2023-01-09 newsletter

Greetings from the farm,

We have been invited to join the Lakes Park Farmers’ Market in Ft.
Myers and plan to be there each Wednesday, 9 am to 1 pm. This makes for
a full week with Sanibel/Captiva on Tuesday, Lakes Park on Wednesday,
Home Deliveries on Thursday, and Bonita Springs Promenade market on
Saturday.

We still have a long way to go with our infrastructure recovery, but
the crop production is finally catching up to last season’s level. We
are now able to expand what we offer to restaurants as in previous
years. We have been limited to serving just a few restaurants until our
production recovered from the loss of nearly all the first plantings
during the hurricane. The tomatoes are producing much better now and
many chefs really appreciate having such tasty tomatoes.

Here is a summary of our schedule this week:

TUESDAY PICK-UP FOR SANIBEL & CAPTIVA: Place an
order online before Sunday, 8 pm, if you want to pick up an order at
McCarthy’s Marina in Captiva on Tuesday, 9-11 am. Extra produce will be
available for those who want to buy off the table. ****

NEW !! **
WEDNESDAY LAKE’S PARK FARMERS’ MARKET:** We will be at
the Lakes Park Farmers’ Mkt. each Wednesday from 9 am to 1 pm. in Ft.
Myers. Parking is free during the farmers’ market.

THURSDAY DELIVERIES & FARM PICK-UP: Please place
an order online before Tuesday, 8 pm, if you want home delivery or farm
pick-up for Thursday.

SATURDAY FARMERS’ MARKET AND PREORDER PICK-UP :
Market runs 8 am to noon. Please place an order by Thursday, 8 pm to
pick up your preorder at the Bonita market. If preordering, please pick
up preorders after 10 am.

Orders can be placed online at ** www.12seasonsfarm.com**

This is what we are harvesting:

• Strawberries

• Summercrisp Lettuce

• Baby Butterhead Lettuce

• Romaine lettuce

• Large Leaf Butterhead lettuce

• Cherry tomatoes

• Heirloom/Specialty tomatoes

• Red Slicing tomatoes

• Arugula

• Cabbage (limited)

• Curly kale

• Flat kale

• Mixed kale (new!)

• Broccoli

• Broccoli greens

• Green beans (almost done)

• Rainbow carrots

• Cucumbers

• Zucchini

• Sweet Peppers

• Eggplant

• Round radish

• Daikon radish

• Watermelon radish

• Green onions

• Dill

• Cilantro

• Italian flat parsley (limited)

• Saw Palmetto Honey

• Avocado (limited)

• Sunflowers

Last week was special to see so many of the residents we have served
on Sanibel and Captiva. We look forward to being there again tomorrow at
McCarthy’s Marina from 9 to 11 am. Even though there are not many
residents there, we do look forward to serving those that are fresh,
heathy, and tasty produce.

Kelley and James Mashburn and kids are new to the farm this season
and have been a joyful and helpful presence. James is a commercial
airline pilot and great handyman. When he is not flying, he has been
working on repairs after the hurricane and Kelley has been on harvesting
duties. We were keeping Kelley well supplied with strawberries to help
keep her hydrated and nourished in preparation for her going into
labor.

The excitement came this past weekend when Kelley gave birth to a
beautiful baby boy, Levi Alexander. The photo is of Kelley, daughter
Charlotte, and baby Levi. Mother and son are doing well.

This is a photo of Dan Hallau after harvesting zucchini. We generally
harvest 4x/week. The light green zucchini is a Lebanese type with very
tender skin. Dan is a geologist that is working this season with us. The
Hallau Family is considering starting a homestead and farming and wanted
to get a taste of this life at 12 Seasons. Dan and Brittany along with
their 2 kids, Fritz and Wally, have been such an enormous help and
blessing this season.

Here is Myrah Small last Friday after harvesting and then washing the
radishes in preparation for Saturday market. We like the produce to be
so fresh that you could replant the radish and it would start growing
again!!

This is an example of an agroforestry system where we plant broccoli
in between the rows of avocadoes. Agroforestry is a practice where trees
and crops are intentionally incorporated together in the same
location/system. The broccoli benefits from the light shading while the
tree roots are capturing extra moisture and nutrients from the broccoli
bed. This intercrop has been a real winner on our farm!

Early Saturday morning at the Bonita Springs Promenade Farmers’
Market. We had a great selling day last Saturday. Thank you all so much
for coming out and supporting us! So wonderful, especially this season,
to see a table with such beauty and bounty! Thanks for helping make this
possible!

After market on Saturday, Simeon and I went out for a quick sunset
paddle on the Caloosahatchee River. We dropped in on Old Olga Creek
which flows through our farm into the Caloosahatchee River. The presence
of two creeks running through the farm and close proximity to this big
river has been a blessing and was one of the major draws in buying this
land 20 years ago. It is also why we flooded so badly from the surge
that went up the Caloosahatchee River. Simeon and I had a great time
paddling together. We have several kayaks that are available for the
team to use after work.

We always enjoy our midweek lunch on the farm where we have a
potluck, coffee, tea, and usually some sweeties.

Farming is far more than raising and selling crops. It is our
livelihood involving multiple generations, working alongside one
another, and stewarding the land to bring goodness and nourishment to
our community.

We appreciate you all and thank you for your continued support!

Danny, Vicki, the kids, and the 12 Seasons Team