As we experience another week of heat wave temperatures, I am thinking about fall. We have a gorgeous fall here in the High Desert and, in some areas, even a temperate winter that allows the growing of cold-hardy crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, lettuce, spinach, and more. Even in the cooler zones, this can be achieved with a small cold frame or any covering that protects the plants from the colder temperatures, but make sure the cover does not touch the plants. To grow the division of spring flowers called “cool flowers,” these must be started in late summer/fall. The days are getting shorter, and many of these gorgeous spring flowers designated as cold hardy, such as rudbeckia (black-eyed susans), sweet peas, larkspur, delphinium, phlox, and more, should be started in the next few weeks to allow them to establish themselves before winter. Then they can “spring” forth, providing you with a gorgeous flower garden. They require the cold to build a robust root system for tall, productive spring flowers.
Here at Moonstruck Farms, we are so grateful we took all that time to mulch the tomatoes and basil with about 6 inches of pine shavings. They are growing robustly even through the numerous days of record-breaking heat we are having here on the farm. We should be able to start harvesting basil soon for drying, which will be used in our heirloom tomato vinegar and herbs de Provence. The first apples of the season, our Gravensteins, should be coming off the trees this week, and our plums have been brought in to add plum jam to our offerings at the market. The boysenberries are slowly ripening, and I am freezing them so I can make batches of jam later in the summer. We placed our “cool flower” seed order so that we may begin planting in the next few weeks. We hope many of these will thrive in the new beds out front as the rudbeckia has done.
At the market, the farm stands are full of the glory of summer, including corn on the cob, peppers, green beans, and loads of stone fruits. The bakers are baking some of the best fresh-baked breads, cookies, and crisps in the High Desert, and both markets have a wide variety of novelty vendors, including a mobile tattoo artist! Visit the Phelan Farmers Market each Monday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 4128 Warbler Road in Phelan, and don’t forget the Market Match grant is administered there, providing up to $15 in free fruits and vegetables each Monday you utilize your EBT card at the market. This includes matching the “SunBucks” cards the kids are receiving. The Wrightwood Farmers Market is open every Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Wrightwood Community Center parking lot.
