October Means Overcoming Obstacles

-

There are a lot of different ways to say it. In A Mood. Cranky. Difficult. Needs A Nap (sign me up, please!). By the end of October, we are all tired. And tired people are…cranky, to pick one of those phrases. This year, with twice the normal rainfall and a serious deficit of sunshine, everyone is cranky. Customers, staff, even the bees are cranky right now.

We should have planted rice this year. There was a bumper crop of squirrels, foxes, raccoons, crows, and mice this year. Produce did not keep as well because of all the rain. The squirrels destroyed a lot of pears and pumpkins. Sudden and serious illnesses wreaked havoc among the staff, causing extra work for everyone else.  

So now it is time for the pep talks to keep us going and keep us smiling. How do we do that?

One of our core values is we take care of each other, including staff, families, customers, friends, and community. When one becomes sick, everyone steps up and covers that person’s work. When a customer became ill at the store recently, an employee drove him home and stayed with his wife until an ambulance came (and the customer has recovered, we are happy to hear). Knowing that everyone is ready to help as needed makes me very grateful for our community, and gratitude goes a long way towards getting rid of crankiness.

We know that the weather is beyond everyone’s control. So we are very excited to be starting a new greenhouse project which will increase productivity, reduce work stress, and provide fantastic produce for our customers—all without having to deal with weather extremes! Looking forward to this is a great way to move moodiness out.

And for the last day of October, the weather is moderate, the sun is shining, and there are plenty of mums to visit, so perhaps the bees will be a little less cranky. It is now only three weeks till Thanksgiving when all will be complete chaos with fresh turkeys, fresh pies, and all the trimmings. We look at all those orders and are happy that so many families are able to come together and give thanks. And we are grateful that our customers think of Highland Orchards as their source for great food to feed their families and friends.

So, we jump from 85 degrees to 55 degrees, deal with the wildlife, eat a cider donut when it rains, and we are grateful for our customers, our employees, our friends, and our families. I feel better, don’t you?

Happy and safe Halloween to all!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

About edible flowers:

-
Image
Herb flowers are from herbs like lavender, basil, mint, and thyme that can be eaten just like the rest of the plant. Ornamental flowers usually follow the petal-only rule : most come from plants where the colorful petals are the only edible part of the plant. Some plants are exceptions. Be absolutely certain before trying other parts of the plant. 5 Important Things: 1. Always know what flowers are edible before you eat them- be absolutely sure of the plant. If you’re unsure, steer clear! Safety comes first! Some flowers are not edible and can make people very sick. 2. Know the plant’s surroundings. A beautiful stand of edible flowers growing by the roadside may look delicious, but plants are very good at taking up toxins from the soil, rain, and air and storing them in their roots, stems, leaves, and flowers.  They clean the environment but may become harmful for people to eat. 3.  Similarly make sure you know that the place where you pick edible flowers was not sprayed wit
Read more

Our Love Affair with Farmers Markets

-
Image
We have a long history of going to Farmers Markets, primarily the King Street Farmers Market in Wilmington, Delaware. Generations of Websters, Connells, Talleys, and Rotthouses have loaded produce into wagons or trucks to take to the market 2 or more times each week. John Webster took truckloads of produce in season. A truckload of cabbage: in the Depression, everyone made soup. A load of lilacs in May—and those sold, also. Peaches in the summer, apples in the fall. Rachel Webster made sausage and cottage cheese, as she had learned from her mother. Because farmers believe in utilizing available labor, their own children, the Webster girls went to market with their parents. Just as John had gone to market with his father, John Sr.   And John Sr. remembered going to market with his father, Isaac. And John Sr. told stories of Isaac falling asleep in the back of the wagon in the early morning hours as he went to market with his father, Clark (1786-1871) in the 1820s. It took a lot long
Read more

5 More Tips & Strategies for Winter Growing, Part II

-
Image
 Alright, dedicated grower, here are some more tips on growing for winter. Remember, patience is key! As you already know, every growing area has its own micro-climate and ecosystem, so what works in one place may not grow in another. We struggle with our clay soil, and add compost on a regular basis. You may have a different kind of soil with different needs. Swiss Chard 1)    What grows best in the winter : cold hardy plants! Many of the herbs, leafy greens, root crops, some of the brassicas. Here is a partial list; depending on your particular circumstances, you will add or subtract from the list:  Parsley, cilantro, sorrel, romaine, green or red leaf lettuce, kale, chard, collards, mizuna, mustard greens, sprouting broccoli and cauliflower, spinach, beets, carrots, radishes, daikon, turnips, rutabagas, scallions, brussel sprouts, cabbage. 2)      Growing times —even with heat, everything takes a little longer. About 25-40% longer. Without heat, it takes about 3x longer. If you ar
Read more