Just a short note to let you all know that our annual bulk carrot and potato sign-ups will officially begin today, Saturday the 3rd of October. As usual, we’re taking names from folks who are interested in picking up one (or more) 25lb bags of carrots ($28 per bag) and/or one (or more) 50lb bags of potatoes ($40 per bag). Carrots are all ‘Bolero’ variety, a large, bright-orange Nantes-type carrot that is delicious and well suited to long storage—it’s the same one we’ve grown for the bulk bags for many years. Those interested in potato bags can select from three varieties: ‘Kennebec’, our old standby, a great all-purpose, white flesh potato with good flavor and excellent storage; ‘Keuka Gold’, a new Cornell introduction with large size, good storage potential, and similar flavor and texture to ‘Yukon Gold’; and ‘Carola’, our favorite yellow-flesh variety, smaller on average than the others, with good flavor and firm texture.
As always, we have finite quantities of all these things, so signing up for a bag does not guarantee you will receive one – those who sign up earliest will be more assured of getting their veggies than those who sign up later —that being said, although all the potatoes and carrots are still in the ground as I write, it would appear that we will have ample supplies. Sign-ups can happen in one of three ways:
• e-mail—send your order to info@hutchinsfarm.com. If you are ordering carrots, let us know how many 25 lb bags you would like to receive. If you are ordering potatoes, please let us know how many 50 lb bags and of which variety (from those listed above).
• in person at the farmstand on our ‘official’ sign up sheets;
• or (our least preferred method) by phone at 978-369-5041, between 11 and 6, Tuesday through Sunday. We will attempt to log orders left on our message machine as well, but please leave clear contact information in case there are any questions and so we can let you know when the orders are ready to be picked up.
As we log orders received, we will confirm via e-mail (preferred) or phone, and when the bags are ready to be picked up (most likely the last week of October) we will contact people again. Those who wish to get bulk potatoes and/or carrots but are unable to pick up during the last week of October can make arrangements for pick up at a later date.
Our season is growing short—traditionally, we close on the end of October. This year we’re planning for Sunday, November 1st to be our last day, and we’re going to close one hour earlier than usual at 5 PM on that day. It’s a bittersweet time of year, with the leaves erupting against colorless skies and heavy dews threatening to crystallize into frost in the cold morning gloom. The sweet, ephemeral fruits of summer—corn, tomatoes—disappear, while the more substantial fall produce—apples, potatoes, winter squash—reassuringly durable, promise sustenance into the cold months to come. We hope you all have a chance to visit between now and our closing day, and are, as always, grateful for your continued patronage.
Thank you!
Brian and the rest of the Hutchins Farm crew