Dear Norman’s Farm Community,

As the growing season winds down and we look toward 2026, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on a year that challenged us, surprised us, and ultimately reminded us why local farms matter now more than ever.

Gleaning Day. I’m standing at the edge of the pepper field on a mild November morning, surrounded by trees at peak foliage. Volunteers from Harvest Share and Small Things Matter spread across the rows, filling boxes with bell peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes that would otherwise be plowed under. One volunteer tells me how therapeutic it feels to be out here, hands in the dirt, doing something tangible for families facing tough times.

The moment takes me back to March 2024, volunteering on farms in Israel—that feeling of fresh farm air, connection to the earth, and contributing to something meaningful. At the time I wished our farm could share that same spirit of purpose and connection.

Now, watching it unfold, I felt my wish become reality. Behind us, one of our best growing seasons ever. 2025 became the year we truly understood what it means to be rooted in community.

A Bountiful Harvest. Once we got past a very wet spring and early summer that devastated our berry crops and started us in the hole, our farm was incredibly productive. Late summer brought great weather and our crops kicked into high gear. We were picking nonstop through October, making this one of our best growing seasons.

It felt like being down in the first half only to come back from way behind in the second for the win. That early season struggle—last winter’s hard freeze impacted our blackberry canes and newly planted figs, then watching the spring rain wash out berries and delay plantings—had us worried. But the farm rallied. Once conditions improved, everything we’d planted during those tough early months came through. It was a comeback season that reminded me why you never give up on a farm.

A Season of Community & Resilience. This year presented us with a puzzle: economic hardship unique to our area—federal layoffs, furloughs, mounting pressures and food insecurity many faced firsthand. We heard your stories at our stands and felt an impact at our markets, hearing similar reports from other farmers navigating these same factors. At the same time, our farm was experiencing one of its most abundant growing seasons. A bumper crop meeting a downturn. Surplus alongside scarcity.

The solution emerged through conversations while packing up donations at the end of each day—listening to volunteers share what brought them to food rescue work, hearing about the families they serve and the increased need at food banks and distribution centers. We realized we could be part of addressing all of this.

We strengthened and broadened our partnerships with food rescue organizations like the Roving Radish, Nourishing Bethesda, Small Things Matter, and Harvest Share Maryland. Over several gleaning events this fall, we brought together volunteers to harvest our fields before plowing under for winter—about 8,000 pounds of peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, kale, and chard. I hoped offering folks between jobs a chance to clear their heads and do something positive for the community would be therapeutic. For me, this community engagement became the pivot of 2025.

Working with food rescues fortified something I already knew—farms need to sustain in our community now more than ever. This is why maintaining your connection to local farms is so crucial. Your commitment helps us plan, invest, and continue farming—ensuring fresh, local food is here when you need it and when our community needs it.

Investing in the Future – Regenerative Agriculture. 2025 was the year we officially began our transition to Regenerative Agriculture. We’re working with a consultant from Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA) and making a conscious economic decision to invest in the organic matter in our soils. We’ve expanded our operation to include more fields planted in cover crops so we can extend our rotation and give our soil time to rest. We’re embracing a “feed the soil to feed the plants” mentality.

I’m planning to engage with more farmers, attend more conferences and visit organic farms such as Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania. Rodale has been a valuable resource for teaching sustainable growing practices to the next generation of farmers, and I’m looking forward to learning from their decades of research and experience. This isn’t just about this season or next—it’s about building soil health that will sustain this farm for years to come.

Farm Kitchen Expansion. We continued developing our Farm Kitchen, turning surplus produce into baba ganoush, ratatouille, salsas, marinara, and of course gazpacho. We’ve expanded our pickles and jams too. Last spring we received the Howard County Agricultural Innovation Grant to build out a commercial freezer, allowing us to harvest and store crops at peak season to process when time permits. This has created a much more even workflow and opened up new possibilities.

Be sure to check out our gourmet “heat-and-eat” meals this winter—eggplant parmigiano, lasagnas, coq au vin, beef bourguignon, chicken soup and more. We’re also preparing all the Thanksgiving trimmings available for pre-order. The Farm Kitchen has become more than just a way to reduce waste—it’s become a way to bring farm-fresh ingredients to your table year-round in new and exciting forms.

Winter Pop-Up Markets. We’re staying open through the end of the year! Each weekend from November through December, we’ll set up at our stand locations bringing the best fresh local produce of the season along with our Farm Kitchen selection and expanded gourmet offerings. Fresh produce, prepared meals, cheeses, fresh eggs, baked goods, seafood, charcuterie, and more.

Whether you’re picking up your Thanksgiving turkey and all the trimmings, checking off your naughty and nice list, or just popping in to say hello, we hope to see you at the markets. To see our winter schedule CLICK HERE!

Anthony’s BBQ – A Delicious Addition. One of the highlights of this season was adding Anthony’s BBQ to our weekend markets! Anthony’s delicious fall-off-the-bone wood-smoked ribs and chicken, along with his infectious smile and generous heart, added a great deal of hospitality to our markets. I’ve enjoyed working alongside him and looked forward to him firing up the smoker each weekend. Anthony will continue with us through December as we extend our season. Thank you, Anthony, for becoming part of the Norman’s community!

New Winter CSA Program. We’re hoping to fill the void between seasons by offering a Winter CSA farm share from November through April. This year we launched a pilot CSA model to complement our Original Market Style model, offering a new format at lower cost and lower commitment while expanding our distribution area. Over the summer we partnered with local businesses and organizations—Days End Farm Horse Rescue, Something Earthy Pottery, and Waredaca Brewing—promoting each other while serving more members across a wider area.

Each week we create a “Farmer’s Choice” share, then you customize your order—selecting what you want and adding on extras from seasonal produce to our Farm Kitchen’s prepared heat-and-eat meals, pickles, jams, and sauces. Into the winter we’re expanding to include Nature Forward at Woodend Nature Sanctuary and our Norman’s stands in Bethesda and Chevy Chase as confirmed pickup locations.

Stay tuned—I have many meetings scheduled with other potential partners and locations to continue growing this program. We’re also hoping to add home delivery. If you have a location or group of potentially interested members (all we need is 10 per location), please reach out. At this point we would like to grow our membership where we can. We’re incorporating this new Winter CSA into our crop planning, adding more acreage for storage crops such as root vegetables and hardy greens, plus a bonus season in our high tunnels.

Our Original Market Style CSA – Join Us for 2026! Our tried and true Original Market Style CSA is here to stay, and it’s a great community setting to connect not only with your farm, but with friends, family, and neighbors. Each week I love watching members swap recipes, share travel stories, and catch up on how their kids and pets are doing. In fact I’ve watched kids become veggie lovers and grow into healthy adults by helping select their shares starting young.

Your early commitment to the 2026 season helps us plan what to plant, invest in seeds and infrastructure, and focus on farming instead of worrying about making ends meet. Like the Little Red Hen who planned ahead and prepared, your commitment now ensures the harvest you’ll enjoy all season long.

🏷️ 20% EARLY BIRD SPECIAL – Sign Up by November 30th

Join our 2026 Original Market Style CSA (May through October, 28 weeks) and save 20% when you sign up by November 30th. This is our way of thanking those who help us plan ahead and invest in next season with confidence.

Looking Ahead to 2026. We’re excited to continue learning, growing, and developing our farm, our markets, our CSA programs, and our relationships with other farms and our community. We’re incredibly grateful for all of you who have been with us over the years and for those just discovering Norman’s.

Thank you for supporting our farm. Whether you’re a CSA member, shop at our markets, volunteer with our food rescue partners, or help spread the word—you’re part of what makes this work. Your support ensures local farms stay rooted in our community, connecting the next generation to where their food comes from.

Here’s to 2026 and another trip around the sun.

John Norman