“These rainbow carrots just aren’t growing in this cold. Lots of planting going on though!” That was a text from Matt Fry of Fry Farm when discussing crops we’ll be putting in baskets soon.
The local items are slim pickings during these cold winter weeks, but we wanted to reiterate the importance of these “off weeks” to our local farmers. When you’re working the soil with freezing hands and outputs are minimal (aka bunches of rainbow carrots or collard greens), they’re all the more valuable. Your weekly baskets continue to create that value for our farmers. It’s because of those baskets that we were able to spend $876,185 with local farmers and artisans in 2017. The crop planning we’ve been talking about all winter will start to take affect in just a couple weeks!
The cold temperatures also play a huge role in setting a strong foundation for a bountiful year. Insects and diseases that would normally threaten harvests in prime seasons are wiped out. Perennial plants are able to go into a dormant state, reserving additional energy for new growth. Farmers can prune and transplant without fear of early sprouting.
And it never hurts to have climate controlled high tunnels like Mitch at Rise ‘N Shine! He uses these all year, growing tomatoes in the summer and greens in the winter. But even with this next level infrastructure, no one denies it’s REALLY hard to harvest in the winter. As we navigate these last few weeks of cold weather, know that even in the most challenging times, something amazing is always around the corner.
