End of the Season Chores

Here are some of the fun things that I have been doing to clean up and to prepare for next year.

Pulling the stakes, drip line irrigation and twine from the tomatoes.

Taking down the tomatoes reminds me of the feelings that I had as a kid when we took down the Christmas tree.  You don't like doing it but you have to: carefully placing the ornaments in their boxes, unraveling the garland, getting as much of the silvery icicles off the tree so that it can be chipped and coiling the lights.  Nothing said the holidays were over better than this task and our family used to do this on New Years' Day.  For me, nothing says the farm season is nearly done better than taking down the tomatoes.

All the twine used to trellis the tomatoes.

Rinsing the stakes off, dipping them in a weak bleach solution and letting them dry.

Stacking the stakes in the car. 

Bringing these six-foot stakes between the buildings, through the back yard to be stacked here. 

The plowed field being readied for cover cropping.

An example of another part of the field cover cropped with Winter Rye.