Is it Really Fall Already?

First of all, I want to apologize for not writing here for, oh, 10 months now. Moving forward, I will try to be more regular, as I am determined to get back on track this week... including writing a much-delayed newsletter, as well!

Anyway, spring and summer have (as usual) come and gone in the blink of an eye, and instead of lamenting about what I DIDN'T get to do this year, I'm trying to focus on what's going on next year. But before I can even do that, I'm really, really stressing about this winter. If this month is any indication, I'd prepare myself for a cold one, folks. Though a friend of mine noted several weeks ago that EVERY year we seem to get a cold snap right around the State Fair (which is this week here in NC), and then it deviates greatly from week to week until sometimes January, I don't buy it. A "cold snap" in October here means 1-2 nights of 40ish weather; however, it seems that Mother Nature is going to tease us with these for at least another week or so; or so the forecast predicts (with some areas actually dipping down into the 30's on a few nights - YIKES!).

This year, I think I'm stressing about it a bit more, too, because of the increase in the cost of propane. Two years ago, when we put in that 1000-gallon tank for the greenhouses, propane was running about $1.38/gal. Now it's easily twice that, so now we're talking about somewhere in the vicinity of $3,000 per fillup (and last winter, I had to do that 3 times). $9,000 for fuel over the winter just isn't feasible; so I'm trying to work with cool-weather plants over the winter, and MAYBE I'll even try to stay as cold frame as possible. We'll see; I have to balance loss of revenue w/the "warmer" weather plants vs. cooler weather ones, because even though the potted plant (and Farmers' Market) season is over, I do have restaurant/retail delivery all year! So I'm reading up; apparently, there are growers as far north as Maine who grow throughout the winter in cold frames (!!!), so if they can do it, I sure should be able to do it here in North Carolina!

Another option we've been exploring to help maintain/grow revenue over the winter is the retail marketing of our pestos. We've developed quite a few fans at the Holly Springs Farmers Market, and when I had some at Whole Foods with recipes next to the bunched herbs they'd purchased, most people didn't want to buy the herbs and make the pestos themselves; they just wanted to buy them in tubs! So, we're actually hoping to start shortly with A Southern Season in Chapel Hill, and then Cary Whole Foods is next. We'll keep you posted!

Anyway, with this week+ of unintended cool weather, I think it's time to break down and cover up the fussier plants -- especially basil, lemongrass, sage, lemon verbena, and pineapple sage -- because once the nighttime dips below 40 degress F, the leaves will brown from the edges inward. I always get so sad when it's time to do that; that means that Winter is on its way soon... my least favorite time of the year. If it turns out like last year, it won't be so bad, but we haven't had a REAL winter here for at least 3 or 4 years, so I'm getting rather leery. We'll see!

In the meantime, before it gets too cold, make sure you harvest your herbs to dry them, and/or use them in any Fall/Winter arts and crafts. At least that's a way to bring in the fresh smells of outside with the windows closed up tight!