Winter Solstice Recognition

It's fitting that we're experiencing the coldest couple of nights of the season as we officially transition from Fall to Winter. The warm days of December last week were nice but also felt like a guilty pleasure. This week we'll have the challenge of trying to harvest greens after a really cold night and will have to wait until the crops are sufficiently thawed. Even if the greens freeze overnight, by late morning on a sunny cold day they should be fully perked up and ready for harvest. Outside it may be 35 degrees, but inside the tunnel it'll be in the 50s. By mid-afternoon we even need to keep the doors propped open to vent the heat so the crops aren't too coddled. It looks like we'll be able to leave the covers off again by the end of the week. We're pretty sure we're going to host a flash sale Wednesday 12/29 and will have a good amount of greens we'd like to thrive at least until then. After that they can hibernate, senesce, become fertilizer for the next round of crops.

This harvest continuation known Late Fall is short and sweet and really flies by. It's hard to believe we're in week #6 already. We thank you for your support and membership in our CSA. We hope you enjoyed and appreciated the harvest. Every year is a bit different but it seems like we're finally striking a nice balance between the type of crops in the shares. After next week's flash sale there'll be a gap in shares until at least February and you'll have some time to catch up on unused storage crops in roasts and soups, perfect for warm January meals.

With the Winter Solstice we arrive at our nadir, the longest night, but also our new year of lengthening days, heightening and warming sun, positive energy, and a gaze towards the future. But we hesitate and enjoy this downtime. Our sunshine winter with less than 10-hour days (Persephone Period) lasts from November 15th through January 31st. It's our time to rest, reflect, and plan before the next growing season truly arrives. We're right in the middle of this farmer-winter. We hope you also find this time of year restful and festive. Happy holidays!