This is the last week of Spring Share at Wild Hare. As we say goodbye to the “off season,” (HA!) and head into Summer next week, I want to say a big THANKS to all of you who help us keep Wild Hare growing. Even after more than a dozen Springs under our belts, Mark and I still marvel at just how much is already in the works for before June arrives.  Spring is just plain hard, and May is a marathon in its own right. While our weeks are punctuated by longer days, harvests of fresh greens and portioning out the last contents of our root cellar, we're also setting a whole lot of growth in motion for the seasons at hand and those beyond.  Those Winter Squash that make up the centerpiece of our Fall?  They're already in the ground, as are several beds of Parsnips. The Brussels Sprouts have already been seeded, as have the storage Cabbages and the like for the frosty months in early 2027!  I share this, not only because I find it completely mind boggling and  overwhelming.  I share it, because it illustrates so beautifully what is so unique about our year-round growing model and wonderful community. 

When you look out onto our fields, in addition to all of the new green growth that the crew is putting into motion, you might also see big long white blankets billowing in the wind. Those are sheets of floating row cover, and they’re one of the most versatile organic growing tools that we use throughout the year. In Springtime, we count on them to protect some of our earliest plantings against light frost and insect damage. The covers are permeable, so water and light can still reach the plants growing underneath, and eventually, when we notice that a blanket is sitting up a little taller, we know its time to take a peek. This is usually a Sunday afternoon chore for Mark and I, and when we peeled back the cover yesterday, we were delighted to find a full lush bed of Gai-Lan, a variety of Chinese Broccoli that is intended to be eaten in its entirety—tender stem, leaf, floret and all. If you were sad to see the Purple Sprouting Broccoli come to an early end, you’ll really love digging into Gai-Lan. And this year, we have enough for the entire CSA this week. That is a win and a half!

Farmer Mark is a pretty cool customer. Calm and seemingly unflappable, he moves through his day at a steady but moderate pace, knocking out the world’s most eclectic docket of tasks until he closes up the greenhouses at night and calls it a night. So, when he starts scratching his head and says that everything we have seeded is ready to plant this week, you can take him at his word and know that we’re looking at a very demanding set of days ahead. May’s weather, though stunning, has flattened out the stagger between many of our crops making our to-do list a little bit more robust than we’d intended on an already full week. Fortunately, we get to work with an absolute dream team of farmers this Spring. Claire, David, Harry, Kelly, Mia & Maple are taking fantastic care of Wild Hare and making a really hard work look and feel easier than it would otherwise. Here’s to getting things in the ground and watching it all unfold and grow in the coming weeks.