It’s turnip time again. As fall waxes, and the garden wanes, turnips take over. We sow them in many of our fields for a cover crop, along with crimson clover and buckwheat. If you want some, come up to Long Hungry Road and stop in. they are right below the blueberry patch, near the tall bamboo.

Our 16^th annual Southeastern Biodynamic Conference was a huge success. Over 150 people came to hear lectures and enjoy the beautiful gardens and conference site. There were folks from California to New York, Michigan to Florida, and even Costa Rica and South America. Besides the celebration, there was a sense of sadness, as construction of a giant chicken house continued just a few hundred feet up on the hill overlooking our home, farm, and business. No one will come if it stinks here, and Cobb says “It will stink.”

How do we learn? How do we teach? The 16^th annual (and may be our last) Southern Biodynamic Conference, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, will explore agricultural education and practical training. For the past 16 years our farm on Long Hungry Road has served as a campus and classroom for several dozen interns and apprentices. We have been visited by hundreds of curious gardeners full of questions, and the farm has been seen on the Volunteer Gardner TV show by many thousands. I guess that means I am a teacher.

Gardens ebb and flow throughout the season. Each week is slightly different than the last one or the next one. Our CSA business requires providing a steady stream of produce, which can be a bit tricky. I have developed a few tricks to insure that 150 families are happy each week.

Gardening is at a standstill because of all the rain. It’s mud out there. We’re glad to have our potatoes and onions in, but quite anxious to plant the beets.

A few days ago it was almost dry enough. I worked up a little ground and planted a row of lettuce, and then decided to wait. A fistful of soil, dropped, did not break apart. So, the beet seeds are still in the house, and it’s rained ever since.