Farm update
So not much has changed since the information in the last newsletter. We've taken down our fence, and there's been lots of animal activity: turkeys, a cat, and deer. The activity from the deer has convinced us to protect a few more of our trees, as they're getting eaten pretty badly. We're also cleaning up everything for the final year, and starting plans for next year. Next year will be largely non-food crops, focusing on ecological health, soil quality, buffers, and forages. We're starting to do research on what those plants should be. One other thing different this fall, compared to other falls, is that we've left a lot of our dead crops standing that we would normally take down: beans, tomatoes, okra. We've done this rather than removing them and planting cover crop because they will hopefully serve as a snow fence to catch moisture for the soil. Also, because of dry conditions, the cover crop germination hasn't been great, so the dead plants will provide some kind of soil cover.

Hunger and Homelessness Event with farm team members: monday from 6-8:30
Next Monday, as part of the national hunger and homelessness week, there will be a public forum organized by the story county housing board where various people involved in mitigating hunger and homelessness in Story County will talk about their work and ideas. The last few years, cookies have been provided. From our farm, Alice will be talking about our farm, what we do, and what other farms in the area do to try to get healthy food to hungry people. You should come if you want, it's Commons Hall, Bethesda Lutheran Church, 1517 Northwestern Ave. The event is being organized by the Story County Housing Board and sponsored by the City of Ames Housing Division. Here's more info:
http://www.cityofames.org/index.aspx?recordid=943&page=43