The Weekly Harvest: The Week of Do Everything on the Farm

Photo by Jimena Peck

Hello Folks,
Phew what a week! It is the week of do everything on the farm. We are planting, weeding, irrigating, trellising tomatoes, warily watching storms come over the hills, and harvesting like crazy. The U Pick flower field is almost fully planted and will be a sight to behold here in a month or so. Believe it or not just this morning we planted about 1,800 various storage cabbages that will hopefully keep us all in cabbage through the winter. Almost an acre of winter squash is going in on Friday as well. It is go time on your vegetable farm! 

The Farm crew is doing an amazing job as the thermostat goes up and the to do list grows. So tell them thank you when you see them.  The first of sugar snap peas have been had on the farm so hopefully we will start picking those next week. 

The new Farm Stand has been great, thank you all for coming and picking up there and please do tell your friends and family that it is open to the public and it is awesome! We are working through all the operational kinks and the farm stand staff has been amazing and hearing encouraging words from everyone. Thank you!

Farmers markets have been quite lackluster but we will keep going for a couple more weeks to see what happens. Rightfully so, the public does not seem to want to come to market, so we are seeing much less public traffic and purchases at the Saturday market. 

We have started delivering veggies to our restaurant/grocery partners (Little on Mountain, The Regional, The Farmhouse, and Mountain Ave Market (formerly the Fort Collins Food Co-op). An exciting partnership that will hopefully begin this week is that you will start seeing some of our produce at Lucky's Market in old town FOCO. So look out for the green Native Hill ties when you shop.

We could not do it all without you. It is an honor to grow good, healthy and clean food for you and your family.

Be well,
Nic + The Native Hill Farm Staff


This Week's Harvest:

• Spinach

• Salad Mix

• Arugula

• Spicy Mix

• Cherry Belle Radish, Plum Round Radish, Easter Egg Radish (french breakfast radish next week!)

• Curly Kale

• Tuscan Kale

• Rainbow Swiss Chard

• Collard Greens

• First of the Cucumbers

• Baby Bok Choi

• Broccoli Raab (aka Rapini)

• maybe some other surprises....

P.S. We post this weekly harvest list on our website. Bookmark it for quick reference --> https://www.nativehillfarm.com/whats-growing

The Weekly Harvest + Farm Stand Now Open!

Hello Folks,
We are excited about all the new stuff coming out of the fields as we build up our spring crop inventory. All summer crops and lots of our winter storage crops go into the field over the next two weeks. And the first crop of Native Hill carrots look beautiful. It's a very busy time of year on the farm as we battle weeds, work around spring rain storms to get tens of thousands of plants in the ground and start in on our first harvests for you.
 
New this week we will be adding arugula and spicy mix greens (initially in limited quantities) as they come online for the next few weeks.  Hakurei Salad Turnips are here in full force for your spring salad extravaganza. There really is nothing better than a spring salad of fresh greens of your choice. 

Another one of my favorite spring items will be available this week: radishes. It is one of the first items that is not a green to come out of the fields. These versatile little buggers can top your Tuesday taco night, go into a quick pickle, top a salad, or like the French do, thinly sliced on a baguette smeared with butter.  You will find the red cherry belle, dark purple plum round radish, and some mix bunches for those of you that cannot decide. 

See you soon!
Nic + The Native Hill Farm Staff

This Week's Harvest:

• Curly Kale

• Tuscan Kale (late week)

• Rainbow Swiss Chard (late week)

• Collard Greens (late week)

• Salad Mix

• Spinach

• Arugula (limited)

• Spicy Mix (limited)

• Hakurei Salad Turnips 

• Cherry Belle Radish

• Plum Round Radish

• Maybe one last harvest of pea shoots

---

When and where can you buy our veggies?

Native Hill Farm Stand - 7 days a week, 10am-6pm, at Native Hill Farm

Larimer County Farmers’ Market - Every Saturday, 9am-1pm, through Oct. 31, 2020

What to expect at the Farm Stand?

During this time, your safety is our number one priority. As we open up our new Farm Stand, we ask that you will follow these guidelines:

While at the Farm Stand (inside or outside):

• Stay home if you feel sick

• Please wear a mask or face covering over your nose and mouth

• Maintain social distancing (6 feet apart - one cow length)

• Only two shoppers in the Farm Stand at a time

• No pets please

• Read signs and ask friendly attendant any questions you may have

Upon entering the Farm Stand:

• Please use hand sanitizer when you enter the Farm Stand

• Use the basket provided for shopping

• Shop with your eyes, not your hands - and only pick out the veggies you will be taking home with you. Place them on the check out table, the attendant will ring them up for you, and you can bag them.

Farm Stand open daily, 10am-6pm, from May-October. Learn more at www.nativehillfarm.com/farm-stand.

What to expect at the Farmer's Market?

We will be in a new location on the more eastern side of the market where all the farms will be located.  

• Shop healthy - wear a mask or face covering and gloves when shopping

• Go solo - and please no pets

• Come prepared - have a plan/shopping list prepared

• Mind the signs

• Reduce money handling - no Market Bucks this year

• Take it to go - please do not eat at the Market

• Let us serve you - allow vendors to hand products to you

• Be courteous and patient!

For more information about the Larimer County Farmer's Market please visit their website: https://lcfm.extension.colostate.edu/

Larimer County Farmer's Market is open every Saturday, 9am-1pm, from May 23 - October 31, 2020.

What to Expect at the Farm Stand and Farmer's Market?

Thank you for your understanding and support during these times as we learn how to operate and get you good food safely and efficiently. Please read for all the info you need to get your food home safely and know that we will likely be changing protocols as we learn how to operate in this unique time. 

What to expect at the Farm Stand?

During this time, your safety is our number one priority. As we open up our new Farm Stand, we ask that you will follow these guidelines:

While at the Farm Stand (inside or outside):

• Stay home if you feel sick

• Please wear a mask or face covering over your nose and mouth

• Maintain social distancing (6 feet apart - one cow length)

• Only two shoppers in the Farm Stand at a time

• No pets please

• Read signs and ask friendly attendant any questions you may have

Upon entering the Farm Stand:

• Please use hand sanitizer when you enter the Farm Stand

• Use the basket provided for shopping

• Shop with your eyes, not your hands - and only pick out the veggies you will be taking home with you. Place them on the check out table, the attendant will ring them up for you, and you can bag them.

Farm Stand open daily, 10am-6pm, from May-October. Learn more at www.nativehillfarm.com/farm-stand.

What to expect at the Farmer's Market?

We will be in a new location on the more eastern side of the market where all the farms will be located.  

• Shop healthy - wear a mask or face covering and gloves when shopping

• Go solo - and please no pets

• Come prepared - have a plan/shopping list prepared

• Mind the signs

• Reduce money handling - no Market Bucks this year

• Take it to go - please do not eat at the Market

• Let us serve you - allow vendors to hand products to you

• Be courteous and patient!

For more information about the Larimer County Farmer's Market please visit their website: https://lcfm.extension.colostate.edu/

Larimer County Farmer's Market is open every Saturday, 9am-1pm, from May 23 - October 31, 2020.

Farmers' Market Opening May 23

We will be at the Farmer's Market this Saturday, May 23, 9am-1pm, at the Larimer County Courthouse parking lot in Old Town, Fort Collins.

Things will obviously look very different this year. There will be many precautions in place to make both of these experiences as safe as possible for you and your family. Below, you will find details about what to expect so you come prepared and have a safe experience picking up your locally grown veggies.

What to expect at the Farmer's Market?

We will be in a new location on the more eastern side of the market where all the farms will be located.  

• Shop healthy - wear a mask or face covering and gloves when shopping

• Go solo - and please no pets

• Come prepared - have a plan/shopping list prepared

• Mind the signs

• Reduce money handling - no Market Bucks this year

• Take it to go - please do not eat at the Market

• Let us serve you - allow vendors to hand products to you

• Be courteous and patient!

For more information about the Larimer County Farmer's Market please visit their website: https://lcfm.extension.colostate.edu/

Larimer County Farmer's Market is open every Saturday, 9am-1pm, from May 23 - October 31, 2020.

April Farm Update: COVID, Farmer's Market, Farm Stand and more!

Hello Folks, 

Wow, it's been a crazy month. We hope you are staying healthy - mentally and physically - and adjusting to the new "normal" of life. Please bear with us through this long email - we have a lot of important info to share.

First of all, thank you to all that have purchased a farm share. Your support during this time means so much to us. We believe eating fresh, local, nutrient dense and naturally grown produce will help encourage a strong immune system and good health in our community. Your support has been steady and very encouraging.

We are now SOLD OUT of our Summer Farm Shares but we do have some Winter Farm Shares still available. Click here to purchase.
      
We’ve been working full throttle on all fronts here at Native Hill, from the greenhouse, to the fields, to the pack house, to the Farm Stand and a new high tunnel, among other projects. To date, we have planted over 100,000 plants in the greenhouse alone, which will be headed out to the field over the next couple weeks. We started planting peas, salad, arugula, radish, turnips, carrots, beets, onions, etc. in the fields. We are in the final phase of bringing the new pack house into operation.  The new Farm Stand is looking really great and I am convinced you all will love the new space.

The month of May will be even busier as we continue with all the activities above AND begin harvesting your food. Add in some Colorado spring weather (3 degree record low to 14 inches of snow and almost 90 degrees this week) and we are always kept on on our toes here at the Farm.  
 
Again, thank you all for your support. It is an honor to grow food for you and your family.

Our bigger, better Farm Stand in her new home! Opening end of May - 7 days a week, 10am-6pm, at Native Hill Farm.

Farming in the time of COVID

As this pandemic continues to unfold, we've been working to develop a plan for safely distributing our food to the community. Here are some reminders & updates:

1) We always practice stringent health and safety protocols at Native Hill Farm. We will continue these practices and continue monitoring local, state and CDC recommendations for COVID-19. Fortunately, locally grown food has a much shorter supply chain with far fewer touches.

2) With the addition of our new pack house, we are now more prepared than ever to efficiently and very safely grow, wash and store your food before it gets to your family.

3) No farm tours, events or gatherings are permitted at the farm. Only farm staff are allowed on the farm during this time.

4) We will be trialing a “Weekly Harvest” bag to enable safe pick-up of our CSA shares without the need to shop and bag your purchases. The “Weekly Harvest” will be a pre-bagged set of each week’s harvest, determined by the Farm, and will be available for pick-up at the Farm Stand and the Farmer's Market.

5) We are looking to implement Farm Stand hours for vulnerable customers. We will update you on these hours as we know more.
 

Summer Farm Share Season Update

We plan to be at the first Larimer County Farmer's Market on May 23rd , 9am-1pm, at the Larimer County Courthouse parking lot (200 W. Oak St.) in Old Town Fort Collins. We also hope to open the Farm Stand right around that Saturday.

Flexibility, patience, and good communication will be key this year as we all navigate how to safely get you produce.
 
This season, members will still have two options to get their veggies: the Farm Stand or the Farmers’ Market.

Farmers Market:
The Farmers Market is scheduled to start May 23, 9am-1pm, but with a number of changes. All produce vendors will be in one area due to social distancing requirements. They will also be implementing a number of other protocols, such as limiting the number of people that can be in the market area at one time. Click here to learn more about what to expect while shopping at the Farmer's Market. 

As of now we are going to go to market, but if this proves to be too burdensome and ineffective we may stop attending. If this happens, the farm stand will be the go to place to get your veggies this Summer!

Farm Stand:
This season we will likely staff the Farm Stand as opposed to years past where it was run on an honor system.

The Farm Stand is located at the Native Hill Farm - 2100 CR 54G Fort Collins, Colorado 80524. The Farm Stand will open towards the end of May, with hours planned for 10am to 6pm, 7 days a week. Hours of operation may change as needed.

As this situation continues to evolve, we will be in touch with updates. We appreciate your understanding and patience. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. Until then, thank you for supporting your local farmers. We are working hard to grow high-quality, nutrient dense food to nourish your family and our community. 

Eat local and be well,

Nic + The Native Hill Farm Family

"To cherish what remains of the Earth and to foster its renewal is our only legitimate hope of survival."

- Wendell Berry