Seed Order

Stacy is at the kitchen table and I am in the office nook, both equally close to the warmth of the wood-stove. Both of us have our seed catalogs open and spreadsheets out. Maine's characteristic clear blue sky over bright white snowfields bless the farmhouse with light that seems to be everlasting... until the afternoon comes.

This is winter work time. Planning out the fields, ordering the supplies, hiring the employees, scheduling harvests, and purchasing equipment. We keep an eye on cash-flow which, thanks to the CSA model, allows us to make these plans with confidence-- thank you if you have signed-up already for the CSA program!

Fruits, tubers, vegetables, bulbs, blossoms, pods, branches, leaves.

Choices, changes, varieties, cultivars, tastes, colors, scent.

My vegetable variety list is 125 items long; Stacy's flower list is probably three times that length.

Ramona Snell, who has been farming with her husband John for over 35 years says that in the 1970's the farmers market would not have had more than 50 varieties of all vegetables from all farmers put together... Tomatoes were Big Beef. Squash was Butternut. Beans were E-Z Pick. These days, that has exploded. We are growing sweet potatoes, fennel, tomatillos, and Asian greens... A lot has changed. Of course there has always been this winter work on bright cold Maine days.
Work for some of us...

--John