It used to be that winter was the time of year where we hunkered down with steaming mugs perusing seed catalogs and planning for the spring. It was a time to get part time jobs and generally rest our work-weary bones for next season. Then we started talking about "winter" markets. At the time it seemed a longshot: people barely came to our later markets in October, why would they want to come to a market in December? So we grew some extra winter squash, figuring that if it didn't sell, at least we'd have plenty of calories to keep us (not to mention friends and family) well fed in case of sudden apocalypse. That was two years ago. The overwhelming success of that first market and the ones that followed has shaped the way we approach farming. Come to find: we're not alone. We just attended the
New England Vegetable and Fruit growers' conference. It was awesome to talk to growers out in Vermont and Maine and hear how to grow more food in the winter. It's really happening, and it's totally exciting! For us as well as many farmers, it's drastically changed what being a farmer entails during the cold months: from washing potatoes on the "warm" days to pulling carrots out of the snow, to pulling the van up the frozen barn ramp with the tractor to get ready for yet another market. Which, by the way is this
Saturday in Rollinsford. The fun doesn't stop. Next year at this time we hope to be cutting greens out of our (soon to be constructed) unheated hoophouse. Suddenly we are becoming busy. Not that we mind. Shorter days mean there's still plenty of time to come inside and find that steaming mug. As I write this, I am glancing at a disheveled stack of seed catalogs awaiting my perusal. I think to myself, "next year will be better." Some things about farmers never change.
It used to be that winter was the time of year where we hunkered down with steaming mugs perusing seed catalogs and planning for the spring. It was a time to get part time jobs and generally rest our work-weary bones for next season. Then we started talking about "winter" markets. At the time it seemed a longshot: people barely came to our later markets in October, why would they want to come to a market in December? So we grew some extra winter squash, figuring that if it didn't sell, at least we'd have plenty of calories to keep us (not to mention friends and family) well fed in case of sudden apocalypse. That was two years ago. The overwhelming success of that first market and the ones that followed has shaped the way we approach farming. Come to find: we're not alone. We just attended the New England Vegetable and Fruit growers' conference. It was awesome to talk to growers out in Vermont and Maine and hear how to grow more food in the winter. It's really happening, and it's totally exciting! For us as well as many farmers, it's drastically changed what being a farmer entails during the cold months: from washing potatoes on the "warm" days to pulling carrots out of the snow, to pulling the van up the frozen barn ramp with the tractor to get ready for yet another market. Which, by the way is this Saturday in Rollinsford. The fun doesn't stop. Next year at this time we hope to be cutting greens out of our (soon to be constructed) unheated hoophouse. Suddenly we are becoming busy. Not that we mind. Shorter days mean there's still plenty of time to come inside and find that steaming mug. As I write this, I am glancing at a disheveled stack of seed catalogs awaiting my perusal. I think to myself, "next year will be better." Some things about farmers never change.
