Entering the "Persephone Period"

We could not be happier to be seeing blue skies!

The sun is sleeping in a little bit later every morning -- a telling reminder that the seasons are shifting.

I say “reminder,” because even though the nights are a bit cooler, we are still getting warm summer-like temps, harvesting cherry tomatoes (though the plants are noticeably slower to ripen), and finding the occasional stray watermelon to enjoy for a snack.

Shifting Seasons means more than just shorter, cooler, days paired with longer nights. Where winter is the time for deep hibernation filled with reflection and planning, and summer is a period of high activity, fall, the Equinox, is a perfect balance of the two. The time of year when daylight falls below 10 hours per day is known as the “Persephone Period” referencing the daughter of Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest in Greek mythology.

Fitting, then, that on our farm changing seasons is not as simple as finishing our tomato harvest and starting our winter squash harvest because, really, they overlap quite a bit!

So, what has been going on at Durst Organic Growers lately? Well, for starters, I think I mentioned we are still harvesting our cherry tomatoes (enjoy them while they last!), we wrapped up our melon harvest, and are in the midst of our winter squash harvest. And, between all the growing, harvesting, packing and shipping, we are prepping our fields for the winter while taking note of what we liked this growing season and what we want to try doing differently for the next.
 
It’s the time to take our last tastes and make note of observations in our seed trials – are there any varieties we want to add to our regular mix for next year? What passed the taste test? What do we want to trial again, before it makes it to the larger plan?

A new, mini, butternut variety we’re trialing on the left…and our tried-and-true on the right

This year we planted a few new, mini, varieties of winter squash -- mini butternut, mini spaghetti, mini Kabocha --  and we think they might be in our crop plans to stay. Weighing in at only 1-2 lbs each, they can be prepared and eaten at one sitting. The butternut variety has a really different flavor than it’s larger counter-part, sweet and dry. The mini kabocha has a delectably creamy texture with the same nutty, sweet, wonderful flavor of the full size kabocha we all know and love.

If you’re reading this and saying “Kabocha, who?” check out these recipe ideas specifically for Kabocha. Oh, and this one that is perhaps this Durst Organic Grower’s absolute favorite use of Kabocha squash. Well, actually, I can’t pick a favorite, I love winter squash in any pasta dish, like this pasta with sausage, squash and sage brown butter…But, if you’re on the other end of the spectrum, and are a kabocha expert, tell us: what’s your go-to preparation? 

Because the Baker Creek Heirloom Expo was cancelled this year (due to the pandemic), we became the lucky benefactors of all their yearly production trials grown on our farm, which included tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, melons, and heirloom winter squash and gourds. These squash and gourds are such a treat and festive marker of fall that we thought it best to share with them our wider community. We helped set up a small heirloom squash pyramid in town for the Esparto Farm Stop’s Harvest Festival and Scarecrow Contest. It turned out great! Maybe we will be including more decorative squash in our plans for future seasons?

We had so much fun going through the decorative squash in the field and then seeing it on display in town!

Physically distanced festivities aside, we have really been missing sharing meals (and seeing smiles! But, keep wearing masks!). One way we have been able to share meals during these trying pandemic times is through our weekly food distribution to all Durst Organic Growers employees that we piloted a few months ago.

Each Wednesday, every employee on the farm stops by the cooler on their way home to pick up a box of veggies, meat, bread, tortillas, and (sometimes) dairy staples. It’s been a big hit and a great reminder that we are one community, all in this together. You can read more on that in our last blog post – Sharing The Bounty.
 
Another new thing we are trialing right now is winter veggies. We have dabbled a bit in the past, but this year we increased our “garden” space quite a bit to really trial out some varieties of brassicas, mustards, and root veggies. The beautiful transplants were tucked into the ground last week, and so far, so good! It is likely the harvest will all go to our employees, community, and local food pantries, but it will be a good trial for what is possible in seasons to come.

Jim setting up the planter so we can direct seed spinach and beets between our beds of broccoli, kale, cauliflower and cabbages.

Ok, that’s about all the updates on our end, for now…What about you?
 
How was your Summer? What did you cook? What are you looking forward to for the changing seasons?

We love hearing from our community – which is anyone interested in the farm and what we’re doing!
 
Phone calls, emails, comments on social media, cards, letters…we love them all!