Field Notes: Few Fall Things Happening Around the Farm

Cover Crops: Rye + Vetch
While we’re wrapping up this season’s vegetables, we’re already thinking about the next one. Rye and vetch are two of our cover crop workhorses. Rye protects the soil and adds lots of organic matter, while vetch has a clever trick up its sleeve: it works with bacteria on its roots to pull nitrogen from the atmosphere and make it available in the soil. Basically, we plant them now so the soil has something to do while we’re taking a winter break.

Dahlias
The more you cut dahlias, the more flowers they make. It sounds almost too good to be true, but regular harvesting actually encourages the plants to keep producing. So when we’re out there cutting armful after armful of dahlias, we're not being greedy,we're doing the plants a favor.

Pumpkins
Pumpkins are fruits. We know, we know - this feels like a technicality. But botanically, a fruit is the part of a plant that develops from a flower and contains seeds, which means your Halloween jack-o'-lantern is technically in the same category as a tomato. The vegetable aisle is full of lies.

Potato Digging
Potato harvest is basically farm-approved treasure hunting. Potatoes spend their entire lives hiding underground, and when the tractor digger comes through, it lifts the soil and potatoes onto a moving belt, shaking away much of the dirt and revealing what’s been growing beneath the surface. There’s something deeply satisfying about seeing an entire season’s worth of work suddenly come rolling out of the ground.

Taking Out the Tomatoes
The end of tomato season means it’s time to evict the plants from the Qlipr system. The clips and twine have spent the whole summer keeping the plants growing upright and organized, but now we pull everything down, clear the rows, and make room for what comes next. It’s a little sad, and very tangly and messy to say goodbye to the tomatoes but also a nice reminder that on a farm, every season has an ending built into it.

Sunflowers
A sunflower isn’t actually one flower—it’s hundreds, sometimes thousands, of tiny flowers packed together into one giant floral billboard. Those little flowers in the center are what eventually become sunflower seeds. So when you look at a sunflower, you’re really looking at an entire crowd of tiny flowers pretending to be one.

FARM HAPPENINGS: 

It’s official, we’re permitted and ready to rock for this season’s Applefest! Last year it was a simple tour and tasting but ya’ll showed up! So we are beefing things up a bit. Here’s the unofficial line up to get everyone excited:

• Stretch sesh, 5k/1k (register here) - partnering with our friends at Alchemy in Beacon

• Sauna Bus by Shvitz Express 

• Morning Brew & Groove (Coffee and DJ set by Miss Behavior)

• 3 Tractor Drawn Farm tours/orchard talks

• Pizza by Osteria Romanaccio

• Maker pop-up featuring

  • Plan Bee Farm Brewery

  • Salt Point Farm Skincare

  • Wildflour Bakery

  • MORE TO COME.

• Mini farm photo sessions (link to book ahead will be available soon)

• U-pick pumpkins & flowers

• Build your own scarecrow

• Apple tastings

• Face Painting

• Marigold chain making and bouquet bar! 

Mark your calendars, bring your picnic blankets, pray for sunshine- it’s gonna be a blast!

HOW TO EAT YOUR VEGGIES: 

Dandy Greens & White Beans

Ingredients:

• 1 large bunch dandelion greens, washed and roughly chopped

• 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• ½ cup water or vegetable broth

• Salt and pepper

• 1–2 tsp lemon juice

• Optional: red pepper flakes and grated Parmesan

Directions:

Tame the bitterness: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the dandelion greens and cook for 2–3 minutes. Drain and squeeze out excess water. (You can skip this step if you like a stronger, more bitter flavor.)

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, if using, and cook for about 30 seconds.

Add the greens and white beans. Pour in the water or broth and simmer for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Season generously with salt and pepper. Finish with a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil.

Top with Parmesan if you like.

Eat it like a farmer: Pile it onto a thick slice of toasted bread and add a fried egg on top. Simple, hearty, and a great way to make those dandelion greens disappear.