Newsletter: Woah, We're Halfway There!
Cleaning up these carrots by giving them a good wash-and-tumble.
Something I didn’t think I’d miss during the pandemic is small talk. It wasn’t just the lack of crowds in the stands that made sports seem less exciting. Not being able to chat about the Twins, Lynx, or Vikings with folks about town made it all kind of dull. I didn’t even exchange my typical text message barbs with my Cheesehead friends during Vikings-Packers week! I might be alone in this, but I’m looking forward to 30 second chats about nothing with folks I don't know again.
Of course, there wouldn’t be small talk without the weather, and there has certainly been weather this year! With the way the cold came on during the week of our first delivery, Emmalyn and I are thrilled and more than a little surprised that there are any leafy greens in this box at all! Winter came hard and early, and even though we did everything we could with multiple layers of plastic woven row cover over the plants, it was ultimately out of our hands. If the day before the 9 degree night hadn’t been sunny, heating the greenhouse’s soil beds, there’s a very real chance that all of the kale, lettuce, arugula, and braising greens would have died in the ground.
Thankfully, the weather turned warm again, and right around the second delivery, I walked into a hoophouse to find Emmalyn and Chris wearing shorts and a t-shirt! While it was certainly a relief to get a break in the weather, it’s getting hard, if not impossible, to predict what’s going to happen even with a forecast.
That makes our jobs as farmers that much more challenging. When do we plant hoophouses in the spring? How about the outdoor beds? And in the fall, should we risk holding off on harvest for another week if the veggies aren't yet fully grown?
These aren't new stressors for farmers of course. Fretting over timing of crop planning has been a thing since the Sumerians put down roots 10,000 years ago (well, less risk of hard frosts in the Fertile Crescent, but you get my point). What is new is the sheer unpredictability of it all.
When Emmalyn and I made the decision to not only buy Foxtail, but also to continue growing in the shoulder seasons, we knew that there was inherent risk in stretching the growing seasons in a northern climate. That played a big part in our decision to have Chris stay on with us for our first year. Her knowledge of crop planning in this specific area helped us decide when to get our fall plantings in the ground.
And then, 2020 struck again.
Had we known we'd see record cold temperatures as early as September, we would have planted our squash, cabbage and broccoli weeks before we did. As it stands, our total harvest for those eight 150-foot beds was about 2 dozen tiny squash. No broccoli, no cabbage. I don't mean to complain (just ask Paul), and all said, I'm very happy with what we have been able to provide for y'all thus far. Lettuce in mid-November? Get outta here! All I mean to say is that climate change is making shoulder season growing an even bigger challenge than it already is. Between Chris' 30+ years of experience farming in this area and Emmalyn and my 10+ years in an even more extreme climate, we still got some things wrong!
But don't worry, Emmalyn and I are adrenaline junkies. Now that we're not rubbing noses with grizzlies in Alaska, we'll be here, stressing about how early we can plant and how late we can harvest. It's a ride, but it's the one we chose, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Cody
What’s in the Box?!
-Pie Pumpkins (Steady Hand Farm): If baking a pie seems too daunting, these are also tasty roasted with butter and brown sugar or blended into a curry or soup!
-Miracle Mixed Braising Greens: Truly a miracle to have fresh greens coming out of the high tunnel this late in the season. Let's enjoy them while we can!
-Red Russian Kale: Yeah for greenhouses! This tender kale variety is wonderful cooked or raw in a salad.
-Lettuce Mix: While harvesting, we kept describing the texture as velvet. After biting into a few leaves, the flavor is nutty, buttery, and sweet.
-Napa Cabbage: These beauties were pulled out of the field just in time. Delicious in a stir fry or as a slaw.
-Sweet Mokum Carrots: Last of the snacking size. No need to peel. Enjoy raw or steam them whole and toss with a bit of oil, salt and pepper.
-Liberty Apples: I've really been enjoying these peeled and stewed with a little cinnamon and sugar.
-Leeks (Community Homestead): The last of our neighbors delicious leeks. I'm thinking a classic soup this week...
-Crunchy King Radishes: Spicy and delicious. Great raw, steamed, and even roasted, believe it or not!
-Bell Peppers: The very final taste of summer. For real.