Kaden and I decided that the best option from now until April, is for our farm to operate the farm stand, in place of offering a short season salad share. Each week, I will create a farm stand for the vegetables we have available.
It was not easy to backtrack on the salad share option. The intention was to supplement our farmers market revenue between now and April. Within the last week, however, our farm was approached by a team of restaurateurs. The owner contacted us after becoming a farm share member, and is excited about sourcing produce for a new restaurant opening in Monroe. The head chef, manager, restaurant consultant, and the owner were the first wholesale clients to ever come to Marion for a farm visit! We are really excited about this opportunity! The farm visit reframed our considerations for the salad share season. For us to accommodate this restaurant, we realized that we cannot hold on to crops remaining from the winter season. New seeds must be sown, and our beds amended and prepared for new planting. After assessing the crops remaining, we understood that to meet both the deadlines for starting our farm shares in April, and supplying the restaurant within 4-6 weeks, that we could not guarantee enough vegetable inventory for salad shares if all of our members renew.
For the next four to six weeks, the farm stand will feature lots of leafy greens like lettuce, salad mix, mesclun mix, arugula, and bok choy. Of course we always have root crops, so you can expect radishes and carrots each week too. We will carry extras including Stowe Creek Farm eggs and honey, plus Fort Sumner Hot Sauce and our jam.
I hope that y'all aren't too upset about salad share cancelation. As a member, you have helped our farm succeed. When we create a season, I have each of you in mind when crop planning and curating the list of seeds to plant. I think that setting aside short-term financial aspirations, in favor of, a full and diverse Spring farm share season, is best for our farm and our farm share members in the long-term. Thus, the farm stand is the most practical option for anyone who wants to continue sourcing produce from Current Farms. Maybe eating the Spring Mix from the grocery is a good reminder of why our salad and shoots mix is the best! Plus, those carrots just get sweeter every week!
To all of the Fiesta members/farm stand subscribers who do not see that option, here is why. Fiesta charges a fee for our pick ups. Without a guaranteed number of pick ups during this slower season, we could lose money if not enough folks place an order. I hope that you will consider the urban farm pick up or the home delivery options. Or ask Fiesta to stock our salad and lettuce mixes in their retail space!
Slowing our vegetable production gives us essential time we need to plant for the Spring. We have already planted lettuce, scallions, arugula, mustard greens, Asian greens, radishes, turnips, and carrots. In seed trays, we have already started kale, collards, bok choy, green beans, tomatoes, and so much more! Each week we will transplant thousands of seeds, and start many more! This coming week, we will finish the well, install a 100 ft caterpillar tunnel, plus get our potatoes in the ground!
Hope you cook something delicious this week!
Sincerely, your farmer,
Conrad Cable
