Summer may be the peak tourism season, but for farmers, autumn brings long days toiling in the soil harvesting, preparing, packing, and even planting crops. Two local farms—9 Bean Rows and Lakeview Hill—provided the Northern Express, sister publication of The Ticker, with some insight into what the autumnal harvest looks like, what their days consist of, and which produce to seek out at farmers markets this October.

Operated by Nic and Jen Welty, 9 Bean Rows sits off of Horn Road in Lake Leelanau. Once fall fully descends, harvest of the autumn veggies (such as squash and pumpkins) can take place in the evenings. Those pumpkins are somewhat legendary. “Growing giant pumpkins is my hobby,” Nic says. “I’m hoping to enter a competition this year with one of them.” He also likes to dabble in unique-to-NoMi crops, testing out things like artichokes, okra, and even wheat to see what takes.

Lakeview Hill Farm is an organic farm located between South Lake Leelanau and West Grand Traverse Bay, off Lakeview Hills Road. Co-owners Bailey Samp and John Dindia pride themselves on providing people with organic produce and using sustainable energy sources. The farm itself is 100 percent solar powered, and the hoop houses and greenhouses use a high-efficiency gasification wood boiler system with wood collected from the farm. “This time of year can be especially hectic,” John says, “because we’re harvesting our late summer and fall crops while simultaneously preparing and planting our winter crops.”

Read more about the plethora of fall crops that are ready or soon-to-be-ready on both farms, what's new on the properties, and a sneak peek at what's coming down the pipeline in this week's Northern Express, available to read online or on newsstands at nearly 700 spots in 14 counties across northern Michigan.