Fall greens-- kale, collards, lettuce, pac choi, beets and radishes.

The tomato harvest is slowing down, but there are still some tomato plants hanging in there--especially in the hoophouse.

Winter Squash are starting to come in but aren't near ready for harvest.

Brussels sprouts are growing steadily since transplanting.

We've been harvesting lots of green beans.

Watermelon update: some will be ready to sample before too long...

Green beans are plentiful.

Our cucumbers are struggling.

This is the biggest strawberry we've seen all season!

We transplanted basil in the hoopohouse so we can continue to harvest one of our favorite herbs through the fall.

Hoophouse eggplant.

We planted 10 more beds of fall crops that have already germinated, including: kale, collards, lettuce mix, radishes, beets, pac choi and arugula.

Our peppers are thriving in the passive solar hoophouse. These are El Jefe Jalapenos and Peach Habaneros.

Buckwheat is lush after the weekend's rainfall.

Remember the watermelon you saw in last week's blog? This is the same one-- it's grown!

A critter is nibbling at our soybeans.

Irene- The Morning After

These photos were taken on Sunday, August 28th after the storm passed through Warrenton. We are fortunate that our garden is essentially undamaged. Look at the plants and you can see which way the wind blew!

Bunching Onions and Zinnias

Airlie Apple Tree

Okra

The Corn Maze

We added compost to our struggling squash plants and they blossommed, truly, overnight.

Little baby watermelons are coming in! These are smaller than a tennis ball.

Looking out the door of the hoophouse for a view of our organic corn maze. The corn is more than seven feet tall now and ready for scavenger hunts, teambuilding activities, and "cornferences."

Shirofumi Soybeans growing tall in the backfield:

Our harvest is in full swing and we are happy to deliver loads of tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, okra, swiss chard, leeks, bunching onions, red and yellow onions, eggplant, potatoes, beets, herbs and flowers to Airlie's fantastic chefs. On August 8th we harvested nearly 300 pounds of garden fresh goodies for the LFP Harvest Dinner held as part of the 5th Annual Local Food Project at Airlie Conference. Here's our garden crew after enjoying the delicious meal:

You can't even tell that we're usually covered in dirt! The theme of this year's conference was "The Role of Institutions in the Future of Local Food" and featured keynote speakers from the USDA's National Program for Small Farms and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York, and the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The day's workshops were a hit-- my personal favorite breakout sessions discussed local food in hospitals, and social justice in sustainable food systems. More conference photos to come...