What a beautiful snowstorm to wake up to! Finally a good covering after all this cold weather and leading up to a cold week. We're big fans of the cold and the snow on the farm. It's incredibly beneficial to the fields and farm operationsand we get the most benefit when they come together.

Cold winters are what make New England such a haven for organic growing. The change in seasons helps break up pest cycles and acts as a natural barrier to pests and diseases that are prevalant in the south but cannot adapt to a northern climate. We want the ground frozen all winter long, as well. Frozen ground solidifies the soil in our fields, protecting it from nutrient runoff and erosion. We haven't had a consistently cold winter like this in a few years. Lately its been feast or famine, extreme cold snaps followed by unusual warming, with short stints of typical New England winter.

We dont want the ground to freeze and thaw too often which is one of the reasons snow is so good for our fields. It insulates the ground and protects the soil and microorganisms from temperature swings through the winter. There is also some benefit from snow collecting nitrogen from the atmosphere and depositing it into the soil, although its minimal. A late, light snow in the spring when there are cold hardy plants in the ground provides more of a nitrogen boost to plants that are already in the ground. We call those late snows the poor mans fertilizer!

Despite the cold and snow, we're picking greens and prepping for a market this Thursday at Cheshire Medical Center in the cafeteria from 10am-2pm. I will also send out an email those on our winter greens distribution list about availability over the weekend. We offer our biggest variety of produce at Cheshire Med, though, so if you want more than greens I recommend you visit us there.

Finally, here comes my bi-weekly appeal for CSA share signups. We've had great participation so far and are already 25% sold for the upcoming season. Thank you all for signing up early. We've got a lot of big purchases to make in the coming weeks for potting soil, seeds, field supplies, compost, and fertilizer. Every signup now contributes to prepping for the coming year and we can't thank you enough for trusting us to grow your food this summer!! Now to go plow!

Click Here to Sign Up For CSA!

Market on Thursday & Greens This Weekend

We'll be at the farmers market at Cheshire Medical Center from 10am - 2pm this Thursday, and afterwards we'll be making greens available in the barn over the weekend. If you're on our winter greens distribution list, keep an eye out for an email from me this weekend about availability. With the cold weather we can't keep stuff in the store, but we should be able to use the walk-in to keep things from freezing. Otherwise check us out at cheshire med!

At the market this week we will have:

▪Spinach

▪Chard

▪Kale

▪Sweet Potatoes

▪Butternut Squash

▪Beets

▪Carrots

▪Cabbage

▪Potatoes

▪Orchard Hill Bread

▪Cookies