Winter at the Farm

Winter at Star Bright Farm

The December 16, 2020 snowstorm prompted so many thoughtful notes and inquiries about how we were faring at the Farm. We are so grateful for our community of supporters! We thought we’d share a little more about what winter, especially snowstorms, are like for us here.

Snowstorms for us are a real test of our planning. Our eyes are glued to the forecast when we hear of an impending storm, and we monitor the weather very carefully. Our biggest fear for our lavender crop is “winter kill.” We’ve made it through the past two winters with zero winter kill, which is huge, and we’re hopeful our efforts will protect our fields again over these next few months.

Preventing winter kill is all about keeping the weight of the snow or freezing rain off the plants so the lavender doesn’t get crushed. Before this last snowstorm arrived, we placed wire arches over every single plant (that’s 3,000 arches!) so that when it snows, we can drape our protective lightweight blankets over the frames and cover the lavender plants while allowing them some room to breathe underneath.

Row cover supported by steel hoops protects the plants from high winds, freeing rain and snow.

Once the fields are covered, we can’t just walk away. We continue to monitor the temperature and the condensation. So many of our storms here in Maryland are combinations of snow and freezing rain. The weight of this condensation requires us to go out in the fields every few hours and physically shake off the snow and ice so the wire frames don’t bend and break the plants.

Interestingly enough, lots of winter kill actually occurs AFTER the snow falls. When the snow is done, the sun reflects off the snow and burns the plant like a bad sunburn. Some farms choose to just replace plants that succumb to winter kill in the spring, but we prefer to fight for each plant and keep our fields looking consistent without bare patches of dead shrub. It was really wonderful for us to go out last spring and see an entire happy field full of thriving plants.

So in addition to fighting off Mother Nature during snow and freezing rain, winter is also our time to review the past year and plan for the year ahead. Peter is currently hard at work on bed assignments for the lavender fields. He’s meticulously examining a mapped document he compiled to help track crop rotation from 2019 and 2020, and he pores over each individual bed.

He mathematically evaluates how long and wide each row of plants are, considers how densely he planted his plants, and preorders seeds and nursery plants based on those numbers and field assignments. Each row on our farm is crafted with extreme planning and oversight to make sure we respect the work we’ve done in the past and are giving our new crop its best conditions to thrive.

At its core, winter is a magical time for us to reset and reflect. We’re grateful for the years behind us, and we eagerly anticipate the growing season before us.

Thanks for reading, and as always, we look forward to seeing you at the Farm.