09/24/2026
Last week I wrote about change and the changing season. But this week is the actual equinox. The equinox is both the day when day and night are the same length, and the time with the most rapid and dramatic seasonal shift of the year. Many times before I’ve noted this, and how profoundly these changes affect the farm. So, apologies for the repetition, but I can’t help it. The way our days seem to suddenly shift is always a marvel. I don’t get tired of it. After all, there are only so many of these we get to see.
A quick refresher. During the few weeks before and after the equinox, the rate of day length change accelerates. At our latitude during this time, we are losing about 2.5 minutes of daylight per day. During the month surrounding the equinox, we lose an hour and 10 minutes of daylight, which is why we notice it. In contrast, during the time around the solstices, daylight changes less than 5 seconds per day, and only about 4 minutes during a whole month, so it can seem like summer or winter are unchanging.
On the farm, we’ve been hearing Sandhill cranes making their migration. And production slows. We still have abundant harvests, but they are based in the past, we are running on the fumes of summer. Since plant growth is totally dependent on temperature and day length, by the equinox we have finished planting for the year. By late September or early October, plant growth rates will slow to almost zero. Crops that are left in the field will be essentially just sitting there, and only ripening or growing very slightly. And we cycle onward, necessarily toward times of rest, before it can begin again.
-John
