Another year, another chance to grow and be humbled, to fix what has broken, to feel the sweat in our brows and the ache in our bones, and find comfort when we consider the abundant generosity that brings warmth to our hearts and fullness to our bellies. Especially on these dark, cold and rainy evenings, I cannot thank you enough for all of the care and support that you so generously share with us at the farm. Thank you for being willing to eat your vegetables…and making a point to enjoy them too. Thank you for cruising through our stand on your lunch hour, between meetings or on your way home from work in traffic. Thank you for bringing your kids and friends to our farm to play and explore. Thank you for not being afraid of mud puddles. Thank you for stopping to make a bouquet of colorful flowers in the Summer. Thank you for being patient with our hens in the Winter. Thank you for going out of your way, often in the literal sense, to support our farm throughout the year. We would not be here, surviving and celebrating four years of business if it were not for the dedication of a group of local eaters like you. Here’s to thriving in year five!

It is safe to say that we’re about to get a real taste of winter this week, and with just two more weeks of harvest left for 2018, the feeling is bittersweet. My mind and my limbs are ready to welcome the seasonal slowdown with open arms, but my heart sinks a little when the sense of abundance that we enjoy throughout the growing season gives way to sustenance like this. There aren’t enough hours of daylight, nor degrees of warmth to grow things quickly and without major effort this time of year. We do our best, but we reach our limits. As do the hens (more on that below). Thankfully, we’ve been putting diligent effort into storing up for winter, tucking as many roots away for the coming months. Many roots will survive the cold if left in the ground; however, when things get just cold enough, things like carrots might freeze from the top down and risk rotting. With temps set to dip into the the twenties tonight, the crew has been working since the weekend in preparation, setting up space heaters where we need them, disconnecting extraneous irrigation and adding extra layers of tarps to the hen houses for warmth.

WILD HARE WEEKLY #9/11

Napa Cabbage, Carrots and Daikon seemed like the perfect post-prandial remedy to a rather epic series of Thanksgiving meals that we’ve (over)indulged in over the past several days. Are we alone? I doubt it. In short, this week’s harvest will give you everything you need to make a scrumptious pot of soup, a quick and tasty weeknight stir fry, or if you’re up for it, a little batch of kimchi. The elongated leaves of Napa Cabbage have many uses, and they get along swimmingly with daikon and carrots. We’re going to make sure we get the crop planted a couple of weeks earlier next year, but though the heads are small-ish, they’re tasty. As I type, my fridge is overrun with little jars of quick-pickled radishes and things that Mark and Kim keep churning out and trading back and forth. We typically use them in our lunches—stirring pickles or kimchi into a simple broth can make a nice warming soup of its own, and Mark just can. not. shut. up. about how good grated radishes are on leftover turkey sandwiches. I can’t blame him though. It translates into good food for gray and rainy days like these, if I do say so myself. It was a muddy day out there in the field for the crew, but they’re working diligently to make a diligent dent in the carrot harvest before the bunnies beat us to it. They don’t call us Wild Hare for nothing, I guess! At any rate, the root cellar is filling up beautifully as we head into the last three harvest weeks of 2018. Can you believe?! Must be time to sign up for Winter Share!

Best,

Katie