What Do Farmers Do in the Winter?
Fiddler’s Green Farm is teeming with life. Justin Moore digs his fork into the fertile soil of the Dry Creek Valley, loosening a bed of carrots for their first harvest. In the distance, people mill about moving hay bales, strings of lights and table decorations into a greenhouse half-filled with tomato plants. A farm dinner is happening tonight and, as they say, it takes a village.
Moore plucks the carrots from the ground, each root offering a satisfying thunk as it breaks free. Around him, rows of colorful flowers in bloom, more varieties of peppers than you can count, and fresh greens lie waiting to be harvested. There is always more to be done. There is no end.
Moore welcomes that infiniteness. “It’s hard to stop farming,” he says. “I don’t want it to end.”
It’s a common misconception that farmers are free to kick back and warm their toes in front of the fire as soon as the first frost hits. Moore recalls frequently being asked, “You guys must be about done, right?” as if he and his staff go into a farm-free hibernation for the winter, only emerging when the soil is warm and ready to be worked again.
The reality is that owning a farm is a year-round job. While the tasks may look different in January than they do in August, the job is the same. It’s a good thing that farmers are used to wearing many hats, from bookkeeper and marketer to crop planner and greenhouse builder.
It’s because of that ability to be diverse that Moore, his farm co-founder Alex Bowman-Brown, resident flower guy Davis McDonald and a crew of workers can grow year-round at Fiddler’s Green Farm, a sevenacre certified organic vegetable and flower farm in its third season. “It just takes more effort to grow year round,” Moore says. “We’re getting better at farming and there’s opportunity here. The soil is just incredible.”
But growing food to be sold at the Boise Farmers Market, Boise Co-op, and local restaurants isn’t the only thing that happens in the winter for Moore and his crew. “There’s definitely an element of chill in the winter to plan and reflect on the past season,” Moore says, “but we meet a lot and do a lot of planning. Alex and I do crop planning and buy seeds early to make sure we can get all the varieties we want.”
Winter at Fiddler’s Green Farm also involves working through the cold temperatures on ladders, building high tunnels to house high-dollar crops, repairing infrastructure, improving the flow of business staples like payroll and newsletters, and an element of self-care.
Moore, who’s in his 12th season of farming, says he often uses the winter months to keep in shape with workouts and yoga to make sure he’s ready when the harvest-heavy months come with their weighty bins of root crops and melons. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more aware of taking care of myself,” he says.
For Moore, the misconception that farmers have the winter off to relax and not think of their crops until spring signals a disconnect between consumers, our food system and eating with the seasons.
“People will say ‘How’s the garden?’ and have no idea of what goes into it,” he says. “We put in a little more care than the average farm here. We’re soil stewards. The stereotype of farming is that you don’t have to be intelligent to do it, and a lot of people devalue what it takes.”
What it takes is a belief that what you’re doing can make a difference. “This is the most punk job I can have,” Moore says. “Farming is a radical act. It’s cool to have a business that has the power to shake up the food system. That’s what inspires me to farm.”
The next time you’re tempted to think of the end of farming season, think of the planning, stewardship, reflection and labor that needs to happen so crisp radishes and vibrant greens can show up at the first spring farmers market. Think of your favorite farmer poring over crop rotation plans, spreadsheets, and seed catalogues. Think of them on hands and knees, harvesting produce in a hoop house with cold fingers. Think of them excited to share the bounty they know will come. This is what farmers do in winter.
Fiddler’s Green Farm | @fiddlersgreenfarm
Alex Bowman-Brown | @abbrowntown
Boise Farmers Market | @boisefarmersmarket
Boise Co-op | @boisecoop
