Fall is in the air and just around the corner, with more reasonable temperatures and even a few cool nights prompting the next season of planting. Your winter vegetables and spring hardy flower crops need to be planted now since it will take longer for them to germinate and mature with the shorter days. Your seed packets may say 90 days on them, but that is for peak growing season with perfect conditions and the longest days of the year, which we are definitely not in as we get closer to the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. Spring hardy flower crops will set roots now and some growth, but will grow slowly, which is exactly what you want so that in the spring, when the temperatures are appropriate, those sweet peas, rudbeckia, or calendula will burst forth with tremendous growth and plenty of blooms. Your winter vegetable crops will get a nice strong start right now—such as spinach, collards, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage—and will be able to withstand the first cold temperatures of the season, especially if provided a nice row cover for warmth once the temperatures drop. Remember, those crisp, cool temperatures are what make winter greens sweeter.
Here at Moonstruck Farms, our tomatoes are ripening right on time, 60 days from the time they were transplanted. You will find them at market and in our heirloom tomato vinegar for your salads and marinades, and in our bruschetta vinegar dipping sauce, and if we have plenty, we will dry them also. Mike and I took 180 pounds of Gravenstein apples off the trees, which is a very small crop for those trees, and we will have two other varieties of apples as long as we continue to win the war with the squirrels, though they are definitely ahead this year, having taken all the Fuji apples off the eastern knoll, where the trees are out of sight from the house, so easy pickings for those rascals. Critter pressure is tremendous this year. The birds took our boysenberries, and we have our very first gopher in over 20 years! I have also seen the little chipmunks, whom I have not seen in years. The warm winter provided tremendous growth for plants and animals alike, but now with no rain in several months, they are tremendously thirsty, and fruit is a great source of hydration for them. Last year, when we had tremendous precipitation and tremendous amounts of fruit, they barely touched any of it, proving that they are looking for water more than food. I hope to see you all at market in the coming weeks while the summer produce is here!
At the local farmers markets, the stands are full of stone fruit, corn on the cob, hot and sweet peppers, slicing and Roma tomatoes, and so much more! In Phelan, Bonita Farms has been bringing potatoes, sweet potatoes, and a full array of summer produce along with farm-fresh eggs and berries. Angelo Ranch brings a wide variety of farm-fresh fruit to both local markets. You can visit the Phelan Farmers Market on Mondays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Phelan Community Center parking lot. The market accepts EBT (simply see the manager in the first farm booth) and administers the Market Match grant, gifting up to $15 in free farm-fresh produce to EBT customers each Monday. The state of California is working on hopefully providing a match for WIC and senior coupons and possibly Social Security in the future. The Wrightwood Farmers Market is open on Fridays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Wrightwood Community Center parking lot. Both markets are open year-round; just stay tuned for winter market hours and when they move into their respective community centers for winter setup.
