Rambling #174

October marks the changing of the seasons on the market garden. Summer crops are winding down and we are working hard to establish winter crops before the weather gets too cold. We have also taken it as an opportunity to reflect on how we can share the workload on the farm across the team. As part of this, it will no longer be Mark writing these ramblings and instead I have taken over. My name is Grace and, for those who don’t know me, I have worked as a grower at North Aston Organics since October 2024. I hope you will find my ramblings as informative and engaging as Mark’s have always been. Rest assured Mark is still here, just with more time to focus on the growing!

Looking back at the September ramblings, drought was the major theme. The recent rainfall has been a huge help to our winter crops which have made it through the drought thanks to the team’s hard work moving irrigation pipes. Although the drought has certainly left its mark, it is lovely to see crops such as kale bounce back and really start producing despite their tough start in life. The rain has been essential to establishing our green manures down in Mill Field, which are crucial to our fertility for next year. Meanwhile, the critters also seem to be enjoying the damp and cooler temperatures with earthworms returning to higher levels in the soil and a small toad spotted in one of our polytunnels!

We will be using the winter to plan for a continued trend towards hotter and drier summers and to adapt our approach to suit this new reality. This includes modifying our crop plan, improving our irrigation infrastructure and adopting strategies to retain moisture in the soil. This was a hot topic of discussion at the Organic Growers Gathering which fellow grower Beth and I attended at the end of September. This was a great opportunity for us to hear the experiences of other growers, exchange ideas and hear about all the creative and inspiring ways that other growers are adapting. We have certainly come away with lots of new ideas we are keen to implement here in North Aston.

In the meantime, we hope you are enjoying the first few harvests from our winter offerings. Look out for seasonal favourites appearing on the extras list including kale, winter squash and our first leeks of the season.

In other news, thanks to grower, Beth, we now have our very own set of greeting cards, inspired by life on the farm. You can add these to your next box here.

Best wishes,

Grace and the team