Spring, summer, fall, winter…we all learn about the seasons as young children and follow the annual merry-go-round of change with each orbit around the sun. At the farm each season has its own subset of chores, ebb and flow of staff, harvest of crops, and chapter of recipes. We look forward to eating asparagus each spring and know we will be busy in the greenhouses. Summer brings red tomatoes and hot hay days. Greenhouse tables are filled with curing squash throughout the fall. Winter root veggies simmer in the soup pot while we plan the next season’s crops. To everything there is a season, and they do go round and round.
But within each primary season are the more subtle “micro-seasons” that you start to notice when you spend your days outdoors on the land. Though spring officially begins on the equinox (March 20 or 21), I await the first voices of the peepers and the bloom of spring ephemerals like trillium and trout lily in early April to really celebrate the new season. These are signs that I look for year after year, and their arrival feels like the return of an old friend. In mid-June, when the solstice marks the first day of summer and stores downtown feature beach-wear and lemonade, I am waiting for the “real” indicators; daisies blooming at the edges of the hay fields and timothy heads in the “boot” stage of maturity. Just recently we observed another micro shift that we look forward to each year. Though we still officially have a whole month of summer to enjoy, a few days into August we awoke to thick morning fog, a noticeable lack of birdsong, and a V of geese flying overhead. There are changes afoot!
Micro-seasons are incredibly place-based, with variability of timing on the order of hours to weeks depending on things like latitude, elevation, and aspect of the site. This is why I love to pay close attention to our particular micro-seasonal changes that happen around the farm, and get to know the specifics of our tiny corner of the planet. In our attempts to grow food as sustainably and thoughtfully as possible, noting subtle shifts and changes throughout the seasons contributes to our “thinking farm” mentality. On top of that, it’s a fun game of I Spy to play as we interact with the fields and forests.
And now, on to this micro-season’s harvest!
Cheers,
Norah and the Sweetland Crew
Week 14 Harvest –
Tomatoes Cherry Tomatoes Green Cabbage Kohl Rabi Baby Kale Lettuce Rainbow Chard Garlic Eggplant Zucchini/Summer Squash Carrots Cucumbers Broccoli Bell Peppers
What’s Cooking This Week
You can find ingredients for all of these recipes in our farm store! We source meats, dairy, grains, beans, sweets, and more from local and sustainable producers. Don’t forget to use your CSA member discount by entering your account phone number in our POS (member discounts are automatically applied to LocalLine purchases for off-farm delivery).