Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Red Buttercrunch Lettuce, Tomatoes, Swiss Chard, Parsley, Carrots, Cabbage, Garlic, Maybe Cucumbers, Shell Peas, Sugar Snap Peas, Summer Squash and Sunflowers

Critter update! 
We got a flock of 78 laying hens in June. They have been growing quickly. They are finally big enough for our chicken fence to keep them safe. When they are too young they can walk right through the netting. We moved them out to pasture this past week and they are happily snacking on grasshoppers, grass and seeds. They will start laying in November. Watch for emails in December about how to get eggs!
The teenage pigs are about 5 months old. They will be butchered around 8-10 months. They have been digging up the old perennial section of the garden. They are next to some flowers I harvest and come to see if the bucket I am carrying is for them. They make lots of noise as I am clipping and we have great conversations.
The cows have been munching contentedly on the pastures. We have 3 steers to be butchered later this fall. We are hoping 2 of our mama cows (Bertha and Rosie) are pregnant. They will not calve until May. 
Cats, dog and children are all doing well and are thankfully not multiplying.
Our animals are integral to our Biodynamic farm. They create all the fertility we add to the soil thru their manure which is turned into compost. They help us maintain a closed loop system when it comes to regenerating our soil. Taking care of the soil is our number one priority at the farm. Keeping the soil healthy keeps the plants packed full of nutrients! We could not do this without our critters. 

​Looking ahead in the garden, we have great looking crops of potatoes and carrots to come. We planted a late crop of sugar snap peas which we are are starting to harvest and pass around. The 5th greenhouse that we just finished this spring, is still going strong with a late season crop of tomatoes and has yet to reach its peak harvest.

Workshare Lunch this week: Oven Baked Polenta with red sauce and sauteed veggies 

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Yukon Gold Potatoes, Parsley, Cabbage, Head Lettuce, Thai Basil, Tomatoes, Maybe Cucumbers, Sugar Snap Peas, Cauliflower, Summer Squash and/or Sunflowers

The weather shifted quickly on Friday evening as a cold front came thru. It was the first time this summer I put on a sweatshirt while it was still light! It was breezy and my son and I quickly became chilled playing in the yard with the dog. Saturday morning I was walking that same dog and all of a sudden I had to stand still. The smoke was gone! At least in Victor for a couple of hours in the morning. I could see the mountains clearly and remembered what color they are this time of year. What a treat! Saturday was also the first day I left the house open all day instead of closing it up to hide from the heat.  The first hints of fall have arrived. I love noticing these little seasonal changes.
Biodynamically speaking, after the summer solstice the earth starts turning inward. It is still late summer, so the hints are subtle. The shares are getting heavier. We are being grounded just by the weight of the produce. Enjoy this window of transition. We will keep harvesting the summer treats as long as we can, and start introducing more treasures of fall.

​Workshare Lunch this week: Dale's Curry with carrots, tomatoes, kale and potatoes
Farm family dinner: Spring rolls with yogurt dill dip.

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, Radish, Garlic, Sugar Snap Peas, Lemon Basil, New Red Potatoes, Maybe Summer Squash, Cucumbers, and Sunflowers

Generally on Mondays I come home from the farm around 1 to work on the newsletter. It is 8:30 and I am finally getting my hands on the computer. We had our annual organic inspection today, so Jed was in the office for 6 hours with the inspector combing over all of our records. Whew. The inspection went well and it is always a satisfactory thing to check off the list for the year.
On Sunday we got 10 out of 14 rows of garlic dug out of the ground, knocked off the extra dirt and put into piles. We will dig the other 4 rows, collect it all and get it into the drying shed on Tuesday afternoon. Instead of moving some of it to the shed, Jed decided we should give a bit out in the shares this week! During the inspection as we were tracing seed to harvest we figured out we planted about 9600 garlic cloves last year! Which translated to 9600 garlic bulbs we are about to finish harvesting! ...minus what you got earlier!
I'm going to keep it short this week since it is so late and I am feeling like it is August!!! I included some garlic harvest photos to make up for it! I think August might be latin for "tired farmers".

Workshare Lunch this week: Zucchini cakes with Tomato Vinegar sauce
Farm family dinner (or breakfast, or lunch!): Grilled Steak with Chard, Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar Reduction