Fall colors starting to pop a bit down in the North Orchard Friday late afternoon. This year the maples have been vibrant with reds. Shenandoah Valley Virginia hasn’t yet peaked with color, but from what we’re seeing it looks like maybe the trees will reach full color this weekend.Lactarius milk cap found yesterday on Deerberry Trail near pines. Rufous Milkcap (Lactarius rufus). When we broke it, it had a milky white latex ooze from the cap. We’re searching for saffron milk caps which will ooze orange latex. They are called Lactarius deliciouso. We can’t wait to taste them. They are described as having a nutty, earthy and woodsy flavor and a firm, dense and crunchy texture.
We have been working hard finishing our fall planting project. Friday we took a break from planting to work on our compost bin at the farm. We have had a few piles we have worked with but we were eager to get a proper compost area started up top in the south side of the clearing. We had more than 20 bins of kitchen compost and we layered this in with leaves and sticks, straw and other compostables from the farm. We covered it all up and built a frame for it with a roof to keep it dry.
Our first stage of SAFF South compost collection area. It may not look like much but we are excited about it and the beautiful black compost we will have in our future. Symphoricarpos orbiculatus, coralberry, an important native food source for songbirds and small mammals and host plant for clearwing moth caterpillars. While we find them all over the Farm, this one is growing next to our new compost bin
The tree we thought was an American chestnut has been revealed to be an Allegheny chinquapin (Castanea pumila). We are delighted to have found it and will find more to plant nearby for pollination.
We are delighted to try the sweet nuts if we can get any since they are highly sought after by deer, squirrels, turkeys and songbirds. Amanita Way on Sunday afternoon. An interesting slime mold. A little more fall color from SAFF.
Two apparently well-fed house cats last night running around the farm. 🐈⬛
