Long Season Farm

Got the van loaded in negative 5 temps & set up without freezing the vegetables! Way to go team -- especially @kerhonkson_terroir & Bret for setting up the van with insulation. (I just did what I was told!) We are at @kingstonfarmersmarket until 2 pm.

Weekend Market Update! This Saturday we will be attending the @kingstonfarmersmarket located at the Senate House Garage, 10 am - 2 pm. We will not be attending the @beaconfarmersmarket... this Sunday. We are terribly sorry to miss a scheduled market again, and miss our customers & fellow vendors so much! We are skipping out yet again due to cold temps. This market is outdoors and the projected temps don't meet our decision making matrix. I'm sharing that below. In Kingston we will have more-than usual bunches of kale & spinach, and will have our usual root crops & cabbage, so anyone up for the drive will likely find a good assortment at our booth if you arrive by 12:00/12:30 pm. Temps needed for veg outdoors There are a couple of factors we have to consider with being outside in the winter. Loading up & commuting in an uninsulated van (1 hr 45 min) Ability to keep greens and roots from freezing during set up & market (5.5 hours) Need to sell nearly all greens we bring - the cost of winter farming is too high to bring greens home & have to toss them from freeze damage or cold dehydration. Because of those factors, we need the outdoor temps to be at 32 by an hour into the market. Even with that bar, we have a lot of extra work to do to protect vegetables in transit & during set up. For a 10 am start time, we arrive at 8:30, so with that temp bar, we are in below freezing from 6:45 to 11 am. Even at 32 the vegetables can freeze/frost, so we have to use heat & other tools to keep everything at its peak quality for that period. When that temp range is 20-32 we know we can handle it. When its 10-25, we feel we cannot and still feel good about what we are selling our customers, for, lets be honest, relatively high prices which are necessary for our operation, but we want the cost to reflect the quality & experience. I also want to be clear: We totally support the Beacon Market's decision to stay outdoors for the winter. We are so grateful for the hard work and dedication of the market management and are completely committed to the Beacon Market! This is the longest stretch of weather like this we've seen -- this is able as cold as it gets in the HV!

Veggies are all tucked in for the next few days, coolers all set with heaters to keep them from freezing, and outdoor/tunnel work is cancelled. We spent our 2 week winter break painting our living room, so I am taking this week to dig in to catching our crop records and get our 2022 crop plan done. Yeah, um, no, not one of those farmers that gets it done in November or December.

Finally snapped a pic of a share for the first time in a couple years! Housekeeping note! Due to weather the @beaconfarmersmarket is cancelled for tomorrow, 1/9. We've brought all the greens to @kingstonfarmersmarket -- so come stock up! Senate House Garage, 10 am - 2 pm

First week back after our break! First harvest of 2022! So far the year is full of COVID, cold temps, and a possible snow storm. So far, Sam & I are healthy, and we are grateful to our staff for being communicative & safe, and our non-winter staff for picking up shifts -- but we are a little short staffed this week. Let's just all do the best we can, and trust that others are doing the same

Harvested the bok choy & scallions here two weeks ago, they sat out during the CSA distribution and then I just shoved them in an open bin in the cooler. I should have taken a before pic, the bok choy were almost perfect. The scallions I peeled Winter vegetables are magic keepers. Also pictured, my pretty new soup bowl gifted to me by @kerhonkson_terroir , recipe from @fullofplants

Attention @kingstonfarmersmarket customers & Kingston CSA members! We will have our vegetables (like chunky bok choy!) indoors tomorrow at the OLD DUTCH CHURCH. @solidgroundfarmny will be indoors too, but the rest of the market vendors will be at the courthouse lot, so be sure to shop both locations.

It was a long and complicated week, but at the end of it, we sold all the vegetables and now it's time for a little break. Our team is incredible, and we all share a vision of hard work, high quality, and showing up as much as we can for all of it, no matter what: @bruva_earth @allihopep @lukehansonippoliti @turshen @andreaframpton and Scott, Bret, and Aurora. Amazing people, and we can't do it with out them. Our customers are the BEST. Thank you for loving vegetables, for tr...ying new things, for letting us harvest, pack, sort and choose for you. For telling us what you cook, what you like, and what you want. This year was tough but big, challenging but rewarding. And though I steer the ship (maybe?), I still don't feel like I know exactly where we are headed, but I am very happy to be here, and am very thankful for everyone who is here with us. See more

We're all so excited about our brussel sprouts this year! Bringing a few stalks to market, and unloading most of them next weekend at markets & to our CSA members. We worked very hard this season to keep them in top shape. Kept them weed free, NO secondary fertilization, and WEEKLY sprays of organic pesticides targeting cabbage worms and aphids, and sprays that help plants keep fungus down. @kerhonkson_terroir @turshen @bruva_earth

We are a rain or shine, all kinds of weather kinda farm, which means you should put on some rain gear and catch some of this cauliflower, or any of the other 35 vegetables we will have today!

Big carrots, weathered hands. (Also!! These giant carrots! Wasn't happy with the germination, but they really are filling the space!)

Stellar market display by our stellar market team! @kerhonkson_terroir @allihopep & Aurora. Feeling a little pessimistic about how long this fall harvest season will last, enjoy it while we can!

Happy fall ya'll. (Also why you'll never see a pumpkin on my door step.)