September continues to grace us with spectacular weather and though it seems that we could always use more rain, lately it seems to pour just in the nick of time. Just last week, Flint seeded a field to burdock for next spring and the rain that was predicted for later in the day never came. A few sunny days later, we begrudgingly planned the laborious process of setting up the irrigation pipe for the following morning. At dawn the next morning, the rains came! We had a great soaking, and although we are grateful for our irrigation pipes we were happy not to have to use them.
Burdock seed from last year has been harvested (a rather miserable task), cleaned, sorted and sown. Our spring sown crop of burdock will be ready for harvesting later this month for fall and winter sales.

We've had an amazing tomato season this year with a seemingly endless supply of particularly tasty and beautiful tomatoes. Tomatoes, unlike burdock seed, tend to be very enjoyable to harvest. We will continue to have B grade tomatoes for sale Tuesdays & Fridays, 8-noon, through September or while supplies last. Please check our website and/or answering machine for any and all updates. Our A grade tomatoes are still available at Adamant Coop, Bragg Farm, Hunger Mountain Coop & Plainfield Hardware.
I recently put in some lacinata kale, napa cabbage, zucchini, escarole and radicchio seedlings in our home garden for late fall harvest. Fall plantings seem a bit easier with less insect and weed pressure, but there are still those pesky varmints and they have been cleverly avoiding all my Havahart traps and snap traps. After a rather lengthy battle, I decided to surrender, and interestingly enough, they seemed to as well.

We've been busy harvesting and processing tomatoes, eggplants, tomatillos, zucchinis, radicchio, cantaloupes, cabbage, basil, onions and multiple varieties of colorful sweet and hot peppers. Flint has the biggest crop of hot peppers we've ever seen on the farm with many new and unusual varieties! I have been grilling and freezing ancho poblanos and green chiles, my absolute favorites. Due to the heat and lack of rain, this year's green chiles have a bit more heat than usual...but thankfully, not too much.

This year I have even remembered to dry herbs! Thyme, marjoram, mint, epazote and many medicinals herbs are on drying racks while the sun still shines. Italian parsley and basil I chop finely and mix with olive oil (think pesto), put in freezer bags and flattened. Garlic would be a good addition as well. Once frozen, I simply break off a piece and add to my favorite dishes, their flavors remain fresh and vibrant which is always welcome in the winter.

Thank goodness for gardens!

Sally and The Cate Farm Team

Flint and Richard have been working on a new project — Richard and Flint have taken on a little side project... jacking up & repairing 1890 Cate Farm barn!

How time flies! Here it is, November already.

We had a superb late summer and early fall. The weather was great, with adequate rain when needed, but not too much, and our tomato, burdock and hemp crops all thrived in the warm, sunny conditions. We picked tomatoes until October, and have since cleaned out the greenhouses and the plants are now on the compost heap.

Fall is clean-up time when we prepare greenhouses and fields for next season. Repairs that have been on our ‘To-Do’ list are now finally being completed, from greenhouse end-wall replacement to installing culverts on our farm roads. We always hope it all gets finished before the snow flies, but there’s always something else that needs to be done. Regardless of our ongoing projects, the cooler temperatures are refreshing, to say the least, and the shorter days signal plants and humans alike to slow down. We keep busy during our winters, but work carries less urgency and we welcome the change of seasons.

The burdock roots are all harvested and safely stored in our walk-in coolers. We even finished washing all of the seconds to be sent over to Caledonia Spirits to be turned into Gobo (read the article in Seven Days)! The Cate Farm team breathes a sigh of relief after the last roots are dug, as we no longer worry about possible wet (or freezing) field conditions that can prevent harvest.

We are now busy processing our hemp crop that we grow for CBD production. We have a stellar team to harvest, dry and prune the hemp branches, before removing the flower buds from the stalk, also known as ‘bucking,’ and into totes before the buds are sold.

We hope all your gardens were productive and successful - maybe you even have a winter squash or two left for Thanksgiving!

Wishing you a happy, healthy holiday with friends and family!

The team at Cate Farm

September News

November News