Busy with a capital “B”
Hello Farm Friends,
Wow, what can I say, I have missed writing updates for the farm! I truly meant to update our newsletter this winter, but alas, time got the better of me. As I’m sure all of you know here in New Jersey, we had a very rough winter with two major snowstorms (one even was declared a blizzard), and many consecutive days of freezing weather.
Karl and Doc enjoying the first snowfall.
A common question from our community is, what do we actually do in the winter when we’re not selling flowers and veggies. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work at our farm during the months of December-March, our “pre-season,” as it were, especially this year with the extreme weather.
Starting in November, we plant for the following spring. After a long, hot summer, it is a relief to plant when the weather is cooler. Last fall, we planted hundreds of tulips and daffodils, which are making their showy appearance this week. We also planted overwintered flowers, including bachelor buttons, campanula, snapdragons, and feverfew, which should bloom in May and June. On the edible side, we planted over 10 lbs of garlic and started our trial June-bearing strawberries. There are a number of reasons we plant in the fall; for garlic, tulips, and daffs, we just have to. For the other flowers, we choose to. For one, we wanted to extend our “shoulder seasons,” early spring and late fall, to bring you more veg and flowers (hello, Mother’s Day!), as well as allowing us to harvest in the cooler season (so much easier on the body and mind). Another reason to overwinter is that these cool-loving plants develop robust and hardy roots, making them stronger when the temperatures fluctuate in the spring. And lastly, we have less to prepare in the ground for the spring transplants– they are already there growing. The challenge for this growing method is managing the plants in the freezing temperatures over the winter (a big challenge for us this year). We cover with frost cloth since we do not have formal growing structures (like a hoophouse), but there is still potential of plant death due to a number of factors– some beyond our control.
Miraculously, almost all of our plants survived this harsh winter! I believe that the few weeks of endless snow cover insulated many of our plants and protected them. When spring arrived, we were thrilled to throw off the frost cloths (dramatically!) and find gorgeous, healthy plants.
Back to the question about “what we do in the winter.” We have farm maintenance, infrastructure projects, seeding, and of course, resting our bodies and minds.
Now it’s April, and we are in the full swing of the season. We just attended our first flower market with a truck full of dancy daffodils and tulips at Jersey Cut Flower Market. We are thrilled to be growing alongside a talented group of 10 other NJ-area flower farms! If you are a florist with a business, you can shop wholesale with us at the market, or if you are a flower-lover you can shop retail with us. Check out our website for more info.
As former customers of the market, now growing alongside with them, it is a truly magical experience to pull up into the barn every week and see thousands of beautiful flowers all grown by experts in the sustainable farm industry.
The first JCFM (Jersey Cut Flower Market) of the season!
We will be back at the Burlington County Farmers Market for their regular season, starting in May with veggies and flowers. We will also be opening the farm stand around that time as well. Click here for more info.
Additionally, if you want to shop a la carte flowers from us, we’ve opened up our website for you. Please check out our offerings for weddings, events, pickups, and DIY buckets for the season starting in mid-May. Click here for more info.
I hope everyone is enjoying their spring so far and, we can’t wait to see you!!
Warmly,
Gaby + Liam
