During these cold winter months it can be a challenge to imagine the fruits and vegetables that come along with warmer weather. Indeed it can be difficult to remember what warmer weather even looks and feels like when the forecast calls for snow and ice. While one can long for farm fresh radishes or crunchy spring greens, heirloom tomatoes and the season’s first asparagus, they remain out of sight and out of mind until spring days finally arrive.
However, this is not the case for the Floyd’s many farmers who need to plan their spring and summer crops months in advance. Some crops require over 180 days of planning and planting before they are ready to be harvested and sold, even when the weather outside is a far cry from hospitable to plants or people. Despite the freezing temperatures and bleak winter skies, the spring and summer crops need to be planned and planted, and Floyd Farmers Market vendors do so dutifully.
While many of us spend evenings snuggled under blankets and hiding from the cold, Floyd’s growers are pouring over seed catalogs and allotting acreage for various crops they will one day bring to market. Days are spent in (barely) above-freezing hoop houses sowing seeds so that crops can be planted and ready to harvest as early in the season as possible.
When the warmer days do inevitably arrive and the sun stays in the sky a little longer, there will be chances to indulge in the longed-for local produce. The first day of May will showcase the results of the careful planning, hard work and imaginative vision required to bring greens, herbs, onions, beets and more from the fields of Floyd to your own dinner table.