While astrological winter does not officially start until December 21, meteorological winter is indeed here on the farm, and we’re feeling the transition to the coldest three months of the year. We even had a delightful squall of swirling snowflakes here earlier this week. It did not last long, but we felt the wind and chill in our bones. Brrrrr!
The roof or “skin” of our High Tunnel came down today, marking the end of the growing season in this space. We had already said goodbye to the more temperature-sensitive crops in there like tomatoes and peppers, and today we said farewell to those heartier and more stalwart friends such as parsley and Swiss chard.
Outside, we’ve been busy planting loads of garlic and red onions. Despite chilly fingers, we also took time to carefully dig up the dahlia tubers so they may spend their winter dormancy carefully stored inside rather than be subject to the perils of the frozen ground. We thanked them for their gorgeous late fall color, and we look forward to replanting them in spring and coaxing new blooms come next fall.
We won’t be hibernating at all this winter: this will be our second winter where we keep a full team and a full work schedule, and we are excited for the transition to a different type of work. While the cold may cause (some of) us to move at a slower pace, we have plenty to do in the greenhouse and barn, as well as outdoors…and we’re already planning and preparing for the next outdoor growing season.
Be warm, be well and stay tuned for details on how you may continue to make purchases and support the farm after we hold our last 2023 farmstand on December 16.
With gratitude and appreciation,
Allison Schumacher
Farm Manager