Week 10, Fall 2024
A very windy week on the farm! It’s fall 4 real and we are appreciating all the changes & developments that come with it.
Sunday, November 3
Herbert Walker!!
We started the day with a pilgrimage down the road to the Sheldon Dollar General. So many vistas along the way! And sinkholes and old dogs who speak in riddles! I scratched my midwestern itch for long walks and desolate plains and rushing clouds. Anja with a j left after the pilgrimage while Daniella, Margalit, and Ella returned from their adventures to round out the fall crew. We shared tales of our weekends over delicious homemade pizza.
Saturday, November 2
Sunset on the hill.
Very chill weekend-times today. It felt amazing to dissolve in the sun and slow down after many full weeks of farming and hosting. We hung out in the woods, baked cookies, read and chatted, and obsessed over our pet hornworm. He is fated to be eaten by Patricia’s friend’s bearded dragon but, for now, his name is Herbert Walker and he is helping himself to a shocking volume of tomato leaf. Like, SO much tomato leaf!! Feeling very appreciative for this quiet time and the people (and hornworms) who make ZA feel like home.
Friday, November 1
We prepared the pepper row for new growth — winter spinach!! Erin and I gathered the last weeds, used a broad fork to aerate the soil, and added a layer of homegrown compost. Eric brought trays of baby spinach sprouts and we tucked them into their new home. We finished up our tasks for the week, including Brix testing and baking and tidying. Acacia fed the bees a sweet-smelling mix of sugar water and supplements that helps them thrive when there are fewer flowers to eat. Erin learned that she is part bee. We cooked Shabbat dinner and welcomed Anja with a j for a radically calm weekend on the farm. Gut Shabbes, everyone!
So proud of the new spinach row.
HALLOWEEN !!
Today, we harvested tomatoes and eggplants from the high tunnel and ripped out the bell peppers to make room for winter crops. Margalit and I rescued over fifty pounds of green peppers to cook and share! I drove Daniella to the bus stop for her weekend trip to Denver and listened to good tunes on the way home. We took a very spooky and windy run through the bare fields that surround us and gathered for a halloweeny dinner in the farmhouse. Some people dressed up, and we shared eggplant chocolate cake and capybara facts all night long. Did you know that there’s a small but concerning community of invasive capybaras in Florida?
Wednesday, October 30
Eric and I mulched the garlic and shallots with straw to help them stay warm through the winter, then harvested bok choy for lunch. I remember planting those tiny sprouts in September, and now they’re big enough to eat! We fried the bok choy in sesame oil and enjoyed bites of perennial arugula, lavender, and oregano from the Miracle Garden. There is so much abundance throughout the fall season, often in unexpected ways. I spent the rest of the day doing Brix testing in the basement — this tool tells us how successfully the plants are photosynthesizing. You squish the plant and feed the juice through a Brix machine, which uses light to measure sucrose. This data will contribute to the basalt trials, as we look into how basalt impacts plant health.
Tuesday, October 29
Biochar doing its thing.
Mushroom day today!! We greeted about a dozen guests to learn about mycology on the farm and in the forest. Folks made grow baggies for their homes by layering soaked straw with oyster mushroom spawn, then learned about tinctures and foraged in the woods for turkey tail and wild ginger. The woods are so peaceful, and there are so many tasty things to learn about! Between mushroom activities, we burned biochar in the kon-tiki and enjoyed a fabulous lunch from Sugar Creek.
I wandered to the Iroquois River before joining the Four Corners Fellowship call, where we shared ideas for a calendar / time map and learned all about Torah translation from Chana.
Folks learning from Lexi at the Mushroom Field Day.
Monday, October 28
The Chicago crew woke up at dawn to get back to Sheldon in time for Monday’s harvest. We enjoyed a fantastic Indiana sunrise and picked up bulk beans and pickles along the way! Once arrived, I picked perennial kale in Kentland Garden and helped prepare for the mushroom event the next day. We cleaned up the basement, sanitized heaps of buckets, chopped and soaked straw, and set up stations for each activity. Then I took an eternal nap. Daniella and I cooked dinner, followed by Patricia’s second jeopardy night!
Even more fall songs for u ^
