My word, Richmond!  You really pulled out all the stops this weekend.  That weather!  Those irises in your front yard gardens!  The heady scent of paulownias along the Powhite!

Best of all, of course, were the smiling faces and open arms at the opening weekend of our farmers market.  We could not be more delighted to be back in the swing at St. Stephen’s.  And introducing Arlo — now a hefty six months and grinning ear to ear! — to our community there was nothing short of joyful.  Thank you so very, very much!

For those of y’all who are market customers: we’re just doing the Farmers Market at St. Stephen’s this year.  This market is in its second year and is loads of fun.  It’s expanded quite a bit since last year and if you’ve never been, come see us next week!  We’ll have vegetable, herb, and flower starts for your garden.  A bit later in the month we should have some lettuce and maybe scallions.  More vegetables start coming in around the first of June.  There’s loads at market to tide you over until then, though: meats, cheeses, eggs, preserves, pastries, granola, coffee, ice cream, prepared foods, jewelry, handmade clothes, and lots more.

If you’re considering joining our CSA, St. Stephen’s is a really fun spot to pick up.  It’s our biggest CSA site so you’ll meet lots of other members, and you can make a whole morning out of a visit to the market!  (We’ve also got pick-up sites in Ginter Park, Church Hill, and Midlothian.)  We’re accepting registrations for just another few weeks; forms can be had here!

And like THAT!, our winter’s rest is over and the farm has come alive again.  Here’s a little bit of what’s been filling our days in recent weeks.  We have lots of things in store for the blog this season, so come visit often!

There are no tomatoes hiding under that snow, and even our cold-hardy crops like kale and collards have succumbed to the fiercest of winter’s frosts and geese.  But — after a gloriously warm and lazy trip to the Gulf Coast — we’re keeping pretty busy around here nonetheless!

For us, winter means seed orders and crop plans.  It’s a really creative time in our year: what crops are our stand-bys, reliable in production and taste?  What didn’t grow well?  What have we always wanted to try?  What varieties do our farming friends recommend?  Should we grow more melons this year?  Fewer turnip greens?  A new kind of tomato?

Winter means repairs and maintenance.  Our hoop house collapsed in that first big snow in December, and we’ll need to repair it before the season begins, since that’s where we put our vegetable seedlings to harden off before transplanting them into the fields.  We started construction on a small tool and repair shed last year, but found ourselves sidetracked by our busy CSA schedule and unexpected irrigation difficulties.  We’re hoping to get that built early in the season this year, before things get too busy.  We wrote a bit about those irrigation issues last year; that’s another big job to finish before the vegetables start growing.

Winter means doing our books, making sure we understand well how the business did last year, and using those lessons to make smart decisions about what directions to go this year.

Winter means finding the new season’s work crew.  Reading applications always fills us with excitement and hope.  Who will we spend our days with this year?  How will the farm change with their energy?  And ain’t it grand, that there are folks out there who want to do what we do, grow delicious food and get to know the people who eat it?

Winter means lots of planning and preparation for market and for our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscription program.  Spots are filling up; have you sent in your registration form yet?

Winter also means lots of hot chocolate, lots of snuggles with Arlo, and lots of time by the wood stove.

We hope these last months have been good to you all, and we can’t wait to see you again.

This is Arlo, and he’s been filling our days with wonder since his arrival on November 5.  At 12 days old he’s already checking the fields for crop growth and deer damage with his dad, and milking the goat twice a day with his mama.  We think he likes it here.

We apologize if you’ve had trouble reaching us in the last couple of weeks.  We’ll do our very best to get back to you as soon as we can.  If you need to get in touch quickly, giving us a call is probably your best bet until we settle into our new routine!