2024-05-13 newsletter

Greetings from 12 Seasons Farm,

The heat and humidity are really intense here and certain crops like
cabbage, celery, and zucchini are nearly done or finished. The crop
diversity declines when we get intense and prolonged heat/humidity
spells like this in the spring. The tomatoes are still doing
exceptionally well as we are still harvesting over 2,000 lbs./week.

Last week’s produce drop at MacIntosh Books + Paper on Sanibel went
well. We will continue providing this option for those on Sanibel and
Captiva who are interested in receiving orders of organically grown
produce each Tuesday.

The Saturday market in Bonita was pleasantly steady. Thank you to
those who came out. We have 2 more Saturday markets there before we will
open up a Saturday market at the farm for the month of June. We plan to
continue to offer deliveries well into June. Place orders by Tuesday 8
pm for Thursday delivery and farm pick-up and by Thursday 8 pm for
Saturday market pre-orders and pick-ups.

Here is our schedule for this week:

TUESDAY MACINTOSH IN SANIBEL PICK-UP & HOME DELIVERY FOR
SANIBEL AND CAPTIVA RESIDENTS: Tuesday, 11 am-2 pm free pick-up
of orders at MacIntosh Books + Paper at 1620 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, FL
33957. Also home deliveries. Place a preorder online by Sunday,
8 pm.

THURSDAY FARM PICK-UP & HOME DELIVERY FOR SW FL (NOT
INCLUDING SANIBEL AND CAPTIVA): Please place an order line
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 (nearly done)
• Summercrisp Lettuce
• Arugula
• Curly Kale
• Flat Kale
• Mixed Kale (multiple varieties)
• Swiss Chard
• Zucchini
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Sweet Italian Bull’s Horn Peppers
• Broccolini
• Carrots
• Large onions
• Cherry tomatoes
• Campari tomatoes
• Heirloom/Specialty tomatoes
• Red Slicing tomatoes
• Round radish
• Daikon radish
• Cilantro
• Dill
• Curled Parsley
• Flat Parsley
• Italian Basil
• Lemongrass (preorder only)
• Papaya
• Banana
• Sunflowers
• SW FL Saw Palmetto Honey
• SW FL Wildflower Honey
• Strawberry Butter

Alexios and Simeon at the Bonita market last Saturday morning. In
spite of increased heat and humidity, we still have good diversity and
production as evidenced by this photo of the market table.

We are starting to clean up the raised beds and prepare for a cover
crop and next season. Sammi is pulling out the zucchini plants in this
photo. They have a hard time setting fruit with the high humidity.

We still have a good supply of carrots.

While broccolini prefers cool moist conditions, this particular
cultivar handles the heat quite well.

Michelle has been a tremendous help to us this season. She harvests
the broccolini 3 days/week and then bundles it.

We have a good supply of sunflowers this week.

Swiss chard does exceptionally well in the heat.

This is one of the latest crops of papaya we have had. It normally is
over by now but we are grateful for this late crop. Lychee and mango
should be starting in the next 2-3 weeks.

While Vicki is gone out of town for a couple days with two of the
kids, I made a radish salad tonight for some visiting friends and Simeon
and Josiah that was so good! It is patterned off the radish salad we
would have when living in Germany with our friends and hosts Franz and
Dorothy. We stayed in their home while I worked on my masters degree
back in 2010 and 2011. It is radish sliced thinly with white balsamic
vinegar, olive oil, and salt. Stir to coat all the radishes and let it
marinate for at least 30 minutes. We like to serve it chilled. It is so
delicious and the kids really enjoy it. The vinegar makes the radish far
less potent. The daikon radish is great for this and does well in this
heat.

Thankfully we still have a good supply of tomatoes. This is one of
the best seasons for quality. I am a little concerned with the crazy
heat this upcoming week that the tomatoes will make a marked decline.
The excessive heat does usually affect the size, causing the fruits to
be smaller.

We hear and see barred owls on the farm quite often. Vicki and I were
out for an evening walk on the farm and saw this one in an oak tree in
the back. The bird and wildlife presence on the farm is impressive.
There is a lot of food here, and where there is an oasis of diverse
food, many creatures find a home. We consider it a sign of a healthy
farm.

Here is a photo of Havilah, Annika, and Elena at Oscar Scherer State
Park. They are camping there for 2 days with Vicki and Lindsay, Havilah
and Elena’s mom and Benjamin is there too. Elena has worked 1 morning a
week for us for at least 6 seasons. She is quite the seeder. They seem
to behaving fun on their camping adventure.

May you enjoy time this week with those you love!

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