The autumnal equinox is just around the corner, leaves are falling, and a couple cooler, darker days have signaled the inevitable end of summer. Seven little piggies are being rotated through the Lower Garden to act as little tractors that efficiently root things up and also fertilize as they go. Once they are too large for the garden they will be moved into marginal woodlands along the roads. They feast on the abundant food scraps of our seventy person community as well as the nuts and nut butter waste from our small nut butter factory.

Both moving the pigs and seeding cover crops behind them is very weather and time dependent. Ideally, they are moved before they start making holes and compacting the soil.

Of course, with all the surpluses coming in right now Foopin (Food Processing) is very busy canning, freezing, pickling, etc. to reduce food waste as much as possible. This year, so far, we have put up 75 cans of tomato sauce, 50 of pickles, 41 of relish (sweet pepper, hot pepper, etc.), 67 of whole peeled tomatoes, and 9 tomatillo salsa. This is what has been put in the root cellar. It doesn’t count anything put into the kitchen or freezers (peppers, okra, etc). There is also an abundance of hot and savory sauces for people to enjoy with each meal.

Spinach and other greens are going into the ground and the garden is beginning to prepare for cooler temps. There will be plenty of work harvesting sweet potatoes in the coming weeks. This year there are three large patches and it will likely be the largest harvest in all of East Wind’s history. That is about all I have for right now, queue the picture roll!

Post by Sumner. Pictures by Sumner and Fran.