Rhythms of Energy

We had a quick wind down in the garden last week of harvesting seeds and the last of the outdoor warm season crops, cutting nettles and experimenting with double covers. Although the tomato plants showed signs of cold stress with burnt tips at 19 degrees they just couldn't hang in there at 16 degrees. So you'll find some little gems in your final share for the season for Fried Green Tomatoes.

We deeply appreciate your support, you're one of the reasons we continue to grow food year round. Many spirited people have contributed to the overall success of this agroecological experiment and their energy persists in every seed planted. What really stood out for me this past year wasn't the usual climatic variables but the determination in garlic, the endurance of carrots and the unlikely survival of hot peppers.

Even though the biomass cycle of the seasons is transitioning, we still have plenty to do this fall experimenting, building beds and keeping the greenhouse warm. We're looking forward to firing up the earth oven to bake cookies and bread all winter, the evening walks down to the greenhouse to observe the changing weather patterns and waiting for owls to beckon one another during the depths of winter, serving as our beacon in trying this for another Montana growing season.          

Week 20

Green Tomatoes

Tomatillos

Chives

Basil

Shallots

Garlic Braid

Hot Peppers

Week 12 Garlic Braids and Potatoes

Our purple stripe soft neck garlic braids are hanging in a prominent place in our kitchen and we hope they'll be happy in yours too. We washed the french fingerlings and blue adirondack potatoes so keep them refrigerated. And the heirloom tomatoes are starting to show their true colors. We thought we'd have to pull all of them Saturday before the freeze. The weather changed it's forecast thursday to no chance of freeze and not even frost to an abrupt turn this evening for clear starry skies - perfect for meteors dropping into the big dipper, a clear view of a northeast southwest oriented milky way and.....frosty temps. So down to the garden we go to harvest flowers, tender herbs, ripe tomatoes, mustard greens and chard. Hoping the cold doesn't settle to hard "down" in the garden. The cold air likes to ride right over our hillside and settle in the garden. In fall I've watched, with hose in hand, frost clouds start pumping to the edge of our only slightly elevated sight compared to the wetland.

The beauty in all these weather patterns taking ups and really low downs is the flower arrangements in the house. There's not much we can do other than cut the blooms and enjoy the fragrant sweet peas inside and prepare to start watering before dawn.

Next week, we'll get back into mixing in some greens, hopefully a cucumber or two and more tomatoes. If you want extra garlic or tomatoes let us know and we can add them to your remaining weeks. There is just 6 more extra large shares that might downsize to 4 even larger shares if the weather dives down too much in the evenings.

Week 11

Sun Days

Lady Friends

Garlic Farmer

This weeks share includes some leeks which is great in soup with potatoes and garlic, what might be the last off shoots of watham broccoli, arugula, basil, living up to it's name "slo-bolt" lettuce, purple top turnips-throw the tops into the leek soup, another round of beautiful bok choy, mustard greens, kale and mix of onions.

As usual, keeping track of my labeling on paper and on the trays after several transplants before the sprouts meet their destiny in the earth sometimes leads to lost letters. Every season I'm so determined to stay organized but with my tendency to try lots and lots of different heirloom varieties things get a little mixed up sometimes. So not surprisingly, in all the flip flopping my bunching onions ended up singly planted and larger than normal but my single onions ended up bunched and confined. I've thinned them out and added them to the share so the remainders are now reaching a more accurate size. The flavor is unaffected but the there should be more of it in one place.

In other delightful dining news, the tomatoes are starting to turn and the squashes are coming along. The cucumbers are looking a little larger and the garlic is curing nicely. We're braiding garlic this weekend that you can hang in the kitchen next week to cure out this fall.