Every season has its quirks and 2023 did not disappoint. This year made Folks Farm stronger, pushed us harder, and dealt insightful lessons. Are there things I wish I’d done different? Yes. Did we have epic successes? Yes. At the end of day we did our best in the moment and though I am not proud of every part of this season I am thankful for it.
January kicked off with construction of a 30’x96’ high tunnel. After losing smaller structures in the past we were not messing around with this one.
Rainbow Chard in February. These hardy greens ended up in the hands of our talented restaurant partners. We are so grateful to have wholesale customers willing to work with small farms and serve seasonal produce.
March brought in lots of nursery work. These tomatoes provided fruits almost all season. If you saw our high tunnel crop or ate our tomatoes this is how those monstrous plants began.
Nursery filling up and plants are ready to hit the field come April! Such an exciting part of the season.
May in the pea crop. We interplant our peas with salad like this spicy mix. In total this was the most productive pea crop ever. Thank you to those who attended the Larimer County Farmers Market this season and bought these by the pint! Maybe next year we can do one less row…
In June we welcomed Rock Bottom String Band to film a music video on the farm. Check out the video here. This month began flooding in this part of the field that never fully dried up. Amazing to see cattails and cottonwoods established amongst broccoli plants.
All the moisture led to a full garden come July. Everything looks so vibrant and green in this photo. Poised for an incredible harvest. Picture left to right wedding flower, Rey Atelier’s dye plants, sweet corn, summer squash, peppers, and tomatoes.
August brought the storm, an event that shook the farm for the remainder of the year. Our field tomatoes, peppers, melons, and winter squash were all destroyed. Without knowing what to do I made a choice to let go of some employees. Brad, Erika I am so sorry for my blunder. We miss you both over here.
Given another chance I would had ripped up the wrecked plants and sown extra fall greens. Instead I took the opportunity to observe. By this point in the season exhaustion is at its peak which played into the decision making. I also want to apologize to folks unable to use of Farm Stand when we limited hours, another blunder to not be repeated.
Amazingly, a month later the cauliflower from the picture before recovered to produce a bumper crop. Unbelievable resiliency and truly inspirational. I have a working theory that disturbance at the right stage is great for productivity. Also note the blooming cilantro protecting the cauliflower from needing pesticides.
October brought in big harvests of fall greens and roots. Everyday we pushed the little golf cart to the max bringing in the harvest!
November greens. With a warm winter we had plenty of crops to harvest and make delicious food with. We are just about to finish harvesting most of these greenhouse crops.
Now, December. We are currently moving our greenhouse from my house to the farm. For the first time since 2019 the entire operation is on one piece of land. The build is coming together well and I am so excited to start planting again!
This year was a challenge to many other growers I have connected with. Excess moisture can hold a farm up and even with incredible crops the costs of production have gotten much higher. In an industry like market farming we are towing the balance of affording a decent living, paying employees well, and providing affordable food. There are so many variables and factors that play into the whole system working making this profession a moving target. While my feelings are mixed from this year, know we are gearing up for 2024 like never before.
Farm News
The Farm Stand is officially closed for the season thank to everyone who shopped with us! We look forward to seeing you all next spring.
Folks Farm Seeds are now available at the Fox Den Cafe. Scoop up some stocking stuffers for the special gardeners in your life.
CSA shares come with a 10% veggie bonus until the New Year. Your support of the farm now makes everything possible next year. We have already ordered most of our materials for the upcoming year but would love to invest in some new production tools.