"Fall brings the opportunity to provide our equipment with both necessary repairs and maintenance and the precautionary care to maintain its longevity and productivity on our behalf. Now that your equipment is no longer needed on a daily basis, it can be thoroughly cleaned, examined, repaired, oiled, and stored for the season."

October 2: Our Feature article for October comes from Judith Korff. "Fall brings the opportunity to provide our equipment with both necessary repairs and maintenance and the precautionary care to maintain its longevity and productivity on our behalf." Join Judith as she walks us through end of season tool care in: "Preparing Farm Tools and Equipment For Winter Storage"

"The use of the notebook has increased the accuracy of my harvest log significantly from past years when I’d enter the information directly from the whiteboards into a word document. I forgot to enter many a week this way, erasing a board in prep for the new week before recording it, last year for example, I did not enter one word for June."

October 9: This month Beth Lambert Hook gives us an inside view of the hidden value that comes with each CSA share purchased from her CSA farm. There are many intangibles aside from the pure monetary value. How do you put a price on these - or do you? Read a bit about the hidden benefits of a CSA share in: "The True Value of a CSA Share"

October 9: Nothing this month - unfortunately.

"Like the pros, we buy the best we can afford, maybe not top of the line but good solid tools built to last. Unlike the pros we can’t afford to throw them away and buy replacements when they break; we usually fix them ourselves."

October 16: Keith Bellinger returns this month with a look at what happens to those tools that break, crack, bend, or otherwise fall from their pristeen condition. Some would throw them out - but there are more resourceful people who mend, repair or otherwise give the tool a new life. Read about how tools in Keith's shop see their service life extended in: "When Good Tools Go Bad"

"In my imagination, I can picture all kinds of garden journals. If I could change mine it would include pockets. I like to keep seed packets after they are empty (for the info on the back and just to look at the pretty drawings/paintings of the vegetables and flowers)."

October 16: Jeannie Pierce reflects on the value she finds in her garden journal. She keeps it simple and shares a few entries. Read Jeannie's piece and tell her about your own journal: "Keeping a Garden Journal"

"Any broken, weak or cracked handles on spades, hoes and other tools need to be replaced or repaired. Wood parts on any of these things should be painted or gone over with a coat of oil or linseed oil to protect it from drying out and cracking."

September 25: Heather Grant reminds us of some of the reasons it's in our best interest to take care of our tools. "Proper care of your tools can seem overwhelming if you let things get out of hand but with a few quick and simple tricks it can become manageable. With the cost of things these days it is also more economical to take care of what you have than to spend the extra money on new tools." Read Heather's piece: "End of Season Tool Care"