Well, that was an interesting week to be away from the farm now wasn’t it! Didn’t see that coming – there wasn’t a lick of snow in the forecast when we left the day before Thanksgiving. I was totally on top of prepping for the trip so that I could spend a stress free holiday away from the farm with our families in Ohio. Or so I thought. The forecast swung the day after we got there, and I anxiously watched the storm move West and the estimated snow totals continually rise. I managed to stay present (I think) throughout the extended family time as it was hard not to enjoy Paddy Rose and Nora adoring their grandparents so thoroughly. But the anxiety and snow totals continued to build over the weekend. Fortunately a friend was staying at our house to take care of the chickens (and those gorgeous greens in the tunnel), and he stayed up all night roof raking the not-yet-winterized greenhouse. In the end, the greenhouse roof only bowed a little and everything else fared just fine. It’s good to be back. Sort of – there was lots of snow to move. Like, a lot. The drifts up against the high tunnel were halfway up it , and it’s over 20 feet at its peak (drifts pictured below were after clearing most of it). But at least I can personally deal with nature’s curveballs, rather than some poor unsuspecting soul!
And yet, throughout the drama, the rugged Potter Hill veggies simply shrugged and moved on. You know you’re eating the good stuff when a low of 14 degrees and a foot and a half of snow don’t even bother them. The greens in the tunnel look great and are bountiful, so fuel up! Those snow covered baby carrots that were proclaimed the “best carrots ever” by our local carrot connoisseur? Pulled right up out of the UNfrozen ground yesterday after I cleared the snow from a patch. And somehow even tastier than before I left. The snow is actually an insulator and is welcomed by this farmer, at least until I have to try to find the carrots in said snow. But my half-baked plan to harvest them Monday is to clear most of the snow from a row Sunday afternoon so that the rain/big thaw on Monday reveals those precious orange sugar sticks. Then somehow harvest, bunch, and wash them in the pouring rain. Worth it!
I didn’t really plan to sell into December, so I ran out of some of my fall favorites. Rockstar farm friend Brittany from Upswing Farm in Ashland to the rescue! I stocked up from her so we are back to abundant watermelon radishes (!), sweet potatoes (!), storage carrots, purple top turnips, butternut squash, and celeriac. In fact, the list actually expanded this week to include beets and rutabaga – two crops I totally whiffed on this fall. Add in the fresh greens and eggs and it’s almost looking like a list worthy of the summer. Minus the snow. Order away!
Veggie Ordering and Pickup Procedures: Put your veggie orders in online before 8pm Sunday. The website is a little buggy so if you don’t see a wide variety of items or you see items out of stock, try refreshing your browser. Also confirm on checkout that you have the correct number of each item in your cart. The two pickup windows are working well, so we’ll keep it going. Choose your pickup window while checking out online: 1230-2pm and 4-5pm Monday on the farm at 64 Potter Hill Rd in Grafton. Pickups are in the long white garage on the left across from the beat up tan and red barn at the crest of the hill.
