Our farm team has welcomed a new Co-manager, Evan Sterbick, to Mother Earth Farm! Evan joins current Co-manager Tara Clark, and the duo is excited to lead the team in growing gorgeous vegetables for the community. The winter months at Mother Earth Farm are all about crop planning, completing projects, and farm maintenance. The creative juices are flowing, and we are reflecting on the successes and failures of the previous season.

The farm team continues to produce and distribute food through the winter, but we are currently in rebound mode after a tough start to the winter. Typically, we harvest several crops in the field that help us provide vegetables to our partners through the winter and early spring. These crops include several varieties of kale, collards, napa cabbage, Brussels sprouts, leeks, and overwintered carrots. Unfortunately, after the December snow, we lost most of our field crops and have only been able to continue harvesting leeks, napa cabbage, and carrots in the field.

The farm has two high tunnels (greenhouse structures) producing the bulk of what we send out, including chard, mustard greens, and lettuce mix. Community volunteers join the farm team on the first Friday of each month to keep these tunnels weeded and producing well.

We are excited to have a break from the rain and plan to take advantage of the weather by pruning our fruit trees and grapevines and completing some much-needed orchard maintenance. One of our goals for 2022 is to improve fruit production and quality to distribute a variety of fruit to our partners more frequently!

As we enter mid-winter, we are finalizing the crop plan for 2022 and have started purchasing the seed and supplies needed to bring the farm to life. This year’s crop plan includes many favorite and recognizable vegetables and also some fun new varieties, including purple Brussels sprouts called Rubine, and a gorgeous red-yellow tomato variety called Pineapple.

Thank you to all of our volunteers! Your time with us weeding, seeding, and transplanting is vital to keeping Mother Earth Farm ready to grow delicious and nutritious fruits and vegetables for our neighbors. We hope to see you sometime soon on the farm!