March Update

I’ve had a lot of people ask me what this non-winter and really early spring will mean for the farm.  My answer: I have no idea.  We’ve had warm springs before, but hitting 60 degrees repeatedly in February and losing all of our snow cover by Valentine’s Day make this year especially remarkable.  I just finished pruning all of our young apple trees before they broke dormancy, but I was surprised to see that our raspberries are already sending out new bud growth while I was pruning them today.  Early springs are ultimately a blessing for produce farmers in Minnesota, with our short growing seasons, but I’d be happy to trade back an extra couple weeks of greens (and mosquitoes!) for climate stability and a healthy environment.

Planting is already underway here under the cozy grow lights we have set up in the basement.  Green onions, chives, and garlic chives are already setting their roots and working their way toward the light.  The green onions are destined for the first few CSA boxes while the chives serve as a companion plant in our orchard.  All of our fruit and nut trees are planted with beneficial species–the chives in this case keep pollinators happy throughout the year and are thought to reduce scab pressure in fruit trees.  Next week they’ll be joined by parsley, oregano, and thyme, with peppers and tomatoes coming in shortly after that.

After a quick start to selling our CSA memberships for this season, the pace has slackened off lately and we do still have openings.  It’s not too late if you’re still considering our CSA–we’d love to have you with us this season!  And referrals are always appreciated, too.  If you are interested in our CSA please fill out this form: https://foxandfawnfarm.com/csa-form/ and mail it in.  Please be in touch if you have any questions or if you needed a different payment schedule.

Thanks so much to everyone who has supported us this season.  Our family farm is a labor of love and we’re proud to share it with our community!  We wouldn’t be here without you–our members are truly the community that supports our agriculture.  Thanks so much to all of our members for your support this year, and we hope the rest of you will consider joining!