It is the beginning of January and there is a high of two degrees predicted today. It is the perfect day to keep the fire stoked, do computer work for the upcoming season, and spend a little time building things in the basement woodshop.

Winters can be challenging because it is my down time. One of the reasons I was interested in farming fruit and vegetables in Vermont is that winters here force me to slow down. I appreciate the mental and physical break from working out in the field. At the same time, it can be difficult to feel motivated to crunch sales numbers from the previous year and translate that into predictions of sales for the coming season. Looking at how much the farm is making I always come back to the question, “is it all worth it?” I think most farmers feel this way in the winter, certainly all the ones I know. There is so much time and effort in running a farm and the financial incentive is small. I always realize that I am farming not because it makes me a living but because it provides a life that I enjoy. Honestly, I am addicted to the life and have a hard time imagining doing anything else.

Part of the number crunching and planning process is seed ordering. It is a task that I enjoy, though it is fairly time consuming as a diversified small organic farm. I generally order most of my seeds through High Mowing. They are extremely convenient because they are located in Vermont which gives me free shipping, and because all of their seeds are certified organic so when my yearly organic certification is reviewed there is no issue with showing where I source my seeds. The other main seed company I use is Johnny’s. The main reason I use Johnny’s now is because they are the only seed company I know who provides sungold cherry tomato seed which is my main cherry tomato crop. The seed is not organic but I have not found an organic cherry tomato that is comparable in quality and flavor. At this point, it would also be hard to switch to a different type because sungolds have a strong market at the local food co-ops. 

When I am ordering seeds I am constantly switching between catalogues and web pages trying to find the best price for the number of seeds I am looking for. Every year I use the same seed varieties for my main crops; Aroma for Basil, Maxibell for filet beans, Sungolds for cherry tomatoes. Then I experiment with crops that I want to grow but have either not found a solid market or have had mixed success in the fields. This year I am going to be trying out Totem Belgian endives, Minime cucumbers, and Green Wave mustard greens among other things. Looking at what new seeds I want to grow is really fun, it is where optimism lives strong.

That is probably a good place to leave my first blog entry, with strong optimism.