I have been harvesting bushels and bushels of pumpkins and gourds. At the farmers’ market you will see the tables in my booth overflowing with these classic autumn symbols.
But what you won’t see much of is winter squash. I was only able to have a modest harvest because I let the weeds take over those rows in the field. The winter squash plants were too small and the weeds grew too tall blocking the sunlight. On the farm you have to prioritize tasks and when the winter squash needed to be weeded the cherry tomatoes needed to be harvested and taken to market, it was a tough decision but those sweet tomatoes won. So the winter squash was on its own to fend off the weeds.
In other farm news, I have finally gotten all the popcorn harvested and now I’m busy shucking it all. With a half an acre worth of popcorn shucking takes many hours. Since I’m pretty obsessed with heirloom corn, removing each husk is like unwrapping a gift, it’s a surprise to see what colorful pattern the kernels will be in. I hope to have it shelled and ready for market by early November.
