Happy February! January always feels like the longest month of the year to me, and those VERY cold days we had didn’t help. Now that February is here, the farming anticipation is growing (pun intended), and we are extra busy.

On February 19th your farmers will be coming to town for the “The Rutabaga Giveaway,” which somehow has become an annual event for us! This is a great opportunity to not only meet other Food Farm members, but also to meet Janaki, Annie, and other farm crew folks. It’s also a great way for friends or neighbors who are interested in being part of the farm to meet us and have their questions answered. We’re holding it this year at the Whole Foods Co-op’s Denfeld location from 4-7 pm. Back in November when we harvested Rutabagas, we set aside the largest ones just for this event. Even if you don’t want to socialize, you might want to come down just to see how big they are!

Drum roll please for the other exciting thing about February…it’s the last month before we start seeds for next year! By the time you are reading this, we are only three weeks away from starting onion seeds and beginning the 2025 growing season. We are all excited thinking about warm, sunny days ahead, but we also aren’t quite ready to give up our slow days of drinking coffee in front of the fireplace. 

This month is also conference season. Over the next few weeks, Janaki and some of the farm crew will be traveling to La Crosse and/or Madison for the opportunityto learn about new/different farming practices, meet other farmers, and reignite our excitement about farming before the season starts.

Now is the time to join in that excitement, because 2025 share sign ups are officially open! They tend to go fast, so sign up as soon as possible. You should have gotten an email letting you know sign ups are open, but if you didn’t, or you can’t find it, you can sign up by going to the Food Farm website. 

Finally, we are still looking for a couple of seasonal crew members to join us on the farm this summer and fall. More info is available here if you know of someone looking for good work with good folks! Thanks!

In your share this month:

Yellow, Red, and Baby Russet* Potatoes – Red Cabbage – Beets – Orange and Purple Carrots – Parsnips – Red and Yellow Onions – Delicata Squash – Garlic

*The baby russets are perfect for hashbrowns! See our instructions in last year’s newsletter.

I made these Korean Lentils from Crumbs & Caramel for dinner a few nights ago, and can’t get over how delicious it was. It’s an easy meal that gets a lot of color on the plate, and offers room for creativity with the vegetables you use. This is a great way to use some cabbage, and I highly recommend adding some shredded carrot as well.

Potatoes are a delicious and inexpensive way to make soups and chowders more filling. If you’re a meat lover, or you want to make this soup extra filling, ground sausage is a great addition to this meal. The yellow potatoes in your box this month are begging to be used in this Roasted Poblano Corn Chowder by Whip & Wander, and I’m going to add a some parsnips to it as well.