It technically isn’t week 10 for you Tuesday pick-up folks! It is 10 weeks since we started CSAs but because of 4th of July, it is only Week 9 for you! So, please note next Tuesday will be our last Tuesday pick-up! How did this summer go by so quickly?!

What’s going on around the farm these days?

We have just shifted into serious harvest mode. Things are being harvested with the knowledge that fall is right around the corner. Long term forecasts right now indicate there may be a light frost in mid-September so we want to be prepared. The location of the farm always is about 3+ degrees cooler than the forecast for Missoula so we always need to be on our toes!

We also moved some of our ewes in with the ram for breeding. It’s always an exciting time selecting the ewes for producing some 4H show lambs. These babies will be born in mid January-February. The rest of the flock will be bred later in the fall so we’ll have those lambs in late spring!

As we harvest crops, we are also planning for next year and prepping the gardens. We will complete the onion harvest this week, pull the water line and then we will broadcast cover crop seed. A mix of oats, peas and barley will add some much needed nutrients and also choke out any weeds which would normally be ready to pop up! Plus, this winter when we put the sheep out on the fields, this cover crop will serve as great forage for them! Kudos to our son Ethan for implementing this cover crop program. It’s exciting to have new methods being used to help the soil, the animals and the entire system of the farm!

On a personal note this week, Farmer Jon and I officially became empty nesters yesterday! We took Gus to Bozeman and got him settled into his dorm! While we were sad to leave him, our hearts were comforted with the fact that big brother, Logan (who is a senior at MSU) was there with him and helping guide Gus around campus!

Okay, here is the scoop on your super full bags this week….

~Carrots-The first of the carrot harvest! The interns who harvested these were covered in mud by the end of today! With the rain, it turned the gardens into muddy messes so digging carrots was a fun yet messy job today!

~Green beans-While we are amazed at the abundance of this crop and sometimes roll our eyes about having to pick more, it’s clear the end is coming as the plants are slowing down. So, enjoy these beans because it will not be long before we will be wishing we had fresh green beans!

~Red Onions

~Garlic

~Corn: We are almost out of corn so enjoy the last taste of summer corn!

~Cucumbers

~Green Peppers

~Jalapenos

~Tomatoes-If you need tomatoes for canning, please let us know! We have 10 or 20 lb boxes ($35 or $60 respectively).

~Nectarines

~Zucchini

~Basil

We hope you enjoy these bags this week! They are loaded with the best of the season! We love the mix of summer crops like cucumbers and nectarines blended with the early fall crops like carrots!

Have a great week! Good luck to all the kiddos and also the teachers/admins who are starting school this week! Hope everyone has a fantastic year!

See you all next week for the last pick-up!