As we transition from fall to winter, we are already starting our prep for next year based on what we learned this year. This year we had a lot of issues with mice, so a big project is figuring out options to help, since some of the things we tried this year (like natural sprays we made with garlic, cayenne, peppermint, etc.) didn’t seem to be effective. In fact, we had mice chewing on our hot pepper plants! One of the things we are working on is improving the physical barriers, and also providing more habitat for some of the birds of prey that live in our ecosystem. It would be great if the mice could also decide to go and live in other areas of the farm, but that is too easy! Stay tuned next year for us to report how well either of these methods work!
With the first hard frost came the abrupt end to almost all of our flowers. Based on the forecast, we hadn’t anticipated it to be as cold as it was the night of the first hard frost, so we ended up freezing all of the remaining plants. Now we can focus on digging up some bulbs and transplanting to continue to expand our production for future years. And dreaming up our plans for next year, of course!
Another big project is building the walk-in cooler that we got funding for thanks to a Lakewinds Organic Field Fund Grant. This is one of those projects that has to go in stages and with lots of patience. We’ve been able to stage the pieces in our pole barn, and prepare the area where it will be installed, so all that’s left is the fun part- the construction. This addition to our farm will be HUGE- enabling us to safely store the growing amount of produce we anticipate with the addition of our high-tunnel.
Our bees are also getting ready for winter. When we inspected the hive recently, we noticed that they had started eating more of their comb than we expected. We will be supporting them over the winter with supplemental food, as well as the more insulated box they are in. We know that there have been some rough seasons lately for local beekeepers, and we hope that we will be able to keep ours healthy and safe over winter. The variety we have are bred to enable them to live in our climate, but with climate change, winters can be quite brutal at times, and it can be hard to plan for.
We were honored to have our story shared recently in the Positively Superior Oct/Nov 2025 Magazine. We continue to be humbled and grateful to our community for their ongoing support. You can learn more about our farm and our hopes and dreams on pages 44 to 51.
While the last week of the summer farmer’s markets for us end this Saturday, October 25, 2025 at the Barker’s Island Farmers Market in Superior, WI, you will still be able to find us this winter at the Lincoln Park Indoor Winter Farmers Market every 1st and 3rd Thursday, from 3 to 6 pm at the Lincoln Park Commons Building (2424 W 5th St, Duluth, MN), and we will be taking special orders, and opening up our subscription program, soon.
We hope to connect with you throughout the winter months, and hope you might consider following us on Facebook or Instagram, visiting an indoor market, placing a mail order (in state of WI), or even picking up an order at the farm or in the Duluth or Superior areas. Thank you for your continued support!