Farm Update 11/19
Abundance continues into the depths of winter
It comes as a surprised for the uninitiated to realize you can grow fresh crops without the use of heaters. High tunnels are how we continue to produce salad and bunch greens even as the world recedes to winter.
Layers of plastic and fabric keep frost off tender leaves, saving them from destructive forces of cold. The plants freeze every night and thaw through the day yet remain marketable after crops in the field dwindle. Sunlight becomes the limiting factor as there isn’t enough solar energy to photosynthesize. So as we clear beds of salad greens, they lay dormant waiting for 2025 to be planted.
Real treats lay outside the protection of tunnels. Winter forces unprotected crops to produce higher quantities of sugars. The survivors end up full of unexpected tenderness and sweetness. These are the salads that don’t sell well and I grow for personal enjoyment. Radicchio, endive, and escarole blanched with age and brightened under long nights let go of their bitterness and surface with uncharacteristic sweetness.
Carrots also begin to change. Dormancy above ground bestows energy towards the roots making them sweeter, crunchier, and deeper in flavor than their summer grown cousins. With a little section still in the ground this holiday season beckons for a dig before the ground freezes.
Final harvests of leeks will be taking place this week. A new to me crop, our winter leeks have proven to be a winner with customers. Only a few hundred more to go before they sell out.
Our Farm Stand remains open with normal operating hours (Wednesday- Friday 10-6, Saturday and Sunday 10-4). While our farm produces veggies and pork sold through the stand we also incorporate at least 8 other vendors to round out those special holiday meals. Items like eggs, coffee, hot sauce, body care, and more can be found within our doors.
If you are a market shopper the Fort Collins Winter Market has been treating us well. We will be bringing lots of produce this Saturday in preparation for Thanksgiving. I hadn’t realized just how incredible and unique of a resource this market has become. One of the few, if not only, winter farmers markets in the entire state! I encourage you all to come out and witness the abundance of products people are producing.
Pick List 11-18: Available at our Farm Stand and Saturday Market
Greens/herbs: Green and Red kale, rainbow chard, collards, arugula, spicy mix, Hearts and Souls Salad Mix, napa cabbage, bok choi, parsley
Roots: Chantenay carrots, red beets, red radish, purple top turnips, Hakurei turnips, watermelon radish, purple daikon radish, white daikon radish, leeks, yellow and red onions, shallots, garlic, fingerling potaoes, red and gold potatoes
Veg: Fennel
Fruits: Ela Farm Apples, Acorn, butternut, delicata, kuri, kabocha, spaghetti squash, pie pumpkins