2024-03-18 newsletter

Greetings from 12 Seasons Farm,

Overall the farm is producing very well. The more extreme heat this
past week through today– with very warm days and nights– made it more
challenging to manage the crops. Harvests need to be very timely. The
lettuce is quicker to bolt, the broccolini needs to be harvested very
young to prevent it from becoming tough, zucchini and cucumbers need
daily harvest instead of every- other-day, tomatoes ripen very fast,
etc. The heat keeps us working very hard. I look forward to this coming
week with slightly cooler temperatures forecasted.

Last weekend was another great market day in Bonita. And last week
was the busiest market day at Captiva this season. The Naples market
remains our smallest market. Thank you to all who came out and/or
ordered this past week from us!

We have a great line up of produce for the markets tomorrow in Naples
and Captiva.

Here is our schedule for 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.

TUESDAY NAPLES ST. JOHN’S FARMERS MARKET (NEW!) :
Tuesday 9am-1pm at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Naples. The St. John’s
Farmers Market is located at 500 Park Shore Dr., Naples, FL 34103, just
south of Pine Ridge Rd. Due to vehicle space and staff limitations we
currently don’t plan to do preorders for this 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. If
possible, please pick up after 10:30 for pre-orders as
this will reduce the long line that often forms early in the morning.
When picking up, you are welcome to skip the line and go down the south
side of the tent to the back of our van where Annika will help you get
your order and grab any add-ons you might want.

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 (starting to get limited in the heat)
• Arugula
• Curly Kale
• Flat Kale
• Mixed Kale (multiple varieties)
• Swiss Chard
• Green Beans
• Zucchini
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Sweet Italian Bull’s Horn Peppers
• Broccolini
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Carrots
• Green onions
• Large onions
• Celery
• Cherry tomatoes
• Campari tomatoes
• Heirloom/Specialty tomatoes
• Red Slicing tomatoes
• Round radish
• Daikon radish
• Cilantro
• Dill
• Curled Parsley
• Flat Parsley
• Lemongrass (preorder only)
• Ray Ruby Grapefruit
• Papaya
• Starfruit (just about over)
• Banana
• Sunflowers
• SW FL Saw Palmetto Honey
• SW FL Wildflower Honey
• Strawberry Butter

Simeon at the St. John’s Naples Market last Tuesday.

Enoch and his brothers are a great help in finding bananas to be
harvested. We have had a decent number of bananas ripening in the
heat.

We trialed a variety of tomato this season from Johnny’s seed company
called ‘Hot Streak’. We haven’t tasted it yet as we are just harvesting
the first fruits. The photo above is of the unripe fruit.

Alexios showing one of the first ‘Hot Streak’ tomatoes. It is reputed
to be of outstanding flavor. They should start appearing at the markets
and in orders soon.

LJ and Indy harvesting eggplant this morning.

Izzy prepping the sweet spring onions called ‘Southern Belle’’.

Here is Ann harvesting dill. We have had a great herb crop this
season with the dill, cilantro, and parsley. I think all the cooler
weather helped with getting these crops established and growing
favorably.

Ann is in her first season with us from Duluth, MN, and has been an
amazing helper. We are grateful for her presence on the farm. She is
very hard work working and does things at high standards. Ann runs her
own business in MN but took the winter off to help out on our farm.

On my birthday last week, the Harrington boys picked a bunch of
mulberries and brought me a dessert with whipped cream and fresh
mulberries. That was fun and special!

Later that evening Carrie Bell, whom many of you know from the
Captiva market, took the whole family out for my birthday at D’Amico’s,
The Continental in Naples. What a treat to enjoy a meal with some of the
produce from our farm.

The Continental staff and Executive Chef Andrew Wicklander and Sous
Chef Jimmy Loor took great care of us visiting us at the table and
sending out special dishes prepared with 12 Seasons produce. Continental
purchases a large amount of produce weekly from us and we are grateful
for the longstanding relationship with this establishment.

The older 3 kids and Vicki danced in St. Patrick’s Day Festival in
downtown Ft. Myers. Simeon is in blue and Annika is 3rd from left.

It is great to see the kids engaging in fun, skilled, and inspiring
dance. It is a healthy diversion from the farm!

Thank you for your continued support of 12 Seasons Farm. We enjoy the
privilege to bring you fresh, nutrient dense, safely grown, and superbly
delicious fruits and vegetables!

All the best to you this week!

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