Farm Report: October/November 2004
by Jordan Rainwater

What a tremendous bounty this summer has provided us in northern New Mexico! The changing leaves of the cottonwoods nestled along the Rio Grande River remind us that fall is fast approaching. I find October to be my favorite month here. The days turn mild and the eves crisp, the sun recedes to a softer angle in the sky, and it holds the promise that impressive flocks of birds will pass over us in the fields as they head south for the winter. As the cooler temperatures and shortening day length bring most of our crops to the end of their productivity, we find our own pace in the field slowing with nature’s. In many ways it seems too soon to be clearing the summer crops from the fields and sowing winter cover crops in their stead. Fall is our time to celebrate and reflect over the growing season, taking good notes of the lessons provided us.

We have nearly completed taking horticultural data and observations on the 1,400 varieties of herbs, gourmet greens, flowers, vegetables and fruits we grew here this summer. We had particularly high yields of tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot chiles, and potatoes. You will find several of the highest performing, unique, and best-tasting varieties from these crop groups in our 2005 New Introductions. The abundance and beauty of the annual flowers were also amazing this year! Be sure to check out one of the farm favorites, ‘Peggy’s Delight’ zinnia, which is a new offering in the upcoming 2005 catalog. The unique petals, rich colors, and large bloom size of ‘Peggy’s Delight’ truly set this zinnia apart from the rest.

As the growing season winds down in the fields, we find ourselves transitioning into seed cleaning, as seed from our growers has already begun to arrive. Collating the vast information we gathered throughout the summer, here and at our cooperative university trials and market grower farms, is also underway. Fall crops of chard, spinach, broccoli, kale, beets, carrots, mache, collards, leeks, and head lettuce still remain in the fields for our observation and enjoyment. Our new garlic crop was also planted this month.

The seed crops we grew here at the Research Farm this year were largely successful. We collected many pounds of seed from our ‘Scarlet Nantes’ carrots grow-out. We also had good seed crops from three other carrot varieties, each isolated inside one of our three pollination tents. ‘Greek’ oregano seed is being harvested continuously this month as it matures on the plants, and we are still collecting and processing seed from a new cucumber variety we hope to offer in the catalog in the next year or two. Be sure to read the Seed Saving article in this month’s e-newsletter for plenty of practical information on this very important act.

On behalf of all the staff here at the Seeds of Change Research Farm, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our very hard-working 2004 interns. Their daily contributions and positive attitudes were vital to our operations. Liz Meeks and Colin Foster joined veterans Kelle Carter and Eric Ogden a couple of months ago to finish out the season with us, and we want to acknowledge their tremendous work and dedication. We will miss you and wish you the best of luck.

We hope all of you have enjoyed another year of growing as much as we have.

Greetings from all of us,
Jordan Rainwater, Research Associate,
and the entire crew at the Seeds of Change Research Farm

Photo captions: 1) Joe and intern Colin digging yacon. 2) Farm Manager Erica and Emily with tomatoes. 3) Intern Kelle Carter with flowers for evaluation. 4) Interns Colin Foster, Kelle Carter, Liz Meeks and Eric Ogden.