In your share this week:
- Red Norland Potatoes
- Yukon Gold Potatoes
- Red Onions
- Yellow Walla Walla Onions
- Carrots
- Golden Beets (left the tops on so you can enjoy the greens)
- Scallions
- Baby Butter Bibb Head Lettuce
Several weeks ago we planted two rows of lettuce starts with the intention that they would be ready to harvest the last few weeks of the season. I've been watching them all this time, wishing they'd grow more quickly. Meanwhile, the spinach and chard plants kept growing just enough to keep giving us a weekly harvest of greens. Now here we are at the last week of the season - the chard and spinach are done, and the lettuce was finally big enough to cut. Better late than never. This baby lettuce is such a treat for the end of the season!
As I walk around the farm each day, opening and closing greenhouses, it's good to see vacant spaces and empty rows. Besides a little bit of this and that around the farm (which we leave for farm helpers to glean as we clean up after the season), we are out of food! When all our greenhouses and fields are bursting with produce in the summer, it's hard to imagine the day when it will be gone, but we have reached that point. The 2013 CSA season has come to an end.
We will continue working on the farm for about another month. The more we can accomplish time of year, the better off we are in the spring and the sooner we can get to planting. We have some great helpers who will come a another week or two and then it's Shain, Eli and I doing as much as we can before we get snowed out. Even after it snows, we keep cleaning out greenhouses. We get a little sad each year to see the CSA season end, but it feels good as we gradually put things to rest for the winter.
Looking ahead to next year - we see our plans for 2014 being similar to how we ran the farm in 2013. Weather continues to be a challenge, but we learn something every year and get a little better. Our biggest lesson this year was to delay some of the early spring planting dates to avoid stunted and slowed growth of our tomatoes, basil, peppers and other crops. Our biggest concern for the future is labor, so we'll advertise a little more to fill our Workshare positions and we are considering the possibility and costs of hiring a extra help with bigger projects throughout the season and especially at the end of the season.
Thank you for your support this year. Thank you for making the pick ups flow so smoothly all season long. There were very few mix ups this year and I am very grateful for that!
2013 CSA members will receive an email and post card from me in January letting you know when 2014 shares are available. A few weeks after that, I will start advertising in our local communities. Please spread the word about our farm, especially to anyone who may be interested in coming to help as a workshare.
Have a great WINTER, and ENJOY your veggies!
Tara
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