Season in Review
When you are a farmer, November is a good time to take stock of the past growing season, and the summer of 2018 was a tough one. Holcomb Farm, along with all of the farmers in the Granby area, was hit hard by the May hailstorm, which damaged crops, crop covers and hoop houses.
While Granby residents turned to their insurers and roofing contractors to repair their damage, Granby’s farmers did what they always do when setbacks happen—work twice as hard. Then the rains came, and came, and came. Even more work was required to coax excellent crop production from soggy soils.
In the end, all that work paid off; the CSA summer shareholders’ bags were filled with healthy, fresh and delicious produce every week; the farm store was stocked with a wide variety of products for retail customers all summer long; and our restaurant partners were able to put delicious, nutritious, chemical-free fresh produce from Holcomb Farm on their menus. Perhaps most importantly, our Fresh Access partners were provided with more than six tons of fresh produce for free, to help assure fresh, wholesome food for people who might not otherwise have access.
It was a tough but successful summer. Congratulations to Farmer Joe O’Grady and his crew, and to all of Granby’s agricultural community, and many thanks for the support from our community members.
This basket of sexy veggies is a sample of what you can get each month, simply by joining our Winter CSA.
Welcome, Willow
As if Farmer Joe hasn’t been busy enough, we are thrilled to share the news that he, his partner Emma, and daughter Juniper welcomed their newest future farmer of America, Willow, this past month. Like her sister, Willow was born safely and naturally, at the old Holcomb farmhouse where Tudor and Laura Holcomb, before them, were born. Welcome to Granby, Willow!
What’s next?
Well, at Holcomb Farm, there is no rest for the weary. Our farm staff is busy getting ready for our Winter CSA season, our holiday markets, and our annual fresh, free-range turkey sale.
Winter Shares are on sale now. The Winter CSA sells out almost every year, so hurry or you will be left holding an empty bag. Here’s what a share includes: carrots, potatoes, turnips, parsnips, beets, celeriac, kohlrabi, rutabaga, watermelon radish, Daikon radish, sweet potatoes, onions, radicchio, cabbage, Napa cabbage, kale, collards and other field greens, spinach, arugula, lettuce mix, and baby kale from the greenhouse, and much more.
There are five pick-ups, from November through February, with two scheduled right before Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are not many places to purchase local vegetables in the winter. Holcomb Farm is proud to provide our customers with this service.
If you miss out on the Winter Shares, you can still eat local for the holidays, thanks to the Holiday Farmers’ Markets held at Lost Acres Vineyard. Holcomb Farm will be there, along with many other area farmers. The markets are scheduled for Nov. 19, 1 to 7 p.m., and Dec. 22, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Holcomb Farm also helps you eat well and local through its annual sale of fresh, free-range, Ekonk Farm Turkeys. Sales are through pre-order only, and orders must be in by Nov. 9. Contact Joe at joe@holcombfarm.org
Harvest Dinner, Silent Auction
If you are reading this before Nov. 3, you might still be able to join us for the Annual Harvest Dinner and Silent Auction, in support of Fresh Access.
Held at Metro Bis in Simsbury, all proceeds raised go toward supplying the tons of free food we make available to partners like the Granby Senior Center and the Waste Not Want Not Community Kitchen, and to organizations that serve people in need in the greater Hartford community. Check the website for tickets. If it’s sold out or the date doesn’t work for you, you still can support the cause with a tax-deductible donation: holcombfarm.org/fresh-access/