October is here bringing with it cooler weather, autumn colours, and some time to reflect on the season. At the farm we have wrapped up our seed harvests and the seed cleaning equipment is in full gear. This year, October has a different feel to it. There are many endings and many new beginnings happening, unlike any other autumn seasons in the recent past at Matchbox. As I look towards the future, I am filled with gratitude for all the years I have been gifted with the privilege of embodying my passions in my work. Without all of you, this never would have been possible. As a small thank you, here is a little sweet potato demo from last year harvest.
As you look around your own gardens, what do you see that inspires you to think about what you can do next year? Are you planting garlic this fall? Do you have crops planted for harvests in the coming months? If these are topics that are at the front of your mind, you'll find lots of help in this months newsletter.
Aligning with the seasons, we'll look at the following topics to help you get the most out of your garden now, and next year:
Our growing guide - garlic planting and fall bed prep!
Last Call! We are almost sold out of this years garlic crop, get yours before it's all gone!
Big changes happening at Matchbox.
Doors open for our October 15th round of Seed To Table Online course.
If you'd like to share your garden experience, you can join our Facebook group Growing Your Organic Garden Oasis
The End Of An Era
In 2006 I took the leap of faith that every entrepreneur is all to familiar with when I started Matchbox Garden & Seed Co. It has been a fulfilling 18 years bringing food, seed, and education to the public, but I always knew I wouldn't be farming in this way forever.
The past 4 years have been a huge roller coaster ride as all of us have experienced. The lessons of that great upheaval have not gone unnoticed at the farm. In fact, they have been a blessing, teaching me to reevaluate my life and how I want it to look and feel moving forward.
As many of you know already, I have come back to the teachings yoga. I re-certified in order to start teaching again, igniting a passion for this old friend that is my yoga practice.
This decision was the pivotal shift that has provided both insight and clarity for what I do next in my professional life and how I can continue to serve my family, community, and the greater world.
With all of this in mind, I have made the decision that this season, 2023, is the last year that I will be producing seed commercially.
What does this mean for all you gardeners that have come to rely on Matchbox seeds?
No changes for your 2024 garden plans, I will have my regular line up of seeds available on the website, in fact I updated our inventory last week and there is already lots to choose from!
Online programming will continue for anyone looking to learn more about gardening, but starting next year, my gardens will be smaller. They will have a different purpose, specifically, feeding my family and providing a place for grounding, inspiration, and healing.
I will have more news coming as we enter the winter season and I look forward to sharing it with all of you!
For now, you have my deepest gratitude, not only for supporting Matchbox, but for investing your time and energy into gardening in alignment with our natural world.
October Growing Guide
This month brings many of our final harvests coupled with cooler weather. Perhaps your daily harvest time shifts a little so that you can enjoy the afternoon sun and avoid the chilly mornings. It is another month of preserving and harvesting, and for many of us, we are in the middle of tearing down trellises, pulling up stakes, and generally tidying our growing space. In this newsletter, I'm sharing Octobers list of crops that I sow at the farm for early winter and the 2024 harvest. This round of planting is mainly focused on garlic at the farm. We also seed a few beds of greens for winter production and put season extension infrastructure in place. The following list includes species I plant for the following year as well as winter harvest:
Garlic
Lettuce
Spinach
To determine your best planting dates, find out your last frost date, the days to maturity for your crops, and add 2 weeks for the slower growth factor.
Garlic!
It's that time of year! Garlic is one of those crops that is great to grow yourself. If you want to learn how to grow your own, check out these graphics below to help you plant your best garlic
