As I write this, it’s just before Christmas. Yet, in twenty days, we will be germinating the first seeds of our 2023 season. These seeds will sprout and become our greenhouse tomato crop.
During the winter weeks, more seeding and planting will take place. Daylight will lengthen, and eventually, spring warmth will return, allowing the planting and growing cycle to continue.
We are ready to begin 2023! We are ready because, once again, we received outstanding support from you: our customers, our community, and individual land owners allowing us to grow crops on various properties.
At a recent team holiday gathering, I was reminded how fortunate the farm is to have such a talented, dedicated, and hard-working team willing to carry out our farm’s mission week after week. Of course, a few more team members, especially in the spring and fall seasons, would be welcomed!
The past 2022 growing season proved to be a productive year. The summer tended to be drier than normal, so we irrigated more. The benefit of this is that we have more control of crop growth over a year with excessive rain.
Our greenhouse vegetable production program continues to increase with hydroponic and high tunnels contributing more and more to our mix of produce.
Our talented farm kitchen and bakery team worked many hours of overtime to try to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for our deli and baked goods.
Our corn maze returned, and other farm events, including workshops and open houses, also returned to our schedule. It was gratifying to see so many enjoy their time at our farm.
I am sure 2023 will be filled with many challenges. The cost of utilities, fuel, supplies, equipment, and raw materials will probably continue to rise. The availability of workers may not improve, and who knows what the weather will do!
Despite this, our dedicated farm team is ready for 2023 with new ideas and more passion than ever before. We look forward to seeing you in the spring!
John Moulton