2026 Season Updates
This post is jam-packed with info about what the year ahead is shaping up to be and I hope you'll take a moment to read until the end. Pour yourself a cup of tea, take a moment to breathe, and read on if you please.
Despite the seemingly slow nature of the season, winter on the farm never really feels like a hibernation. As our growing season now extends well beyond the first and last frost dates, the lines between on-season and off-season have faded away. January is the month where we ambitiously try to fit in all the following: a deep-dive analysis of the past year, accounting and tax preparation, finalize this year's crop plan, order seeds and create the master seed starting schedule, coordinate partnerships with local farmers and businesses, rest and catch up on sleep, take a trip?, fix machinery and get ahead on maintenance projects - all while doing the daily chores of feeding the animals and watering the seedlings. We know that this groundwork, before we can do the literal ground work in the spring, is an essential component to having a successful year.
Plans made now set the course for the year ahead, and we do our best to choose the track that best aligns the values and needs of the farm with yours. Since opening the Farm Store last year, we feel more connected to our local community than ever before. We truly value your friendship, your support, and your feedback. As our little business grows we are reminded that none of this happens without you.
Lately our hearts have been heavy and we've been enraged by the constant onslaught of human rights violations we are seeing. We cannot abide by business as usual without acknowledging the present situation in our country and abroad. Jeremy and I both lived in Minneapolis for many years before moving here to farm and so many of our dearest friends and family are there now. We witness their first hand accounts of the brutality that federal agents are enacting on everyday people, along with their sheer neglect for humanity as they wrongfully detain citizens, violently attack and harm bystanders, and tear families apart.
Neighbors on every block throughout the Twin Cities have come together to support each other in organic ways, building a resilient network of mutual aid that is directly responsive to the needs of the people living there. That is what community looks like - coming together to take care of each other.
The immigration crackdown throughout the US is going to have a catastrophic impact on our fragile local food system, and we're already seeing the effects. Now more than ever we need to support our local economy, small businesses, and regional producers. I urge you to stay aware, stay connected, and contribute in ways that you're able; such as calling representatives, donating to mutual aid organizations, and sharing resources from trusted sources.
Our commitment to you, our community, is to continue producing good food, healing herbs, fulfilling flowers, and providing space to cultivate connections for resilient communities while responsibly caring for this precious earth. We must build the future we want to live in. We take care of us. We must hold onto the joy and pursue a life of purpose - it is what sustains us for the long haul.
With that said, here are some of the major things we have planned for the year ahead:
Farm Store
Our Opening Day will be Saturday, April 18th! The Farm Store will be open this year on Thursdays from 4-7pm and Saturdays from 9am-12pm.
In alignment with our mission to bring you quality goods consistently, we have made the decision to let go of hosting a farmer's market on site. Instead of regularly hosting other vendors, we will bring more products into our Farm Store and stock the shelves, cooler, and freezer with lots of local goods. This switch allows us to develop stronger relationships with local farmers and food producers and gives us more control and curation so we can bring you the best selection of products.
Make way for more veggies: Our Farm Store will be the best spot in Mt Vernon to get fresh local produce. In addition to sourcing produce from Abbe Hills, Buffalo Ridge Orchard, Onion Grove, and other local farms, we will be growing a select variety of vegetables on our Certified Organic farm. This decision is a direct response to feedback from our customers who want a robust variety of chemical-free produce every week. We plan to have as many options available on Thursday evenings as we do on Saturday mornings.
The Farm Store is once again a host site for Buffalo Ridge Orchard's CSA. You can sign up directly through their website for a weekly or bi-weekly share of fresh vegetables and apples. They are also offering home delivery of our Flower CSA - but only if you also sign up for their vegetable CSA.
On Food: Plans are underway to have breakfast and prepared foods at the Farm Store every Saturday this season! We will also host more farm-to-table dinners throughout the summer. We'll let you know more as details come together.
Spring Plant Sale
Are you dreaming up your garden yet? Tempted to order more seeds than you actually have space for? I totally get it. Starting seeds is so rewarding - but it can also be tricky to do well. Before you go out and buy grow lights, heat mats, potting mix, seeds, and turn your basement into a crazy plant laboratory, let me remind you that our spring plant sale is coming up!
Within the next week or so I'll release a list of everything we're growing for the plant sale so you can plan ahead. As of right now we have close to 200 varieties of plants on the list across these categories: vegetables, herbs, native plants, flowers, decorative bedding plants, and a few fruits (strawberries and raspberries!). We will also have seed packets for direct-seeded crops and potting soil for sale.
We plan to have some cold-hardy plant starts available for our opening weekend on April 18th. We'll be rolling out new varieties as the weeks continue to warm up and we reach our average last frost date (April 26th in our region). We will have all varieties available at our Farm Store so shopping for plants there will give you the most variety to browse. We will bring plant starts to the Iowa City Farmer's Market (first market is May 2nd) though we will be limited in the number of varieties we can bring.
We are not doing a plant sale pre-order this year. This means we can actually grow more plant starts than before so rest assured we will have plenty of inventory of each variety on hand for the first weekends in May. As we get closer to spring, I will keep you updated as to which varieties are limited.
We are, however, still accepting pre-orders for dahlia tubers! Kim has been our dividing expert this winter and she's nearly through the 1,000 clumps that we dug last fall. You can order through our website now for either local pick up or shipping in April.
On the Flower Front
In mid-January Jeremy and I took our first real vacation from the farm in New Mexico (it was amazing, thank you for asking). The first few days were spent at the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Grower's Annual Conference where we connected with flower farmers throughout the country and attended great sessions about winter growing, pest management, financial tracking, marketing, planning for climate resiliency, and more. It was really inspiring to be in the same room as other successful farm owners and industry leaders. I came home rejuvenated, focused, and motivated.
Seeds are started for our early spring flowers and the season is already starting to roll. This week we planted over 2500 ranunculus and anemones in one high tunnel, and our overwintered flowers in the other tunnel seem to have pulled through well despite many sub-zero degree nights. That means we are going to have a whole lot of flower magic to share with you come spring! We'll have fresh flowers for sale by the end of April and at least all the way through October.
Besides our weekly Flower CSA, here's where to find our flowers this summer:
- Our Farm Store during open hours - Thurs 4-7, Sat 9am-12pm
- Iowa City Farmer's Market - Saturdays 7:30am-12pm, May 2nd - October 31st
- New Pioneer Co-op, Cedar Rapids - delivered on Wednesdays
We will also be offering Bulk Blooms Buckets of flowers for your DIY events! I am still working on logistics before opening orders through our website, but if you are interested in bulk flowers for an event this summer reach out to me and I'll get you more info.
What are you most looking forward to this year? I'd love to hear from you!
Take care and talk to you soon,
Emma
PS No artificial intelligence was used in the writing of this blog post.