There’s big shift this time of year in our harvesting rhythm and strategies. During the summer, we’re harvesting around 50 different crops a day, either getting fruits that are ripe and ready, or exact quantities of what’s been ordered for CSA, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. It’s dynamic and fast-paced, fun and exhausting. But once the weather cools and our fall crops enter maturity, it’s a whole different ball-game and a new strategy emerges. It’s what we in the industry like to call a “bulk-out”. No, not the thing that gym rats do to get big, although we do usually put on some serious muscle by this point in the season. Bulking out means we harvest all of a single crop succession, at once. This usually looks like harvesting tens of thousands of pounds of winter squash in just a couple days, or all of our potatoes in an afternoon. It’s a huge undertaking, still very hard (and heavy) work, but instead of spending an hour on a harvest of a single crop, you spend half your day or many days in a row, harvesting one crop. But, why do this? We could never sell 5,000 pounds of cabbage or kohlrabi in a week. Well, that’s the magic of the storage crop.

Most crops can last a week or two, and then they rapidly deteriorate in quality and appearance. But storage crops beat other produce by months. Months!! All the while retaining their flavor and nutritiousness. I recently found shallots in my house that were from last year’s crop and even though they looked a little scraggly they were still good! Reason #1,278 why vegetables are totally magic! Because of their long-lasting qualities, storage crops are a farmers safety net. They offer reliable income during the cold months when we can’t successfully grow much. Storage crops also tend to be hearty, delicious staples that most folks enjoy, like potatoes, onions, cabbages, beets, and winter squash. Although, I have to be totally transparent- the flip side of their long-lasting superpowers, is that by the spring, most of us here are totally sick of cabbage and potatoes. However, they are great at helping one practice patience and gratitude for the fresh spring produce when it finally does arrive. But for now, I am relishing in the abundance of hearty storage crops and I hope you are too!

~Flynn