As the temperatures start to cool and preparations for the winter begin, this month has been one of transitions and testing on the farm.

Weekly shares of our Flower CSA end this week. And it’s been a wonderful season! We  added a couple of new pickup partner locations and 101 members registered this year. That’s a record for us, and a lot of support for survivors and nature-based healing.

We are very pleased with our popcorn harvest. The photo below shows a new drying technique with mesh laundry bags that we’re trying.  If you read our posts regularly, you know we love our popcorn, as evidenced here and here. And we are looking forward to testing this year’s harvest to make sure it’s just perfect. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. 🙂

 

Just for fun, we are trying a little flower experiment in our hoop house with snapdragons, celosia, and sunflowers. And we’ve seeded some fall/winter greens for meals in the shelter.

 

And we’re getting ready for our Autumn U-Pick Day on Saturday, October 13. We’ll open the fields for an hour of early picking for pre-purchased ticket holders, and  then the fields will open for everyone to have some flower picking fun. This autumn event is one of our favorites because it accomplishes two goals — sharing our mission with the community and gleaning the fields before winter arrives.

 

We’ll close this month’s post with a few words written by a survivor after a day of nature-based healing experiences:  “We are a proud group of women who have seen some trauma in our lives. But the farm is like a safe haven, and my needs are met on a daily basis!”