"The harvest heals. It gives a sense of that wealth that only a stack of garlic or a pile of firewood or manure can represent..." --Stanley Crawford, from "A Garlic Testament".

Farm Report

September has arrived, and we here at Rancho La Paz certainly feel the changing of the seasons. August passed quickly as the crew bustled around planting, weeding, harvesting, recording data, and irrigating. The summer monsoons have been especially sparse this year, and the heat plentiful although we've just recently been blessed with our first substantial rain in months. Combined with a mild winter, this provided favorable conditions for certain opportunistic insect pests to thrive, such as harlequin beetles and squash bugs, which have wreaked havoc on many of our brassicas and squash, respectively. We have also observed drought-related physiological problems in some plants, such as blossom end rot on some of our tomato and pepper varieties. As you are well aware, each year presents different tests to a gardener. One positive aspect to encountering challenges in the garden is that they present observant eyes with feedback as to which plants thrive under certain conditions, and which suffer. Each season at the Seeds of Change Research Farm is a learning experience for all of us.

Our public tour of the Research Farm took place on August 24th, bringing together an inquisitive and enthusiastic group of gardeners from all over the United States. They patiently endured the hot sun as Micaela Colley, the Farm Manager, led them through the fields and explained the research currently being conducted at the Farm. Of much interest was the Purple Martian corn, one of Alan Kapuler's breeding projects that we are growing to make further selections and build up the seed stock. Seeds of Change is hoping to release this beautiful, tasty, and unique variety in the next couple of years. We enjoyed talking with our visitors over slices of chilled, fresh cucumbers and iced tea before they went their separate ways. It is always a pleasure to make personal connections with our fellow gardeners. We appreciate your efforts to join us and hope to see more of you next year.

While still in the thick of reaping the harvest, it is already time to begin preparing for fall cover cropping. This month we are mowing and turning under our lush summer cover crops of buckwheat and Papago Cowpea, letting the organic matter break down for approximately ten days, then sowing the fall cover crops. We plant summer cover crops as a way to improve soil tilth and structure, reduce soil erosion, and retain moisture in places where nothing else is being grown that season.

A typical combination for a fall cover crop is a grass and legume. Grasses establish quickly in the fall before the winter weather sets in. They provide excellent ground cover, acting as a "nurse" crop to slower-growing legumes, suppress weeds, and add organic matter to the soil when worked under in the spring. Legumes, such as clover and vetch, add valuable nitrogen to the soil and increase the availability of other essential nutrients. Protected during the winter months, legumes grow rapidly during the spring. In places we wish to cultivate early next spring, we are planting Walken Grey Oats with Crimson Clover. The oats will serve as a nurse crop to the clover, but will winter kill, reducing the amount of biomass in the spring and the breakdown time necessary before planting. In areas where early access is not critical, an effective cover-crop mix is Winter Rye and Purple Vetch.

This month we are also planting replicated trials of crisphead lettuces, which do well in the cool fall weather. We will be monitoring such characteristics as plant vigor, pest/disease incidence, first-harvest date, and how quickly each variety begins to bolt. We are watching our Purple Martian and True Platinum sweetcorn crops for seed ripeness. Still being allowed to dry in the field, the seed from these crops will be harvested within the month.

At Seeds of Change, we are always keeping our eyes open for unique and exciting varieties to pass along to our customers. With this as a primary focus, Micaela just returned from a trip to the northern California coast, a culinary center with a progressive pulse for novel plants. She visited some of our growers, perused local farmers' markets, and networked with growers interested in participating in future variety trials. She also visited with the people at Four Sisters Farm, which is in its second year of growing cut flower variety trials for Seeds of Change. The following week, Micaela traveled to the Northeast visiting with growers in Vermont and New Hampshire for final evaluations on replicated tomato, pepper, and lettuce trials. She then headed north to observe the close to two hundred Seeds of Change varieties growing in our Maine Trial Garden. Such a busy time of year for gathering data!

Finally, we just had our company harvest party here at the Research Farm on September 14th. This annual celebration gives the crew at the Santa Fe office an opportunity to see and share in the work we do here at the Farm, eat delicious food, and for all of us to enjoy good company. It was a fun time for all! (See our Fall harvest party report below.)

Here's to reaping the fruits of another summer of hard work in the garden.

Cheers!
Jordan Rainwater, Research Associate
Micaela Colley, Research Farm Manager and the entire crew at the Farm.