This fall has been truly an anomaly with regards to the weather. 70 degrees and sunny into November? In Maryland? Super gorgeous and comfortable for us humans, but unfortunately that doesn’t hold true when it comes to fall crops.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’d guess that the layperson with limited knowledge of gardening/farming might guess that warm weather is always a good thing when it comes to growing food. And I completely understand that way of thinking! Plants need sun, and warm weather is always better, right?
Nope! When it comes to crops like broccoli, cauliflower, and radishes, those classic fall crops we all know and love, the warm weather is not a boon. In fact, these crops love a chilly growing season and produce much better in colder conditions. The produce is sweeter and more consistent in size when the temperature stays low.
When it’s warm all the time, the broccoli spoils too fast, flavors get too spicy, and the plants are just generally thrown out of whack! This particular fall has been all of that, and our yields have really suffered.
The bugs are also way happier when it’s warm and they’ve been feasting on the brassicas this season. Brassicas = broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc. This is resulting in less-than-pristine quality for our fall veggies, which is frustrating!
But when the climate is becoming more and more variable over time, we’re facing these kinds of unexpected conditions more frequently. We have spraying routines for the bugs, but there is a threshold at which the organic sprays we use have a hard time making a dent in the quantity of hungry insects out there.
As a side note/parallel track to this situation, we are extra grateful to seed producers as they are the ones doing the breeding and testing to bring us varieties that will withstand warmer falls, dryer spells, or other odd events. Each year we peruse the seed catalogs and these kinds of features are highlighted when available – everyone is in the same boat!
We all need to adapt, and the plants are doing their best given the conditions. But, by being able to speed along the process with our scientific methods, we’ll hopefully be able to avoid similar quandaries in the (near) future.
Until then, we appreciate your flexibility and understanding as we weather (pun unintended) the ups and downs of farming together. That’s what this is all about!
