Monday, November 29, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Sparkly things found while picking peas in the quiet autumn morning.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The zinnias aren't pretty anymore, but they are still functional.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
A quick update...
This summer our family has taken more vacations than ever before. Last year we managed to escape for an afternoon to Little Buffalo park. This summer we took 4 long weekends, a few evening concerts, and even hosted a party! It has been a fun whirlwind. However, I keep forgetting to take my laptop with me when I go away, so I can stick to my usual Sunday morning blog post schedule that got messed up in early July and has stayed that way since then. For that I certainly apologize.
To bring you up to speed: our three plantings of sweet corn all failed. The first one was the most promising as far as germination rates go The second and third plantings barely germinated because it was so hot and dry. We used our sprinkler to try to help negate the lack of rain, but it was not enough. the ground kept drying out as fast as we were watering. We focused our efforts on green and yellow beans. Hopeflly by now you are all tired of beans. We are. I hope many of you have a little stash of them in your freezer. They taste wonderful in January and February. We have been amazed at our cucumber plants. They just keep trying and trying. The fruits they have been producing for the last three months will never win a beauty contest, but they do taste pretty good. We thought for sure they would die months ago, but they have hung on all summer. Summer squash is officially finished. Yay! We didn't expect so many for so long. I hope you all found ways to get them out of your refrigerator. (This winter I must research new and exciting ways to use up summer squash. I just don't seem to find the time in the summer.) Our peppers and eggplants are still going gangbusters, though our eggplants are getting smaller and smaller. We will probably have them for a few more weeks. Our tomatoes have really slowed down. I can't predict how many more weeks we will be able to give them out. Our leeks are getting sizable, and we will begin to harvest them soon. The fall cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower has struggled and struggled with the hot dry weeks we have just come out of. We were fighting to keep it alive. I can not guarantee that we will get any worth harvesting. We have several weeks of lettuce planted in the field and covered to keep the groundhogs from eating it. As the season progresses the lettuce will get sweeter and better. The dry heat that we had made it tough and not so sweet. Kale and Chard will be making a comeback also. Our potatoes have all been dug, and we yeilded just shy of a ton. I think it is safe to expect them every week in your share.
We have been limited in what we give out on pickup days by the amount of time we have to harvest. We have been missing herbs regularly. If there is an herb you particularly wanted to have in your share, please remind us. It might be that you can pick your own as you drive out. It is our goal to establish a pick your own herbs and flowers before winter sets in. More to come later...
To bring you up to speed: our three plantings of sweet corn all failed. The first one was the most promising as far as germination rates go The second and third plantings barely germinated because it was so hot and dry. We used our sprinkler to try to help negate the lack of rain, but it was not enough. the ground kept drying out as fast as we were watering. We focused our efforts on green and yellow beans. Hopeflly by now you are all tired of beans. We are. I hope many of you have a little stash of them in your freezer. They taste wonderful in January and February. We have been amazed at our cucumber plants. They just keep trying and trying. The fruits they have been producing for the last three months will never win a beauty contest, but they do taste pretty good. We thought for sure they would die months ago, but they have hung on all summer. Summer squash is officially finished. Yay! We didn't expect so many for so long. I hope you all found ways to get them out of your refrigerator. (This winter I must research new and exciting ways to use up summer squash. I just don't seem to find the time in the summer.) Our peppers and eggplants are still going gangbusters, though our eggplants are getting smaller and smaller. We will probably have them for a few more weeks. Our tomatoes have really slowed down. I can't predict how many more weeks we will be able to give them out. Our leeks are getting sizable, and we will begin to harvest them soon. The fall cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower has struggled and struggled with the hot dry weeks we have just come out of. We were fighting to keep it alive. I can not guarantee that we will get any worth harvesting. We have several weeks of lettuce planted in the field and covered to keep the groundhogs from eating it. As the season progresses the lettuce will get sweeter and better. The dry heat that we had made it tough and not so sweet. Kale and Chard will be making a comeback also. Our potatoes have all been dug, and we yeilded just shy of a ton. I think it is safe to expect them every week in your share.
We have been limited in what we give out on pickup days by the amount of time we have to harvest. We have been missing herbs regularly. If there is an herb you particularly wanted to have in your share, please remind us. It might be that you can pick your own as you drive out. It is our goal to establish a pick your own herbs and flowers before winter sets in. More to come later...
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Change to pick up hours for September and October
It is September already! Please remember our Friday pick up time will end at 7:30 pm for the month of September. During October, the Friday pickup time will end at 7pm. It gets too dark to see the scales to measure out your gazillion pounds of green beans.
So much has been happening here at our farm in the past few weeks, that I haven't posted as much as I suppose I should have. We are working on digging out the potato crop. It is a nice one, and will probably last many of you through part of the winter. Our watermelons did well, and we are giving out most of them this week. Cantaloupes are still ripening, so they will be along later. Our fall lettuce is doing pretty well. We are watering it to try to keep the bitter taste from sneaking in during these HOT days. Hopefully it will work. The groundhogs havent found it yet, thank goodness.
I hope to post a bit more this weekend. Enjoy!
So much has been happening here at our farm in the past few weeks, that I haven't posted as much as I suppose I should have. We are working on digging out the potato crop. It is a nice one, and will probably last many of you through part of the winter. Our watermelons did well, and we are giving out most of them this week. Cantaloupes are still ripening, so they will be along later. Our fall lettuce is doing pretty well. We are watering it to try to keep the bitter taste from sneaking in during these HOT days. Hopefully it will work. The groundhogs havent found it yet, thank goodness.
I hope to post a bit more this weekend. Enjoy!
Monday, August 30, 2010
We cover your growing watermelons with a nylon stocking to keep the bugs from eating them. They sure look wierd, but they taste wonderful.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
A Buckeye came to visit us while we were getting ready for tonight's pickup.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Our volunteers disposed of some rotten tomatoes with our super duper slingshot...
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Week 8 Update
We are all hot. Yesterday afternoon it was so hot, we convinced Shiela to stop working in the fields and go for a swim. That is unusual for her. She is typically here working for you every day, all day no mattter what the conditions. A typical work week for her is about 60-70 hours.
In our planning for next year, we have decided to reduce our size again, in a effort to be able to do our laundry and be able to eat some of what we grow. Now there is not enough time for us to cook the things we grow in most instances. For 2011 we will accept only returning members, and reduce our production accordingly. We will not be opening our enrollment to the public. We may, if time permits, supplement our income with part time jobs to cover the loss of income from not farming. We will need to know this fall if you would like us to count on your support for 2011. Our planning for next season is underway, so as soon as you know if you would like to return next year, please let us know.
Bug Report: We still have the usual cucumber beetles, and have been spraying them to try to manage the problem. Last week we sprayed the eggplant to eliminate the potato bugs that were beginning to do damage there. Our squash bug eggs are hatching some more nymphs each day. Every few nights we don a tyvek suit (which is like weearing a hooded trash bag) and spray them with Pyganic, a super expensive pesticide that may or may not kill them. Sometimes I just want to be a conventional farmer, who can kill the squash bugs with no problems. We are so far staying ahead of the problem, but I don't know how long we will be able to keep ahead.
Disease report: Disease season is upon us. Our potatoes were killed by early blight. It shouldn't hurt the potatoes, but the plants are dead and so in the next few weeks we will need to dig out our potatoes. Our tomatoes are stricken with their usual septoria leaf spot. It is a soil borne disease, and we get it every year. Unfortunately there is not much research yet as to how to mitigate the problem. We still should get a nice harvest of tomatoes - we have over a thousand row feet of plants. Our tomatoes also have curly leaf virus. There is no known cure for this ailment either. Our cabbages started to get black rot, and so we harvested them all early. Our kohlrabis are also getting it. You will get those in your share next week.
Wildlife report: The groundhogs continue to sample things from our fields. The have taken bites from cucumbers and summer squash. They mow off lettuce as fast as we can plant it. We are working on reducing their numbers and installing barriers so we can have lettuce again in the fall.
This week we will be planting cabbages, cauliflower, collards, snow peas, and maybe some lettuce. We have some weeding to do also. If you would like to help us any day between 9 am and 5 pm, please let us know. Saturdays and Sundays are usually an option also.
In our planning for next year, we have decided to reduce our size again, in a effort to be able to do our laundry and be able to eat some of what we grow. Now there is not enough time for us to cook the things we grow in most instances. For 2011 we will accept only returning members, and reduce our production accordingly. We will not be opening our enrollment to the public. We may, if time permits, supplement our income with part time jobs to cover the loss of income from not farming. We will need to know this fall if you would like us to count on your support for 2011. Our planning for next season is underway, so as soon as you know if you would like to return next year, please let us know.
Bug Report: We still have the usual cucumber beetles, and have been spraying them to try to manage the problem. Last week we sprayed the eggplant to eliminate the potato bugs that were beginning to do damage there. Our squash bug eggs are hatching some more nymphs each day. Every few nights we don a tyvek suit (which is like weearing a hooded trash bag) and spray them with Pyganic, a super expensive pesticide that may or may not kill them. Sometimes I just want to be a conventional farmer, who can kill the squash bugs with no problems. We are so far staying ahead of the problem, but I don't know how long we will be able to keep ahead.
Disease report: Disease season is upon us. Our potatoes were killed by early blight. It shouldn't hurt the potatoes, but the plants are dead and so in the next few weeks we will need to dig out our potatoes. Our tomatoes are stricken with their usual septoria leaf spot. It is a soil borne disease, and we get it every year. Unfortunately there is not much research yet as to how to mitigate the problem. We still should get a nice harvest of tomatoes - we have over a thousand row feet of plants. Our tomatoes also have curly leaf virus. There is no known cure for this ailment either. Our cabbages started to get black rot, and so we harvested them all early. Our kohlrabis are also getting it. You will get those in your share next week.
Wildlife report: The groundhogs continue to sample things from our fields. The have taken bites from cucumbers and summer squash. They mow off lettuce as fast as we can plant it. We are working on reducing their numbers and installing barriers so we can have lettuce again in the fall.
This week we will be planting cabbages, cauliflower, collards, snow peas, and maybe some lettuce. We have some weeding to do also. If you would like to help us any day between 9 am and 5 pm, please let us know. Saturdays and Sundays are usually an option also.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Week 6 Update
Greetings from the farm! (Technically, I'm not at the farm. Andy, Ethan and I escaped for a three day weekend to the Poconos.) Shiela stayed at home to take care of your veggies. I have been checking in with her daily, and have been checking on the progress of things. Last week Shiela spent a day at a workshop on how to grow better cucumbers and squash (summer and winter). For the past couple of years we have struggled with squash production. We have been paying close attention to our seeding dates and our transplant dates to ensure they don't get stunted in the pots. We have fertilized them. We have watered them. Still we havent gotten decent yields of squash. It is a shame, since we have many delicious varieties of summer squash selected. It seems as though some of them are actually coming around this year. We will apply some of the techniques described in last week's workshop to see if that will make a difference.
Bugs: The population of squash bugs is reaching the out of control range of tolerance. They are the bane of organic growers all over the nation. Currently there is no control methods that have been approved for organic production. We try anything and everything to keep them away, but every fall we end up with tons of crinkly leaves and more squash bugs than we can kill. The other bug populations are still holding steady.
Diseases: Well our potatoes have early blight. That is different from the late blight that affected so many, including us, last year. Early blight is not as deadly. Estimates are that it will reduce our yields of potatoes by about a third. We should still be in good shape with our harvest. We planted nearly 300 lbs of seed potatoes this year. I am hoping for somewhere around 900 pounds once we do harvest them. Our tomatoes are showing sign of early blight also, so it is good that we planted too many of those as well. I'll keep you updated on the saga of the early blight. We may try to spray an organically approved solution to prevent the spread of the disease. Each year the cucumber meet an early demise, due to the transmission of bacterial wilt from the striped cucumber beetle.
Wildlife: The on farm population of groundhogs was decreased last weekend by nine. Andy was sucessful with his diligent use of the shotgun and .22 over the Fourth of July holiday. We are still hunting them, because they are still eating some crops. They have mowed off nearly every head of summer lettuce that we were going to distribute. They have begun to sample some of our savoy cabbages. We will continue our vigilant stand against them, and hopefully prevail by the time fall lettuce is in full swing. The chipmunk in the greenhouse has been disuaded from eating the transplants before we can plant them out, so hopefully we will beat that one too.
Till next week! Happy eating.
Bugs: The population of squash bugs is reaching the out of control range of tolerance. They are the bane of organic growers all over the nation. Currently there is no control methods that have been approved for organic production. We try anything and everything to keep them away, but every fall we end up with tons of crinkly leaves and more squash bugs than we can kill. The other bug populations are still holding steady.
Diseases: Well our potatoes have early blight. That is different from the late blight that affected so many, including us, last year. Early blight is not as deadly. Estimates are that it will reduce our yields of potatoes by about a third. We should still be in good shape with our harvest. We planted nearly 300 lbs of seed potatoes this year. I am hoping for somewhere around 900 pounds once we do harvest them. Our tomatoes are showing sign of early blight also, so it is good that we planted too many of those as well. I'll keep you updated on the saga of the early blight. We may try to spray an organically approved solution to prevent the spread of the disease. Each year the cucumber meet an early demise, due to the transmission of bacterial wilt from the striped cucumber beetle.
Wildlife: The on farm population of groundhogs was decreased last weekend by nine. Andy was sucessful with his diligent use of the shotgun and .22 over the Fourth of July holiday. We are still hunting them, because they are still eating some crops. They have mowed off nearly every head of summer lettuce that we were going to distribute. They have begun to sample some of our savoy cabbages. We will continue our vigilant stand against them, and hopefully prevail by the time fall lettuce is in full swing. The chipmunk in the greenhouse has been disuaded from eating the transplants before we can plant them out, so hopefully we will beat that one too.
Till next week! Happy eating.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Week 5 Update
Happy 4th of July! I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend. We will be attending a picnic. Yay! We love picnics. We are taking cucumbers and onions as our contribution. What a refreshing side dish. How else can we use up all of these cukes? If you have ideas, please post them as a comment under the cucumber entry of our Eats blog.
On to the brief farm report. We need rain. We haven't had rain in three weeks, and things are beginning to suffer. We are watering most crops with the drip irrigation, and it is keeping them going pretty well. Irrigation is not nearly as good as rain. We don't use drip irrigation on things like potatoes, onions, or corn. We plant far too many rows of these to affort the time to put the tapes down and ensure that they are close enough to the plant to be functional. We are using sprinklers for these three crops this year. It is keeping them alive for now. The onions are soon ready to harvest, so any last bits of moisture we can get into them will make larger bulbs. We are spending a good deal of time fiddling with moving the sprinkler head and turning the irrigation valves on and off. It is taking time away from our fall planting and seeding schedule. Our schedule is always so full that if one thing runs late, it pushes so many other tasks back. Hopefully we will get caught up over the long weekend.
Bugs? Oh yes, we have them. The squash bugs are laying many, many eggs on the spaghetti squash,. They are the most tenacious bug for organic farm to cope with. There is no pesticide approved for organic production that controls them. We do our best and expect to lose a percentage of our crop each year. It seems that they get worse every year. The cucumber beetles are still here, and we are still spraying Pyganic to conrol them. It works for the most part, but needs to be applied about once a week. We still have the other usual critters, and are working on getting their population lowered.
Diseases? We are still looking pretty good on this front. Some of the Chard has shown signs of a leaf spot, but it seems to be rather limited.
Wildlife? It is like a baby animal zoo here. We discovered those four baby raccoons last week. This week Andy has begun the official War on Groundhogs. We have at least 30 on our property and many of them are babies. So far this weekend the score is Andy 3, Groundhogs 0. Yay Andy! Someday we will be able to grow fennel and lettuce that is beautiful again.
I think next week we will begin to pick green beans. We will also try to get the rest of the fall cabbages planted, and maybe some of the annual herbs that I want to give out like dill and caraway. remember if you would like to help out, please let us know. We are able to accept help every day from about 9 to about 5. Have a great week!
On to the brief farm report. We need rain. We haven't had rain in three weeks, and things are beginning to suffer. We are watering most crops with the drip irrigation, and it is keeping them going pretty well. Irrigation is not nearly as good as rain. We don't use drip irrigation on things like potatoes, onions, or corn. We plant far too many rows of these to affort the time to put the tapes down and ensure that they are close enough to the plant to be functional. We are using sprinklers for these three crops this year. It is keeping them alive for now. The onions are soon ready to harvest, so any last bits of moisture we can get into them will make larger bulbs. We are spending a good deal of time fiddling with moving the sprinkler head and turning the irrigation valves on and off. It is taking time away from our fall planting and seeding schedule. Our schedule is always so full that if one thing runs late, it pushes so many other tasks back. Hopefully we will get caught up over the long weekend.
Bugs? Oh yes, we have them. The squash bugs are laying many, many eggs on the spaghetti squash,. They are the most tenacious bug for organic farm to cope with. There is no pesticide approved for organic production that controls them. We do our best and expect to lose a percentage of our crop each year. It seems that they get worse every year. The cucumber beetles are still here, and we are still spraying Pyganic to conrol them. It works for the most part, but needs to be applied about once a week. We still have the other usual critters, and are working on getting their population lowered.
Diseases? We are still looking pretty good on this front. Some of the Chard has shown signs of a leaf spot, but it seems to be rather limited.
Wildlife? It is like a baby animal zoo here. We discovered those four baby raccoons last week. This week Andy has begun the official War on Groundhogs. We have at least 30 on our property and many of them are babies. So far this weekend the score is Andy 3, Groundhogs 0. Yay Andy! Someday we will be able to grow fennel and lettuce that is beautiful again.
I think next week we will begin to pick green beans. We will also try to get the rest of the fall cabbages planted, and maybe some of the annual herbs that I want to give out like dill and caraway. remember if you would like to help out, please let us know. We are able to accept help every day from about 9 to about 5. Have a great week!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Week 4 Update
Boy, have we been busy! The weeds are trying to take over, but we have managed to keep them more under control that in the recent past. If you would like to help us to get them wiped out during an upcoming Saturday morning, let us know. We would be happy to have some more of you knock out your working hours.
Our green house is still has our fall crops that are ready to plant in the fields. We always run out of plowed fields at this time of year. Happily, this year's experiment of growing in this lower land has increased our production almost twofold. We have more of some crops than we need in order to supply you with plenty of veggies. We are planning to pull out some of the kale and maybe chard that we planted so we can make room for some of the fall crops. If you would like to help with this, let us know. We are here working every day until about 5:30. We would love to have you help us.
This past week we had prepared to be a vendor at the Mechanicsburg farmer's market. WE had planned last winter to grow a bit extra for sale at a market. A little extra income is something we do need. I had harvested some greens, flowers, onions, and bunched them nicely. I spent hours making signs to label everything. It took almost all morning. Then the admistrator of the market called to ensure that I was going to be there, because there were no other vendors. I was so disappointed. One vendor is not a market. I declined her invitation. After brainstorming a while, we decided to sell our surplus items during our pick up times. Members who want to preserve things like green beans or chard and kale can do so. We will also begin to sell flowers from our garden. I'm not sure if we will sell bouquets or single stems. Last year we sold single stems that we harvested from the cut your own garden, and were surprised at the success. We will have the free cut your own garden ready in a few weeks, but for now we will only have stems to purchase.
Bug Report: The cabbage moths have been busy forming a strong population in our cabbage fields. We will spray them with BT, a bacteria found in the soil that kills the caterpillar when it comes in contact with them. It does not affect humans. The Friday shares are advised to wash their kale well. Cucumber beetles are showing up in droves now. They don't actually harm the plants, but they carry a disease called Bacterial Wilt that kills cucumbers plants. We will spray them this week too. Japanese beetles are all over everything.
Disease Report: Late blight has been reported in Western PA and Maryland. Our potatoes and tomatoes look pretty strong now. Cross your fingers. In addition, Ethan and I have that joyous head cold that has been going around. I am ready for us all to be healthy again.
Wildlife Report: Northern Mockingbirds and Grey Catbirds are doing a lot of singing. It seems as though a pair of Eastern Kingbirds has made its home in our neighbor's apple tree. The only butterflies that I saw this week were a Question Mark and a few Pearl Crescents. The groundhogs are very prevalent. There are several groups of babies who have moved into our three car garage and around some of other outbuildings. We have begun trapping for them. There has been a chipmunk or a groundhog who is eating some of the seedlings in the greenhouse. We have a trap set in there too.
This coming week we hope to plant sweet potatoes, plant Tuscan kale, and remove the first planting of peas. If things go really well replant that area with cauliflower and fall cabbages.
Our green house is still has our fall crops that are ready to plant in the fields. We always run out of plowed fields at this time of year. Happily, this year's experiment of growing in this lower land has increased our production almost twofold. We have more of some crops than we need in order to supply you with plenty of veggies. We are planning to pull out some of the kale and maybe chard that we planted so we can make room for some of the fall crops. If you would like to help with this, let us know. We are here working every day until about 5:30. We would love to have you help us.
This past week we had prepared to be a vendor at the Mechanicsburg farmer's market. WE had planned last winter to grow a bit extra for sale at a market. A little extra income is something we do need. I had harvested some greens, flowers, onions, and bunched them nicely. I spent hours making signs to label everything. It took almost all morning. Then the admistrator of the market called to ensure that I was going to be there, because there were no other vendors. I was so disappointed. One vendor is not a market. I declined her invitation. After brainstorming a while, we decided to sell our surplus items during our pick up times. Members who want to preserve things like green beans or chard and kale can do so. We will also begin to sell flowers from our garden. I'm not sure if we will sell bouquets or single stems. Last year we sold single stems that we harvested from the cut your own garden, and were surprised at the success. We will have the free cut your own garden ready in a few weeks, but for now we will only have stems to purchase.
We could use some rain too. Everyone, do your rain dances. Our corn is really struggling to overcome the dry soil. We have it set up to get sprinkled, but that is not nearly as good as rain.
Bug Report: The cabbage moths have been busy forming a strong population in our cabbage fields. We will spray them with BT, a bacteria found in the soil that kills the caterpillar when it comes in contact with them. It does not affect humans. The Friday shares are advised to wash their kale well. Cucumber beetles are showing up in droves now. They don't actually harm the plants, but they carry a disease called Bacterial Wilt that kills cucumbers plants. We will spray them this week too. Japanese beetles are all over everything.
Disease Report: Late blight has been reported in Western PA and Maryland. Our potatoes and tomatoes look pretty strong now. Cross your fingers. In addition, Ethan and I have that joyous head cold that has been going around. I am ready for us all to be healthy again.
Wildlife Report: Northern Mockingbirds and Grey Catbirds are doing a lot of singing. It seems as though a pair of Eastern Kingbirds has made its home in our neighbor's apple tree. The only butterflies that I saw this week were a Question Mark and a few Pearl Crescents. The groundhogs are very prevalent. There are several groups of babies who have moved into our three car garage and around some of other outbuildings. We have begun trapping for them. There has been a chipmunk or a groundhog who is eating some of the seedlings in the greenhouse. We have a trap set in there too.
This coming week we hope to plant sweet potatoes, plant Tuscan kale, and remove the first planting of peas. If things go really well replant that area with cauliflower and fall cabbages.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Dippy inspects the sweet potato plants that we brought home. Our egg producer, Chris, started them for us.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Week 2 Update
Congratulations! We all made it through the first week of pick ups. We were happy to see so many familiar faces again, and pleased to meet new members, many of whom were eager to try meats, eggs, and cheeses from other local producers. We have been so focused on growing veggies here (in addition we had a family member in the hospital last week), that we haven't made our usual late spring contacts with other local farmers. I intend to make as many contacts on Monday as I can, and will fill in with others as soon as possible. I will update you all each week about what is available.
This week during your pickups, we will have samples of lemonade, green tea, and black tea lemonade for you to try from Apple Valley Creamery. If you are interested in purchasing their products, you must contact me, Amy, by sundown Monday. Browse their website to see if there is anything you would like to try. They offer milk, cream, and butter from their pastured cows; grain-fed beef; raw milk cheeses from Whispering Brook Cheese Haus; lemonade and teas; plus things from producers near them. I usually mark their items up to the nearest dime or quarter to avoid the nuisance of pennies.
Bug Report: Shiela saw the first Japanese Beetle of the season yesterday. Last year we had very few Japenese Beetles, and hope that this year is a light one as well. They always eat our early corn silks and ruin our first few pickings. A couple of Squash bugs are in the greenhouse on the squash seedlings, but we have been able to squish them before they lay any eggs. The population of Colorado Potato Beetles are increasing, but we are still below the threshold to apply a pesticide to save the crop. Cabbage moths have been busy laying eggs on the cabbage, broccoli, and kale. Now those eggs are hatching and the tiny caterpillars are beginning to feed on the leaves. Once this pattern of rainy muggy weather passes, we will spray them with a bacteria called Bacillus Thuringiensis.
Disease Report: Late Blight has been reported in Maryland already, and after the devestation that it caused last year that we are watching closely for any signs. The wet weather patterns that we are having is ideal for culturing the spores and spreading the disease. We are keeping up to date on the status of it in Central Pennsylvania. If it gets closer to us, we may consider applying a fungicide. If it comes to this, we will ask what you all prefer before taking any actions.
Wildlife Report: The deer are still making tracks through our fields. They seem to stay away from electric fencing, so we are learning how to setup in electric system that we can run around the perimeter of our fields. We think that will help them to stay away from things like lettuce, fennel, and green beans. As far as the bird spottings go we have seen: Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows buzzed us while we were mowing the grass, a Barn Owl called as it flew away from our property, Indigo Buntings are calling from the tops of brush and weeds. Groundhog babies are out and about. This past week we saw a few butterflies: Black Swallowtail, Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, and Silvery Blue were spotted in passing. I tried to identify a skipper of some sort and I suspect it was a Least Skipper. Red Admirals keep turning up in the greenhouse. We aren't sure yet why they seem to like it in there.
This coming Saturday we will host a working Saturday and our annual potluck will follow it around 10:30. Come join us around 8 to pull some weeds, and bring a dish to share during the potluck brunch. Our farm will supply the drinks, plates, cups, and cutlery. Let us know if you will come, so we can be sure to have enough seating for everyone.
This week during your pickups, we will have samples of lemonade, green tea, and black tea lemonade for you to try from Apple Valley Creamery. If you are interested in purchasing their products, you must contact me, Amy, by sundown Monday. Browse their website to see if there is anything you would like to try. They offer milk, cream, and butter from their pastured cows; grain-fed beef; raw milk cheeses from Whispering Brook Cheese Haus; lemonade and teas; plus things from producers near them. I usually mark their items up to the nearest dime or quarter to avoid the nuisance of pennies.
Bug Report: Shiela saw the first Japanese Beetle of the season yesterday. Last year we had very few Japenese Beetles, and hope that this year is a light one as well. They always eat our early corn silks and ruin our first few pickings. A couple of Squash bugs are in the greenhouse on the squash seedlings, but we have been able to squish them before they lay any eggs. The population of Colorado Potato Beetles are increasing, but we are still below the threshold to apply a pesticide to save the crop. Cabbage moths have been busy laying eggs on the cabbage, broccoli, and kale. Now those eggs are hatching and the tiny caterpillars are beginning to feed on the leaves. Once this pattern of rainy muggy weather passes, we will spray them with a bacteria called Bacillus Thuringiensis.
Disease Report: Late Blight has been reported in Maryland already, and after the devestation that it caused last year that we are watching closely for any signs. The wet weather patterns that we are having is ideal for culturing the spores and spreading the disease. We are keeping up to date on the status of it in Central Pennsylvania. If it gets closer to us, we may consider applying a fungicide. If it comes to this, we will ask what you all prefer before taking any actions.
Wildlife Report: The deer are still making tracks through our fields. They seem to stay away from electric fencing, so we are learning how to setup in electric system that we can run around the perimeter of our fields. We think that will help them to stay away from things like lettuce, fennel, and green beans. As far as the bird spottings go we have seen: Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows buzzed us while we were mowing the grass, a Barn Owl called as it flew away from our property, Indigo Buntings are calling from the tops of brush and weeds. Groundhog babies are out and about. This past week we saw a few butterflies: Black Swallowtail, Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, and Silvery Blue were spotted in passing. I tried to identify a skipper of some sort and I suspect it was a Least Skipper. Red Admirals keep turning up in the greenhouse. We aren't sure yet why they seem to like it in there.
This coming Saturday we will host a working Saturday and our annual potluck will follow it around 10:30. Come join us around 8 to pull some weeds, and bring a dish to share during the potluck brunch. Our farm will supply the drinks, plates, cups, and cutlery. Let us know if you will come, so we can be sure to have enough seating for everyone.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Week 1 Update
We hope you all had a very enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. We did lots of farm work and had a quick picnic with our family. It was a relaxing time.
Earlier in the week, we were beginning to worry about the dry spell that we were having. We had been running our sprinkler on the corn to try to get it to germinate well. We havent used a sprinkler in the past, so it has been somewhat experimental. It seems very effective, though it doesn't conserve as much moisture as using drip irrigation. We often have trouble with keeping the drip irrigation in place until the crop that we are watering emerges from the soil enough to keep the tapes in place. So we sprinkled and hoped for rain. And did we ever get it. Thursday evening we got 2.5" of rain and then Friday night we got another 1.25" along with pea sized hail. It has drizzled on and off throughout the weekend so far, which is just keeping it wet enough that we can't really get in the fields to pull weeds. We feel like we are getting behind on planting some of the late summer crops like spaghetti squash and watermelons. We are finishing the tomato planting today.
One bad thing happened last week. We discovered that the housing develpment being built adjacent to us has increased the deer pressure on our crops. Sunday night they mowed down 400 feet of freshly planted lettuce, one being a variety of enormous oakleaf and the other was our virgin attempt at a red leaf type that is amazingly pink and green instead of the usually ruddy bronze. We will definitely try that one again. They didn't disturb some of the other varieties that we had planted. We covered the older rows with deer fencing and that seems to be preventing further damage. We are investigating methods of erecting simple deer fencing that will protect our entire garden. The deer are sampling some of the crops that we haven't covered.
Bug Report: We have seen a decrease in the flea beetle population. We still have our cole crops covered tight, and the heat doesn't seem to be overtaking anything yet. Once the flea beetle pressure subsides we will remove the covers and let the plants get more energy from the sun. The Colorado Potato Bugs are increasing in numbers in our potato field, and we will keep watching them closely. Once they are a problem we will spray them with an organically approved pesticide.
Disease Report: so far so good as far as the plants go. Shiela mostly kicked her cold, and is getting back into the swing of things.
Wildlife Report: We have already mentioned the deer. We have seen some Chimney Swifts flying about in the evenings. A Baltimore Oriole has been dining on mulberries near our shed. It seems as though a Killdeer might be nesting near our fields. We always seem to disturb them when we go out to our farthest field. Killdeer nested on our farm when I was a little girl, and we hadn't seen them in many years. It is nice to have them back. Eastern Kingbirds have made a few brief appearances. They usually sit on the posts of the tomato fence, so I anticipate their return once we get the posts pounded in. They are excellent at catching flying insects. Groundhog babies have been spotted a few times. Hopefully they will stay away from our sweet corn. We might put up an electric fence to deter both deer and groundhogs.
This week it is our goal to weed the kohlrabi and the flowers, plant lima beans, more flowers, and some of our dahlias. We will also seed a few more fall cabbages.
Earlier in the week, we were beginning to worry about the dry spell that we were having. We had been running our sprinkler on the corn to try to get it to germinate well. We havent used a sprinkler in the past, so it has been somewhat experimental. It seems very effective, though it doesn't conserve as much moisture as using drip irrigation. We often have trouble with keeping the drip irrigation in place until the crop that we are watering emerges from the soil enough to keep the tapes in place. So we sprinkled and hoped for rain. And did we ever get it. Thursday evening we got 2.5" of rain and then Friday night we got another 1.25" along with pea sized hail. It has drizzled on and off throughout the weekend so far, which is just keeping it wet enough that we can't really get in the fields to pull weeds. We feel like we are getting behind on planting some of the late summer crops like spaghetti squash and watermelons. We are finishing the tomato planting today.
One bad thing happened last week. We discovered that the housing develpment being built adjacent to us has increased the deer pressure on our crops. Sunday night they mowed down 400 feet of freshly planted lettuce, one being a variety of enormous oakleaf and the other was our virgin attempt at a red leaf type that is amazingly pink and green instead of the usually ruddy bronze. We will definitely try that one again. They didn't disturb some of the other varieties that we had planted. We covered the older rows with deer fencing and that seems to be preventing further damage. We are investigating methods of erecting simple deer fencing that will protect our entire garden. The deer are sampling some of the crops that we haven't covered.
Bug Report: We have seen a decrease in the flea beetle population. We still have our cole crops covered tight, and the heat doesn't seem to be overtaking anything yet. Once the flea beetle pressure subsides we will remove the covers and let the plants get more energy from the sun. The Colorado Potato Bugs are increasing in numbers in our potato field, and we will keep watching them closely. Once they are a problem we will spray them with an organically approved pesticide.
Disease Report: so far so good as far as the plants go. Shiela mostly kicked her cold, and is getting back into the swing of things.
Wildlife Report: We have already mentioned the deer. We have seen some Chimney Swifts flying about in the evenings. A Baltimore Oriole has been dining on mulberries near our shed. It seems as though a Killdeer might be nesting near our fields. We always seem to disturb them when we go out to our farthest field. Killdeer nested on our farm when I was a little girl, and we hadn't seen them in many years. It is nice to have them back. Eastern Kingbirds have made a few brief appearances. They usually sit on the posts of the tomato fence, so I anticipate their return once we get the posts pounded in. They are excellent at catching flying insects. Groundhog babies have been spotted a few times. Hopefully they will stay away from our sweet corn. We might put up an electric fence to deter both deer and groundhogs.
This week it is our goal to weed the kohlrabi and the flowers, plant lima beans, more flowers, and some of our dahlias. We will also seed a few more fall cabbages.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
We have officially begun the larger animal grazing program. These are sheep.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Alas. The beginning of prose posts for 2010.
Oh, there is so much to tell you all. We have been working on getting your shares to you since the seeds arrived in February. The weather has been more cooperative this season than in the past few years, though I was beginning to wonder if the snow would melt in time to plant potatoes and onions. It did eventually. April was just the best April that I can remember. We were able to get our usual crops planted like onions, potatoes, peas, carrots, kale, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, radishes, pak choy, and endive. We even had enough days without rain to get our beets, chard and spinach planted. The above average temperatures made us think that we might even get ahead of schedule (something that would thrill me to no end). The onions popped right up and grew so fast, I feared that they might be too big to give out as scallions as we usually do for the first six weeks of our season. May has been a different story altogether. Temperatures have been at least 10 degrees cooler than normal for most of it. All the crops that we had planted and had seemed to show such amazing promise in April, hunkered down to bear the 30's and 40's of early May. And I mean hunkered down. The earth holds heat better than air, so for that string of nights when we all thought about adding blankets back to the bed or turning on some heat, the lettuces tried to squat low to the earth to gain as much heat from it as they could. We did cover them with row cover which seemed to help a bit, but they are still smaller than I would like to see at this time of year. The cabbages and their relatives (kale, broccoli, pak choy, mizuna, radishes, kohlrabi) are doing very well. This is perfect weather for them. This is April weather, frankly. I want to be sure to check the average temperatures for this May and compare them to the normal for April.
Many people are asking me when we will host our first pick up, and as of today, I can't say exactly. I had planned for it to be the first week of June, but if our lettuce doesn't shape up, I may push it back a week. Other farms are reporting the same delays in their crops, and one has pushed its first drop date back two weeks. We will try to speed things up with fertilizer. It may be that the heavy rains we keep getting have leached some of the nutrients down beyond the reach of the plant's roots. I will apply a bit of nitrogen this week in hopes to wake them up a bit. I'll keep you posted on the progress on this front.
Onto the Bug Report... We had a severe infestation of flea beetles on our pak choy, which we had left uncovered for a few days - silly mistake. Those beetles like pak choy more than any person I know. We sprayed them Pyganic, a pesticide that is derived from chrysanthemums and is approved for organic growers. They either died or left the pak choy plants, and then we placed row cover over our crop to keep the beetles away. That has worked beautifully. The outer leaves of your pak choy might have a few holes, but the centers are beautiful. The other crops in the field that are usually plagued by insect damage are also row-covered, so for now cabbage worms are not a problem either. The greenhouse is a different story. The eggplants that are growing in the greenhouse until they are big enough for us to plant them outside were targeted by the flea beetles and suffered some damage. We covered the plants in the greenhouse and then they got too hot. Some even got burned. The Colorado Potato beetles also found the eggplant and are trying to lay eggs under their leaves. We have been picking these off by hand. Monday I will move the plants outside and put row cover over them. That should help them to rally back.
The Disease Report...So far we have no diseases in our crops. Shiela currently has a yucky cold/fever that Ethan had last week. She has missed two days of work so far, and we hope that she can kick it soon so we can plant your cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and summer squash this week.
Wildlife report...We have noticed many interesting migratory birds on our property including, a Hermit Thrush, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a pair of Blackpoll Warblers, some Prairie Warblers, and the usual Cedar Waxwings who only come for the under ripe mulberries. As of yesterday, I noticed that many of the European Starlings have fledged from their nest and lots of other birds are still building nests. There were a pair of Eastern Bluebirds in the yard last week, and hopefully they will find an appropriate place to raise a family. Within the next few years it is my hope to put up a bluebird trail around our fields for insect control. The group of deer that we saw over the winter are still around, and though they are making holes in our plastic mulch, they aren't eating our crops. I am grateful for that. They do walk through our fields a lot and have stepped on a few plants here and there. I do not want to have to erect a deer fence, because that may deter insect eating birds. We will monitor this all closely. A few groundhogs have been spotted near the region that we wish to plant our sweet corn. We will be setting traps to eliminate these corn lovers ASAP.
This week it is our goal to: plant cucumbers, zucchini, some tomatoes, and peppers; plant our first round of sweet corn to harvest in August; finish laying the plastic mulch so we can plant more tomatoes, watermelons, sweet potatoes, and a few other hot weather lovers. We also will weed the peas, cabbages, broccoli, kale, and chard. Mom will transplant lettuce into bigger cells so we can let that grow bigger before planting it in the field, and probably seed some of our fall cabbage crops.
Many people are asking me when we will host our first pick up, and as of today, I can't say exactly. I had planned for it to be the first week of June, but if our lettuce doesn't shape up, I may push it back a week. Other farms are reporting the same delays in their crops, and one has pushed its first drop date back two weeks. We will try to speed things up with fertilizer. It may be that the heavy rains we keep getting have leached some of the nutrients down beyond the reach of the plant's roots. I will apply a bit of nitrogen this week in hopes to wake them up a bit. I'll keep you posted on the progress on this front.
Onto the Bug Report... We had a severe infestation of flea beetles on our pak choy, which we had left uncovered for a few days - silly mistake. Those beetles like pak choy more than any person I know. We sprayed them Pyganic, a pesticide that is derived from chrysanthemums and is approved for organic growers. They either died or left the pak choy plants, and then we placed row cover over our crop to keep the beetles away. That has worked beautifully. The outer leaves of your pak choy might have a few holes, but the centers are beautiful. The other crops in the field that are usually plagued by insect damage are also row-covered, so for now cabbage worms are not a problem either. The greenhouse is a different story. The eggplants that are growing in the greenhouse until they are big enough for us to plant them outside were targeted by the flea beetles and suffered some damage. We covered the plants in the greenhouse and then they got too hot. Some even got burned. The Colorado Potato beetles also found the eggplant and are trying to lay eggs under their leaves. We have been picking these off by hand. Monday I will move the plants outside and put row cover over them. That should help them to rally back.
The Disease Report...So far we have no diseases in our crops. Shiela currently has a yucky cold/fever that Ethan had last week. She has missed two days of work so far, and we hope that she can kick it soon so we can plant your cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and summer squash this week.
Wildlife report...We have noticed many interesting migratory birds on our property including, a Hermit Thrush, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a pair of Blackpoll Warblers, some Prairie Warblers, and the usual Cedar Waxwings who only come for the under ripe mulberries. As of yesterday, I noticed that many of the European Starlings have fledged from their nest and lots of other birds are still building nests. There were a pair of Eastern Bluebirds in the yard last week, and hopefully they will find an appropriate place to raise a family. Within the next few years it is my hope to put up a bluebird trail around our fields for insect control. The group of deer that we saw over the winter are still around, and though they are making holes in our plastic mulch, they aren't eating our crops. I am grateful for that. They do walk through our fields a lot and have stepped on a few plants here and there. I do not want to have to erect a deer fence, because that may deter insect eating birds. We will monitor this all closely. A few groundhogs have been spotted near the region that we wish to plant our sweet corn. We will be setting traps to eliminate these corn lovers ASAP.
This week it is our goal to: plant cucumbers, zucchini, some tomatoes, and peppers; plant our first round of sweet corn to harvest in August; finish laying the plastic mulch so we can plant more tomatoes, watermelons, sweet potatoes, and a few other hot weather lovers. We also will weed the peas, cabbages, broccoli, kale, and chard. Mom will transplant lettuce into bigger cells so we can let that grow bigger before planting it in the field, and probably seed some of our fall cabbage crops.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Pea blossoms! They might not be ready for the first week, but maybe the second...
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Kohlrabi are beginning to make bulbs. Kohlrabi cakes here we come!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
All of our 200' rows of cabbage and their cousins are covered with row cover to protect them from an aerial attack of bugs.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Twenty more beds ready for planting tomatoes and summer squash.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
I took an opportunity to have Andy review with me how my favorite tractor works. Ethan made sure I drove straight.
Friday, April 9, 2010
This will be your dinner in about 6 weeks! Hard to believe...
Friday, April 2, 2010
530 baby red kale plants are ready to plant in the field. Andy will prep the beds today and we will be planting ASAP. Yahoo!!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Cabbage and broccoli that we will harvest in June and July...
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Andy is breaking new ground for us. This is some nice looking soil that we haven't grown in yet. We anticipate good potatoes and onions from it.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
We took the afternoon off and snuck away to Middle Creek to see the Snow Geese. See the Snow Geese?
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Flowers! It's a good thing we started planting our seeds for summer...
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
2010 Kicks off...
Boy! I haven't posted anything to this blog in a while. I hope you are all doing well. I suppose I have been spending my winter doing all kinds of introverted things, like cleaning our house and working on our home renovation. We managed to get our woodstove running, and that very same day my favorite seed catalog came in the mail! It was like a dream come true. I could sit by the fire and read all about vegetable varieties. I didn't get to, but it was a neat idea anyway.
So now that spring is coming fast, I must get my self turned around and pay attention to the outside world. It will be groundhog day in a week, which means the snowdrops should be up and blooming any day now. Our onion sets should be here today, so as soon as the ground starts to thaw out and loosen up we can get some of those in.
In the past month or so, I have finished our plan for 2010. I looks like we will be overly busy in late May and early June, which is how is goes every year. I just hope it is not as consistently wet as last year. We missed so many planting dates because disturbing soggy soil destroys the soil biota that plants need to flourish, a we cant afford to do that. This year we are planning to host a working Saturday and potluck brunch on June 19, to allay some of that pressure. Please save that date, and come help us get everything tucked in and ready to grow nicely all summer.
The 2010 website is up and running, so if you want to sign up, now is the time. Notice there are a few changes - pick up days, portion sizes for small shares, working hour rebate amounts, potluck times, working session times, our prices, etc. It seems that much has changed. Every year we tweak a few more things and the season seems to go much easier. Maybe we are just getting used to the fast pace of it all.
Dear me it is getting late! I must quit this post and go order our seeds. Till next time...Amy
So now that spring is coming fast, I must get my self turned around and pay attention to the outside world. It will be groundhog day in a week, which means the snowdrops should be up and blooming any day now. Our onion sets should be here today, so as soon as the ground starts to thaw out and loosen up we can get some of those in.
In the past month or so, I have finished our plan for 2010. I looks like we will be overly busy in late May and early June, which is how is goes every year. I just hope it is not as consistently wet as last year. We missed so many planting dates because disturbing soggy soil destroys the soil biota that plants need to flourish, a we cant afford to do that. This year we are planning to host a working Saturday and potluck brunch on June 19, to allay some of that pressure. Please save that date, and come help us get everything tucked in and ready to grow nicely all summer.
The 2010 website is up and running, so if you want to sign up, now is the time. Notice there are a few changes - pick up days, portion sizes for small shares, working hour rebate amounts, potluck times, working session times, our prices, etc. It seems that much has changed. Every year we tweak a few more things and the season seems to go much easier. Maybe we are just getting used to the fast pace of it all.
Dear me it is getting late! I must quit this post and go order our seeds. Till next time...Amy
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