New Year, Fresh Start

Hello Everyone! It’s been a while since we’ve chatted here, so while the sun is shining and the “feels like” temperature is moving close to zero or above, it felt like a good time to give you some updates.

First, I hope you’re all doing well through the strange weather that is happening across the country. I have had exactly one day of not shoveling snow since the 7th or 8th of the month. The hoop house looked like it might collapse and break under half a ton of snow and ice, but it bounced back after wading out there to remove the snow! Today, I’m heading outside to move snowbanks back a bit off the driveway (it feels like bumper cars going through one spot). It’s been a whole winter in less than two weeks here, and we will soon be turning a corner. The garden seeds are all here and ready for planting as soon as it looks viable. The seed rack has the heat mats and greenhouse plastic installed, and next will be breaking up and sifting the seed starting mix for microgreens!

This will be a year of finding more efficient ways, reducing hours spent on certain tasks, and generally finding a better work/life balance through the summer months. One thing that will happen is reducing open hours at the farmstand to just Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings. As always, pre-orders can always be made for times outside the regular farmstand times, and this has been an awesome way to prevent waste or force me to can excess crops.

Something that will be happening soon is the removal of my booth at Skeleton Key Arts and Antiques. We’ve had a great 7 years there and that’s where many of us met! However, sales are down and have been for some time. With rising costs of groceries and everything else, people are just not spending a lot on frills. At the end of January, my booth will be emptied. Please go get the stuff that you want while it’s there! I’ll still make products to have at home on a limited basis or for small pop-ups or events. So, don’t feel shy asking for products that you want in the future! Now, if it’s August and you want things that aren’t on the shelf here, be patient as that is still a time of year for juggling veggies (lots of tomatoes – hahaha!) and body products.

My actual booth is for sale at a cost of $100. It is currently listed on Markeplace if you are, or know someone who is, interested in the dimensions. Pick-up will be at Skeleton Key by the last day of the month.

The garden will have a few new raised beds added this spring in an effort to grow more crops here on our property. If these beds (commercially purchased) work well, more can easily be added into the fenced raspberry patch area. The garden layout will start to get formalized soon, and my mind has been thinking about what worked, what needed more shade, where things can be shifted for crop rotation, and so much more. My brain is always thinking about these things.

There are still jams on the shelf – let me know if you need any!

Here’s to a warm, productive spring and great growing season for 2024!