Winter Rest & Spring Planning

It’s a new year. New goals, new ambitions, new beginnings and dreams for the coming 2023 season. This time of year does bring some much needed rest for our farming family- we enjoy many family dinners, game nights, long conversations and coffee at the kitchen table and this is typically when we squeeze in a trip or two. It is also a busy time when we start making preparations for the spring quickly approaching.

It is always our goal to plant our tomatoes early-mid January. Christmas was spent preparing the high tunnels with a new layer of dirt, composted manure, irrigation and ground fabric for the 650 tomato plants that have been set out and taken root. Blooms have been spotted and we are getting ready to let the bees start their work to aid in pollination. We have high hopes for an early spring harvest this year to meet the growing demand for those homegrown garden tomatoes that our customers want.

Our 4.5 acres of strawberries have been covered with white fabric for cold protection-we typically have to remove them mid February for weeding and their first dose of fertilizer as the young tender plants come out of dormancy. Covers will then be reapplied as needed throughout the spring for frost protection as new blooms appear.

Flowers play their own special part in the spring months. Our relatively new cut flower business venture has exceeded every expectation. Our weekends have been filling up with weddings for 2023 and we have a newfound love for working with all the different brides, creating bouquets unique to each individual. The greenhouse has been repaired with new plastic as our hanging baskets will be ready to plant within the next month. There is still much to do in the coming weeks as we mix and fill pots with dirt and prepare the irrigation system so our new flower plants will be ready to set out upon arrival.

This winter we have also undertaken a new building project on the farm that the men have decided to tackle by themselves. Our new 400 ft cattle barn which we refer to as “THE ARK”, will house our new bottle calves this coming summer. Our growing cattle operation will provide more opportunities for the new and upcoming young farmers in the family wanting to remain on the farm.