The hot days are upon us, and Waverly Farm, not being planted for summer crops, is a dry and dusty, forlorn looking place. Even Cheri’s incred­i­ble toma­toes are winding down. And every­thing along the front fence — ripped out and barren looking. Sad, sad, sad. But the new school year is begin­ning, our young farmers have returned… and there is a plan.

My east coast friends main­tain that South­ern Cali­for­nia is season­ally chal­lenged– no seasons at all, or at the most two: a wet and a dry. Well, they may not hit you in the face like an eastern fall, but any gardener around here will tell you we have lots of seasons, sort of mini-seasons. Jacaranda season, camel­lia season, fire season, and on my front porch these days, big icky spider season. And now, there’s a new season, coming soon to Waverly Farm. Apple cider season. We are part­ner­ing with our friends at Tree People and plant­ing a hedge of apple trees along the front of the farm. While we wait for apples, we’ll be banking some of the proceeds from our market days, saving up to buy a big, old-fash­ioned wooden cider press. Get a bunch of kids, pick some apples, dump those apples in the hopper — crank the cranks, grind them up, smash them, press them, squeeze them, make some deli­cious juice. Sounds like some authen­tic autumn‑y fun, right? Let’s go put on sweaters right now! Well, maybe not. But while the Septem­ber sun is shining so hot on our heads that our hair feels that it will ignite, we can dream of crisp apples and crisp days to come.

— Barbara Ayers, Waverly Farm Coordinator