Good morning,
I'm writing to you early today, with the freshness of the garden still clinging to my jacket, to tell you something important. This Thursday we will not be sending out orders because Friday is a holiday for Labor Day.
We're pausing the packing and delivery part so we don't leave your boxes travelling around the country or sitting in a warehouse losing freshness.
You know that here we harvest on demand; every morning we check what you've ordered and go to the fields to pick only what's needed. We do it this way because we sell directly from our fields, and freshness is paramount here.
That said, just because no boxes are going out doesn't mean the fields are taking a long weekend. Nature doesn't understand holidays. If the calendar marks red, the potato remains unfazed.
Let me tell you why. Cultivation doesn't follow office hours. The potato, for example, has its own schedule, and we have to go with it. These days, it's about carefully monitoring irrigation, as the tuber forms when the plant is in full swing, and any oversight will show up on the plate.
We also hill, which is the traditional practice of mounding soil around the base of the plant so the tuber grows protected, without direct sunlight to prevent bitterness, and to keep the soil light and airy. We rotate plots so the soil doesn't get tired and so this year's potatoes don't inherit problems from the last.
These tasks are simple to explain, but they require consistency. Exactly what a long weekend doesn't offer. In the city, people take a long weekend. In the countryside, at most, they build a ditch 😂. First joke of the day, before you tell me I'm too serious.
And why am I talking about potatoes? I have good news. Vicent's renowned potatoes will be back starting next week.
I was in his fields yesterday, walking the rows with him, and the plants are doing wonderfully. Living, aerated soils, full of good life. Well-thought-out rotations. Hilling done at the right time.
No rush, lots of skill, and that care that later shows in the texture and flavor. I was as happy as a child, I swear, because my body is craving a real Spanish omelet 🥔🥚
There's something special about Vicent. He cultivates with methods respectful of nature, the kind we've seen all our lives in the Valencian countryside, refined with experience. Preparing the land well so it drains but retains just enough moisture. Planting when the earth asks for it, not when a spreadsheet dictates.
Supporting growth with temperate and regular irrigation, as excess stunts the plant and lack robs it of energy. When the time comes, harvesting when the tuber is at its peak and curing it slightly so it arrives in your kitchen with the perfect balance of firmness and creaminess.
So what happens with your orders from this Thursday? We will prepare them with the same care on Monday. This way, we prevent a box harvested at dawn from taking an involuntary tourist trip all weekend.
I could stay here a while; the morning has been picture-perfect, but there's much to do. Irrigation to check, soils to listen to, rows to hill—we don't stop here.
Thank you for being on the other side and for understanding these rhythms dictated by the earth. Next week, I'll write to you from the field, with Vicent's first potatoes already back.
A big hug and have a beautiful day like this morning,
