Daybreak Growers Alliance Gift Certificates are available, give the sustainable gift of Maine grown, local and organic food products this season! Shop early for the best selection of seasonal favorites.
Update from Villageside Farm
Greetings from Villageside Farm! People often ask: "What do vegetable farmers do in the winter?" The answer, like the answer to many questions, is it depends! It depends in large part on what enterprises the farm depends on. While all of the Daybreak farmers have things in common, not least of which is producing nutritious food for Mainers, every farm is unique! For us, this time of year is punctuated by some annual activities.
We are still selling storage crops from our cold storage units - mostly carrots, beets, garlic etc.. We are also working on firewood! Our seedling greenhouse uses firewood to heat, and burns about 8 cords of wood from March 1st to the end of May! To put that in perspective, it takes about 2 cords to keep our 5-person house fully heated for the entire winter. Yikes! It's true what they say that firewood heats you at least 3 times - and we are keeping warm on many of these chilly days by working on cutting, splitting and stacking.
At this time of year, we are also taking stock of the past season as well as wrapping up much of the bookkeeping. Real crop planning for 2022 tends to start after Jan 1. Most of our summer crew has moved on to winter work of their own, though a few keep busy here off and on during the week.
Lastly, for us, December is a time to rest and connect with neighbors, family and friends - relationships we've tried not to neglect during the crazy summer farming months! This means walks in the woods, volunteering with local organizations, basketball coaching, fireside gatherings and board games (favorites this season are Euchre, Wingspan and chess).
We wish you all the best this winter. Thanks for your support of Daybreak Growers Alliance! Along with all the other Mainers who support small, sustainable farming, your commitment makes the work that we do possible.
Kind regards,
Prentice & Polly
