Winter has really settled in over the farm. Though we continue harvesting warm-season crops like eggplant, tomatoes, beans, and much more through the coldest days – this week the stark changes to the landscape around us really sunk in. The cypress trees at the back of the farm are all bare, the pastures around us for miles and miles are brown, oftentimes the farm landscape is blanketed in snow-white frost cloth, and this week the skies are gray. The crops continue to grow green and vibrant – all the leafy greens and lettuces, in particular, are impressing us this month with their size and quality. Last week we welcomed the first fresh spinach of the season! It was included in the greens box last week, and will be included again this week.
Yesterday we pulled the final tomato plants out of the field after all that cold. Our greenhouse tomatoes are really ramping up, so we were able to make the call and clear some field space. After 8 years of farming, for the first time ever this year we have a tractor with pallet forks attached at all times. It’s hard to imagine how we lived without that for so long. This week pulling plants was such a breeze with our new setup. Plants and stakes are removed right into bins at the front of the tractor, and each row is done within minutes. So satisfying!
All the cold weather we’ve had for the last month and a half delayed the beginning of strawberry season that we keep promising. We brought the first harvest of berries to the farmers market last weekend. Now the plants are flowering like crazy and we expect lots of fruit to come over the period of the next month for everyone.
Sincerely,
Ellen and Cole