Late Fall Ready

Welcome to the 2021 Late Fall CSA season! This is the 10th year we've offered an extended season harvest, which is hard to believe. It feels like just yesterday we were beginning to wrap our heads around season extension and distributing shares this time of year. There's been a lot of experimentation and trial and error to identify the best crops to grow and harvest as well as store through the winter months. We're very close to having our systems in place but of course will always continue to test, modify, tweak, especially when it comes to fresh greens. Our tunnel footprint, where the vast majority of our greens are harvested this time of year, has more than quadrupled since year one. After dealing with floating row covers and low hoops in the field for a few years it became very apparent that to grow into the winter in a less stressful manner tunnel space is essential. Wind, snow, and deer have wreaked havoc on outdoor fabric, not to mention the challenge of trying to harvest in freezing conditions, completely exposed to whatever weather is happening on the days we need to harvest. Our storage space has triple since year one, too. We now have three different insulated, climate controlled, rodent proof storage rooms, one for cold and humid (beets, daikons, cabbage, carrots, greens, etc), cold and dry (onions, garlic, potatoes) and relatively warm (sweet potatoes). One upgrade we discussed but haven't implemented (yet?) was adding heat to the pick up room area (except for the occasional space heater when outside temperatures are below freezing). When we were entertaining the idea to distribute continuously through the winter months we seriously thought about this upgrade, but we've since discontinued the desire to try to harvest and distribute in January and February, except for the occasional flash sale. As of now a 32-week harvest season feels long enough. In January we try to get off the farm for a much needed break. In February preparations begin in earnest for the upcoming growing season. We exit the Persephone period (less than 10 hours of daylight) and tunnel greens begin a strong regrowth period. This is when we most likely will host a flash sale or two. By late February we're back in the greenhouse seeding for outdoor spring transplanting and the cycle begins again. Thank you for joining us for this segment of the journey!