Visit
Seasons on the farm, and what comes when
A year here, laid out in order. Some of it is running now and the rest is what we are building toward.
A farm runs on a calendar rather than on a schedule. Things come ready when they are ready, and most of what we sell has a window rather than a shelf life.
Laying the year out in order is the most useful thing we can give somebody trying to decide when to pay attention to us. It also shows the shape of the business better than any list of products does.
Some of what follows is happening now and a good deal of it is what we are working toward. It is all here in the order it would fall across a year.
The year, in order
-
Late winter, the planning stretch
The quietest months and the ones that decide the rest of the year. Seed gets ordered, birds get booked, beds get planned, and the number of people on the list is what most of those decisions get made against.
-
Spring, everything starting at once
Chicks arrive, the first seeding goes in, and the flower field wakes up. Spring is the month where a farm makes most of its commitments for the year, which is why we would rather hear from you before it than during it.
-
Early summer, the first real food
The first broilers come ready, the earliest greens are cut, and the flowers start. This is when a farm stops being a plan and starts being something you can drive out and collect, which is a good week every single year.
-
High summer, the heaviest stretch
Everything at once. Birds, beds, flowers and markets in the same week, with the weather deciding a great deal of it. It is the hardest part of the year to keep on top of and the most rewarding to get right.
-
Fall, harvest and the turn
Storage crops come out of the ground and into a cool room, the last birds finish, and the floral side turns from cut flowers toward wreaths and garland. Two very different halves of the same season.
-
November and December, the wreath run
The busiest short stretch on the floral side. Wreaths, garland and centerpieces, made in a limited run, sold ahead, and finished when they are finished. Eventually turkeys land in the same weeks, which will make for a full month.
How to follow along through a year
-
1
Get on the list first
Nearly everything here has a window rather than a season, and most of it sells to the people who already knew it was coming. The list exists so you are not finding out about a run after it has closed.
-
2
Tell us what you are watching for
Chicken, flowers, wreaths, a share, a bird for the holiday. Knowing what you are actually waiting on lets us tell you the right things rather than everything, which is a better arrangement for both sides.
-
3
Order in the window
Almost everything on this farm is worth reserving ahead rather than turning up for. Batches are finite, runs close, and a farm this size would rather cap a number than disappoint somebody who drove out.
-
4
Come out when there is something to collect
Pickup is how nearly everything moves. It is a working farm and a family home rather than somewhere open to walk around, so a trip out is tied to something that is actually ready for you.
Why the calendar is the honest way to describe a farm
A shop can promise the same thing every week of the year. A farm cannot, and the ones that appear to are usually buying most of it in. Laying out the year in order is the clearest way of showing what a place actually produces and when.
It also sets expectations properly. Somebody who understands that broilers come in batches a few times across the summer, and that wreaths happen in one short run in the late fall, is a much easier customer to serve well than somebody expecting a shop.
The calendar is also how the two halves of this business fit together. The floral side is heaviest in exactly the weeks the farm side is quieting down, and the farm side peaks when flowers are at their most abundant. That is not a coincidence, it is most of why one family can run both.
Read down the year and you can see where this is going. The current version is a handful of those entries running properly. The full version is all of them, plus a place people drive out to, which is a decade of work rather than a plan for next year.
Questions people ask
When is chicken available?
Broilers come ready in batches across the summer rather than continuously. Each batch is reserved ahead and collected at the farm, so the list is how you catch one rather than turning up and hoping.
When are wreaths available?
Late fall, in a limited run through November and into December. They are made in a batch, sold ahead, and finished when the run is finished. It is the shortest and busiest window in the whole year.
What is happening on the farm right now?
The farm side is broiler chickens sold direct, and the floral side is design work plus the seasonal fall run. Everything else described across the year is either just starting or is something we are working toward.
Can I come out and look around?
Not at the moment. It is a working farm and a family home rather than somewhere set up for visitors. Trips out are tied to collecting something that is ready, and the wider visiting side is years off.
What is the quietest time to get hold of you?
Late winter, easily. It is when the planning happens and when there is genuinely time to talk. If you want to shape what gets grown or raised in a coming year, that is the stretch to be in touch.
How do I keep track of all of this?
Through the list. It is built for exactly this problem, because a farm year has too many small windows for anyone to keep in their head. We send what is coming rather than everything that exists.
Elsewhere on the farm
Which part of the year is yours?
Tell us what you are watching for and we will tell you when it is coming, rather than sending you everything. The list is the whole mechanism.
Join the list