The cutting garden at 59 Old Middle Street is already put away for the year. Northern Farm & Flowers posted its season report on October 21, 2026, and in it the farm thanked its you-pick visitors and said the flower season had officially ended. Two days later the dahlia beds opened for digging. Each clump costs $5, shovels and containers are at the farm, and the plants are unmarked, so whatever blooms next summer will be a surprise.
For a Goshen kitchen, that dig marks the real turn of the season more than anything on the wall calendar does. The farms along Route 63 set their holiday deadlines weeks before most households start planning a menu. By the first week of November, the ordering is mostly over. What's left is a short list of pickup dates, store hours, and simple arithmetic.
The deadline that came and went in October
Northern Farm & Flowers took Thanksgiving turkey reservations and forest-raised pork share orders until Sunday, October 25. Its pork shares came in limited packages, and the farm says its pigs are born and raised on the family's farm in Cornwall. In July 2026, the Hartford Courant reported that the farm was in its fifth year. Owner Richard Weigold runs it with store manager Brooke Best and family, and the barn store carries flowers, meat, eggs, groceries and gifts.
The farm describes the turkey offer on its own site:
Our turkeys are $7.50/lb. and will be available starting November 21, 2026. Turkeys will be frozen.
A $50 deposit held each bird, and reservations came in four size bands: 15 to 18 pounds, 19 to 21, 22 to 25, and 26 and up. A 19 to 21 pound bird therefore runs roughly $142 to $158 at the posted price. The reservation closed 27 days before the birds are ready, and that gap shapes Goshen's whole November.
November 21 to Thanksgiving is a short window
The turkeys arrive frozen on Saturday, November 21. Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26. That leaves five days between the first pickup and the meal.
Northern Farm's own guidance says a fully frozen turkey needs about one day in the refrigerator for every 4 pounds, at 40 degrees or below, plus more time if it's going to be brined. Apply that rule to the farm's size bands and you get this:
| Size band reserved | Fridge thaw time by the farm's rule | Fits between Nov. 21 and Nov. 26? |
|---|---|---|
| 15 to 18 lbs. | About 4 to 4½ days | Yes, with a little room |
| 19 to 21 lbs. | About 5 to 5¼ days | Only with pickup on day one |
| 22 to 25 lbs. | About 5½ to 6¼ days | Longer than the window |
| 26+ lbs. | 6½ days or more | Longer than the window |
The farm store's posted hours make the window tighter still. It is open Wednesday through Monday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Tuesdays. On that schedule, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, November 24, is a closed day. That leaves November 21, 22, 23 and 25 as the pickup days before the holiday. For the two larger size bands, the first weekend is the one that counts.
The farm's cooking notes cover the rest. Roast uncovered at 325 degrees, plan on 8 to 10 minutes a pound unstuffed, and pull the bird when the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees. The farm points out that a leaner pastured bird cooks faster than a conventional one.
The tables that weren't reserved in October
For a table that wasn't reserved, the shopping moves to stores that don't take reservations. Four of them are a short drive apart, and each has its own schedule:
- Nodine's Smokehouse, 39 North Street. The catalog lists a smoked whole turkey, 8 to 10 pounds, cooked, frozen and ready to eat. The store's posted hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
- Sunset Meadow Vineyards, 599 Old Middle Street. The winery says it is open year-round, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and Sundays and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Its farm market lists Red Horse Bakery items, Arethusa dairy, honey, maple syrup, eggs and produce, and it keeps shorter hours: Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. On that schedule, the last market days before Thanksgiving are Friday, November 20, through Sunday, November 22, the same weekend the Northern turkeys arrive.
- Thorncrest Farm & Milk House Chocolates, 280 Town Hill Road. The farm sells cream-line milk and chocolates. Its Thanksgiving collection includes chocolate turkeys, chocolate pumpkins and gift boxes. The shop's posted hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. It lists Thanksgiving Day as closed and warns that farm hours can change with fall and winter weather.
- Northern Farm & Flowers' retail fridge. The store stocks snack sticks in seven flavors, plus summer sausage, pepperoni and sweet or hot soppressata made from the farm's own meats, along with locally made cheeses. Cuts can be ordered online for pickup at the farm.
None of these pages is dated for 2026 except Northern Farm's season report, so the hours above are posted hours, not a holiday-week promise. Call ahead before driving over the day before Thanksgiving.
The rest of November runs along North Street
The Saturday farmers market at Scoville Park, 42 North Street, has wrapped up its season. North Street still carries most of the month's calendar, though, and several of the dates line up with the food calendar above.
- Saturday, November 7. At Goshen Public Library, Saturday Book Club meets at 10 a.m., followed by Herbal Hour at 11:30 a.m.
- Saturday, November 14. The Friends Lecture Series presents "History of Salesian Park" at 10 a.m.
- Thursday, November 19. Second Helpings meets at 1:30 p.m. with a November theme of "Holiday Traditions." Participants bring a dish they've prepared for the potluck, two days before the first turkey pickup.
- Wednesday, November 25. The library closes early at 5 p.m. for Thanksgiving Eve and stays closed all day Thursday, November 26.
- Saturday, November 28, through Sunday, December 6. The Goshen Players stage "Delayed for the Holidays" at 2 North Street. Opening night is November 28 at 8 p.m., the first matinee is November 29 at 3 p.m., and tickets are $20.
The Players open two days after Thanksgiving, so the weekend after the meal has its own plan already.
Where the farm year goes after the turkey
The late-fall calendar ends the way it began, with a deadline set ahead of time. Angevine Farm, just over the line at 40 Angevine Road in Warren, opened its 2026 Christmas tree reservations on November 1 at 7 a.m. Reservations are required on November 22, November 27 through 29, and December 5 and 6. Harvest-your-own trees are listed at $80. The farm also lists no-reservation days on December 4, December 11 through 13, and December 18 through 20, open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with hot chocolate and local baked goods offered through December 13.
The three reservation dates over Thanksgiving weekend fall right after the meal, so the same households that tracked the October turkey deadline are booking trees in early November.
Back on Route 63, Northern Farm is selling the season's planting stock "while they last." Ornamental and fruiting trees are $30 each, or $25 each for two or more. The list includes October Glory maple, Eastern redbud, McIntosh and Pink Lady apple, Redhaven peach and Bartlett pear. On the farm's feed, Brooke's Kitchen has moved on to cold-weather cooking with an Italian meatball soup made from local ground beef, the farm's beef bone broth and Red Norland potatoes. By the time the soup recipes start, the flower fields are closed and the turkeys are three weeks out.
Goshen's farm calendar shapes more than holiday meals. It also shapes the rhythm of owning a home here, and that rhythm matters when it's time to list. If you're wondering how a Goshen house fits into that calendar, the team at E.J. Murphy Realty has been watching these seasons turn since 1946. Get your free home valuation with our Litchfield experts.
