Rock & Roll Farm

Wednesday! Sep 22 2004 // 9:24 pm //

intense harvest

This week at the farm we are focused on getting the squash out of the fields. There are probably 8 tons or so, and it all needs to be out by the frost. We’re growing several varieties, and some are heirloom. Kabocha, Celebration, Butternut, Hubbard, Red Curry, Spaghetti, Sweet Dumpling, and a few more. We’ve spent most of every afternoon this week clipping and grouping, and this weekend we’ll go out and box it all up and put it in the barn for storage.

The weather has been incredibly hot in Michigan over the past few weeks, which makes the long afternoons in the field physically taxing. Generally, harvest days are made up of a lot of separate activities in different fields, so you end up in and out of the sun, and have more opportunities for short breaks. With the onset of the heavy harvest, I’m starting to feel the cumulation of these weeks of work. I’m tired, and starting to get a little cranky. Hopefully I won’t start to resent the other interns. It’s 8:30 p.m., and when I finish this post I’m going straight to bed.

Aside from the squash harvest, there’s the regular CSA program to maintain. There are 150 members in the program who pick up once a week. The pickups are spread over two days, and members can come to the farm or meet us at the market in Ann Arbor or Chelsea on market days.

Other crops currently being harvested on the farm:
brussels sprouts
broccoli
totsoi
carrots
beets
swiss chard
spinach
radishes
potatoes
tomatoes
peppers
and some herbs and flowers