We’re continuing to celebrate our allium harvest, looking forward to pulling some beautiful beets over the next few weeks, and feeling lucky that woodchucks spared enough winter squash plants to keep our stand well-stocked. Along with all our storage crops, we’re looking at a continuous supply of fresh greens for the next few months! We’re expecting lower yields than usual for carrots and sweet potatoes due to excess water, a shady field (lesson learned!), and hungry wildlife. As usual, I’m feeling grateful for the diversity of crops we plant annually, ensuring that something will always be in abundance. Additionally we are lucky to be a part of a talented farming community and we’ll be able to find certified organic produce from nearby farmer friends when we’re running low!

As we focus on tallying our harvests, putting fields to bed for the season, and the changing seasons, I am also beginning to think about my next big change. Next year I’ll be joining my partner at our new operation, Small Farm, in Stow. For the past decade, my dream has been to have a farm of my own and I am so very excited to begin this next chapter. I will be taking with me countless lessons learned in the fields of LexFarm: the importance of buying the right tool at the right time, the invaluable contribution of a good-humored and hardworking farm crew, how to throw a Harvest Festival, the telltale clawprints of a snapping turtle, and the importance of spending an afternoon in the farm stand to enjoy the rewarding feeling of meeting shareholders.

I cannot stress this enough: Thank you for the opportunity to grow your vegetables, your understanding when one of our crops doesn’t do well, and your support while we learn how to grow better and better vegetables every season. Because of your enthusiasm in the fields, the next generation of farm owners has the inspiration to fight to preserve agricultural land in Massachusetts and the willingness to try to make a living farming. Because of you, the next generation of farm owners has a place to learn how to farm.

Elena Colman
Farm Manager