Welcome to our new farm share season! Thank you to all of our members who auto-renewed and hello to all of our new members. Kaden and I have a great season planned for y'all. The Winter shares might not have the variety as a Spring, or Fall season, but you just can't beat the tastes of cool season veggies once the temperatures drop.
Starting off the season right, we will have broccolini and carrots available for everyone! There's also a fantastic salad and shoots mix, lettuce, and lots of other leafy greens! Due to limited supplies of cauliflowers, cabbages, and tomatoes, I chose to leave those up for anyone who wants to swap or add-on. *You may get a red tomato that is under-ripe. There's still 4 days between now and deliveries, so they may not have ripened as fully as I would like, but hey, it's a local tomato at Christmastime. I ordered additional quantities, so there's plenty of free range eggs from Stowe Creek Farm.
We used the week of no farm share deliveries to make some serious infrastructure developments on the farm. We ordered 50 yards of compost that was delivered on Monday morning. By Tuesday afternoon, we only had one yard left. We used the compost and built thirteen, new 100 ft beds. Each bed has between 6-12 inches of compost that is added right on top of the soil. We then add some amendments, and will tarp the new plot until our first plantings in February. This increased the size of our farm by 40%! This is much needed space that will allow us to grow more crops like broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, storage onions, garlic, personal melons, winter squash, and lots more! We also upgraded by installing two, 50 gallon sinks to help us wash your veggies faster.
Thanks everyone for choosing our farm! You are what you eat, and growing good food for you and your families brings a lot of meaning to our work and our lives. We are committed to always improving our skills as growers. Your farm share support allows us that privilege. Our members help us create a predictable and stable marketplace for our produce. I tell folks all the time that farm shares are the number one way to support our farm, because of the peace of mind it provides.
This season is important for many reasons. The first one is income balance. Having a stable income during the cooler season means that we don't have to work harder in other seasons to make extra money. The Winter share will also give us the cash that we need for seeds and compost as we prepare for the Spring season. These shares are important, because they show local food consumers that farms in our area can produce food all year. Resiliency is a word you hear in the local food world all the time. What is more resilient than a loaded farm share in the middle of winter, when 99% of vegetable producers in our area are shut down? Finally, the success of the shares this season is personal. I have spent years learning and developing the skills for winter growing, and this season is when I will put my skills as a grower to the test. The unpredictable aspect of the weather makes the work exhilarating. The cold teaches me perseverance. I'm confident that having the right tools, focused attention to daily field inspections, and a formidable attitude will make this one of the most fun, and abundant seasons in our farm's history.
I hope you all have a great holiday! We are looking forward to taking a few weeks off. After this week, shares will continue on January 4, 2022! Thank you everyone for helping make this a great year of farming. We appreciate all of you.
Sincerely,
