Hello CSA members! This is Matthew writing. There is a sad but seemingly appropriate sense of closing on the farm. As Paige wrote last week, we have been transplanting, but transplanting vegetables that will rest through the winter. Since the frost, we have removed many remaining plants whose time has come. We have also begun seeding and tilling in the last of the winter cover crop. As the number of beds still growing vegetables dwindles and those tilled and cover−cropped increases, a sense of quiet restfulness descends upon the farm.

One project that has occupied much of our time lately is transplanting strawberries. Much of the work involved with this task is preparation to ensure that the plants will have optimal growing conditions. Because they overwinter, strawberries must compete with both fall and spring weeds. They are also particularly challenging to weed. For these reasons, as well as to protect their fruit from rotting, strawberries are almost always mulched. We use a biodegradable black plastic mulch that blocks sunlight (to prevent weed germination) and prevents the plants from resting on the ground and being splashed with mud (strawberries are susceptible to many soil borne diseases).

One way that strawberries reproduce is by sending out runners. The runners are shoots that resemble the stalks of leaves. They reroot themselves in the ground and form a new plant that has the same genetic makeup as the parent. The runners are the main reason strawberries are so difficult to weed. A bed that starts with two neat rows of strawberries will be almost entirely covered with plants by the end of the summer. It is the runners that we remove from the parent bed and transplant into their new location according to our crop rotation plan.

When transplanting the strawberries, we first lay out drip tape irrigation. The drip tape is placed in each bed in two lines about a foot apart. We then cover the entire bed with black plastic and stake it down (if the plastic is not securely fastened, the wind carries it away − trust me). We plant the strawberries at a twelve−inch spacing through holes made in the plastic and wish them well for the winter. We wish to thank our indefatigable volunteers, Stephanie, Justin, and Jack, for making this endeavor possible over a few days.

We have cleared out the tomato, eggplant, basil, and pepper beds, and over the next few days most of the farm will be cover cropped. It is hard to believe that the season is drawing to a close and with it my apprenticeship. Next week, shortly after our last CSA distribution, I will be heading up to Massachusetts to spend the winter with my family before hopefully returning in the Spring. I would like to thank all of you for making my experience at Serenbe Farms possible. I have learned an incredible amount and have built a solid foundation in a vocation that I am excited about pursuing. I also need to thank Farmer Paige for her patience, her inspiration, and her example. She has taught me everything I know about farming, and, after eight months, that is a considerable contribution to my life.

Remember we still have CSA pick−up next Tuesday! We missed many of you this week.

Hope to see you there,

Matthew