Beyond Organic & Blood Moon
Have you heard of the term “biodynamic" farming? This is a fascinating concept developed by Rudolf Steiner (a brilliant man) in the 1920s that focuses on treating the farm as a holistic, self-sustaining organism. It's basically organic farming on steroids! Biodynamic agriculture embraces lunar, planetary, and seasonal rhythms; enriches soil fertility through compost, cover crops, animals, and crop rotation; avoids synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and GMOs; and promotes biodiversity with companion planting.
On the farm, we try to follow biodynamic principles because we find that the crops will produce a higher quality product at an increased yield when grown in this fashion. We are definitely not perfect when it comes to implementing these ideas, but our efforts increase each season.
One resource that makes following these ideas a cinch is The Maria Thun Biodynamic Almanac. A new copy is released each year with updated dates and info. It guides you on the optimal times to tend each crop type - leaf, root, fruit, and flower - and shows the best transplanting windows. Just following this simple part of the calendar can be incredibly beneficial for your garden no matter what you're growing (but you can also dive really deep and totally nerd out on it!) Included is a wall calendar with every month's info that can be hung to quickly reference these ideal dates.
P.S. I hope you stayed up past your bedtime last night to witness the Blood Moon (partial - almost total - lunar eclipse).
On the farm here in South GA, a telltale sign that summer is winding down is spotting pokeweed (left) and beautyberry (right) along the woodland edges. The birds absolutely love these berries, but we also love them for that little something extra added to floral arrangements. While we do cultivate several varieties of specialty flowers, the native plants add a whole different element to floral work. If you're out foraging, I encourage you to look for these fun berries from now until November, and maybe add a branch or two to your home arrangements. (Wear gloves when harvesting pokeweed - the juice can irritate skin.)
Our winter squash vines were wildly successful this year. We planted four varieties, and while they all produced well, our two South Anna butternut squash plants produced over 30 squashes! Of course I've already saved seed for next year haha. Since only a few seeds are needed for next year's crop, I’ll have plenty of extras. If you’d like some, just shoot me an email, and I’ll send them your way! Fair warning that the vines have no concept of personal space so they will invade every corner of your garden they can, but the fruit is totally worth it!
The old vines have been ripped down and out, and we are prepping the trellis area for one more succession before frost. I've been growing the new squash plants on for weeks now and will transplant them next weekend.
Winter squash is a staple in our household year round. It's delish roasted as a side or for a salad and incorporated into soups and stews. Highly recommend you add it to your grow list for next year! I can share our plans for a sturdy trellis if you're interested.
Weekly reminder:
You'll never do a whole lot unless you're brave enough to try. - Dolly Parton