Ends and Beginnings

Sorry for no post last week--I had a busy week and a serious case of the lazies.

This Saturday, 9/27, will be our last week at the Bloomington market. Initially way back last November, we decided to finish the market year and grow a large fall crop: hard squash, pumpkins, exotic pumpkins, collards, arugula, sweet potatoes and the like. With a rainy July and a few hurricanes later (11 inches if you're keeping score), our fall "garden" has subcome to the disease that has plagued us all year.

Overall, this has been a good year--how about some numbers?

• Number of transplants--between 20,000 and 23,000
• Acres under production--30
• Number of tomato plants--900
• Number of markets per week at peak season--7
• Number of onion sets planted--9,000
• Varieties of tomatoes--12
• Number of greenhouses burnt to the ground--1

So, while this season comes to a close for us, Bill is planning ahead for next year. This week, he and his dad have been planting strawberries. Hopefully, we won't have the rain and damp conditions we had this year. The transplants look like dead twigs--bare roots and no leaves. Just two days after being introduced to Tazewell County dirt, Bill reports that almost all of the plants have taken off growing and many have several leaves! He took a great picture with his cell phone, but I don't know how to get it to the computer.

But before strawberries, what can you get this week?

• We still have sweet corn! This is the last of it for the year--it will be 9 months before we have any more.
• Sweet potatoes
• Potatoes
• Cucumbers
• Summer Squash
• Spaghetti Squash
• Collard greens

It will be a beautiful day--come on out and join us! While this is our last market, there will be tons of fabulous fall produce being brought in by the other great farmers at the market--so don't stop coming to the market. I'll STILL come down on Saturdays, because I just can't stay away! See you saturday!