announcements

Visually, November has begun normally, trees in various stages of undress, their foliage carelessly strewn across fields and forest floor. The smell of smoke would likewise be normal if it were rising from nearby chimneys, rather than borne on strange summer-like winds from wildfires in not-so-distant towns. And the drought that has persisted more or […]

Often the truncated days of autumn, with their long shadows and slanting, honey-hued sunlight, are accompanied by frost in the hour just before sunrise, but we’ve been having an extended summer—cool but frost-free mornings ripen into sultry afternoons; frost is absent, rain is rare. Apparently, this is just what the tomatoes were hoping for, as […]

Day to day, acres of ground are turned and tilled, for a moment an empty, earthy, rippling brown canvas, just as quickly filled with evenly spaced ranks of plants, newly released from their trays, desperate to spread their roots in the welcoming soil and catch the late spring sunshine. At their feet, a carpet of […]

Saying goodbye to March, and onward to April! We are told that April is the cruelest month—our experience of the dark months that precede it leads me to view that oft-quoted statement with skepticism. But in truth, for all its darkness and discomforts, the winter months seem more indifferent than cruel, while April, full of […]

The first frost of fall is often not a clear-cut event, but kind of a process. As morning temperatures flirt with freezing, low-lying areas can bristle with white crystals while other areas are unaffected. Frost-sensitive plants can sometimes weather multiple such “events” with few ill-effects, while hardy plants located in “frost pockets” suffer damage. Ultimately, […]

Just a brief note to let you all know that we are now accepting orders for selected storage vegetables in bulk quantities. Please see the end of this email for a link to our order form—just follow the prompts to sign up for the following: 50 lb bags of potatoes for $50 each. Potatoes are […]

The use of the word “unprecedented” has increased to the point where its meaning and import seem to be eroding, with each new singular event thus characterized detracting from the impact of that strong word meant to describe vanishingly rare events. As we feel our way in the age of climate change, relative reality, artificial […]

Opening Day at the Farmstand: Friday June 2nd! As June rapidly approaches and our crops respond to the long warm days with exponential growth, the time has arrived when our selection of produce has reached critical mass and it is time to open our doors for the season. The farmstand in Concord will open for […]

As a native of city and suburb, growing up amid neighborhood blocks, anonymous cul-de-sacs and cookie-cutter strip malls, I always found the idea of rootedness, of belonging to and having a special relationship with and understanding of a particular piece of ground, to be especially attractive and compelling. The mythic family farm, with succeeding generations […]

The beginning of November heralds the traditional end-of-season at Hutchins—fields settle down under their blanket of green cover crop for a winter’s rest, leaves flake off the suddenly exposed branches of trees, settling in rusty heaps wherever the wind deposits them. November is a transition period, when frosty mornings, sun-soaked afternoons, and blustery evenings can […]