Saturday, August 28, 2010

Fall Shares Now Available

The fall season will run October 2 - November 20
Small shares - $175
Medium shares - $275

Reservation information can be found here.

2010 Season, Week Sixteen

August 28, 2010 newsletter

This week's harvest:

Sweet Peppers
Eggplant
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Hot Peppers
Okra
Basil

This week's farm news:

The weather was glorious this week. It seems like we have sure had to endure lots of weather challenges this season. But now, this splendid weather that we've had this past week makes those challenges fade in our memories & seem like some distant dream. The grasshoppers, however, are a nightmare. They just won't stop. They are even mowing our cover crops! Certain areas of the garden Eric has had to plant three (!) times. They seem to prefer newly germinating plants, too, so they are capable of wiping out huge plantings very quickly. Now our standard planting procedure is to immediately cover the seed bed with fabric row cover so the grasshoppers never even have a chance!!

Our barn had a couple of transformations this week. The first is that the crew harvested all of the butternut squash this week & their gleaming goodness is now occupying the barn's upper-most loft. The second transformation is the barn becoming a sports arena - we've made the step up from a bushel basket attached to a tree to a bonafide basketball hoop attached to the front of the barn!! Jesse is super-excited to be able to shoot hoops from his front door step. He even has his own cheerleaders - two injured turkeys (named Chaos and Galliopo (?) ) that have their own portable hospital pen in the barn's front yard. Basketball practice is at 7PM - after chores. Come join us!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

2010 Season, Week Fifteen

August 21, 2010 newsletter

This week's harvest:

Eggplant
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Tomatoes
Okra
Onions
Garlic
Basil

This week's farm news:

We had another major flood this week and the farm was doused with TEN inches of rain in less than 24 hours! Because the big flood in May deposited huge amounts of gravel in the branch that flows past our cabin (therefore raising the level of the creekbed) the flash flooding situation was much more scary than in May. The kids' swingset was sideswiped, busted up & moved, Ira's bicycle was buried in gravel, Ira's fish/duck pond (the we just dug this spring) had the pond liner swept out of it & then it filled with gravel. Ira's garden & our flower garden were completely underwater. We're hopeful that all of Ira's fall gourds & pumpkins will fare alright, but the beautiful zinnias & sunflowers are laid flat & covered in mud. :( Needless to say, Eric & I, & Jesse & Beth, were awake for several hours in the night monitoring the situation. Now, unfortunately, the gravel level in the branch is even deeper - in some places we estimate seven feet! - so the next potential flood is a nightmare to think about! We are actually planning to hire someone with a backhoe to dig the gravel out; it's that concerning! Anyhow, our really rough driveway could use a new layer of gravel! If nature gives us lemons, we'll do our best to make lemonade. Cheers!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

2010 Season, Week Fourteen

August 14, 2010 newsletter

This week's harvest:

Yellow Beans
Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers
Eggplant
Hot Peppers
Garlic
Onions
Basil
Assorted Melons
Okra
Cucumbers
Patty Pan Squash - free choice

This week's farm news:

We celebrated Eric's birthday on Tuesday by taking a mini family vacation to nearby Barren River State Park. The crew took care of all the farm work & chores for two days so that we could take a much-needed relaxation break. (Even though we live in paradise, we haven't yet mastered the art of taking "time off" while still being on the farm... If we're home we're working on something!) We stayed at the lodge at the park and, admittedly enjoyed being able to hole up in an air-conditioned room. While we were away, the crew not only kept up with all chores, they canned tomatoes, processed basil, harvested any ripe produce, & continued garden work in preparation for fall planting! Eric & I feel unbelievably lucky to be able to leave the crew at the steamy hot farm & come home feeling refreshed and seeing all sorts of work was accomplished also! We're lucky & we know it!

Thank you Ben, Jesse, & Beth for letting us take a break! Now they are successfully practiced for our 10-day vacation in September!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

2010 Season, Week Thirteen

August 7, 2010 newsletter

This week's harvest:

Tomatoes - mixed heirloom
Sweet Peppers
Sweet Corn
Hot Peppers
Onions
Garlic
Yellow Beans
Patty Pan Squash
Cucumbers
Basil
Okra for small shares, Eggplant for medium shares
& a Zinnia

This week's farm news:

The hot weather is unrelenting!!! We had a few days off feeling exasperated and exhausted as we watched huge storm systems pass through just to our north (so close that we even felt the wind!) and then later one passed just to our south. We did receive about 1/10" of rain this week but when it's in the mid to upper nineties every day, 1/10" doesn't last very long. Needless to say, we're really hoping for some rain & cooler weather!

This week's big accomplishment was getting the plastic on our high tunnel! Yes, finally! After what seems like an eternity, the high tunnel will be ready for planting this fall. (For those of you new to Bugtussle, a high tunnel is a big unheated greenhouse that can extend the growing season well into the winter months. We purchased the tunnel over two years ago & have very slowly been getting the thing assembled.) There are still some finishing touches to be completed, of course, but the thought of big crispy heads of lettuce in January should be enough inspiration to push ahead to the finish!