Hello from Pitchfork & Crow~

It’s Friday afternoon once again and we’re getting ready for a fabulous Salem Saturday Market, rain or shine!  We began harvesting last night and will finish up tonight for fresh vegetables in the morning.  Here’s a selection of what we’ll be bringing to market:

• Bok Choy
• Butternut Squash
• Cabbage
• Carrots (the very last for this season!)
• Cauliflower
• Chard
• Chicory
• Delicata Squash
• Kale
• Leeks
• Lettuce
• Pumpkins
• Radicchio
• Tomatillos
• Tomatoes
• Turban Squash
• Turnips (something new!)

Last week I mentioned our plans to plant next year’s garlic.  There are some decisions that seem revolutionary, and for us, planting garlic was revolutionary.  It wasn’t so much the garlic itself, though it was beautiful organic garlic.  This decision was revolutionary because of where we planted it.  Sunday we made our way out to Grand Island, about twenty minutes north of West Salem, and spent a few hours tilling beds, laying out 1600 cloves, and planting next year’s garlic in our new field!  Garlic is planted in the fall for harvest the following late summer, so planting our garlic was step one to deciding where we would be growing our vegetables next year.  Throughout the summer we’ve been discussing the possibility of renting a new piece of ground from some farmer friends and last weekend we got word that it was a go. We are very excited to be transitioning to the new field.  This land is currently certified organic and we’ll be working to keep it that way as we move into this next season.  Other merits of the new location include the fact that it cuts our commuting time in half from 45 minutes to 20 minutes one -way and the deliciousness of the sandy loam soil as compared to the heavy clay we’ve been growing in this past season.  As you might be able to tell, we have big plans for the new ground and for our farm enterprise for this coming year.  However, this season isn’t over quite yet and we also have some wonderful vegetables harvested for tomorrow’s market day!

We hope to see you Saturday sometime between 9am and 3pm.  The Salem Saturday Market is located at the intersection of Summer and Marion streets NE in downtown Salem.

Thanks!
Jeff and Carri