Last Tuesday was the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere—the shortest day of the year. Winter at our northern latitude is a time for a farmer’s body, and the land they work, to rest and prepare for the upcoming growing season. As the sun once again climbs higher in the sky with each passing day, the Field Production Team at Featherstone is in the midst of assessing the successes and failures of the past season. Over the course of the next several weeks we will begin to hash out more specific plans for 2022…what crops (and varieties) we want to grow, how much of them, how we will fit these crops into our field rotation, and what changes in their management we may want to consider. I’m excited to share developments with you all on this process as the 2022 season comes into clearer focus.
Meanwhile, our Warehouse has been operating with a skeleton crew, somehow keeping up with wholesale orders and the Winter CSA. This week we were very glad to welcome Mayra and Veronica back to Warehouse after visiting their respective families in Guanajuato, Mexico for the past month. This is my second winter at Featherstone, but I continue to be astounded by the volume and variety of storage crops we are able to carry through the winter. Washing and packing carrots and other root vegetables, winter squash, and cabbage is the bulk of what occupies the Warehouse Crew during the months of December, January, and February.
Our two high tunnels that we use to grow greens for our Winter CSA members provide a welcome respite from the often dreary winter landscape. Walking into one of these high tunnels in the depths of winter and being greeted by the green, living plants and smell of warm earth certainly helps keep my spirits up through the winter. Unfortunately, the larger of the two sustained significant damage during the severe weather southern Minnesota experienced on Wednesday, December 15th. All things considered, we were probably lucky to have not experienced more damage as a result of this bizarre weather (several tornadoes were reported from Fillmore, Houston and Winona Counties!). The most notable damage was a tear in the giant sheet of plastic that covers the house. Last week it was torn down and replaced as timely a manner as we could possibly manage.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Photos of our high tunnel damage from the storm
Despite being under a roof-less high tunnel for a couple days the spinach crop was saved by a thick blanket of row covers. The less cold hardy lettuce did, however, succumb to the ordeal. For this reason I’m sad to report that there will be no more lettuce for the remainder of the Winter CSA. As somewhat of a consolation, I will say the flavor of winter spinach from our high tunnels is second to none. I never would’ve expected there to be such a vast discrepancy in the flavor and quality of spinach until last winter when I sampled Featherstone’s winter spinach after some of the first bouts of really cold weather. Like many other fruits and vegetables, spinach produces more sugars when exposed to near-freezing temperatures in an effort to protect its cells from damage, hence the sweet and flavorful winter spinach from our tunnels.
Liam working on repairing the plastic with Abby selfie!
With a team of 13 folks, the high tunnel is fully repaired now!
Though strange weather phenomena like mid-December thunderstorms and tornadoes are more likely in this era of “global climate weirding” we hope our high tunnels will not be subjected to this sort of wintertime abuse again in our lifetimes. As I write this newsletter I am actively experiencing another reality of life in this day and age—a case of COVID-19. So far my symptoms are mild and hopefully continue to be. Over the past two years a handful of Featherstone employees and family members of employees have dealt with the virus. The matriarch of the Gascas—the extended family of VISA workers who have been an integral part of Featherstone’s operations for 20+ years—passed away last winter due to complications associated with COVID. This pandemic has effected our employees and business in innumerable ways, forcing regularly changing COVID protocols at Featherstone intended to mitigate the spread of the Virus amongst employees and the greater community.
After I finish this newsletter I’ll have a hearty lentil soup featuring Featherstone carrots and celeriac. I can’t say I’m not excited by the thought of a parade of nourishing soups laden with Featherstone vegetables as I hole up during this forced quarantine and recuperate.
From all of us here at Featherstone we wish you and your loved ones the best in the New Year!
Liam Bonk
Crop Manager
