Friday's frost came fast

STORIES & UPDATES

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On Friday, we "celebrated Frostmas." Don't ask me how this term came to be, but among farmers, it's the way we describe the first frost.

The night before, we say, "Twas the night before Frostmas..."

We expected temperatures in the 30s, so we had a decision to make: Do we cover our warm weather crops or take a risk that they won't freeze?

Covering the crops is a huge, day-long ordeal. We have to unfurl all of the pieces of Reemay cloth so we can find the right size in the right condition, then match it to the crop we want to cover.

First, we have to harvest as much of that crop as we want to store so that just in case covering the plants fails, we at least have a little bit in storage.

So, we harvested tomatoes 1 and 2, and covered tomatoes 3. Harvested our extra block of peppers and covered the main section. Eggplant, beans, summer squash, and cucumbers were also harvested and covered. And we made the decision to say goodbye to older tomatoes, grape tomatoes, shishitos, husk cherries, lunchbox peppers, and the older squash and zucchini - there's just no way we can get to covering it all in a day while still conducting our regular daily operations.

Here we are, covering tomatoes 3. We cover the plants with cloth and then have to weigh it down with really big rocks that we pick up, drive over with the tractor, and drop down onto the cloth.

The really terrible thing about using this Reemay cloth is that we have to lay it on top of the stakes that tie up the tomatoes and peppers. The stakes can end up puncturing the cloth and greatly damaging it. We had time to pull up the stakes in the peppers, but not the tomatoes. And so, we had to just go for it.

Overnight, Randy tossed and turned, and kept checking the thermometer. Did you know that the coldest part of the night is actually just before the sun cracks the horizon? This is because the earth loses heat all night until the sun returns to replace the heat. So until about 6:30 in the morning, Randy held his breath, watching the thermometer drop lower than the forecast predicted.

We found that most of our crops under the Reemay survived. Certain crops that were uncovered were significantly damaged, like the eggplant. However, the frost was patchy, so even though the shishitos were uncovered, for example, there were plants that came out pretty unscathed.

Sadly, the piece of cloth on top of the tomatoes was completely beat up due to the wind, almost not worth saving. This cloth is super expensive, so it's a shame that a one-off frost was such a hassle.

The forecast ahead looks okay though, so we're glad we covered most of these crops, so they can continue to yield a harvest until we get a major killing frost (below 32 degrees).

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It was such a busy week, besides this, too!

Here's what we posted on social media:

On Monday...

"Tonight at the annual Fairfield County Farm Bureau meeting, I was honored to receive the Alyce Block Award. This recognizes a woman in agriculture who embodies Alyce’s legacy of community, education, and connection through local agriculture. Because I’m not the owner or grower at Laurel Glen Farm, I’ve had a hard time seeing myself as part of the agriculture industry, thinking of myself as adjacent to my farmer husband and more in marketing and sales. But as I reflect on my life, I know that I am independently my own woman in agriculture, and I wholeheartedly embrace this part of me. Thank you to the nominating committee for uplifting the way I view myself. There are so many strong, inspirational women in agriculture, especially in our area, and I am humbled to be counted among them."

On Tuesday...

"This year, we trialed growing a crop we once couldn’t grow in a new way. The result was phenomenal! Yesterday, Randy and the team started digging them up and quickly realized there were so many more than he thought. Shoutout to Eric for working well into the dark to help Randy finish the task before the heavy rain came."

The sweet potatoes are currently in the greenhouse curing, so they become sweet, and should be available beginning next weekend. Depending on how warm the greenhouse gets this week - and whether or not we get sun - it may take a little longer.

Randy is incredibly happy with the yield, though!

And Thursday...

"It’s CT Grown for CT Kids Week across the state, which means schools are celebrating local offerings in their cafeterias! This week, THOUSANDS of pounds of our produce were served in Shelton, Trumbull, Milford, and Cheshire schools, from summer squashes, to cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, green beans, and broccoli. Thank you so much to the food service directors in these districts for going above and beyond to teach kids about where food comes from!"

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One last thing...

This week, you're receiving a head of escarole and a head of lettuce or romaine depending on our availability. So that you don't go home and mix them up, here's a crash course in how to tell them apart. The information about romaine is pretty typical of lettuce as well.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

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• If you're enrolling in the 2026 Vegetable Subscription Program and taking advantage of the 2-day sale cash or check discount, you can bring it to your next pickup! It just has to be received within 7 days to hold your spot.

  
  

  Remember - click "Offline Payment" at checkout and use this chart to help you figure out what your price is.

Read about it by clicking here.

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• Pick-your-own has concluded for the 2025 season. Thank you for making beautiful memories with us at The Fields at Laurel Glen Farm!

• The Shelton Farmers' Market has concluded for the season. The city has decided to use the building for early voting.

• The Monroe Farmers' Market runs every Friday from 3 to 6 p.m at 7 Fan Hill Road through Friday, October 24th.

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STORE INFORMATION

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Here is the fresh produce we plan to have in stock while supplies last (through Friday, October 17th):

• Acorn squash

• Arugula

• Basil

• Bell peppers

• Bok choy

• Broccoli

• Butternut squash

• Cabbage

• Carrots

• Cauliflower

• Collard greens

• Cucumbers (slicing and pickling)

• Delicata squash

• Eggplant

• Garlic

• Grape/cherry tomatoes (winding down)

• Green & wax beans

• Hot peppers (assorted)

• Husk cherries (winding down)

• Kale

• Kohlrabi

• Leeks

• Lunchbox peppers (winding down)

• Mashed potato squash

• Napa cabbage

• Onions

• Parsley

• Potatoes

• Radishes

• Salad turnips

• Shishito peppers

• Spaghetti squash

• Swiss chard

• Tokyo bekana

• Tomatillos (winding down)

• Tomatoes

• Yellow squash

• Zucchini

CURRENT STORE HOURS:

Monday: 10:30 to 4 p.m.

Tuesday: 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Wednesday: 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Thursday: 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Friday: 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

​​Saturday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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VEGETABLE SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

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MAIN SEASON WEEK 19 of 20

(Tuesday, October 14th through Saturday, October 18th)

Share Contents (Listed approximately from shortest shelf life to longest)

Large:

• 1 tomato or pepper (your choice)

• 1 head of broccoli or cauliflower (farmer's choice)

• 1 head of Romanesco

• 1 head of lettuce

• 1 head of escarole

• 1 zucchini

• 1 bunch of scallions

• 1 head of napa cabbage or bok choy (your choice)

• 1 kohlrabi

  
  

Small:

• 1 tomato or pepper (your choice)

• 1 head of broccoli or cauliflower (farmer's choice)

• 1 head of lettuce

• 1 head of escarole

• 1 zucchini

• 1 head of napa cabbage or bok choy (your choice)

Storage tips and recipes for all of the vegetables in this week's share can be located on our website, here.

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Vegetable Subscription Pickup Policies

• All pickups must take place within store operating hours. For many reasons, we can't leave shares outside the store. Pickup days are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.

• If you need to skip your share for the week, or change your pickup day, you must provide us with 48 hours' notice for any of the options below. This is because we pack shares the day before pickup. Once your share has been harvested and packed, we can not change or cancel your pickup.

• For Tuesday pickups being changed, we need to know by Sunday.

• Wednesday pickups, we need to know by Monday.

• Saturday pickups, we need to know by Thursday.

• You have the option to choose another pickup day in a given week: we offer share pickup on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday only.

• You can skip a pickup and receive a double the following week.

• If you miss your pickup, we will hold your share for 24 hours after your pickup day, and then it will be donated to a local food pantry. With more members than ever before, we don't have the cooler space to hold onto shares longer than this. This is a great option if you accidentally miss your pickup - just come the next day.

• You can always send a guest to pick up in your place by simply notifying us of their name.

• Please send us an email to laurelglenfarm@gmail.com 48 hours before your anticipated pickup in order to make a change. You must submit your request in writing in order to leave a paper trail. This allows you to show proof to our store staff at pickup in the event that we need clarification.

• If a share is picked up outside of your scheduled time (aside from an approved change) or the 24 hour holding period, you will be billed for an additional share.