We’ve had our first frosts, most of the harvest has been collected and/or eaten, and we’re slowing down the farm workload. That means it’s time to reflect on the season that was 2026. Lots to say, so let’s do it!
A New Weather Pattern
Our first two full years of farming featured droughty summers. In both seasons, there were long stretches with no rain at all and months of time where the ground was bone-dry. We wouldn’t have grown much without running a lot of irrigation. We definitely lost some crops and had others do well under those circumstances. After two years in a row, we sort of assumed that type of weather pattern would be relatively normal, at least for part of each summer.
How wrong we were! This year, really from April onward, was a non-stop soaker. There weren’t even any modest stretches of dry weather, where our soils had the chance to dry out and we had to turn the irrigation to full blast. In fact, other than keeping the surface moist for germination and new transplants, we didn’t really irrigate the field at all this year.
Not only was the rain abundant, it was also extreme. Much has been said about the role of climate change in raising the frequency of extreme weather. We saw that firsthand this year! We had many single-day rain events that broke 2 inches of rainfall, and 1 or two 3+ inch days! We also had many storms that gave us extended, extremely heavy rain, washing out some of our beds (and our driveway). Single heavy rain events like those are very different from high amounts of rain in a slower and steadier form.
That said, the farm handled the wet weather fairly well. The two main problems were some beds washing out and a couple of spots showing poor drainage. Unfortunately, both did have a negative impact on crop growth. We’ll be addressing both of these this fall, but there are certainly limits to what we can do when Mother Nature sends such intense rain. We may simply have to accept more frequent and intense weather in the future!
New Challenges
We have to be honest: 2026 was very challenging! We were pushed to our limits at times, managing urgent problems in the middle of summer, when spare time to handle issues is in short supply.
The main challenge by far was deer pressure. Going into this year, our deer fence was admittedly on its last leg. We were hoping to have it last one more summer and upgrade it over the winter. Unfortunately, in late June, we had some deer begin to exploit weaknesses in the fence. For about a month, nearly nightly deer break-ins led to major crop damage to things like sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, popcorn, and some of our young fruit trees. Not only was this a major financial hit to the farm, but it was also time-consuming to protect the crops we could and try to find weak spots in our fence night after night!
The good news is that we managed to upgrade our fence, right in the middle of the busiest time of the season! After getting the new fence up, we’ve noticed 0 crop damage from deer. Even more than that, the fence upgrade has enclosed a new, large field that we can start turning into more growing beds!
Some other challenges this year include a pretty severe tomato hornworm outbreak that knocked back our tomato production a bit, quite a few problems with our large brassica (cabbage, broccoli) crops, and relatively poor yields for crops that prefer drier weather, like beets.
Not All Bad Though!
Despite all of the challenges listed above, the farm has set all-time records for revenue, profit, abundance, diversity, soil health, and joy!
We had a long list of crops that we were really proud of and very much improved, including arugula, kale, onions, potatoes, green beans, summer squash, and peppers. We also tried our hand at a few brand new crops for us, including celery, watermelon radishes, napa cabbage, and sunchokes. These crops all received rave reviews and have certainly earned a spot in our 2027 crop plan.
The farm’s soil health and ecological strength continue to improve. We saw more varieties of bugs, spiders, frogs, reptiles, and other fauna than ever before. Most of our beds seem to be producing healthier and happier crops as time goes on.
And if you haven’t seen, we made a major investment in the farm by adding a new high tunnel! This tunnel is already paying dividends. As we look at our farm plan for 2027, it’s instantly clear the difference the tunnel will make moving forward.
On a personal level, I continue to feel more and more in tune and as one with Mother Nature. So many aspects of managing the farm became second nature in 2026, and even more decisions seem well-informed and easy to make. Seeing the land change and improve brings deep joy, and reaping the benefits each day is truly the good life.
We’ve nourished ourselves more from our farm this year than ever before. I love to brag to anyone who will listen that we eat like kings and queens, but it’s true! Eating well is high on my list of reasons to farm. Not only do I feel like I am eating better and better as time goes on, but I continue to help more and more folks do so too!
Looking Ahead
A couple of things are exciting as I look out at 2027 and beyond. The first is that “looking ahead” may not really mean next summer at all! Things are looking great right now in our tunnels, and we think we’ll have relatively abundant fresh greens well into winter for the first time. It’s very exciting to extend and enhance our growing season!
2027 looks amazing as well! We plan to both focus on increasing the availability of many of our customers’ favorite vegetables, as well as expanding our horizons of what we grow and provide to the community.
Here’s looking at you, 2026. On to 2027 and beyond!
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