Goodbye to Winter

Such is the name of the piano song my 6-year-old Harper just finished playing, and he couldn’t have done so at a better time.  Goodbye, Winter!  Hello, Spring!  And hello to all these gorgeous little babies growing in the hoop house.

Yet, growing up in the Midwest, I do have a soft spot in my heart for the wintertime, especially when working on a vegetable farm.  When daylight drops below 10 hours, and the temperature plummets into the negatives, we take a break from growing and harvesting and instead reflect on the past season and plan for the future.

So as the snow fell and the gray skies took over, Dan and I thought about how we could make Perkins’ Good Earth Farm better.  We read books—Vegetable Literacy by Deborah Madison, Restoration Agriculture by Mark Shephard–listened to podcasts like those in Chris Blanchard’s Farmer to Farmer series, rethought what it means to host a Community Supported Agriculture, and discussed biochar and agricultural practices with other farmers.  We dreamed, drew up plans, crunched numbers, and dreamed some more.

And, thanks to many of your votes for my recipe in the Dannon Everyday Chefs Better With Yogurt contest, we’re going to be turning a few of these dreams into a reality!  Our first big project will be winterizing the milkhouse.  (This past fall, the temperatures dropped below freezing just as the Fall CSA ended, which was cutting it a little too close for comfort as refrigerators do a great job keeping greens cool but not so great at keeping them “warm”, aka unfrozen!)  We’ll also be purchasing several tools and tractor implements that will make planting and harvesting more efficient.  

But for now, the big news is that spring sales are about to begin! Starting next week on April 23, we’ll be selling produce through weekly online sales, with sales opening on Thursdays at 5 pm and closing on Fridays at 5 pm.  Pick-up will be Monday from 3-6 here at the farm, or in Rensselaer from 11-2, depending on your preference.  Click here to check out our spring produce.  We’re so looking forward to seeing you all again!