March Farm Update

March 9, 2023--The garlic is up!

By Andrea Yoder

We are only seven weeks out from the first CSA delivery of the 2023 season and the official first day of spring is coming up next Monday, March 20!  Every year as we head into winter it feels like spring is so far away, but then the piles of winter squash and sweet potatoes on my kitchen counter dwindle, the carrots in my crisper drawer start to sprout little roots and the last heads of cabbage make their way into a pot of soup or stir-fry.  And that’s when the craving for fresh, green vegetables sets in!  Ramps, asparagus, overwintered spinach, watercress—basically my body wants anything fresh and green!  For those of you who are feeling the same, know that we’ll be delivering those first CSA boxes before you know it!

In the weeks since our last update, quite a lot has happened around the farm.  We’ve had a few snow storms, we’ve had a few rainy days, we’ve seen single digit mornings, we’ve seen temperatures in the 40’s, and amidst the varied weather we’ve enjoyed some sunny, clear skies as well! We reached capacity in our first greenhouse and did our big annual cleaning in the second house.  On Wednesday we moved all of the onion plants to the next house so we have room to continue planting!  Before this week is finished we hope to finish planting the rest of the shallots and leeks as well as the first crop of head lettuce, celeriac, wild flowers and possibly even some broccoli and cauliflower.  

Onion Seedlings....moving up to their
second stop on the journey to the field!

While most of our winter work is done in the greenhouses or packing shed, we did sneak in a little field work over the past few weeks.  When we see temperatures in the 40’s that often triggers the catkins on the pussywillow to open up.  So we took advantage of frosty mornings over the past two weekends to trim the curly willow and pussywillow trees in our field hedgerows.  Over the next few weeks we’ll turn them into decorative willow bunches that we’ll send as a choice item with the first few CSA deliveries in May.  Rafael and Richard also spent some time in the garlic field pulling back the row cover.  Their initial report is that the garlic looks good!  It’s up and you can see the rows of green sprouts.  We do need to do a little forking in some places to loosen the mulch, but overall we’re pleased with how it looks right now.

In the packing shed our small crew has stayed busy washing and packing orders for our wholesale partners.  Our supplies of burdock root, horseradish, fall-dug sunchokes and black radishes are dwindling, but we’re thankful everything has been storing well!  In early April we’ll be looking for some dry weather to dig our overwintered parsnips and sunchokes as well as more horseradish.  When you live in a northern climate, root vegetables are an important key to seasonal eating.  We’re thankful for their storage potential that bridges the gap between the end of one growing season and the start of the next. 

Winter is also a busy time in the office. Richard and Rafael have been ordering supplies, working on permits, laying out field plans and other bits and pieces of details like crew responsibilities, vehicle responsibilities and assignments, changes to fertigation protocols, etc.  Kelly has been hard at work processing CSA orders and has been doing a fabulous job!  We still have quite a ways to go before the trucks are filled, so keep those orders coming!  We have plenty of room at all sites in all locations and on all delivery days!  We’re also working on putting together this year’s CSA calendar, revising site guides and putting together all the parts and pieces for the new season!

The pace of our farm will be picking up very soon, so we’ll savor these final few official days of winter!  In just a few weeks our field crew will be returning and they’ll bring their energy of rejuvenation with them!  We hope you are coming out of winter and entering into spring rejuvenated and refreshed as well!  Stay tuned for more updates as we head back to the fields and resume our harvest schedule as we head into the month of April!