“Suppose we did our work
like the snow, quietly, quietly.
leaving nothing out.” – Like Snow by Wendell Berry
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Important Reminder: Next week is the Week 4 pick up of the Winter CSA and the last pick up before our 2-week holiday/new year break. After next week’s pick up: Weekly Members & Bi-Weekly Members (weeks 1,3,5,7 etc) will resume CSA pick up the week of January 8th. Bi-weekly Members (weeks 2,4,6,8 etc) will resume CSA pick up the week of January 17th.
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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,
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It’s been quite a few weeks on the farm! From our first frost and freeze last week to snow and freezing rain and warmer temps.. now we’re back to colder temps and snow again! It’s looking like it’ll be in the 40s again next week which means we’ll have a thaw and lots of mud. It’s been such a different winter growing year for us than last year. Both seasons were pretty mild leading into winter, last year had a lot more rain and the frost came a little earlier, we had snow but it wasn’t until the month of January. The extended fall like weather that we had this year meant extra time to enjoy more frost sensitive crops like cauliflower, romanesco and broccoli. Usually by the time December comes around those crops have all but succumbed to colder temps. So we are thankful for an extended season for some of those delicious veggies and glad we took some chances with a later successional planting of those crops!
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Brussel Sprouts and Purple Sprouting Broccoli in the snow and one of the high tunnels at sunset…
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At the moment the farm is neatly tucked into a few dozen big sheets of agribon (each sheet is 35ft x 100ft and is a floating row cover that provides frost protection up to 2-4 degrees) that is then covered with a few inches of snow. Hopefully the snow is keeping all those crops well insulated in their own “snow cave” until the thaw comes on Sunday.
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When the snow and bitter cold comes there’s not much that we can do but hunker down and hope for the best! Continue on with chores and projects and peek in on the crops, hunker down and focus on next year’s goals and financial projections as well as launching our 2017 CSA season on January 1st! Every season is different and comes with it’s own unique weather waves and patterns and this winter is no exception! We’ll have a better idea of how all the vegetables did come Sunday/Monday with the warmer weather. (send the farm your warm thoughts!)
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The sunset over our annual lake WHF and our crop of garlic for 2017..
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The Winter season perhaps, more than any other, speaks to the nature of CSAs shared risk. You invest in the farm and the farmers and we do our very best to provide you with organic seasonal produce through the winter months, whatever the season may bring. Because of you and your investment in our farm our CSA continues to thrive and get better and better with every passing year. The learning curve is becoming less steep, and we are feeling more confident no matter what ol’ mother nature throws at us.
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Winter farming isn’t for the faint of heart but we truly believe it to be a special time of the year to be vegetable farmers… to be connected to the seasons, to the winter varietals of plants, to better understand nature and truly experience the highs and lows and resiliency of life!
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Harvesting beet bunches for this past week’s CSA, harvest/wash/pack repeat & spring onions!
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Most of you have gotten to know us over several seasons and you know we will do our very best to ensure you have food on your table all winter long. We even got up way before the sun on Wednesday to extend pick up hours to ensure all our CSA members made it out to pick up before the snow. Come rain or shine our members gotta have those veggies!
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Being a farmer is all about keeping the faith and being willing to take risks (and like it, to boot!) Learning to trust that everything is going to be okay no matter what happens. On a personal note, the snow was a warm welcome as it has this way of slowing everything down. The roads get a lot quieter and everything looks peacefully tucked into a giant blanket of white. The crunch beneath your feet.. all of it allows you to be exactly where you are and appreciate nature and the seasons. Change is a welcome thing.
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The change of pace also allowed for some quality time with my mom who was visiting from Massachusetts. Everytime my family comes to visit I can’t express just how much their visit meant to Brian and I. The last time they were able to visit was in the Spring and before that at our wedding which was almost 2 years ago! They were here at the start of the 2016 growing season when it officially began and my mom was able to come out to see the end of the season too – it always feels right to have them there with us by our sides. It’s amazing how much we miss them and hope it’s not too long until we see their faces again. Love you mom!
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My mom and I enjoying the snow last week, frozen leeks and the first of the PSB..
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20% off WHF Pastured Pork & Grass Fed Beef! The sale continues! Thank you all very much for your interest! To celebrate the holidays ahead – beginning today – we are offering 20% off all orders over $25 for our Pastured Pork & Grass Fed Beef using the discount code HOLIDAYSALE during checkout.
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To purchase: click the link to our Online Store to purchase some of our amazing pastured pork & grass fed beef. *You will receive 20% off your online order when you type in or copy/paste the discount code: HOLIDAYSALE during check out. Discount code will be valid while supplies last!*
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Gloucester checking out last week’s freeze, our first snow of the season and some frosty cabbages!
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Not only is it incredibly delicious but your investment helps Brian & I to sustain our small farm! Thank you in advance for your support! Help us spread the good word and share this email and link with family and friends! #buylocal #knowyourfarmer#knowyourfood
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With kind regards,
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Your Farmers
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Jess & Brian
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dirty hands, clean hearts
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working hands farm 
