Catalpa Ridge News–October 8, 2017

Autumn Conditions Slowly Approaching

This week we had temperatures in the 70’s and they reached in the 80’s over the weekend. It was even hot early in the mornings, not typical for this time of year. The lack of rain and the warm temperatures are impacting the fall foliage. In our area it appears to that the leaves are just falling off the trees without much color. For optimum autumn color, the trees normally need a nice hard-frost, and this has not occurred nor is there one in the forecast in the near future.

We are preparing garlic for planting and the beds are ready to go. It is one of the crops that get planted late in the season for harvest next year. The garlic variety in the delivery is called Music. It was named after its developer, Al Music, the farmer who switched from growing tobacco to garlic in the early 1980’s. It was developed from a strain of garlic he acquired in Italy and brought to Ontario Canada.

The winter squash are coming along and the delivery this week includes Acorn. The butternut will be delivered next week. Our late summer squash did well with some zucchini production. Another variety we have is pattypan, a uniquely shaped squash, sometimes referred to as flying saucers!

The annual Monarch butterfly migration has started as evidenced by them appearing at the farm. We seem to be on their path south to Mexico. They continue to migrate through the end of October or the first severe freeze. They search for milkweed and we have plenty at the farm. An online article on monarchwatch.org discusses the mystery of how Monarchs find the overwintering sites each year. “Somehow they know their way, even though the butterflies returning to Mexico or California each fall are the great-great-grandchildren of the butterflies that left the previous spring. No one knows exactly how their homing system works; it is another of the many unanswered questions in the butterfly world. “