Full Snow Moon Planting at Aspen's Farm Collaborative

Seeds of summer sown amid a snow squall: An impromptu greenhouse interview with soil and production manager Marieta Bialek. Plus: Why I love my Egg CSA share....

The sky over the Rockies is dumping snow when I stop by the Farm Collaborative at Cozy Point Ranch on Wednesday. Located six miles from downtown Aspen heading northwest, it feels a world away from skiing, luxe dining, and a rich arts and culture scene: a 170-acre horse and cattle ranch with hay meadows and pasture, equestrian facilities, gardens, greenhouses, a tropical geodesic dome, the educational “FarmPark,” and one of the oldest intact barns of the late-1800s in the Roaring Fork Valley.

The property is home to farmers, sheep, goats, two semi-famous alpacas, and a flock of chickens. Those last residents provide me with a dozen fresh eggs each week, as I subscribe to the Farm Collaborative’s quarterly Egg CSA (community supported agriculture, in which members purchase a “share” of farm produce up front as a financial boost to the farm).

The cost: $72 every three months, or about $5.54 per dozen, with the added gift of a forced excursion to walk the land where the chickens strut. I definitely don’t mind the drive past the roundabout. I try to absorb this instant connection to the farm, and it’s something I think about often as I’m cooking marigold-hued omelets in my home kitchen.

Normally, collecting eggs here is a solitary task. I park my Jeep by the horse stables, walk a short path (in summer among leafy plants of all kinds), and pry open a big wooden door to the “egg shed.” Inside (was) the CSA fridge, next to a glass-walled incubation chamber where baby chicks grow strong enough to move outdoors. Naturally, it stinks like chicken shit inside. Usually, I see no one else.

Recently, though, the egg fridge was moved to a greenhouse nearby. When I find the greenhouse on this recent visit, a few young farmers are inside. Among them is Marieta Bialek, an Aspen native and the Farm Collaborative soil and production manager, heading into her third season here.

Bialek’s hands are covered in dark, damp dirt and she’s using a small metal contraption—a soil block maker—to press out neat little cubes of soil.

I’m still in snowboarding gear, having come straight from Aspen Mountain. We banter about the “winter squall” swirling outside of the greenhouse—our phones have been blaring all afternoon with those pesky state emergency alerts. We grin together: The end of a drought in a ski town puts everyone in a good mood!

Turns out, Bialek is planting the first crops of the 2022 growing season! She’ll place seeds in these soil cubes, she explains. So, I ask her more about the process.

Amanda Rae: Wow, starting summer crops on February 16! Why is today the optimal time to plant?

Marieta Bialek: Today is the full moon and it’s a really good time to be starting seeds for the garden: onions, peppers, tomatoes. Gravity is at its strongest, pulling up on the Earth, [which is] gonna give the seeds a little boost to pop out of their seed casings. So, farmers usually try to plant seeds one or two days before the full moon. I’m catching the tail end of that gravity. You can also plant on the New Moon. Full and New Moons are good times to start seeds.

[Ed note: While editing this interview I learned that this “Snow Moon” is also known as the “Hunger Moon.”]

What are you planting right now?
MB: I’m preparing soil to plant tomatoes, onions, and peppers. I’m going to bring them home to my warm house, grow them out for a couple weeks. Once they sprout and get big enough, I’ll plant them in bigger pots. [By then] our greenhouse will be warm enough for me to bring them in here.

When will you transplant these out in the field?

MB: Onions will be the first thing we plant out in the field after spinach and greens. As soon as the soil can be worked, ideally end of April or early May. Maybe earlier depending on weather. Peppers and tomatoes will go into the hoop house in early May.

Where does this food go, who gets to eat it?

MB: We sell to the Food Bank [of The Rockies], that’s probably a third of the poundage that we pull from the field. We work with Lift-Up, [which] distributes all through this valley, Parachute, Rifle. They get a significant grant every year to fund local farmers. We get paid for that produce and then they get that food to people in need. They’re picking up from all the different farms in the valley and distributing it back through the valley, which is really cool.

The Farm Collaborative has a CSA, too?

MB: 30 CSA shares that we [coordinate] with another nonprofit, Seniors Matters. We give food to low-income seniors. We also give each of our staff here on the farm a full CSA share every week.

Can the public purchase your produce?

MB: We sell to the Aspen [Saturday Market, which resumes June 11 to October 8 ]. If we have excess, maybe restaurant sales.

Back to the Full Moon: you mentioned something else….

When transplanting, you want to plant in between [moon] phases because gravity is at its weakest. That’s when you want the roots to sink down into the garden—you want them to establish. It’s good to get on rhythms, [to] organize yourself around the seasons. I like to go by the moon because it keeps me focused.

How long have you been farming?

This is my 11th season! Too long. Nah, just kidding, I’m probably gonna do it forever….

What’s better than growing your own food?

Skiing! [laughs] Thanks for being curious about what’s happening here.

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Read more about CSA in the Roaring Fork Valley in my Aspen Times Weekly cover story, “Taste the Rainbow” (April 4, 2021).