2023-04-08 newsletter

Greetings to the residents of Sanibel and Captiva from 12 Seasons
Farm

We finally might see a break from this heat and parched ground with
decent rain chances over the next 10 days. This heat has nearly put an
early end to strawberries on the farm. The strawberry yield this past
week was dismal.

Our last flight of tomatoes is just beginning to ripen. Here is a new
brandywine type of tomato that is so delicious. You should start to see
this one appearing at the markets. This so far is my favorite tomato of
the season.

This yellow tomato with a beauitful interior red blush has been a
popular tomato this season. Right now, the farm is experiencing an
amazing yield in tomatoes we have never seen before. It is astounding
and huge.

Thank you to those that pre-order and pick up your orders at the
market! This is much appreciated.

Thanks to Captain Bob and Jenny Rando with Captiva Cruises for this
continued opportunity!

If you would like to place an order for Tuesday pick up,
please do so before 8 pm Sunday at www.12seasonsfarm.com.

Here is our weekly schedule:t

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. ****

 ** 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

• Blueberries (from certified organic farm in Central
  Florida)

• Summercrisp Lettuce

• Baby Butterhead Lettuce

• Romaine lettuce

• Large Leaf Butterhead lettuce

• Cherry tomatoes

• Heirloom/Specialty tomatoes

• Red Slicing tomatoes

• Arugula

• Curly kale

• Flat kale

• Mixed kale

• Broccoli

• Broccoli greens

• Rainbow carrots

• Cucumbers

• Zucchini

• Sweet Peppers

• Eggplant

• Round radish

• Daikon radish

• Watermelon radish

• Green onions

• Large sweet onions

• Dill

• Cilantro

• Italian flat parsley

• Curled parsley

• Saw Palmetto Honey

• Nasturtium Flowers

• Sunflowers

We have a good supply of sunflowers this week and next.

Today we had a fun day at the Bonita Springs farmers’ market. We set
up a small stand adjacent to ours and the kids gave away a single tomato
as a gift to anyone that wanted one today. We wanted to share the
bounty.

Here was a picture of the kids’ farm stand. They had fun going around
the market and sharing tomatoes with whoever would accept them. I think
they gave away close to 250 lbs. of tomatoes. We wanted to see them used
and appreciated, especially over the holiday weekend.

Folks in Sanibel and Captiva have experienced a whole lot of
cumbersome and fatiguing challenges recovering from the damaging effects
of Ian. We share a bit of that history with you as well. It is extremely
encouraging to see the farm bounce back from a destructive restart of
the season in September and now bountifully yield tomatoes. It is my
favorite vegetable crop to grow and eat and now to have it in abundance
is wonderful. We are grateful!

It has been fun to be with you each week. We continue to wish you
success in your rebuilding efforts that your landscape and the natural
splendor of the islands may have a bountiful return. Hopefully, some of
this will be expedited by rain this week.

Look forward to seeing you Tuesday.

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