2007 Farm Updates
November 19, 2007
Hi Everyone,
Well we’ve come to the end of season, and none too soon as the weather is deteriorating rapidly. We are currently in the midst of our first major snowstorm. It will be a bit challenging to finish up the harvesting for the final delivery! Fortunately most of the field work has already been done, so the biggest challenge may be sorting through the stacks of tubs crowding the cooler to find and organize the produce for the final distribution. It was a difficult year, but in the end a productive and gratifying one. I am in general pleased with the variety, quantity and quality of produce I was able to provide the members. I only hope that you all feel the same. There are some exceptions of course and there is always room for improvement. The most notable fault of the season was a less than stellar tomato crop. Now that I am aware of the deer’s newly acquired taste for this plant, I will be well prepared to prevent their devastating grazing in the future. The final share will be a rather large one, as a way to stock you up ahead of a long winter without farm fresh produce. So clean out the fridge and think of a cool spot to store your winter squash and potatoes! And if you will be coming on foot bring someone with you to help carry it home! Thank you all for your participation this season. The share for this week will be: Lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, tatsoi, celery root, turnips, beets, daikon radish, leeks, potatoes and an assortment of winter squash. Enjoy and Happy Holidays! Farmer John
P.S. I will be traveling in Central America for a few weeks in December, and while there visiting some fairly poor families that I know. I usually bring children’s clothes that I pickup at flea markets or garage sales, but I had no time for that this year. If anyone has any old children’s clothes (from infant on up) they no longer need and would like to donate, please bring them to the pickup site on Tuesday. Thanks!
November 12, 2007
Hello Everyone,
It was quite cold this past week with several nights reaching the low 20’s out here in NW New Jersey. These cold temperatures have both my Central American workers and me dreaming of heading south. The cold snap culminated with an overnight snow storm Friday which blanketed the trees and fields with an inch or two of accumulation, briefly creating a winter wonderland. On Wednesday night, until several hours after dusk, we harvested all of the cauliflower. I would have liked them to be a bit larger, but we would have lost them, had they remained in the field that night. While the cold nights have done some damage to certain greens, it’s quite amazing to see how tolerant some crops are to these sub-freezing temperatures. Many of these hardy plants have the ability to repair the damage caused by freezing and continue growing. The share for this week will be: Red-leaf lettuce, peppers, beets, carrots, Red Russian kale, cauliflower, red-skinned potatoes, arugula or broccoli raab, delicata and sweet dumpling squash, and red onions. Lots of red stuff this week! Enjoy! Farmer John
November 5, 2007
Hi Folks!
It seems as if we’ve gone straight from summer to winter, with nights getting colder almost every day. We have experienced some damage to various crops which are normally very tolerant to cold. At present we are scrambling to harvest or cover various planting of greens, lettuces, and even normally hardy cabbage family crops, in preparation for the coldest nights yet this fall, predicted for Wednesday and Thursday. Today we finished harvesting the last of the potatoes. As always it’s a great relief to be done with that arduous task. Now I need to turn my attention to planting some cover crops to protect and improve the soil over the winter, and prepare ground for planting next years garlic crop. Garlic cloves are planted now and grow some roots before the ground freezes, then begins growing above ground as soon as the ground thaws in early spring. You might think that things would be slowing down by now, but there’s still plenty of work to be done, that will keep us busy right up to the end of the month.
The share for this week will be: Lettuce, salad turnips, celery root, tatsoi, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, choice of leeks or scallions, peppers, choice of cabbage or kohlrabi, bok choi, and choice of an herb. Enjoy! Farmer John
October 29, 2007
Hi Folks!
Well the seemingly endless summer has finally come to a close with a hard freeze last night. All of the warm weather crops, such as beans, peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini were killed. We were able to harvest some of these before the cold blast, so they will still be some for the shares for at least one more week. The Romaine lettuce was also slightly burned at the tips, but they are very large and dense heads, so there’s still plenty of good eating left. There’s also plenty of good stuff still in the fields, that is essentially unaffected by this degree of coldness (pun intended). In the coming weeks the shares will be more centered around root crops, hardy greens, brassicas, and winter squash. The share for this week will be: French fingerling potatoes, garlic, parsnips, Romaine lettuce, spinach, broccoli, peppers, daikon or Easter egg radishes, spaghetti and buttercup squash, choice of an herb, and choice of arugula, broccoli raab, or kale. Enjoy! Farmer John
October 22, 2007
Hi Folks!
The mild weather continues with another 5 or 6 days without much chance of frost. This means we can continue to enjoy summer vegetables alongside the beautiful fall greens and winter squash. The unstoppable Rattlesnake beans continue producing and my late planting of bush beans is attempting to produce a crop, albeit painfully slowly. The tomatoes too, are ripening very slowly, but the ones I have sampled still have good flavor. The regular green spinach is still a bit small for bunching, so we will be harvesting a nice red veined variety called Bordeaux. The broccoli is still not maturing in sufficient quantities for delivery this week but should certainly be ready by next week. For those of you for whom this is you last pickup, thank you so much for participating. I hope you have enjoyed the season! For the rest there’s lots of great produce to look forward to in the coming weeks. The share for this week will be: Boston lettuce, Acorn squash, Hakurei turnips, bok choy, red onions, Bordeaux spinach, All red potatoes (pink inside) tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans, ornamental gourds, and choice of an herb. Enjoy! Farmer John
October 15, 2007
Hi Everyone,
Well fall has finally arrived and despite the fact that there were no predictions for a frost, we had a very light frost this past Friday and again Saturday night. The cold slightly burned the summer squash and beans, but they are still alive and should continue to produce. The tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant remain relatively unscathed. We also received buckets of rain this past week, ending the long dry spell. It’s predicted to warm slightly this week, with no frost expected for another 10 days. The broccoli is heading up nicely and will be in the share next week. The spinach is getting large as well and should be big enough to cut next week. The share for this week will be: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, sweet potatoes, summer squash, pumpkins, radishes, choice of Napa cabbage or kohlrabi, delicate squash, lettuce, and choice of an herb. Enjoy! Farmer John
October 8, 2007
Hi Everyone,
As I imagine you have noticed, the unseasonable warmth and dryness continues. There
are predictions for some rain about midweek and a slight drop in temperatures into the weekend, but still no frost expected for the next 2 weeks. This is great news as we can continue to enjoy summer veggies for another few weeks and perhaps even see a resurgence of tomatoes. We have begun heavily pruning the late planting of tomatoes to encourage the plants to ripen their fruit rather than continue to put their energy into flowering and excessive vegetative growth. There are over a thousand plants and several thousand pounds of green fruit that should start to ripen soon. The peppers and eggplant continue to produce abundantly. Late plantings of beans are beginning to flower and the summer squash has small fruit growing. Meanwhile we are busy harvesting the winter squash, pumpkins and gourds. Soon we will begin harvesting the sweet potatoes, which appear to have produced a good crop. The fall broccoli and cabbage are beginning to form heads and should be ready to cut in 2 weeks. The Hakurei salad turnips are beginning to size up and will be in the share this week. The greens are beautiful, tender, and nutritious and can be used in salads or sautéed/steamed. We also have lettuce again, with Green leaf for this week and Boston and Romaine to follow in the coming weeks. We will also be shipping Tatsoi this week, a mild Asian mustard green which is great in stir fries or mixed into salads. Next week we will de delivering pumpkins. While all pumpkins are edible, there are some such as Long Island Cheese and Jarradale which are better for making soups, cakes and pies. I would like to take a poll this week to know your preference for an ornamental or a cooking type, so I can bring the appropriate # of each.
The share for this week will be: Lettuce, potatoes, sweet corn (conventional), peppers, eggplant, Hakurei turnips, Tatsoi, white onions, Butternut squash, beans, choice of an herb, and some form of tomatoes (either cherries, slicers, plums, or small salad)
Enjoy! Farmer John
October 1, 2007
Hi Everyone,
The weather continues to be glorious, with unseasonable warmth, but we still have not received any substantial rain. A passing front that had been predicted to drop close to an inch of rain delivered less than 1/8 of an inch. There isn’t any rain predicted for the near future, but there is no prediction of frost either, so hopefully our late plantings of tomatoes and beans will have a chance to produce a crop. The tomatoes still have not begun ripening so they will continue to be scarce this week. We will begin deliveries of winter squash this week, starting with spaghetti squash. Next week we will have butternut, with acorn, delicate and buttercup to follow as we go through October. We still have an abundance of edamame soybeans, so they will be in the share again this week. We also have sufficient quantities of assorted string beans to deliver. There is no lettuce this week, but the next planting is growing beautifully and some should attain harvestable size by next week. The share for this week will be: Garlic, Fingerling potatoes, arugula or mizuna (Asian mustard green), French breakfast radishes, peppers, eggplant, spaghetti squash, choice of celery or fennel, edamame soybeans, string beans, and choice of an herb. Enjoy! Farmer John
September 24, 2007
Hi Everyone,
We continue to experience dry conditions, with no substantial rain now for over 3 weeks. We are moving the sprinklers around constantly to help germinate newly planted seeds and keep other crops growing rapidly. I expect to sow the last few beds of direct seeded crops this week- arugula, salad turnips and some oriental mustard greens. We will also be transplanting another batch of lettuce plants this week, which will be ready for harvest in November. I will finally be done with planting for this year! Tomatoes have become rather scarce at the moment, but a late planting of plum tomatoes and some heirlooms are getting close to ripening. Hopefully we can begin harvesting these by next week, and with some luck from the weather (no frosts) will continue to have tomatoes well into October. We again have beets with tops, there will be a choice of white, candy cane, or an elongated red type-aptly named Cylindro. The beet greens are quite nutritious and can be steamed, sautéed or used in soup. We also have edamame soybeans this week. These Japanese treats are prepared by boiling in the pods and then slipping the seeds out with your teeth! We will also be offering celery or fennel as a choice this week. This will be repeated again next week, so you will have a chance to get both. This week’s share will be: Lettuce, yellow onions, potatoes, sweet corn (conventional), peppers, eggplant, edamame soybeans, beets, celery or fennel, melons, choice of an herb, and maybe tomatoes. Enjoy! Farmer John
September 17, 2007
Hi Everyone,
Well fall is in the air, with some very cool nights this past week, but for now we will continue to enjoy summer vegetables. Peppers have begun to ripen abundantly to beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow. We still have lots of melons and watermelons. The edamame soybeans are almost ready, but will need one more week for all the pods to finish filling out. These can be quite time consuming to harvest and so we need to wait until all of the pods on the bush are mature and can be harvested at one time. I am also waiting on a planting of lima beans to begin producing. The Rattlesnake beans have slowed down considerably, probably due to the dry conditions for the past 3 weeks. It’s uncertain whether we can harvest enough to put in this week’s share. Cucumbers are also in short supply. The fall broccoli and cabbage plants are growing beautifully and should be ready to begin harvesting in 4 or 5 weeks. As I mentioned previously we are out of lettuce for the moment, but I am buying some from another local organic farm to put in the shares this week. This week’s share will be: Lettuce, Swiss chard, garlic, potatoes, melons, peppers, eggplant, carrots, tomatoes and choice of an herb. Enjoy! Farmer John
September 10, 2007
Hi Everyone,
Summer is in its final weeks, but the summertime veggies continue to be abundant. While most of my tomato plants have been stricken with early blight, I have a late planting that should start to produce in the next few weeks. I also have second plantings of zucchini, cucumbers, and beans which if the weather stays warm will start to produce in early October. This past week I was finally able to seed many cool weather crops such as spinach, radishes, turnips, broccoli raab and various other greens. Some of these will be ready for harvest in just a few weeks, while others will come in during October and November. We’ve had a good run with the lettuce, with some in every share thus far this season, but we’re approaching a gap in my lettuce production. This week we will be cutting some romaine lettuce for bunching, that was direct seeded for salad mix. After this there may be a few weeks without lettuce in the shares. Melons continue to ripen abundantly, and the warm weather has insured their sweetness. There will be a choice of cantaloupe, honey dew, or watermelon, this week. The share for this week will be: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, red onions, melons, cucumbers, bunched romaine lettuce, beets, rattlesnake beans, choice of cherry tomatoes or ground cherries, sweet corn (conventional, bi-color) and choice of an herb. Enjoy! Farmer John
September 3, 2007
Hi Everyone,
I'll skip the weather report this week. The weather has been beautiful as I’m sure most of you have noticed. I wouldn’t mind a passing shower to help germinate the many seeds I planted last week, but I guess we’ll have to start moving the sprinklers around. I hope you all enjoyed the Rattlesnake beans that you received last week. These are an heirloom variety of pole bean also known as the Preacher bean down south. I consider them to be one of the sweetest and tenderest of all the beans, with considerable consensus from my market customers. As a pole bean they will continue to produce steadily until the first frost, and so will be a staple in deliveries over the next few weeks. Edamame soybeans should be on deck to take their place in the legume slot, in a couple of weeks. Melons have begun ripening in large numbers and will be in all the shares this week. Most are cantaloupes, but some are a yellow skinned tropical melon, called Galia melons. We also have a Korean melon which is oblong and yellow with white stripes. I apologize to those of you who where inconvenienced by late deliveries this past week. My delivery truck loss all its oil and seized the engine on the way to market two weeks ago. The process of acquiring a replacement that I can afford, led to many complications, in addition to starter problems with the “new” vehicle. The share for this week will be: (drum roll please!) Romaine lettuce, cucumbers, Rattlesnake beans, peppers, eggplant, garlic, melons, Swiss chard or mustard greens, potatoes, tomatoes, choice of cherry tomatoes or ground cherries, carrots, and choice of an herb. Enjoy! Farmer John
August 27, 2007
Hi Everyone,
This past week’s cool and damp weather has caused new challenges for us on several fronts. Several days of overcast, drizzly weather created perfect conditions for the growth and spread of fungal diseases. Early blight in tomatoes, alternaria blight in carrots and various other fungi which affect the leaves of beets, squash, melons, and cukes all thrive under these conditions. Harvesting is made difficult because handling the plants when they are wet aids in the spread of the diseases. I will have to find the time this coming week to spray with one or more of the anti-fungal products approved for organic production. My favorite is a product called Sporan, which contains essential oils of rosemary and clove. If nothing else, the farm will sure smell great! Future deliveries of beets and carrots will most likely be made without tops, at least until second and third plantings begin to mature. Another challenge of these wet conditions is planting the various fall crops which are direct seeded. Various varieties of veggies from arugula to spinach need to be sown in the next several weeks. I have most of the ground prepared for these crops, but the seeder does not function well when the soil is too wet. Fortunately dry weather is forecast for the next several days and I expect to plant radishes, turnips, bok choy, broccoli raab, and various types of mustard greens. Melons have begun to ripen and will be in the shares over the next few weeks as they become available in sufficient quantities. The share for this week will be: Red leaf lettuce, beets, yellow onions, beans, cukes, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, choice of escarole or Swiss chard, sweet corn (conventional), and choice of an herb. Enjoy! Farmer John
August 20, 2007
Hi Everyone,
The weather continues to be favorable, although this week is predicted to be rainy and
quite cool. Last week we finished transplanting the fall brassica crops and Friday’s rain helped to water them in, so they can take root. They look good and should soon begin to grow rapidly. Last week we were forced to cut about 1200 heads of lettuce and escarole that were on the verge of bolting. Because there was no room in my cooler for all this produce I needed to borrow use of a cooler at a nearby farm where I worked as farm manager several years ago. We will be distributing these over the next 2-3 weeks. We also still have an abundance of adolescent lettuce that we will be bunching to include in the share. Peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers continue to be abundant, although the latter is beginning to die back. I have other plantings of cucumbers that are just beginning to produce. The cucumbers sweeter cousins, the melons are looking good, with an abundance of medium size fruit that should begin to ripen over the next 2-3 weeks. This week we will be offering a choice of cherry tomatoes or ground cherries. Ground cherries, for the uninitiated are a sweet relative of the tomatillo. These members of the tomato family fall of the bush when ripe and are gathered off the ground-hence the name. Simply slip them from there paper husk and eat them out of hand or in fruit or green salads. We will also be shipping fingerling potatoes this week. These waxy elongated spuds are quite a delicacy. This year they have attained good size, although many are quite bizarre in shape. I recommend parboiling them before slicing to roast or for potato salad. We will also be featuring rainbow carrots, a mix of orange, yellow, red, and purple skinned varieties. This week’s share will be: Leeks, fingerling potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, peppers, rainbow carrots, choice of Chinese or Savoy cabbage, choice of green or wax beans, choice of cherry tomatoes or ground cherries, and choice of an herb. There will also be eggplant for those groups who did not receive any last week. Enjoy! Farmer John
August 13, 2007
Hi Everyone,
Last Friday we received over 2 ½ inches of rain, a lot more than I would have liked.
Harvesting for the weekend markets was a bit difficult and now the fields are to wet to work the ground, so I am a little set back in planting the fall crops. On Thursday we planted a few thousand broccoli plants, the rain was at least beneficial to them. We are continuing to harvest lots of beans and cukes and the tomatoes are also starting to come in heavily, including some of the heirloom varieties. The beans for this week will include an heirloom variety called Dragon Langerie. It is a flat wax bean with purple streaking and is quite tender and sweet. They are not a shell bean; use them as you would a normal string bean. We will also be shipping bunched adolescent lettuce, in between a baby leaf and a full sized head. It is very tender and makes a nice salad. The share for this week will be: Tomatoes, peppers, summer squash, cucumbers, lettuce, garlic, choice of carrots or Chioggia (candy cane) beets, beans, choice of arugula or other mustard greens, sweet corn (conventionally grown-but freshly picked) and choice of an herb. There will also be eggplant for those groups which did not receive it last week as promised. Enjoy! Farmer John
August 6, 2007
Hi Everyone,
This past Friday thunderstorms dropped about an inch of rain at the main farm. Oddly the rented field in Andover received almost no rain. Fortunately many of the crops there are set up with drip irrigation, so it isn’t a big problem. But what problems we do have at this location! The beans are producing so abundantly that we can’t keep up with picking them! The walk in cooler is stacked to the ceiling with tubs of beans. The pepper plants are so loaded with fruit that we will have to stake them to keep the plants from falling over! The melon plants are sending runners out so fast and far that they are overtaking a nearby bed of mustard greens! You’ve probably guessed by now that I’m being a bit facetious, as all of these situations fall in the category of good problems to have. Cucumbers are also producing abundantly, and not just the little Kirby type but also regular ones and the long English type. The eggplant is also flowering abundantly and there will soon be lots of fruit to pick. And best of all- tomato season has begun! The share for this week will be: Yukon gold potatoes, white onions, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers, green beans and wax beans, carrots, kohlrabi, lettuce, and choice of an herb (basil, dill, or parsley) Enjoy! Farmer John
July 30, 2007
Hi Everyone,
Last Monday brought us a little over 2” of precipitation in a slow steady rain that was able to soak into the ground. This past weekend we received about another inch. The ground is finally well re-hydrated and most everything is growing well. We have begun digging potatoes and will have a red skinned variety in the share this week. They are, as predicted, a bit small due to the dry spring and early summer. Hopefully the later varieties will be able to take advantage of the recent rains and achieve a more respectable size. We are currently in the process of planting fall crops. We will be transplanting Brussel sprouts, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower seedlings this week and seeding spinach, radishes, turnips, arugula and other mustard greens. We are also seeding lettuces, radicchio, kohlrabi in the greenhouse for transplanting in about 3-4 weeks. We have finished harvesting the radicchio and there is enough for everyone in the share this week. This time it will be the more well known round red type, although some will be a red trevisio type. We won’t have peppers this week, as I want to leave as much green fruit as possible to ripen to red, yellow and orange. Eggplant is still coming in sparingly, so there is not enough for everyone, so we will include some as an extra. Tomatoes are still not ready for at least one more week. Sorry! The share for this week will be: Radicchio, carrots, kale, potatoes, cabbage, red onions, summer squash, cucumbers, choice of green or wax beans, lettuce (choice of various varieties), and choice of an herb- basil, parsley or dill. Enjoy! Farmer John
July 23, 2007
Hi Everyone,
This past week brought continued mild temperatures and another inch of much needed rain. The rain was not as helpful as it might have been, because it all fell in a little over an hour, and much of it ran off before the ground could soak it up. Soil shrinks and tightens up when it gets dry and thus resists re-hydration. In the process of digging the garlic I was able to see just how dry the soil is down deep. We were able to finish harvesting the garlic last Thursday afternoon with the help of a wonderful implement called an under cutter blade. This is a 5ft. long blade which is pulled by a tractor and slides just under the garlic lifting and loosening the soil, allowing the garlic to be easily pulled by hand. We were able to harvest all 4000’ row feet in about 5 hours; a task that would have taken 2 days using pitch forks. The crop looks good and the average head size decent- not as small as I had feared due to the dry spring. We are continuing to harvest cauliflower and have been able to do a better job with blanching the heads. I expect there will be enough for everyone again this week, if not it will be offered as a choice with broccoli or kohlrabi. As promised and predicted green beans have begun producing profusely, so they will replace the peas in the lineup this week. We have also begun harvesting cucumbers and a few peppers. The first cukes are a Kirby or pickling type, a small yellow skinned variety and an Indian type called Poona Kheera, which start out yellow and turns a rusty brown (a bit ugly frankly, but they taste good!) These will be followed in the coming weeks with regular and the long English types. Carrots are almost ready but I would like to give them another week to size up and take advantage of the recent rains. We will offer beets as the root vegetable again this week. The deer continue to cause be a great deal of grief in my tomato plots. They have eaten most of the first fruit of the early varieties. It will most likely be another 2 weeks before I have enough tomatoes to distribute. The share for this week will be: Beans, peppers, cauliflower, cucumbers, garlic, red leaf or Boston lettuce, Swiss chard, summer squash, beets, and choice of an herb. Enjoy! Farmer John
July 16, 2007
Hello Everyone,
Well, the weather continues to be favorable; we received a little over an inch of rain this past week, and after 2 scorching days at the beginning of the week unusually mild temperatures for mid-July. We weren’t able to harvest the garlic last week as planned because I need to move a tractor from another field and I was unable to finish the work that I need to do with that tractor where it is now. We are also just crazy busy, with harvesting, weeding, planting etc. At the moment we are scrambling to harvest the onion crop and hang them or lay them out where they won’t get rained on to dry. We have a truly spectacular onion harvest this year- the best I’ve ever had. Now I have to make sure that they are handled properly and don’t rot. This is a bit problematic because of the lack of infrastructure that I have. We are hanging them in the greenhouse and the high tunnel greenhouse, but are quickly running out of space! We will be shipping the sweet onions again this week, because they are still abundant and don’t keep well. Look for red onions next week. There are many new items this week. Summer squash has begun and should be abundant for many weeks to come. We harvested fava beans this past Friday, but they once again yielded very poorly. They will be offered as a choice with peas. Now that spinach is done we can begin harvesting the Swiss chard, a favorite with many of you, I know. The cauliflower is a bit disappointing, as we weren’t able to keep the heads sufficiently blanched, with the long summer days. It is not as white as I would like but it still tastes good. Fall cauliflower will look much nicer, I promise!
The share for this week will be: Peas or fava beans, beets- choice of red or Chioggia (candy cane), radicchio (red round type or a green trevisio type), cauliflower, Swiss chard, romaine lettuce, summer squash (zucchini or a half green half yellow type called Zephyr), sweet onion, and a choice of herb (basil, cilantro, or parsley) Enjoy! Farmer John
July 9, 2007
Hello Everyone,
This past week brought us about .8 inches of rain that combined with the relatively cool temps for early July has been very beneficial to the cool weather crops. The cauliflower is still not ready in large enough quantities to deliver, but we will begin cutting some heads as they size up and hold them in the cooler until next week. We do have a lot of broccoli heading up, so there should be enough for everyone. There is also still a preponderance of peas, so enjoy them while they last. The beans have begun flowering and the plants look great, so they should be right on schedule to begin just as the peas are petering out (ha-ha) The beets are still a bit small so we will wait 1 more week on them. Turnips are still in good supply. One of my market customers suggests making turnip pancakes- just substitute grated turnip for the potato in a potato pancake recipe! It might be worth a try if you can’t get your kids or your spouse to eat turnips. The zucchini has begun producing, but not enough to distribute yet. The plants look great and are full of small squash, so definitely next week…. We harvested the last of the spinach today, so enjoy it one more time; it won’t be back until the fall. What are new this week are the sweet onions. Two varieties, Walla Walla and Ailsa Craig that are the northern equivalent of a Vidalia onion, are ready. They are large and very mild, but they don’t keep well, so user them in the next 2 weeks. We will be harvesting the garlic this week so it will be in the share again in a couple of weeks after it cures a bit. The heads will be a bit small this year because of the dry spring, but it will still be quite tasty. The share for this week will be: Red leaf lettuce, broccoli, choice of peas, spinach, choice of salad turnips, red turnips or radishes, sweet onions, choice of basil, cilantro or parsley. Enjoy! Farmer John
July 2, 2007
Hello Everyone,
This past week we received 6/10th’s of an inch of rain with the front that ended the scorching heat and ushered in the cool trend we are currently experiencing. Very unusual weather for early July, but it certainly makes it easier to get work done! Most everything is growing nicely. The cauliflower is beginning to head up and the plants are large and beautiful, so I anticipate harvesting for delivery next week. Zucchini, beans, and cucumbers are all doing well and should start producing in about 2 weeks. The tomatoes are flowering profusely and we should see the start of the tomato season in about 3 weeks. The beets are beginning to size up and should be ready in another week or two. In the meantime we still have an abundance of turnips and radishes! This week you will have a choice between the salad turnips, a red turnip and a long Japanese radish. I know some of you may be tired of these, but they’ll be done soon and you won’t see them again until the fall. If you remove the tops they will keep for several weeks in the fridge, until you’re inspired to use them! This week’s share will be: Romaine lettuce, bok choy, spinach, peas, choice of broccoli or kohlrabi, fresh garlic, choice of white salad turnips, red skinned turnips, or Shunkyo semi-long radishes, and choice of herb- cilantro or parsley (basil next week!) Enjoy! Farmer John
June 25, 2007
Hello Everyone!
This past week we finally got some much needed rain. Two successive evening storms dropped a total of about 1 ¼ inches of water. We could use more, but it was enough to give a boost to the many spring planted crops as they are approaching the finish line. I am continuing to run the drip irrigation heavily on the brassicas. The earliest of the broccoli varieties have begun heading in sufficient quantities to begin delivering this week. The heads are not large, but the quality looks good, considering the extreme heat we’ve had recently. Cabbage, kohlrabi and cauliflower will also be approaching harvestable size in the next few weeks. Deer damage continues to be a major problem especially on the broccoli and on the tomato plants. This is another consequence of the dry spring, as there is not as much for them to eat in the woods and field edges as there typically would be. The hayfield grasses are dry or have been cut, with little re-growth, and the deer are seeking anything with some moisture in it. Tomato plants are not really all that palatable, and I have never seen more than some occasional browsing in the past. This year I have a number of large plants that have been whittled down to nothing but stumps! We are rushing to put up the trellis netting for the tomatoes as this will impede there ability to move freely about the plants. I also have 2 beds of broccoli planted between 3 beds of tomatoes so the trellis will afford some protection to the broccoli as well. English peas are continuing to mature in abundance. Sugar snap and snow peas are beginning as well, but still in small quantities. It will most likely be a choice of pea varieties in this week’s share. We still have abundant amounts of lettuce, and there will be 2 heads of different types in the share. One is a beautiful deep red romaine named Outredgeous (As I suspected Word doesn’t like this spelling!) They are spectacular and quite large!
The share for this week will be: Broccoli, peas, scallions, choice of mustard greens or arugula, red leaf lettuce, red romaine lettuce, choice of salad turnips or radishes, choice of herb- parsley, cilantro, or dill.
June 18, 2007
Hi Everyone!
The hot and dry trend continues and is making life very difficult for us. The Brassica family (Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage etc.) is affected most of all by the stress. Plants interpret stress as potential mortality and react by rushing to reproduce themselves i.e. flowering. In the case of Bok choi, tatsoi, and napa or Chinese cabbage this means changing from a rosette form and sending up a long seed stalk, called bolting, before the plant reaches full harvest size. In the same way broccoli forms its seed head (the part we eat) while the plant is still small, producing a small head that quickly opens and develops its yellow flowers. We have run drip tape irrigation lines on all of the brassicas, something I have hesitated to do because it is only time consuming but also needs to be removed to cultivate. Some of the Napa cabbage and the Bok choi have already bolted. We will begin harvesting the Bok choi on the small side and hopefully with adequate moisture from the drip lines the napa will form heads. Lettuce family plants are prone to bolting as well, and so I have been watching these plantings diligently for any sign of revolt (or perhaps rebolt). On Friday night while harvesting lettuce for market I discovered a few escarole pants forming seed stalks, so we immediately cut all of the escarole. At this point they will hold better in my cooler than they will in the field. We will need to do the same for hundreds of heads of lettuce in the next 2 weeks.
In this week’s edition of “When Animals Attack”: A marauder got into the greenhouse and wiped out about 200 melon and cucumber plants. I’m not sure if it was a deer or a ground hog, the latter is more likely to enter a structure, but deer have easier access to the plants, which were on tables. Deer have also been grazing some of my tomatoes and have destroyed a planting of early sugar snap peas. The main planting is well fenced and remains unscathed and is flowering abundantly.
This week’s share will be 2 heads of lettuce, English (shell) peas, red bok choi, tatsoi, choice of escarole or endive, parsley and either radishes or salad turnips. I had hoped to have scallions, but they are still a bit small, so we’ll save those for next week. Garlic scapes will be available for anyone who would like more. Enjoy! Farmer John
June 11, 2007
Hello Everyone,
Since my last writing we’ve received a little more than an inch of much needed rain.
We could use more, but it was enough to help some of the seed I’ve planted recently to germinate. The beans have sprouted beautifully and the zucchini and summer squash quite nicely as well. I was a bit nervous about the squash because it took a long time to come up and in the process of searching for emerging seed I discovered quite a few empty seed husks scattered about the surface of the beds. Some type of bird apparently has a taste for squash seed, something I’ve never seen before. Fortunately, there are only a few bare patches in my rows, and we can re-plant by hand to fill those in. We have finished planting the peppers and the eggplant and both are growing well and beginning to flower. Expect eggplant in mid to late July and peppers in early August. The early tomatoes are also growing well, flowering profusely, and setting fruit. Tomato harvest should begin in about 5 weeks The peas are flowering abundantly and there are a few ready to pick, just not enough yet to include in the first delivery. Peas will start next week and continue into early July. Sweet Potato plants arrived this past Friday and we will be transplanting them in the next few days as well as about 1500 melon and watermelon plants we started in the greenhouse. I will also be trying to sow edamame soybeans and the first of the winter squash during the next week. I hope y’all (pardon my drawl) like salads, because much of the lettuce we planted in succession has matured all at once. I have about 2000 lettuces that will need to be picked in the next 2 weeks. The share for this week will be: Red leaf lettuce, Boston lettuce, radishes, garlic scapes, and oregano. If you don’t have a use for fresh oregano, I recommend putting it in a small paper bag and hanging it in a warm place for a week or two to dry. For those new members unfamiliar with garlic scapes, they are the flower top of the garlic plant. They can be chopped finely and sautéed with other foods for a rich garlic flavor. They are also good grilled and will keep for many weeks in the refrigerator, so don’t worry about using them up quickly. Enjoy! Farmer John
May 21, 2007
Hello Everyone,
Well, the dry conditions continue, with less than 1” of rain during the past 6 weeks. Many passing storms that promised some much needed rain have not produced enough to register on the rain gauge. Everything that I sow directly into the field must be irrigated to germinate. Much time is being spent setting up and moving sprinklers and this delays us from planting and other pressing tasks. We have finished planting the potatoes and the eggplant. About 800 tomatoes have been set out and another 1600 will be transplanted out in the next few days. We will also be planting the peppers, ground cherries, celery root, and the last of the onions this week. Last night I rode the tractor planting beans until dark, ahead of some thunderstorms, which again delivered an inconsequential amount of rain. I am having a lot of trouble with a pest of the cabbage family called the flea beetle. This is a consequence of the late planting since normally the plants have 2-3 weeks to grow before the over wintering adults emerge from the soil. We are doing our best to control this plague with the various organic treatments that are available. The problem is that these agents have a short period of effectiveness and frequent spraying is required. I have also lost several hundred broccoli and cabbage plants to animal predation-turkeys, geese and ground hogs. The peas are growing nicely and the earliest varieties have just begun to flower. This means we will start picking peas in about 3 weeks, possibly in time for the first delivery. The potatoes have sprouted and the onions and the garlic are also growing nicely. It has been a very difficult start to the season, and will probably only get worse, but we are forging ahead and dealing with each new challenge that arises. Hope to see many of you at the Farm Visit in 2 weeks! Farmer John
May 14, 2007
Hello Everyone,
It’s been about a month since the flooding rains of April, and since that time we’ve
received less than ½ an inch of new rain. While it’s too soon to start crying drought, these dry conditions combined with several very warm days for early May, have been making things a bit difficult for us. Although there is still adequate moisture a few inches down, the soil surface has become very dry. This condition makes it difficult for new transplants to take root as well as delaying the germination of the many varieties of veggies that I am currently planting directly into the field. We have planted most of the 7,000 brassica and lettuce plants. Many of these we have had to water in after planting to insure their survival. Most of the peas that were planted are up and growing nicely. Unfortunately 2 early varieties of sugar snap peas did not germinate, most likely due to bad seed. This represents about 1200 row feet that should have produced 300 lbs of peas and means that the pea season will be a bit later and shorter this year. We have planted about 1,000 lbs of seed potatoes, with another 800 to go. I have the ground ready, and I hope to finish with potatoes by the end of the week. We will also be transplanting the first 900 tomato plants and about 700 eggplants in the next week. It’s also time to begin planting beans, zucchini and other summer squash, as well as cucumbers and melons. Many thanks to those who came out for the volunteer work day this past Saturday. About 1800 tomato and celeriac plants were transplanted; we covered a greenhouse, and transplanted several hundred lettuce plants out into the field. I truly appreciate the help, and I think everyone had an enjoyable day in the country. If there is anyone who was not able to attend, but would like to come out and lend a hand over the next 2 weekends, contact me at kruegerjohn@earthlink.net. That’s all ‘til next time! Meantime, hope, pray, or keep your fingers crossed for some rain. Farmer John
April 29, 2007
Hello Everyone,
Well the fields have finally dried out enough to be plowed, so I’ve been spending a lot of
time on the large tractor this past week preparing ground, some for the second time. While I waited for fields around the main farm to dry I moved the tractor to my new rented field in Andover. The soil there is very well drained so it was ready for plowing within 2 days of the heavy rain. Most of the ground at this new field has not been worked for several years and has grown a very dense sod, which will take a considerable time to break down. For this reason I have plowed 5 of the 6 acres I have use of, even though some will not be planted until July and August. I have planted most of the peas I intend to- about 6,000 row feet and 55 lbs. of seed. My workers have planted about 12,000 onion and leek plants and 1,500 lettuce plants. We have begun cutting the seed potatoes into pieces and will begin planting potatoes in the next few days. There are also about 7,000 transplants of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, radicchio, and more lettuce that have been moved out of the greenhouse and are hardened off, waiting to be setout in the field. In the next week we will transplanting out these crops as well as starting more in the greenhouse and transplanting many greenhouse starts into larger cells. For anyone thinking about coming to the volunteer work day on May 12, help with greenhouse work will be one of the tasks for which I will greatly appreciate your assistance. It’s also time to plant many crops that are direct seeded into the field, such as carrots, beets, parsnips, spinach, and Swiss chard, to name just a few. It’s too early in the season to be this far behind, but the nature of farming is bound to the vagaries of the climate. Wish me luck catching up, and come out and lend a hand if you’re so inclined! Farmer John
April 15, 2007
Hello everyone! In the 2 weeks since my last update we have finished cleaning up the
fields and I was able to plow about 4 acres of ground. I also cultivated the garlic which is growing quite nicely. The shallots which like the garlic are planted in the fall are just beginning to come up. Unfortunately I have not been able to plant any peas yet, as the ground remains too cold. While conventional farmers, using fungicide treated seed, can plant peas without much regard for soil temperature, organic growers must be a little more careful or the seed will simply rot. The heavy rains from the Nor’easter will delay planting still further, as it will be too wet to get into most of my fields until at least the end of the week. We will also be delayed in planting onions and potatoes until next week. The good news is that there is no more rain in the forecast for the next 2 weeks and the temperatures are finally headed for the upper 50’s and 60’s!!! I have been planting lots of seeds in the greenhouse, including celery root, kohlrabi, kale, bok choy, parsley, ground cherries, and more lettuce and tomatoes. We have begun transplanting the early tomatoes into larger cell flats, which has increased the overcrowding in an already full greenhouse. As soon as the weather improves a bit we will be able to move some of the hardier plants such as the onions and cabbage family onto benches outdoors where they will be hardened off for planting out into the field. I still have a lot of greenhouse planting to do- herbs, flowers, and more lettuce and broccoli to name just a few. There are also almost 2,000 eggplant and pepper plants to be transplanted soon!
So keep your fingers crossed or maybe say a little prayer for a nice stretch of warm, dry weather! Farmer John
April 1, 2007
Hello Everyone! Well the robins are arriving, the crocuses are blooming and the spring peepers are peeping, so it must be spring! March was unusually cold, atleast until last week. I began planting in the greenhouse on March 10th, about a week later than I would have liked. I just couldn't bear to turn the heat on in the greenhouse when it was still in the low teens overnight. At present there are onions, leeks, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, radicchio, and tomatoes up and growing nicely. The eggplant and peppers are just beginning to germinate. In the next 2 weeks I will be planting celery and celery root, kohlrabi, kale, parsley, ground cherries and tomatillos as well as more tomatoes and lettuces in the greenhouse. In the field we have been working on cleaning up from last season- removing posts and cables used for trellising and plastic mulch and drip tape. I have not been able to start plowing yet, because the ground is still to wet from that late season snowfall. I hope to be able to start preparing ground later this week, if it doesn't rain too much. In the next 2 weeks it will be time to plant fava beans and peas in the field. We are also busy doing maintenance and repairs on the trucks, tractors and other equipment. That's all for now, stay tuned for the next update in 2 weeks! Farmer John
