2024-01-08 newsletter

Greetings from 12 Seasons Farm,

This is an interesting winter for Florida with really cool
temperatures and very wet conditions. We had over 2 1/2 inches of rain
on Saturday with many more wet and cloudy days forecasted in the next 10
days. This weather favors a lot of the crops we grow like kale, arugula,
lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, etc. They are growing well but at a
slower pace. The crops that don’t do well in this weather are basil,
cucumbers, tomatoes, and zucchini. That is why basil has been a near
crop failure this season and zucchini at an all time low. Tomatoes on
the farm are an exception because we grow most tomatoes inside
greenhouses to avoid the disease pressure caused by moisture from dew
and rain. Their growth and production is just slower due to the cool
temperature. But they would be a disaster this season if not for the
greenhouses.

Strawberries, green onions, celery, green beans, and carrots are the
newest additions to the farm crop availability. It was fun to have these
at market Saturday. Thanks for all who came out Saturday in spite of
inclement weather. A busy start to the market helped us have a really
successful day as we broke down the tents and tables an hour before noon
to avoid the heavy rain!

Tomorrow we plan to be at the Captiva Farmers market. We haven’t
opened deliveries back up on the islands due to traffic constraints when
exiting the island late in the workday. For most of SW Florida we have
our normal delivery on Thursday with ordering by 8 pm each Tuesday.

Here is our updated schedule this week:

TUESDAY CAPTIVA MARKET : Tuesday, 9am-1pm at South
Seas Island Resort , Captiva. Buy directly from the
stand or place a preorder online by Sunday, 8 pm and
pick it up at the market.

THURSDAY FARM PICK-UP & HOME DELIVERY FOR SW FL (NOT
INCLUDING SANIBEL AND CAPTIVA): Please place an order online
before TUESDAY, 8 pm. For farm pick-up on Thursday, please come to 14840
Old Olga Rd., Ft. Myers, FL 33905.

SATURDAY BONITA FARMERS MARKET **** ****: 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:

• Strawberries
• Summercrisp Lettuce
• Baby Butterhead Lettuce
• Large Leaf Butterhead Lettuce
• Romaine Lettuce
• Arugula
• Curly Kale
• Flat Kale
• Mixed Kale (multiple varieties)
• Swiss Chard
• Green Beans (limited)
• Zucchini
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Sweet Italian Bull’s Horn Peppers
• Broccolini (limited)
• Cabbage (limited)
• Carrots (limited)
• Green onions (limited)
• Celery (new and limited)
• Cherry tomatoes
• Campari tomatoes
• Heirloom/Specialty tomatoes
• Red Slicing tomatoes
• Round radish
• Daikon radish
• Cilantro
• Dill
• Curled Parsley (limited)
• Flat Parsley (limited)
• Lemongrass
• Avocado
• Pummelo
• Lemons
• Papaya
• Starfruit
• Banana
• Sunflowers
• SW FL Saw Palmetto Honey
• SW FL Wildflower Honey

Simeon, Annika, and Vicki at this morning’s market in Bonita
Springs.

The strawberry and onion intercropped field is doing well. Only about
half of the field is producing berries right now, but the other half is
soon to follow in the next couple weeks.

The first fruits of strawberries are very special– large, beautiful,
nearly blemish free, and delicious.

It is great to have green onions and carrots in season again.

We were pleased to have celery for the first time at market on
Saturday! Let us know what you think. It is the variety called
‘Tango.’

We are harvesting tomatoes from the 1st and 2nd flights (plantings)
of tomatoes. This is the 3rd flight that should be ready in about 3-4
weeks. It is a lot of work training and pruning the vines but the
approach is well worth the results of getting really quality fruits.

Building tomato flats for the restaurants. Last week we sold about
500 lbs. to various restaurants in the area.

Tomorrow Michelle will leave after being with us as a volunteer for a
couple months. She will visit family in China and then hopefully return
in March. She has been a major help this season as her horticultural
instincts and work ethic are excellent. We are grateful for all her
contributions and is a sweet presence here on the farm. She was
particularly helpful establishing the strawberry planting. Above she is
bunching parsley from a young parsley planting.

Elisha and Cate came back to visit for several days this past week.
It was great to have them on the farm again. The kids really enjoyed the
opportunities to hang out together again.

Cate planting Zinnia seeds with Benjamin keeping company!

Elisha and Anthony off to work in the morning pruning and wrapping
tomatoes. It is great to see old friends reunite. Elisha and Anthony
worked here together 3 seasons ago. Anthony is now back with us this
season. It is wonderful to have such fine gentlemen here.

Here is a photo of the 12 Seasons team after one of our morning
meetings. Each morning we meet to discuss the major goals and activities
for the day and job assignments are given for each team member. These
are the ones stewarding the land and cultivating the crops you
experience at 12 Seasons Farm. We are grateful for such a dedicated and
capable team.

Have a great week!

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