signs of spring

Spring is beginning here on the farm.  Even though the temperatures are still chilly, the sun is high in the sky, and the birds are starting to sing.  Last Thursday we put packets of seeds in our backpacks, grabbed some rakes, and headed out on our snowshoes down the hill to the high tunnels in the lower fields. We rolled out our "Jang" push-seeder out over the frozen fields down with us. Inside, it was almost 80º in our unheated high tunnel, "Thunder!" We opened up the vents and let in the fresh air.   It felt great to be  soaking in the sun's rays, not to mention the thrill of putting seeds in the ground in February! The season begins, and may it be a great one!

Snow and Food

After the many snows we get to play "Find the Hoop House" and clear the snow off the sides so it does not build up on the roof. Some pretty hefty work, but good exercise and actually fun on a sunny day. The greens in the houses are slowing, but should start to grow in the next couple of weeks when we get more daylight hours.

Some black beans (Jean's Beans) cooked with cilantro, onions and garlic were a welcome sight coming back inside from work!

and now for a little luge...

Winter brings visions of the future. We plan, budget, order and hope. Jean and I are definitely looking forward to the coming season, but we always try to make some time for the fun. The combination of friends snow shovels and some giant snow banks brings a farm luge together.

Winter Fun

The winter normally is a time for us to settle down and spend our days drinking tea. With the winter markets we still have the tea, but we have hardly settled down. We continue to bring vegetables to restaurants and travel to farmers markets on weekends. Our new Hoop Houses have been a great addition to having greens all year long. It can be freezing out side but on a sunny day its 50 degrees in the houses.

A special thanks to our CSA members who did not finish there credit with us by the end of the year, but elected to donate the value in food to the food bank. Definitely a great way to share the love this winter.

winter and optimism

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.

Spring is in the air...no seriously.

If you are living in New Hampshire, or just about anywhere in the Northeast, it might be difficult for you to imagine that spring is, in fact, just around the corner. Old man winter is putting up a pretty good fight, but believe me, it is a battle he won't win. He never does. The seasons just keep coming, and there's no stopping spring's immanent arrival.
So, we figured we best be getting ready. We've got beets, lettuce, and a mini-field of onion sprouts going in the greenhouse. Soon we'll be starting herbs, and tomatoes, and oh yeah, more beets and lettuce!
We just sold the last of the carrots and turnips, (of course we kept a few pounds for ourselves!) but there is still a good amount of potatoes in the root cellar for sale. Everything down there still looks and tastes wonderful! Next year, (I should say THIS year) I hope to have more food down there for restaurants and Winter Markets. I will say, it's been a funny balancing act between marketing Winter produce and planning spring crops...kind of like living in both the past and the future at the same time, but it's all a learning process, and it's been great. We are definitely happy with how well our storage went- and of course, next year we plan do it all even bigger and better.
So stay tuned!

chilly bean field

Winter has finally settled in and I must say it feels as though all is right with the world again. We are in the thick of January's seed-ordering frenzy. There's nothing like pouring over catalogs with a hot bowl of soup as the cold wind blows outside. One of the best aspects of farming is the ability to start from scratch every spring- tweaking, improving, trying new things. Who knows what wrench the weather will throw into the works! For now, I am content to enjoy the pleasantly brisk arctic air. Here's me on one of our coldest days walking on the frozen furrows of the future bean field.