July was a record-breaking month of a heat spell for us in Yolo County. We’re used to triple digit summer temperatures, but not for this long of a stretch (or this high of temps!). Through that heat, we’ve been harvesting tomatoes for about 65 days now! We both can’t believe it’s been that long and are also sure it’s been longer (shouldn’t the season be almost over by now?).
Read MorePlanting season is a frenzied season. There is a short window in which we need to “terminate” our cover crops – we talked about that in the last letter – and prepare the field to be planted anew in “cash” crops. Getting all the beds in all the fields prepared at once is tricky (or, rather, impossible). We have a limited number of tractors and tractor drivers, and a seemingly unlimited amount of work to get done in what feels like a very limited amount of time.
Read MoreWhile Labor Day may mark an end of summer for some, we generally look towards the crops to let us know when seasons end. September is a transitional period where summer and fall blend together, the seasonal crops and activities overlapping. Whether it’s “late summer” or “early fall,” the between time is full of excitement as we begin harvesting winter squash (also known as hard squash), officially finish with watermelon (but then continue to bring in smaller harvests from our grafted plants that are still somehow looking great), continue on with harvesting tomatoes (while starting to take down early plantings), and begin planting for fall (true fall, that is).
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