The weather has turned cold, the greens are turning translucent in the field, and the leaves are falling. Our fire is lit most nights already, and we’re indulging in the post season lull, which gives me lots of time to reflect on this season and dream about the next.
Like many farmers, at the end of a great season I start scheming. How can we make things work smoother, increase production, use our time more wisely, AND take better care of our land. While walking up the hill with my favorite goat herd, I’m looking down at the pasture and imagining hogs breaking new ground. While reading a novel, I get distracted searching for alternate tomato trellis systems. It’s vicious, this thirst for knowledge and improvement.
This year, we were lucky to have amazing weather that led to gorgeous vegetables and busy markets. We opened up a new market for our greens with labeled bags in grocery stores. We doubled our wholesale production and we found a market system that allows us to visit friends, enjoy the crowds, and get a break. We managed to stumble on the greatest summer worker we could ever hope to find. This year we celebrate three years in one place, on one piece of land. It has been so rewarding to see our rotation in action, to see the asparagus we planted grow to almost production, and to become a genuine part of this community. I feel blessed to be here.
More than good weather and a great situation, what makes our lifestyle viable is you. Without friends, family, and community members who are passionate about good local food, we wouldn’t have jobs. Thank you for supporting small farmers like us. It makes a big difference. Not only for your body, but for your community and for your economy. Putting money into local business bolsters everyone around us. It gives our friends and families jobs. It makes us stronger by linking us together in a web of social and economic bonds. By buying local, I know the people behind the products I use, and it gives me a solid connection the people in my community. I know them by name. It fosters collaboration and camaraderie between us all, and it allows me to do what I love. Thank you. So much.
In closing, a few photos from the last market and Heidi and Kitty weeding the spinach bed for overwitnering.