For organic farmers in the Foothills or in the High Sierra, September is the end of summer harvest, farmers markets are winding down and farmers begin to put their vegetable crops to bed for the winter. It’s time to prepare the soils for winter and build organic matter for the next year. Cover crops and green manures are a vital part of sustaining an organic farm.
Cover crops are annual or perennial crops (oats, winter wheat, wheat grass, vetch, buckwheat, rye, etc.) that are planted in the fall that germinate before winter. These crops protect the soil from winter erosion and build biomass for spring tillage.
Green Manures are legumes (clovers, vetch, peas), existing crops, or any herbaceous vegetation that are allowed to grow out their cycle to seed production and then are turned under before winter. Their biomass helps to improve soil structure and add organic matter to the soil. Green manures produce humus (decayed plant material) which feeds soil microbes – the essence of organic and biodynamic farming. A vital part of green manures are ‘living mulches’ – a cover crop of herbaceous vegetation that is inter-planted between vegetables to cool the soil, help shade cool season vegetables and reduce competition of noxious weeds.
In addition to cover crops and green manures, crop rotation (which is moving crops to different fields every three years) is the essence of an organic farming program.
The Pepper: September is the month for peppers. Peppers are another vegetable in the Nightshade Family. Peppers love hot weather and are great grown in greenhouses or as a container plant. Peppers are best grown from transplants and take 65 to 80 days to produce. There are two types of peppers: sweet and hot. The most common sweet pepper is the bell pepper, which is green, yellow, orange or red. Wax peppers are usually yellow such as the Hungarian wax pepper, which has a mild taste. Other sweet peppers are pepperoncini and pimentos, commonly used for stuffing olives.
Hot or ‘Chili’ peppers are the largest group. Chile peppers are one of the wonders that Columbus brought back from the New World. There are over 200 varieties of chili peppers and over 100 come from Mexico. Small chilis are usually hotter because of the concentration of seeds and veins. The seeds and the veins (membranes) contain about 80% of the capsaicin, the potent compound the gives off the hot, intense sensation. Neither cooking nor freezing will reduce the intensity; only removing the seeds and membranes will help. Chilis are a rich source of vitamin A & C, and have high antioxidant properties.
What You Will See Coming To The Truckee/Tahoe Area:
Vegetables/Fruits: Melons, peppers, and tomatoes will dominate September. Raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries are about done. Figs are in abundance along with apples, pears, and Asian pears. Peaches, pluots, and plums are on their last leg by late September unless they come out of storage. Cucumbers and zucchini will soon give way to summer squash, gourds and pumpkins. Local corn is usually about finished by October.
Greenhouse/ Cold Frames In Truckee/Tahoe: September is the time to add vegetable compost, straw and manures to your beds and turn them over for winter. You can also seed onion and green onions to get them established before winter and let them over-winter. Late September/October is the time to plant garlic. If your tomatoes are green, protect them or try to get them extra sunlight and heat to ripen.
Sierra Valley Farms: September’s cool mornings and short days have rebounded our greens, arugula, spinach, kale and chard. We are done with our broccoli, cilantro, cabbage and sunflowers. Carrots and beets will continue into October.
We have concluded our Friday Farmers Market here on the farm. Our last ‘Dinners in the Barn’ with Moody’s are September 19 & 21. You can call them for reservations at 530-587-8688. You can find us at the Tahoe City & Reno Farmers Market and we will be supplying New Moon in Truckee. Visit sierravalleyfarms.com for more information.
Let me leave you with this thought for September: (Which we live by here at Sierra Valley Farms!)
‘Be slow to promise, but quick to
perform.’
~ Chinese proverb
~ Gary Romano owns Sierra Valley Farms, which sits on some of his family’s original 3,600-acre ranch in Beckwourth. sierravalleyfarms.com.
