Sun and Harvest

It gushes. Vegetables are bursting at the seams of every corner of the field. The grape vines are weighed down as fruits turn a dark purple, ready for harvest. Sunflowers have reached their maximum height and bloom in the balmy air. This is August.

It’s at this point in the season where I actually have dreams that involve tomatoes. This year, we waited extra long for tomato harvest to begin. But like always, once it begins, it becomes overwhelming. What a good problem to have! Our fields and our hoophouse began producing fruit from such heirloom tomato varieties as ‘Hungarian Heart’, ‘Gold Medal,’ ‘Old German,’ ‘Prudence Purple,’ ‘Black Cherokee,’ ‘Azoychka,’ and ‘Czech’s Excellent Yellow.’

August brought with it warmer weather and blue skies, just in time for the Goshen College faculty/staff retreat. The weather encouraged exploration of Merry Lea property, reflection on the diversity of our ecosystems, hunting for wildflowers, and touring gardens and buildings. That same week we hosted a group called the Young Evangelicals for Climate Action, who stayed at Rieth Village for a retreat and training session. Summer had arrieved! What a joy to provide our visitors with fresh cucumber, tomato, mint, salad greens, and zucchini for their meals!

In the lull between groups of students there was finally time for big mowing projects, including cutting grass and forbs along the newly planted rows in our Woody Perennial Polyculture planting (think permaculture). Natasha took on this task with enthusiasm, enjoying the time for reflective, steady work.

And just because the students were gone did not mean that weeds stopped growing! By the end of the month, it was astounding to look at the massive pile of composting plants we’d taken out over the course of June, July, and those weeks in August.

Summer’s end also means the occasional discovery of parasitized tobacco hornworms. Do you see the ‘Q-tips’, coccoons of the tiny wasp, Cotesia congregata, on the immobilized hornworm?

If we keep alert, many things are waiting to be discovered in August, a month of great abundance.

– Jon Zirkle