What are they doing on the farm this time of year?
You may drive up to the farm, or farm market, and wonder- what exactly do these people do in the winter? I figured I’d give you a behind the scenes look, at what we are working on. As far as the farm market goes, we are open year-round. We do close for about 2 weeks at the beginning of the year to do a deep clean, but otherwise we don’t close down. January, February and March tend to be a little slower paced for us, which if I’m being honest, we don’t usually mind. Once April hits we get busier and busier as the year progresses. Winter is a great time to do bigger projects, like rearranging products in the market for the year, or freshening up paint on various displays. Another reason I enjoy the slower season is the conversations I get to stop and have with our customers. Things don’t feel as rushed and I enjoy getting to know them a little better.
Planning of the gardens start in January. This doesn’t include tree fruit, as those are planned out much more in advance. We have a garden meeting, and decide what we want to grow the upcoming year. We look at several factors like what sold well and what didn’t, which varieties thrived, and which ones didn’t. Each year we do try to incorporate a few new things into our garden to keep it fresh for our customers.
The slow season isn’t usually so slow for the orchard crew. During this time, they are taking care of multiple things, including tree upkeep, which is vital for fruit production. They are the backbone of our business, and we wouldn’t make it without each, and every one of our dedicated employee, out in the fields.
We also use this time to plan out our year. We sort out the details to all the events we’ll be hosting for the year, new items we want to consider carrying, and ways to make our customer experience even better. We are always looking ahead to the next big thing that we think our customers will enjoy. You may have seen on Facebook, but if not, this year we are unrolling “Bluegrass and Barbeque.” We will have a bluegrass band the first Saturday of every month starting in May from 12pm-5pm. During those Saturdays we’ll also be serving up some of our homemade BBQ from our food truck, AKA “The Truck Stop.” Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to get those hot pepperoni rolls too if that suits you better, but you’ll also have the option of some good ole-fashioned BBQ as well.
As for the barnyard, they are also taking this time to do deep cleanings, build structures, and plan for the year ahead. Animal pen upgrades, cleaning projects, and redesigning layouts for the upcoming season, are just some of the many things they work on. The Barnyard will reopen for the 2024 season on April 13th, 2024. We hope you come out and visit us this year!
