Farm & Garden Notes: Hi, September

Fall is in the air! Here at Bella Luna Luna Farms we are enjoying the best that September has to offer with crisp mornings, cool evenings and abundantly sunny days:

As summery weather lingers, we continue to pick tomatoes fresh from the garden, as well as the last of our blueberries. Ripe and incredibly juicy, these two ingredients are often found on our dinner table (there is nothing better than a tomato, basil and mozzarella Caprese salad!), and are also going into canned goods being put away for winter, along with other fresh fruits and berries. In the next few weeks, a new crop of produce will also be ready: The grapes will ripen in the Grapehouse, and the orchards will offer up the first of the apples and Asian pears.

Preparation for fall and winter months has already begun—our resident honey bees continue to store their precious honey for the winter, and we are hilling up the stalks of Nonna Pat’s favorite cardoon for harvest in late fall, as well as putting garlic and shallots in the ground for next year. An abundance of hardy vegetables are also going in to overwinter in our hoop house: Nero di Toscana kale, purple sprouting broccoli, Swiss chard and Rubine Brussels sprouts to name a few.

We hope you are also enjoying these beautiful first days of fall. Look for more updates from the farm soon!