I know it is fall time when my brother starts wearing his long johns. He put them on for the first time a week and a half ago and will not stop wearing them until the middle of May! He was always the cold blooded soul in our family and it always reminds me winter is right around the corner. Personally I love the fall with the leaves turning colors and the cool mornings that make that cup of Hazelnut coffee at Holiday taste exceptionally good.
Pumpkin harvest is in full swing providing we can get them out in between the rain showers and the heavy dew that seems to last until noon some mornings. Pumpkins must be harvested when it is dry otherwise the dirt on the pumpkins will smear and make them look too dirty. Some years are more of a challenge and this year is no different with all the rain received in September. The frost really doesn’t hurt the pumpkins until the temperatures get down below 26 degrees, then you will start to notice some damage to the outer skins but so far we have escaped that and it looks to be favorable for the next ten days. You may have a hard time finding some gourds and mini pumpkins grown in Minnesota this year due to the fact that many of the growers lost those crops due to the weather earlier in the year. We all get our seed from two different suppliers and everyone has had the same problem. We have a limited supply this year and have only been selling them retail and not wholesale.
Squash supplies remain strong due to the fact that half the people that used to eat squash are dead and the other half of the population does not know how to cook it. I could eat squash every single meal and never get tired of it. Acorn is my favorite and used to be the number one squash sold in this area, along with buttercup, but that has now yielded to yuppyville and butternut and spaghetti have become the number one and two sellers. There are some fabulous recipes out there for both of these varieties and I invite you to check out some of Dee’s recipes on our website. We will continue to have squash thru October and into the first part of November depending on how sales go. We have all of our squash picked and stored in the coolers and sheds around the farm just in case of a hard freeze. Acorn and buttercup can withstand cold temps but the butternut and spaghetti will get stained on the outside and then start breaking down quicker than the others.
Our field crops of soybeans and field corn will start to be harvested in the next couple of weeks if the rain holds off. This year we have about 250 acres of field corn and 100 acres of soybeans that we use for rotational purposes and to relax and run a combine and have some fun. There is nothing more fun than combining in the fall and relaxing in the field with minimal labor issues!
Have a safe and Happy Halloween!
0 Comments