What's New on the Farm?

Crop storage: We love serving our members throughout the growing season, but what if we could continue to feed you more variety for more of the year. We agree most crops are best when harvested fresh, but a lot of crops can be harvested and stored for winter enjoyment. This includes root crops like beets, carrots, potatoes, parsnips and rutabagas; storage crops like kohlrabi, cabbages, and winter squash; and maybe even a few fruits such as apples and pears. 

 

Crop storage requires not only space, it also requires storage areas that can be kept at specific temperature and humidity levels. For the past 5 years we have relied on our small root cellar for storage. This space has worked great for onions and garlic, but it is too small for our growing harvests. 2026 will see us beginning the conversion of our large pole barn from a barn into a production and storage facility. 

This will also require that we begin focusing some of our garden space on storage crop production. This year we will dedicate more garden space to storage carrots, beets, parsnips, rutabagas and additional potatoes.

 

Year round growing: Our winters may be dark and cold, but we are finding that there are possibilities for having fresh produce through much of the off season. This could include greens like spinach, lettuce, arugula, kale and swiss chard and some root veggies like radishes and salad turnips. This winter we planted lots of test beds and we are finding that many of the crops are holding up well and with a little additional protection we could have more crops for longer.

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With this in mind we have applied for a third high tunnel grant. This tunnel would be dedicated to heated winter growing. By keeping the temperature at or above freezing we can have the right growing conditions for these hardy crops. 

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Meat and Butchering: While we will always first and foremost be a vegetable farm, Betsy, Jose and I have been working more toward being a farm that can fill more of your plate. We currently raise chicken and lamb, and this past spring Betsy took on two calves that were then butchered in the fall at another farm. Her plan is to raise four calves for the 2026 season and we are hoping to butcher at least two of them here on the farm.

 

Beyond the challenges of raising protein we also need to create a dedicated space where we can do butchering. This year we plan to create a space within our barn that can handle the small number of animals we do every year. 

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Fruit Production: Fruit production has always been on our long term goal list. The problem with growing almost all fruits and perennials (asparagus and rhubarb) is the initial expense and long start up time. Most of these trees, bushes and vines take several years to produce enough for a marketable harvest. We have been diligent about buying and planting perennials every spring, but we still have a long way to go.

 

We have a very large orchard of over 100 fruit trees. Last year we actually ate our first two peaches off of our peach trees. Despite the number of trees they are all still very young. As they mature we hope fruit will be a big part of what we offer to our members every year. This year our focus will be on bringing you fresh strawberries and getting our raspberry patch better established.