Though the peak of the gardening season has passed, carrots, peas, beans, broccoli, collards, and a few ears of corn continue to mature in the farm's kitchen garden. Meanwhile, the last of the cherry tomatoes and raspberries are hanging on.

Farmer Rob will soon put some of the beds to rest for the winter. He will plant annual ryegrass to serve as a cover crop -- "not to be confused with the cereal crop named rye," he says.

According to the website ryegrasscovercrop.com, annual ryegrass as a covercrop is a relatively new phenomena. "Development of annual ryegrass as a cover crop began in the early 1990s," says the site. "Oregon growers began working with university researchers, agronomists and crop growers in the Midwest region of the United States to determine new ways to improve crop yields while building healthier soil."

With the corn harvest looming, Farmer Rob and volunteers have been working to fortify the corn crib. The goal, according to Farmer Rob, is to keep the corn in and the squirrels out. This filed corn will help feed Howell Farm's livestock through the winter.

It's unlikely that farmers in 1890 were familiar with the word "agritourism." But today, the pairing of entertainment with agriculture is a significant source of income for many New Jersey farmers.

At Howell Living History Farm, a corn maze on Valley Road (Just a few miles away from the farm) has served as a fundraiser for the farm for many years. This year's "Owl Maze" will also benefit the Mercer County Wildlife Center and County nature programs.

Fall Maze hours:

September 29-30
Saturday and Sunday only
Entry 12-5pm; last exit 6pm

Weekends - through October 28
Fridays, entry 5-8pm; last exit 9pm
Saturdays, entry 12-8pm; last exit 9pm
Sundays, entry 12-4pm; last exit 5pm

Information & Reservations
Weekend: (609) 397-2555
Weekdays: (609) 737-3299

The past few days at Howell Farm have been full of plowing. Out in the winter wheat field, just a thin strip of green remains. When this strip gets so thin that just one small sliver is all that's left, it gets a special name: the dead furrow. The dead furrow is the most physically taxing round in the entire field -- at least for the farmer steering the plow. With no wall of soil on the side of the plow to help guide it along, it's all up to the arms of the farmer.

After more than 10 years of weather and muck, the fence surrounding the chicken house is being totally replaced. The condition of the old fence, according to the farmers, was "soggy."

The photo above is of a beautiful piece of field corn, freshly plucked from Howell Farm's soon-to-be harvested plot. The fully developed kernels are a wonderful sign. The farmers here had wondered if the early summer drought might have had a negative impact on crop pollination. But at least from early samples, the corn looks outstanding.

At Howell Farm, our Indian corn harvest is scheduled for September 29. Our field corn harvest will be October 13.

Fall plowing continues, with two teams of draft horses and a tractor working to turn the soil.

Farmers Ian and Jeremy spent the day working a field that will be planted with winter wheat. (Their work was in same field that was the site of the recent plowing match, which means at least a patchwork of the plowing was already complete.)

As you may remember from other Furrow posts, two varieties of winter wheat were planted last fall -- an older variety that is taller and a more modern variety that is shorter. The farmers report high satisfaction with the older variety and plan to plant more.

Farmer Rob worked with a tractor and disc plow out in one of the farm's most distant crop fields. But his progress was stymied by a disc on the disc plow that was repeatedly jammed up by crop residue. A fix at the equipment shop consumed much of the rest of his afternoon.

Not out in the field today was Bill the draft horse. Today the veterinarian prescribed Bill some antibiotics and twelve weeks of rest. He has an infection in his hock -- a joint in his hind leg -- but there are high hopes that he will make a full recovery.

And so it goes on every farm. Both modern equipment and traditional draft horses sometimes need to spend time in the repair shop.

The major story in American agriculture this year was the devastating drought in the Midwest, turning predictions of a record corn harvest to dust.

At Howell Living History Farm, however, an early season dry spell gave way to rain before much damage was done. According to Farmer Jeremy, the field corn looks like it's doing just fine. It will be harvested starting in October.

U.S. Drought Monitor reports that every county in New Jersey is now experiencing normal soil conditions. New Jersey is the only state in the Northeast where every county is back to normal. Moderate drought continues to impact most of Delaware, southern Maryland, and much of upstate New York.

For hardworking farm kids of the late 1800s, I wonder if the beginning of the school year was a welcome relief or a time of despair. I imagine it depended on the student. In my own life, I remember being excited about the first day of school, a little excited about the second day, and then not so much.

Howell Farm is hosting two interesting back-to-school events this week:

Friday: The experience of teaching in a rural Mercer County one or two room schoolhouse in the 19th and early 20th century is the topic of a talk by historian Larry Kidder on September 7 at 7:30pm in the Charles Fish Barn at the Howell Living History Farm visitor center. Using the Pleasant Valley School, located adjacent to Howell Farm, as a case study, Mr. Kidder will discuss the changing nature of teaching at the school between 1820 and 1936.

Saturday: The Howell Farm school mistress has McGuffy readers, slates and slate pencils ready for students of all ages to begin their lessons in the three R's.  Visitors can take a seat in an antique school desk and try their hand at orthography using pen and ink, or attempt to solve farm related arithmetic problems on the chalkboard.  As in yesteryear, children can help with farm chores before attending class.

The school bell will ring on the hour at 11:00am, noon, 1:00pm and 3:00pm to begin lessons and halfpast the hour at 11:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm and 3:30pm for recess and a quick tour of the privy. During recess, children will be introduced to hoops and sticks, tug of war and other old-fashioned games and toys. 

Howell Farm's spring chicks are now all grown up into chickens. With the chicken house freshly cleaned, they'll soon move in to their new home.