2023-11-13 newsletter

Greetings from 12 Seasons Farm,

The theme of the farm is plant, plant, plant. There are so many crops
we are seeding and transplanting right now. Thankfully, the farm team is
growing in numbers to help us stay on task with our planting goals.

We had another great market day last Saturday. Thank you.

We have decided to postpone Sanibel and Captiva deliveries. With the
bridge construction and traffic, it is logistically prohibitive for us.
We plan to resume when the Captiva market reopens Dec. 19. We are open
to other ideas for those that want to get produce on the islands, but
driving there right now is extremely challenging.

The crop diversity is still quite limited for these first few weeks
in November, but we hope to add more crops soon as they are getting
closer to being ready. We are starting to see a few more cherry tomatoes
ripen and the first heirloom type tomatoes are very close- 1-2
weeks!

If you would like to place an order for farm pick up or home
delivery this Thursday, please do so before 8 pm TUESDAY at12seasonsfarm.com.

Here is our schedule this week

THURSDAY FARM PICK-UP OR HOME DELIVERY : Please
place an order online before Tuesday, 8 pm, if you want farm pick-up for
Thursday. 14840 Old Olga Rd., Ft. Myers, FL 33905

SATURDAY BONITA FARMERS’ MARKET **** ****: Our first
farmers’ market of the season begins this Saturday, 8am-noon at the
Promenade Shops at Bonita Bay. Buy directly from the stand or
place a preorder online by Thursday, 8 pm.

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

This is what we are harvesting:

• Summercrisp Lettuce
• Arugula
• Zucchini
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Broccolini (limited)
• Cherry tomatoes (limited)
• Round radish
• Daikon radish
• Dill
• Papaya
• Starfruit
• Banana
• Saw Palmetto Honey

Thank you to those who came out last Saturday. It was fun to have
Jack back at market. He and his dad Corey pinch hit for Vicki and the
older kids who couldn’t make it last week. Vicki is in Oklahoma City
helping her mother rehab from a bad fall.

We offered mushrooms last week from Care2Grow in Naples. There was a
beautiful assortment which included Golden Oyster, Shitake, Chestnut,
Lion’s Mane, and Italian Oyster. We hope to keep it as a regular option.
Russell Hollander, the grower/owner at Care2Grow described them in the
following way… “Oyster, which is a versatile mushroom with great texture
and flavor that can be used in any recipe like button but has amazing
benefits to heart health. Shiitake, although they are common in the
store ours are a variety that is Meaty and filled with umami (mushroom
flavor); also great for liver health. Lions mane, a unique toothed
fungus, that can mimic meat in many dishes, its not very mushroomy
flavored but when torn apart resembles crab meat, makes an awesome vegan
crab cake; lions mane has tons of benefits for the brain and gut.
Chestnut a beautiful orange brown mushroom with small white flecks that
kind look like salt; when fresh Chestnuts will be mucilaginous so they
may appear a little wet but that is normal; they have a delicate cap and
crunchy stem that is edible great when roasted or sautéed. I would
describe the flavor as the best mushroom flavor deep umami beautiful as
a topper on any meal, they contain many beta glucans which are
beneficial in providing the necessary sugars to support our cellular
health.” Russell grows all the mushrooms organically and recommends all
mushrooms be cooked and not eaten raw for best nutrient absorption and
safety.

The young strawberry plants are starting to grow.

Last Friday, I harvested the first broccolini of the season. We just
had a few bunches at market.

There is something so special about first fruits– they are usually
perfect, without blemish, and provide modest fulfillment of a
long-awaited hope as a farmer! This was my first pink cherry tomato of
the season. Yum!

Simeon and I on the tractor. He is interested and ready to start
learning some of the basic operations of the tractor.

Anthony entertaining the children during break time on Friday.

This is an example of soil from an area where I didn’t till this
season. The soil is holding together from the stickiness of soil life
that is feeding on the carbon from years of repeated compost
applications. Life is sticky! Dead soil falls apart. I am super excited
so far about the initial results of no- till this season. By not
tilling, beneficial fungi and bacteria and other soil organisms can
positively impact quality. Tillage tends to do negatively impact soil
health.

This is typical disturbed, unimproved soil on the farm.

Here is our dedicated team who have come to 12 Seasons Farm to
participate in the noble profession of farming. Our #s are growing each
week which is encouraging as the workload is intense right now. It is
heartening to see such talented and cheerful workers– most with
university degrees– laboring hard each day to bring you high quality and
delicious food! We are grateful for their amazing efforts.

May it be blessed!

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