow during such a difficult time.
Who knows what November will hold for the Bain Family! If you would like to see then check back next month for more Goings Ons at Bain Home Gardens.