To Grow a Plant You Must Plant a Seed

Pulling up garlic. Harvesting seeds. Scything long grass for winter bedding. Just the usual farm chores as fall starts to push out the end of summer. Being outside most of my waking hours and relying on observations and learning of weather helps make you feel the subtle shifts in the angle of the sun, day length, and air quality/feeling/smell just a little more. And with a few back to back nights of hard frosts before the latest heat wave, it all lets me know that sweater weather is just around the corner.

The next few weeks will be filled with seed saving and prepping for sale (it is more than just pull it off the plant and stick it in a bag), building and designing more wreaths, barrettes, and willow crowns(!) filled with dried flowers, and planning for 'construction season' on the farm (aka fall/winter) as it's the only season I have the time to repair and build old and new hen huts, organize tool storage, maintain all the equipment, and inventory anything that needs to be replaced.

It's also the time I prefer to plan out the plantings for next year as the triumphs and failures of this year are still fresh in my mind and I don't have to worry about the winter days making me wistful for the green of spring and forget that some crops are beyond my reach in my cold, little valley (I'm looking at YOU corn!)

So while I save seeds today, I can already imagine the plants they will become tomorrow!

If you need a change of view for an evening, sign up for the first Gracious Dragon Farm Tour & Dinner, Saturday August 29th at 5pm. Your first chance for a guided tour of the farm with a wonderful meal prepared by Gracious Table chock full of produce from just a few feet away. Keep an eye out for another email with full details and feel free to ask me about it at the markets!

The autumn colors are opening up with the Sunflowers and Black Eyed Susans! I can smell the pumpkin spice on the winds

The hens love harvest day, especially if it is a scorcher!, since they get to enjoy the head lettuce trimmings while still cool, crisps, and a little damp from the washing! Scratch. Scratch. Peck!

The friendly neighbors stop by each evening to say hi to the roaming hens !

​The seeds are coming along nicely with the Bee's Friend, Calendula, and Bachelor Buttons being some of the fastest to reach the finish line. Now Instead of keeping up with harvesting a rush of blooms, I run around catching seeds before they fall and get lost in the ground!

The garlic has just been pulled and is almost dry! It probably won't make it to market this week but look for it after!

What's available this week?

• Eggs!
  • dozen pasture-raised, rainbow chicken eggs 
  • half dozen pasture-raised duck eggs 
  • half dozen pasture-raised guinea fowl eggs
• Flowers!
  • Market Bouquets
    • Large
    • Medium
    • Small
  • Posies
  • Dahlia Bouquets
  • Sunflowers
• Veggies!
  • Microgreens
    • Spicy Mix
    • Mild Mix
    • Cinnamon Basil
  • Salad Mix
  • Romaine Hearts
  • Butter Lettuce
    • Red
  • Red Leaf Lettuce
  • Rainbow Swiss Chard
  • Dragon Tongue Beans
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Heirloom Tomatoes
  • Basil Sampler
  • Summer Squash/Zucchini
  • Petal Power Edible Flowers

Where to find it all?
I'll be at the Farmers Market at Libby, this Thursday from 3-7pm!

I'll be at the Troy Farmers Market, this Friday from 330-630pm!