Farming Notes

I harvested the last crop of spinach, then we put up the sides on the high tunnel in preparation for high winds this weekend. We also fed the bee hives fondant, my first need to don a bee suit, and I finished early after lunch with the crew.

20 min read   ·   December 18, 2025   ·   10 visuals

We moved chicken coops, prepared a store delivery, and did some field cleanup. I thought of all the things that went on this year and felt a bit sad that it was over. I also felt relieved that I have a few months off and proud of the team for such a great season.

17 min read   ·   December 17, 2025   ·   6 visuals

We did animal chores, harvested and washed the last of the lettuce, then cleaned up the new greenhouse. Next week is a holiday week and I will be off until March.

13 min read   ·   December 16, 2025   ·   6 visuals

As the season comes to a close, there are many projects around the fields and in the greenhouses, but we harvested tatsoi hearts and florets of kale before calling it a day.

19 min read   ·   December 11, 2025   ·   7 visuals

It was a short day today, mild outdoor conditions for New England in December, but also worth winding down early. Sometimes the game is elsewhere; you can smell it in the wind, and indeed I found it waiting for me on a pool table.

16 min read   ·   December 10, 2025   ·   2 visuals

We moved the chicken coops and I worked on cleaning up the tomato vines from the greenhouse. Below freezing temperatures made outdoor work much more difficult than usual.

12 min read   ·   December 09, 2025   ·   7 visuals

We boarded up the chicken coops and insulated the bee hives. Then I harvested lettuce, mustard greens and daikon radishes. It's going to get down to less than 10 degrees tonight, so today is probably the last real harvest of the season.

22 min read   ·   December 04, 2025   ·   9 visuals

In the morning I put together items for the general store delivery, then for the rest of the day we worked on constructing an winter enclosure for the pigs. It was a cold and smelly afternoon, but still a good day nonetheless.

15 min read   ·   December 03, 2025   ·   11 visuals

I cleaned up some electric fence while waiting for the salad turnips to thaw a bit, then we harvested mizuna, broccoli rabe, tatsoi, kale, and parsnips. It was chilly and windy, but it could be worse and the work still needs doing.

15 min read   ·   December 01, 2025   ·   4 visuals

We gathered store distribution items, harvested lettuce, washed carrots, and packed holiday bundle orders. There was also an impromptu hay order, so we helped load that into a truck. It's a short week since Thursday is a holiday.

14 min read   ·   November 25, 2025   ·   7 visuals

Today's field work involved moving chickens to Field B, harvesting salad turnips and beets, and receiving turkey shipments. There's less and less to do on the farm, though still plenty of things around the holidays to keep the crew busy.

16 min read   ·   November 24, 2025   ·   4 visuals

I prepared a general store delivery then helped to wash eggs. In the afternoon we planted garlic. The days are getting shorter and colder, next week is a holiday, and its time dig in on my own winter work.

23 min read   ·   November 21, 2025   ·   5 visuals

Today we harvested broccoli raab, purple top turnips, tatsoi, and loose leaf kale. I also thought a lot about next year and how the addition of the new general store will affect the operations I experienced this season to support the CSA, and when the role of a produce manager becomes necessary for a farm.

14 min read   ·   November 20, 2025   ·   6 visuals

The effects of cold temperatures are really arrived. Frozen hoses, frost damaged crops, slippery slicks of water on the ground...and tonight is predicted to dip into the 20s. So naturally we harvested lettuce, beets, carrots and kale, then put an extra layer of row cover down in the high tunnel.

13 min read   ·   November 19, 2025   ·   7 visuals

Now that the fall CSA is over, our time spend on the farm is different. Today we harvested beets and carrots for the general store as well as packed up their dry storage items like potatoes, onions, garlic and squash. We cleaned up from yesterday's honey spinning then did an inventory of the contents of the meat chest freezers.

17 min read   ·   November 18, 2025   ·   6 visuals

We harvested salad turnips, mustard greens, mizuna, and carrots then prepared a big delivery to the general store the day before first opening. In the afternoon, we planted garlic for next year and I thought about how what I do now is always some kind of planting for my own future, useful or otherwise.

18 min read   ·   November 13, 2025   ·   17 visuals

We harvested a secret patch of parsnips, then also some tatsoi and carrots. We also worked on projects like demo wreath makings and preparing the new garlic fields.

15 min read   ·   November 12, 2025   ·   8 visuals

Today we harvested kale, beets, carrots, and tatsoi. I brought the last of the storage onions up to the garage for distribution in the last week of the CSA and in the general store, opening at the end of the week. We also had first snowfall of the season, albeit just a few flakes but after a windy and cold day, it was like a deserved special moment.

14 min read   ·   November 11, 2025   ·   12 visuals

On a very cold and rainy day, we harvested the last of the leeks and then some purple top turnips, cleaned up the last of the storage onions, and worked on setting up the honey spinner.

12 min read   ·   November 10, 2025   ·   12 visuals

We harvested beets, kale and carrots today, then prepared seed garlic. I also assisted a clean out of two month old chicken bedding to prepare the coop for the next round of meat birds. Between the pig and chicken shit, I think Tom Hanks must have also mucked out horse stalls to arrive at his favorite curse word.

16 min read   ·   November 06, 2025   ·   11 visuals