O’Neill: A cool fall caused slower growth in our vegetables

Casey O’Neill is a farmer and owner of Happy Day Farms in Laytonville, Calif. The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of The Mendocino Voice. If you’d like to write your own column for The Mendocino Voice, send your idea to info@mendovoice.com.

Timing is everything in farming, and I still have so much to learn to manage the seasonal transitions. My summer crops have slowed way down, but my fall plantings aren’t producing much yet. I’m coming to realize that I need to accelerate my schedule, planting heavily in the heat of summer and utilizing more shade cloth and overhead watering to get the cool weather crops through the hot times and into their preferred weather patterns.