2024-12-30 newsletter

Greetings from 12 Seasons Farm,

We continue to see improvements in production with more tomatoes,
strawberries, broccolini, and new types of lettuce coming available.

We are grateful for the meaningful rainfall this past weekend. We see
the forecast now for cool weather coming within the next 2 weeks. We
hope it is not of the damaging type and are making preparations now for
this. In the meantime, it sure is wonderful to finally have the farm
back in good production and diversity!

Here is our schedule for this week:

TUESDAY CAPTIVA FARMER’S MARKET: Market runs from
9am-1pm. For those wanting to preorder for the market, please do so by 8
pm on Sunday for pick-up at the Tuesday market.

THURSDAY FARM PICK-UP & HOME DELIVERY: Place an
order online before 8 pm Tuesday for Thursday all day pick-up at the
farm or to receive a home delivery. For farm pick-up, use original farm
entrance, 14840 Old Olga Rd. Order is usually split between cold produce
in walk-in cooler and the air conditioned structure just left of walk-in
cooler.

 SATURDAY BONITA SPRINGS FARMER’S
MARKET: Market runs from 8am-noon. For those interested in
preordering for the market, please do so before 8 pm on Thursday for
pick-up at the Saturday market.

If you have questions about the farm or your orders or the website,
please feel free to text or call Danny at 239-229-3579.

Place orders at 12seasonsfarm.com

This is what we are harvesting:

• Strawberries
• Swiss Chard
• Arugula
• Summercrisp lettuce
• Large leaf Butterhead lettuce– new!
• Baby Butterhead lettuce– new!
• Heirloom and specialty tomatoes
• Cherry tomato
• Carrots
• Beets (very limiited)
• Round radish
• Watermelon radish
• Daikon radish
• Broccolini
• Cucumbers
• Zucchini
• Eggplant
• Green onions (aka Spring onions)– new!
• Basil
• Cilantro
• Dill
• Mint
• Papaya (very limited)
• Passionfruit
• Navel oranges
• Lemons
• Pummelo
• Bananas (very limited)
• Starfruit
• Avocado
• Sunflowers
• Saw palmetto honey
• Wildflower honey
• Sea of Cortez salt
• Mango, Monkey, and Strawberry Butter

It is good to finally see fuller tables at the farmer’s markets.

The first fruit strawberries are large, beautiful, and very good!

John and Dave testing out the first strawberries harvested from a
back field. They were on the final stages of many days in-a-row of
planting leeks. Great job gentlemen!

We also planted a lot of onions, I think we have over 10,000 planted
so far. We are ready to begin thinning the onions planted in between the
double strawberry rows. These we harvest as green or spring onions.
Today was the first harvest this season for a market and should have at
Captiva tomorrow and going forward. We are glad to finally have onions
again. They contribute so much to salads and meals. We have mainly a
sweet purple type ready now. It is delightful to eat raw or cooked, both
the green tops and slender bulbs.

We have been getting generous harvests of delicious startfruits this
winter.

A cornucopia of fruits from the farm– avocados, grapefruit, pummelo,
honeybells (just starting), navels (almost done), and passionfruit.

We are starting to install larger citrus mesh bags as the only
location we are getting quality citrus production are inside the
protective bags. These finely screened bags exclude the Asian Citrus
Psyllid and therefore prevent the transmission of the debilitating
greening disease. This bacterial disease exists in the gut of the
psyllid– an aphid-like insect– that feeds on citrus leaves and carries
it from tree to tree infecting the trees and resulting in tree decline
and the overall demise of the citrus industry in Florida. We have had
success with the bagged citrus producing beautiful grapefruit, lemons,
tangerines, etc.

We have been getting excellent quality mushrooms from Care2Grow in
Naples. There are usually lots of great varieties to choose from each
week.

We have hardneck garlic available right now. Eric and Susanna Hall
who work on the farm have a daughter that grows garlic organically in
Maine and she agreed to grow some out for us. We don’t have a large
supply but it will likely be available the next few weeks on the website
and at the markets. We have mostly ‘German Extra Hardy’ available with
smaller amounts of ‘Ivan’ and ‘Bavarian Purple’.

Brian seen here in foreground is helping construct a pair of
greenhouses. He and his wife Jill are new this season. Brian does
amazing maintenance and construction work while Jill– an author/editor–
works 5 hrs. each day at the farm skillfully planting and
harvesting.

Carrie hosted a very enjoyable Christmas gathering at her place for
those on the farm.

The kids on Christmas had a fun family day full with laughter, good
times with friends and family, and gifts bringing great cheer and new
activities and adventures.

The kids and Vicki took a quick trip to visit her family in Oklahoma
and plan to return shortly in time for market this Saturday. We hope to
see many of you there!

As the new year draws nigh, we want to express our sincere gratitude
for all the ways we are supported by you– such amazing customers. May
you each be blessed!

All the best in this coming season to you and your loved ones from
all of us at 12 Seasons Farm.

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