Update from Alan

With the small amount of rain that has fallen the past few days, its easy to tell the beds with amended soil from the beds with just ‘raw stock’. Where sand and compost has been added and mulch has sat over the summer, water has sunk well in. In other places, the top inch or so is damp and below that the soil is still dry and baked hard. The effect is particularly noticeable in the potato beds. In the actual trenches, were the potatoes were planted and back filled with a mixture of farm soil and rotted old straw, the soil is loose and in some places quite damp. Move a couple of inches to either side of the planting line and a fork won’t penetrate at all.
Harvesting is proceeding apace and we have just topped 400 pounds of produce delivered to the Knight’s Table. According to last year’s record, on this date we had delivered 158 pounds. If production follows the same curve as last year we’re in good shape to meet the ‘one ton’ goal. It will likely all depend on the pumpkin and squash crop. If we get a nice Indian summer we’ll make the target. If we get a repeat of last year’s cold weather in October we’re dead - or at least the pumpkins will be!
As usual, my time estimate was way off. The fair booth is still under construction and the cost is rising in proportion. The bare-bones original concept was completed more or less to schedule but there have been ‘additions’! There is now lockable, built-in, storage, instead of the usual cardboard boxes poking out from under the table; there’s a pedestal plant-holder, which doubles as a structural end-post; and a larger pedestal/end-post which houses a computer display. I haven’t worked in a kitchen sink (yet) but at least people staffing the PTG booth will have surroundings more presentable than an old saggy table and a crayon sign.
Since the last update the ruts and humps in the driveways have been fixed and vehicles can now get around all of the blocks in the nursery garden. Finally, we can start using the trailer to transport mulch and supplies in bulk to the front display beds. Only one problem - for the first time in 30 years, I have a vehicle with no tow-hitch!
The Fall Fair opens in just over two weeks so prettifying the cultivated areas is the main item on the garden agenda. We need a small army for weeding and mulching and someone with a hitch to shuttle straw and wood-chips around the property.
From Margaret’s recent email, the afternoon and evening time slots are still thin. If you can’t do a full shift, even a couple of hours, bridging shift changes, e.g. three to five or six ‘til eight, will be very useful. If you haven’t done so already, please give Margaret a call and get yourself on the booth staffing-schedule.
As always, please let me know if you are going to the garden.