Happy New Year and Sheep Shenanigans

Hello Friends and Happy New Year!

We hope that your new year is off to a great start. We are happy to announce that our new Vegetable Production Farmer Logan Rosenfeld has joined our Team, and he has been extremely busy working on our 2026 CSA crop plan. Not only is he doing the math on how much to grow, but also choosing the varieties that are the most appealing, and will grow well in our particular site conditions. The CSA product listings will go up on our online store in early February. We have also been researching and figuring out the best equipment to purchase. Did you know that the center point of each tire determines the growing bed width, and therefore the number of rows in a bed?

So much goes into farming! Who knew?

Our older hens are still cohabitating with the sheep down at the barn until their new chicken coop is finished. They don't seem to mind much, and are staying warm by fluffing up their feathers to trap air, creating an insulating layer that holds in body heat.

Chickens normally lay way fewer eggs in the Winter. Our new flock is super happy that the sunlight is beginning to return, and have begun laying their little practice eggs. A young hen that just begins laying is called a pullet. Their eggs are smaller than normal, because they are basically breaking in their new equipment. Here's a photo of the colors. I am partial to our new olive eggers' eggs, which are a beautiful khaki green.

The sheep are tucked into their barn for the winter, and are happy eating their hay all day and playing on the straw bale jungle gym Farmer Mark has created. We have documented some of their sheep shenanigans for upcoming social media posts. They do like to bust into the hay room. It's like they think that the hay in there tastes so much better than in the hay feeder.

We have some new workshops to share with you. Please check out our Events page if you are interested in joining us. We promise you will learn something new, and have a wonderful time.

The fence is being installed this week for the CSA garden. It's amazing that installers can still work with the frozen ground. Before we know it, we will be seeding and drilling a well. Time is just flying by. Have a wonderful January, and please remember that we offer free delivery during this time of year. May God bless you and your families today and always.

Sincerely,

Michele & the Maranatha Farm Team