touchtheearthfarm.com Blog

We had our first killing frost Sunday night, which finally means the end of the tomatoes, basil, and zucchini. We had a good long run of summer produce, and I’ll miss it until next season. Eating seasonally can be a difficult shift mentally, but we’ve found that enjoying such terrific fruits and vegetables straight from the garden helps ease and even ensure that shift because nothing from the grocery store compares. We’re looking forward to salads, hearty meats and gravies, and the soups of winter.

Row covers are up, and the greenhouse plastic is on its way. We’ll be framing and building the high tunnel over the next few weeks, which will offer double protection to many of the winter plantings. The combination of high and low tunnels creates a temperate microclimate, helping to buffer cold-hardy plants from temperature extremes.  We’ll also be setting up cold frames for starting seeds, reusing old windows and bricks for the structure, which is not only sustainable but nicely mobile.

The animals are still enjoying pasture and will remain in pasture rotation for another month or so until the temperatures really drop, making mobile watering impossible. At that point, we’ll bring them all back to the barnyard where they’ll enjoy the shelter and warmth of the barn and heated water.