Friday, December 14, 2012

Not coming this week

Greetings friends! Looks like we will NOT be coming to the farmer's market again this week... I suppose we enjoyed our Saturday home so much last week that we want to do it again! Really, though, the days are whizzing past and we have lots of projects on our plate, and holiday travels will soon be upon us, so we're feeling the urge to stay put on the farm for right now. We have lots of greens remaining in the garden and, of course, sweet potatoes in storage, if any of you want to come HERE for a veggie fix, we'd be most happy to have you! And since we won't be seeing you for a while, don't forget that our early-bird discount for next season's share only lasts through January! (Small share/ $375; Medium share/ $625)

So, many blessings to you all, have a warm and cozy holiday season, and we'll see you sometime in the New Year!

Your farmer family,

Eric, Cher, Ira, Opal, and Olivia

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Not coming to town this week

Just a note that we will not be coming to market this Saturday. We are sorry for any disappointment. It's too much for us to manage this week. We'll plan on coming next Saturday (15th) if all goes well.

But don't let us stop you from going to market in the meantime! There's plenty good there!

Cher and Eric

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Winter Veggies

Howdy friends, Your Bugtussle Farmers will be coming to market with veggies this Saturday, Dec. 1. Please stop by the indoor farmer's market (located in the "Love" building, on the corner of 47th and Alabama, catty-cornered behind Mcdonald's and directly behind the "Dark Horse Theatre") for a visit. We will be bringing kale, collards, chinese cabbage, lettuce, salad turnips, sweet potatoes, parsnips, garlic, maybe daikons, maybe parsley, and whatever else looks good for harvest. Everything will be sold by the item, instead of as a basket, so you can pick and choose whatever you want...but will also be first come first serve. PLEASE NOTE: THE MARKET HOURS ARE FROM 10AM TO 12PM! We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, Cher and Eric

Sunday, November 18, 2012

2012 Fall Season, week 8

November 17, 2012

This week's harvest:
Kohlrabi
Cauliflower
"Oak Leaf" Lettuce
Kale
"Hakurei" Salad Turnips
Daikon Radish
Sweet Potatoes
Garlic
Parsley

This week's farm news:

Another week in Bugtussle just zipped right on by... leaving us (already!) at the final fall share delivery for the season. Thank you all so much for your participation and support. We plan to begin making winter vegetable deliveries in early December so keep a look out for our emails! (After today, this market moves to the indoor space across the street - in the "Love" building behind and across the street from McDonald's.)

This week was quite a bit colder than we've had yet this autumn. Several nights in a row of freezes in the twenties. This proved to be pretty hard on the heads of cauliflower, even though we had it protected with heavy row cover. So the cauliflower you are getting today has a bit of frost damage so you'll want to eat it soon! Frost damage or not, thought, it is absolutely delicious. It's been a few years since we've had a successful crop of cauliflower so for us, it is a real treat!

We want to wish all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and we look forward to seeing you in a few weeks!

Many blessings to you all!

2012 Fall Season, week 7

November 10, 2012

This week's harvest:
Kale
Lettuce
"Hakurei" Salad Turnips
Daikon Radish
Sweet Potatoes
Butternut Squash
Garlic
Greens: choose between Swiss Chard, Chinese Cabbage, Collards, and/or Red Mustard

This week's farm news:

We made our first big batch of kimchi for the season this week. It will probably turn out to be about seven gallons worth. We eat a whole lot of kimchi throughout the winter so we still plan to make more!

Eric spent a bunch of time this week clearing trees and branches and brambles along the edge of our garden in preparation for putting up a new eight-foot high garden fence. It's going to be a lot of work but we're so sick of the deer getting fat from our labors that we're ready to block their access completely! And with all of the tree clearing work, Eric inevitably winds up cutting and splitting firewood so he did a bunch of that, too!

This week Eric also limed, composted, and prepared our onion beds for next spring as well as plowing for next year's potato patch... two crops we just didn't seem to have enough of this year!

And, finally, our dear new neighbors, Jesse + Hannah, got a very good start on their little cabin in Bugtussle this week! Hooray!

Don't forget next week is the final fall share basket! We'll email regarding winter baskets!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

2012 Fall Season, week 6

November 3, 2012

This week's harvest:
Chinese (Napa) Cabbage
Daikon Radish
Kale
Lettuce
"Hakurei" Salad Turnips
Garlic
Sweet Potatoes
Butternut Squash

This week's farm news:

On Thursday morning we awoke to our first freeze of the season - 26 degrees on our front porch. We knew the colder weather was on its way so earlier this week we dragged out the row covers to give some of our garden crops a little extra protection - especially the lovely little heads of cauliflower that are forming so nicely. We also planted our elephant garlic this week and got it mulched and ready for the coming winter season. We are hopeful that there will finally be enough to give y'all some next year! We added a young pear tree to our growing orchard this week as well. And with the little hint of the colder weather that is sure to come, Eric fired up the log-splitter and got a nice stock of wood split for our winter warmth.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

2012 Fall Season, week 5

October 27, 2012

This week's harvest:
Kale
Sweet Potatoes
Butternut Squash
Garlic
"Hakurei" Salad Turnips
Greens Choice: Arugula, Swiss Chard, Mizuna, Red Mustard
Daikon Radish
Sweet Red & Yellow Peppers
Hot Peppers

This week's farm news:

Early in the week our family took a couple of days off from the farm to celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary and Olivia's 3rd birthday (yes, she was borm on our 10th anniversary!) we went to nearby Barren River Lake State Park and enjoyed some fishing, the bike trails and playgrounds, and the glorious autumn weather!

Once we got back on the farm, we (with Jesse & Hannah's helping hands) got busy mulching the garlic patch. We started out by raking and bagging leaves from our driveway and then spreading them a couple of inches thick over the garlic beds. We then covered the leaves with old hay mulch to keep them from blowing away in the wind! Now the garlic crop is all tucked in for the winter.

Then the final not-so-fun-hoorah for the week was having Olivia, then Opal, then Ira come down with some type of flu bug leaving them feverish and laid-up in bed and leaving Mama & Papa sleepless and bedraggled. I look very forward to seeing the sparkle return to their sweet blue eyes!

May your week be full of good health!

2012 Fall Season, week 4

October 20, 2012

This week's harvest:
Sweet Potatoes
Butternut Squash
Garlic
Lettuce
"Hakurei" Salad Turnips (and their delicious greens!)
Baby Ginger!
Greens Choice: Kale, Mizuna, Collards, Red Mustard

This week's farm news:

The week was a busy one! With a little help from (our new neighbors!) Jesse and Hannah, we finally finished digging the sweet potatoes! Hooray! Now they are tucked away in our greenhouse for curing and storage. We also planted next year's garlic crop. Double hooray! We still have to mulch it but otherwise, two major projects were checked off our "to-do" list this week! We also dug our first ever crop of ginger. We didn't grow a whole lot for our trial year, but it's enough to give y'all a taste! And it was successful enough that we intend to grow more in the future. And, boy, is it yummy! Our growing season isn't long enough for ginger to obtain that characteristic tan-brown colored skin. Here, we harvest it in the "baby" stage...while it is amazingly tender, juicy, and not at all fiberous. Enjoy this special treat! Also, enjoy this gorgeous autumn weather and beautiful fall foliage! What a special time of year.

2012 Fall Season, week 3

October 13, 2012

This week's harvest:
Arugula
Lettuce - "Bronze Arrowhead"
Kale
Salad Turnips
Sweet Red & Yellow Peppers
Sweet Potatoes
Butternut Squash
Hot Peppers
Parsley
Garlic

This week's farm news:

The most exciting news of the week is that our dear friends and now new neighbors(!) have officially moved to Bugtussle! Jesse and Hannah arrived with a big moving van on Wednesday (with a big dog and chickens in tow!). They have been busy trying to get themselves settled back in their old "intern rooms" in the barn...their temporary headquarters until they get their little cabin built on their new homestead. What an amazing and fun development for all of us. I just feel so much like all of our lives are going to be greatly enriched. And so we open a new chapter for Bugtussle Farm.

Otherwise this week Eric and I could have been found with our hands in the dirt grubbing for sweet potatoes!

Saturday, October 13, 2012

2012 Fall Season, week 2

October 6, 2012

This week's harvest:
Sweet Potatoes
Butternut Squash
Garlic
Kale
Mizuna
Salad Turnips
Sweet Red and Yellow Peppers
Tomatoes
End-of-the-season Basil
Assorted Hot Peppers
Eggplant

This week's farm news:

The week started out with a good amount of rain, which was welcome, but it left the garden too wet for us to be able to plant garlic and finish digging our sweet potatoes. (Which is no small chore!) Eric did manage to get in a cultivation of some young lettuces and greens on Friday afternoon. It was a little wet (still) but more rain is on the way and the young carpet of weeds was really hoping to take over!

Eric purchased two new rams this week from our good friends at Windy Acres Farm over in Orlinda, TN. This is the first sheep purchase we've made since we originally started our Katahdin flock. Eric just felt like it was time to introduce some fresh young blood to our flock's genetics. We won't put the new rams in with the ewes until around Thanksgiving, so in the meanwhile their mower-mouths are being put to good use in our orchard and overgrown areas of the garden.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

2012 Fall Season, week 1

September 29, 2012

This week's harvest:

Sweet Potatoes
Butternut Squash
Kale
Arugula
Lettuce
Salad Turnips
Sweet Peppers
Tomatoes
Garlic
Hot Peppers
Eggplant

This week's farm news:

Welcome to the fall season, friends! We missed seeing all of you last weekend but, boy, we sure had a nice vacation at the beach! The weather was just lovely and we really kicked back and relaxed. But, as much as we love (and need!) our annual vacation, we always look forward to coming back home to our beloved Bugtussle! Upon our return we found everything to be in "great shape," gardens growing and animals content and well tended. (Which is always a big relief!) Now our challenge is to maintain that "vacation attitude" in our everyday living!!!

We are moving forward with our plans with Jesse and Hannah. They are taking us up on our land offer so we recently had a parcel of 7 1/2 acres surveyed (which includes the high tunnel.) They came here on Friday to set some transplants and take some measurements of their cabin site. (Of course, it was a "harvest day" for us so they got roped into that as well!) By suddenly being asked to leave the farm they were on previously, their resources were sapped. They have started an online fundraising campaign to help get them settled in Bugtussle. Visit here to contribute.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

2012 Season, week 20

September 15, 2012

This week's harvest:
Kale
Arugula and/or Mizuna
Lettuce
Salad Turnips
Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers
Garlic
Eggplant

This week's farm news:

What a whirlwind of work! We did the week's work plus an extra two weeks' worth so we could be away on our vacation! We transplanted another 500 lettuce plants, sowed a nice patch of winter carrots and spinach, harrowed our garlic patch in preparation for planting in October, harvested a couple hundred pounds of sweet potatoes to give them time to cure in the greenhouse so they'll be sweet for the fall share. In addition, we got two weeks' worth of paddocks set up so our friends can continue moving our livestock to fresh pasture. Ira got all of his critters set up in the barn so they will be safe from predation. We feel ready to go but we're exhausted! But knowing we'll soon have saltwater on our skin & a beer in our hand we know it's worth it! The kids sure are excited! Well, a big thank you to all of you for supporting us for another summer season and we look forward to the fall ahead! See you on the 29th!

[Note from Liz: Former Bugtussle interns Jesse and Hannah have set up an indiegogo page to help with the costs of building a home on the land Cher and Eric have offered them. If you feel moved to assist them, the page can be found here.]

Sunday, September 9, 2012

2012 Season, week 19

September 8, 2012

This week's harvest:
Arugula
"Patty Pan" Summer Squash
Assorted Sweet Peppers
Assorted Hot Peppers
Eggplant
Garlic
Greens Choice: Kale, Mizuna, Cut Lettuce
Okra
Tomatoes and Basil

This week's farm news:

With several inches of rain falling in several different rain showers this week (some gentle - some heavy!) the farm is definitely wet. All of the cover crops that were sown last week are doing wonderfully. It is such magic to watch the brown soil slowly transform into all shades of green. While not a lot of actual garden work was done this week, we found ourselves quite busy with preparing the farm for our upcoming family vacation. We also had a few lovely visits from dear friends throughout the week, including our 2011 interns, Jesse and Hannah. And it was a very special visit because they were here to look at a few acres of the farm that we have offered to sell them. After leaving Bugtussle last fall, they have been so eager to find their haven and carve out their own little homestead - and have been met with many challenges up to this point. Because they are so dear to us, we decided to offer them a little piece of Bugtussle... It looks like we might have some new neighbors! [For an update, check out Jesse and Hannah's post on Sunday.]

Sunday, September 2, 2012

2012 Season, week 18

September 1, 2012

This week's harvest:
Eggplant
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Onions
Garlic
Parsley
Sweet Potato Greens
Patty Pan Squash
A Few Tomatoes
Okra - small shares this week

This week's farm news:

It was a busy week again! Eric spent many hours on the tractor harrowing and rolling. He planted about 3/4 acre of cover crops, which included many food crops, too... kale, turnips, daikons, mustard, cilantro, kohlrabi, along with crimson clover, rye, vetch, and oats.

Then on Thursday Cher, Eric, and our friend Lindsay set out nearly 2,000 transplants: collards, lettuce, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, Swiss chard, and kohlrabi.

We're definitely feeling a sense of accomplishment having the gardens planted for fall and winter. Just in time before this next round of predicted rain (hopefully!) sets in!

We also spread compost for our 2013 garlic patch. Eric got it tilled in so now we'll be ready to plant that crop soon, too. With such a bustling and productive week, we're feeling pretty good about the fall share! We hope you'll join us! It's looking promising!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

2012 Season, week 17

August 25, 2012

This week's harvest:
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Tomatoes
Eggplant
Watermelons
Onions
Garlic
Cucumbers
Basil

This week's farm news:

So this week we would like to announce this year's fall season. It will last 8 weeks beginning Saturday, September 29th thru Saturday, November 17th. (We will be skipping a week at market in between the summer and fall seasons - Saturday, September 22 - for our annual family vacation.) Most of the deliveries will take place at the same market, but in November will move indoors to the "Love" building across the street as we've done in the past. Here's what we're growing for the fall share: kale, sweet potatoes, winter squash, arugula, mizuna, hakurei turnips, Chinese cabbage, Swiss chard, collards, kohlrabi, and cauliflower. We will still be planting lots more greens in the next few weeks - spinach, mustard, tatsoi, bok choi, etc. - and we will continue to harvest the summer crops until frost. The cost will be $175/small share; $275/medium share; $375/family share. Again, we will be limiting the amount of shares offered to 50 families. Thank you and we hope you will join us for this year's fall share!!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

2012 Season, week 16

August 18, 2012

This week's harvest:
Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Eggplant
Garlic
Onions
Watermelons
Basil
Cucumbers - medium shares
Okra

This week's farm news

We had a few more nice and gentle rains this week. As lovely as they were and as much as we are not going to complain about wet weather, we were still not able to get in on the gardens with the tractor to work up more fall ground. We were able to do a light hand-cultivation of the fall crops that we do have growing - kale, arugula, red mustard, lettuce, and salad turnips. Our seedlings that we started last week are growing nicely and will be ready to set very soon (which is why we really need more garden space prepared!) Otherwise on the farm this week we spent a great deal of time hosting a string of lovely visitors. We had a visit from a sweet shareholder family that is about to move from Nashville to Alabama. We had a visit from a grazing specialist from the Conservation Service of TN. And we had a visit from our dear interns of last season, Jesse and Hannah. They are doing well and send love and hellos to all of you!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

2012 Season, week 15

August 11, 2012

This week's harvest
Sweet and Hot Peppers
Eggplant
Tomatoes
Garlic
Onions
Basil
Parsley
Cucumbers
Melons - assorted
and a little Okra

This week's farm news:

Early in the week, when the gardens were still too wet to do much of anything, we worked on making and seeding soil blocks for fall crops. We started lettuce, Swiss chard, Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi, broccoli and cauliflower. As the soil dried a bit, I hand-cultivated the patty-pan squash and Eric hilled up the ginger (!). We also pulled lots and lots of weeds from here and there throughout the garden - especially in the parsnip patch. By Thursday morning, a few areas of the garden were just dry enough to prepare for seeding... And we had to scramble to get some kale, arugula, parsley, red mustard, and salad turnips seeded and some lettuce transplants set before the next round of rain blew in. We had hopes of getting some larger garden spaces worked up for cover crops, but that just didn't happen this week... Next week...

And Friday was Eric's birthday. Forty-one times he's traveled around that big old sun! What a gift he received with the cooler weather. Ahhh... Can't you feel fall just around the corner?

2012 Season, week 14

August 4, 2012

This week's harvest:
Cucumbers (and a few Zucchini)
Potatoes
Garlic
Onions
Tomatoes
Basil
Parsley
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Melons for medium shares

This week's farm news:

We had a fun moving adventure with the livestock this week. For the first time ever, Eric grazed the animals down in the hollow, in the creek bottom near our house for a couple of days. But to get them down there, we had to walk nearly 150 animals (cows & sheep) the 1/4 mile down our driveway from the pasture, through the woods, to the creek bottom. Eric led the way on foot calling his herd (they are very accustomed to his call as he moves them to a fresh paddock daily - sometimes multiple times a day! His call equals fresh food!), and the girls and I followed behind in the golf cart... But I quickly realized I would also need to be on foot to help some rather bewildered sheep (they are not known for their wits!) find their way. We did this to start making use of under-utilized areas of our farm and for landscaping purposes! It's amazing what a mob of animals can do and how the land responds so positively to their presence. When managed properly, animals are the ultimate healers of the soil!

Sunday, July 29, 2012

2012 Season, week 13

July 28, 2012

This week's harvest:
Tomatoes
Onions
Garlic
Basil
Hot Peppers
Cucumbers
Potatoes

This week's farm news:

The week was a busy one. We completely reclaimed what we call our "upper" garden - a one-acre garden patch - from the torrent of weeds that really took hold after all of that rain we had. We started by hand-weeding the late melon patch and hand-cultivating the butternut squash. Any place where Eric had a straight and open area he would first mow and then turn under the weeds with the tractor - like the long path beside our eggplants and tomatoes, in between the rows of butternuts, and the whole way around our sweet potato patch. The inside of the sweet potato patch was another matter entirely. Normally, our sweet potato patch is kind of like our showcase area of our gardens - completely weed-free and gorgeous. (Probably because it's our family's staple winter food so it's a high priority!) Somewhere along the way this season, we lost it! So we called in some intern recruits from our friend Jeff (aka the Barefoot Farmer) who has like twelve or so extra helpers right now! So with Eric leading the way, he and five young & able helpers made short work of the weeds that were trying really hard (and succeeding, too!) to take over our sweet spuds! And Eric, being the hard-working opportunist that he is, quickly devised a plan for having the crew of interns help mulch the fall tomatoes that we had just finished staking and caging the day before! Yes, it was a busy week... but a good one!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

2012 Season, week 12

July 21, 2012

This week's harvest:
Tomatoes
Basil
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Onions
Garlic
Potatoes
Zucchini/Cukes - medium shares this week

This week's farm news:

Just eleven days ago, we were still experiencing a severe drought. Now eight inches of rain later (and more rolling thunder in the distance!), it seems like the drought is officially broken! We are back to the sultry weather that is so much more "normal" to this region. Boy, it's kind of astonishing how quickly a body forgets how to cope with working out in that sultry heat!! Any garden task this week left Eric and I drenched (literally, dripping!) with sweat! And very much longing for a change of clothes! But, I suppose we got good and "cleansed". Our garden is like our very own sweat lodge, the sun our fire.

In the garden this week, our primary focus was tackling the jungle of weeds that have surged with all of the rain. A tractor with a mower sure helped speed up the arduous task of hand-pulling weeds - which we did a whole lot of, too! Next we need to turn under a bunch of finished crops and get the ground ready for fall-planting time! Hooray!

Sunday, July 15, 2012

2012 Season, week 11

July 14, 2012

This week's harvest:
Tomatoes & Cherry Tomatoes
"Peace" (Yellow-Flesh) Watermelons
"Candy" Sweet Onions
Garlic
Basil
Lettuce
Sweet & Hot Peppers
Potatoes

This week's farm news:

What a difference rain makes! My, the garden has come to life again! (Well, all the weeds have certainly come to life, too!) And the pastures are just drinking up this lovely moisture. We had several rains this week. (My heart feels sad for those farmers that are still suffering through the drought.) Beginning with a pretty intense blowing, booming, crashing storm on Sunday night. (Of course, while trying to cook out over a fire at the creek...but, hey! I was happy to sacrifice a cook out for a good rain!) From that breaking point we've had mostly overcast skies all week and intermittent rain showers. Such a stark contrast to the week before! Hallelujah!

And, this week we had a young woman, Mindy, move to the farm to finish out the season with us as our intern. She's just in time for another big planting time as we prepare to get fall crops going. And she proved herself to be a trooper as her first "harvest day" with us was mostly done in the pouring down rain! So I guess our "intern-drought" was broken this week, too!!!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

2012 Season, week 10

July 7, 2012

This week's harvest:
Tomatoes
Garlic
Onions
Potatoes
"Rescued" Sweet Peppers
Basil
Zucchini/Squash
Hot Peppers

This week's farm news:

Well, folks, as of this writing still no rain here on the farm. Our "town" just 8 miles away received an inch and we got about 12 drops, no joke. We are beginning to see some heat and water stress in the garden. The second planting of corn just couldn't even produce ears. Our sweet peppers are loaded with big green fruit but are getting severely sun-burned (so we basically stripped the plants of most of their fruit, bringing you the ones in OK shape - thus, "rescued" peppers.) And when we were digging potatoes this week, we noticed a fair number that were blackened...like they are literally cooking in the hot soil. Not good. But the tomatoes are sure hanging in there, which is good news! And our melons that are ripening right now (and should be in your baskets next week) will likely be incredibly sweet. Our young planting of melons are still growing vigorously and beginning to vine out. And those butternuts we planted last week - nearly 100% germination!

As I'm writing this, I am keeping an eye to the sky watching a bank of clouds to the northeast, maybe (strangely) even moving this way! Needless to say, I am hopeful.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

2012 Season, week 9

June 30, 2012

This week's harvest:
The Very First Tomatoes!
Garlic
"Kennebec" Potatoes
"Candy" Sweet Onions
Sweet Corn
Carrots
Lettuce ("Deer Tongue" or "Jericho")
Basil
Zucchini &/or Yellow Squash
Hot Peppers

This week's farm news:

Well, if it wasn't fairly obvious, the week was a scorcher. We did our best to avoid working out in the gardens and pastures during the hottest part of the day, choosing instead to stand up to our necks in the cool swirling current at the creek. (An ice-cold beer in hand was certainly an added bonus!)

We planted our butternut squash crop this week and I think for the first time ever in our growing history, we watered-in the seeds. Eric pushed the seeds a couple of inches deep in the soil to try to reach some moisture and then stepped on the spot with his bare heel to firm that moist soil against the seed. Then I followed right behind him with the watering can, giving each seed a little sprinkle before covering the spot with dry soil to trap the moisture below. If we don't get a good rain sometime soon, keep your fingers crossed that our little method works!

Have a happy Fourth of July!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

2012 Season, week 8

June 23, 2012

This week's harvest:
Yellow Beans
Garlic
"Candy" Sweet Onions
Beets
Basil
Cilantro
Potatoes
Choose between: Yellow Squash, Zucchini, and/or Cucumbers
Hot Peppers

This week's farm news:

Happy Summer Solstice!! It's pretty hard for us to believe that the pendulum is swinging the other way now and the days are beginning to get shorter. As much as we love midsummer and getting to enjoy so many of the fruits of our labor, we also secretly look forward to the days getting shorter because, well, that means the nights get longer and we get a bit more sleep!

This week was hot and dry and not a single itty-bitty drop of rain fell here on the farm. We sure could use some rain but the lack of it this week did make it possible to finish our garlic harvest. As we pulled it, certain areas of the patch showed signs of being over-mature. When garlic is over-mature it loses a lot of its protective papers and won't store as long. So, over the next few weeks or so, we will be bringing extra "seconds" garlic (in addition to your weekly grade A garlic) for immediate use that you can help yourselves to (maybe a pickling or fermenting project?). We would much rather you all put it to some good use than having it just dry out or rot in our barn!

And this weekend we'll be saying farewell to our farm visitors of the past three weeks. They have been a blessing and a joy to have around and we are really, really going to miss them!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

2012 Season, week 7

June 16, 2012

This week's harvest:
Yellow Beans
New Potatoes
Garlic!!
Basil
Yellow Squash
"Sweet Valentine" Lettuce
Beets

This week's farm news:

We've had some special guests visiting the farm these past few weeks. One of our guests is nine-year-old Maya and this week's news is her perspective of the week:

bugtussle newsletter

Saturday, June 9, 2012

2012 Season, week 6

June 9, 2012

This week's harvest:
Yellow Squash
Cucumbers
Lettuce
Garlic Scapes
Beets
Basil
Arugula
Swiss Chard

This week's farm news:

What a pleasant week we had. The weather was just fabulous! Most mornings were in the upper 40's to low 50's, which left us actually seeking more layers of clothing! Just crazy for June! We've had some guests on the farm this week... A lovely mama and her two lovely daughters. They plan to stay with us about three weeks to help us out on the farm. So far it's been like a kid's summer camp and my children are having an absolute blast playing and crafting and staying busy all day! Which leaves this mama a little (a lot, actually) more space to work out in the gardens! So Eric and I have been able to tackle the huge amount of cultivation work - together!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

2012 Season, week 5

June 2, 2012

This week's harvest:
"Gentry" Summer Squash
Basil
Garlic Scapes
Carrots
Beets
"Tom Thumb" Lettuce
"Buttercrunch" Lettuce

This week's farm news:

The week started out hot - which always requires numerous trips to cool off in the creek. We didn't just spend the week swimming, however... Lots of cultivation work was accomplished - the parsnips, melon, zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers. We hand-weeded the next round of carrots. We set out our eggplant and a bunch of lettuce and parsley transplants. Eric seeded some more cucumbers and he sowed a large patch of the garden to a cow-pea cover crop in preparation for our fall garden. (Crazy to be thinking of that already!) We even planted our first ever crop of ginger! We are just such kimchi addicts, and ginger was the only ingredient we didn't produce ourselves. (Aside from salt - we haven't figured that one out yet!) So this fall our kimchi will be authentic Bugtussle! Hooray! And we had one more first this week - our first ever peach off of our very own peach tree! While they were not the loveliest of peaches, insects and birds are very hard on them, our family all got to have several ripe and juicy bites. We felt almost sinful! And then to have the week finish off with a lovely rain and cooler temperatures... Ahhh, bliss!

Saturday, May 26, 2012

2012 Season, week 4

May 26, 2012

This week's harvest:

"Red Sails" Lettuce
Carrots
Beets
Radishes
Garlic "Pigtails" (or Scapes)
Swiss Chard
Assorted Herbs

This week's farm news:

The week was hot. It feels like summer's heat is upon us! This week we cultivated and hilled-up our main tomato crop. We also staked and caged up 200 plants. Now we are anxious to get them mulched with hay to preserve all the soil's moisture - because when it's as hot as it is, things dry out quickly! It is an absolutely gorgeous crop of healthy, robust tomato plants with lots of promising green fruit set!

We also cultivated our sweet and hot pepper crops and our first planting of basil. Lots of ground work was accomplished, too, so that next week we'll be able to get a bunch more seeds in the ground to keep your baskets brimming all through the summer.

Eric's trip to Sequatchie Cove Farm (near Chattagooga) for the livestock grazing conference was wonderful for him. He made lots of good connections with other holistic graziers, he got to eat lots of delicious farm-produced food (including their amazing variety of farmstead cheeses), and came home with a renewed focus.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

2012 Season, week 3

May 19, 2012

This week's harvest:
"Red Sails" Lettuce
Swiss Chard
Beets
Carrots
Radishes (just a few...)
Garlic Scapes ("Pigtails")
Assorted Herbs - your choice

This week's farm news:

Early in the week the farm was drenched with over 3" of rain. It was great to see the farm soaking wet as we had been on the dry side of things all through this spring. Just prior to the rain, Eric set out some watermelon transplants and seeded some muskmelons and zucchini. After the rain, when the soil had dried up a bit, Eric squeezed in some cultivation work before getting himself ready to go to a livestock grazing seminar near Chattanooga. He left early, early Friday morning - therefore missing out on this week's harvest! So I called in a couple of dear friends to be my harvest helpers and to assist me in bringing in this week's harvest. Eric's father (Gracious PapPap) also came to the farm (from PA) to help me with the children in Eric's absence. (So that I could actually get necessary work accomplished!) And now here at market I have two lovely shareholder assistants! Many, many thanks to all of you who lent a hand to give Eric the chance to go to his conference! (Hopefully, he'll have a nice little break from the farm, too!)

Saturday, May 12, 2012

2012 Season, week two

May 12, 2012

This week's harvest:
Lettuce
Spinach
Swiss Chard
Tatsoi
Garlic "Scapes" (or Pigtails)
Choose between: Arugula, Beets, &/or Cilantro

This week's farm news:

Hello again and welcome to CSA week #2! Lots more salad fixings in your baskets this week. The tatsoi is good to eat fresh or lightly steamed or sauteed. (Please excuse all of the little holes...the flea beetles LOVE tatsoi, too! Just let it be a reminder that we don't use nasty sprays on our crops!) The "green garlic" that we are giving you right now can be used like a green onion - just chop it and add it to any dish that needs some delicious garlic flavor.

This week in the garden Eric, with a little help from Ira and Opal, transplanted all of our sweet peppers, hot peppers, and basil into the garden. Ira can easily be convinced to "help" when part of his work involves getting to drive our little golf/chore cart. (A fairly new farm tool and an eight-year-old boy's dream come true!)

Eric also got a little cultivation work done on some of the young crops...but it's that crazy time of year for us where a "little" cultivation work is a mere drop in the bucket! There's so much to do!

Early in the week we hosted an awesome group of home-schooled kids on our farm for a pretty awesome fun-filled day of play. We need to do this again soon!

Saturday, May 5, 2012

2012 Season, week one

May 5, 2012

This week's harvest:
Strawberries!
Lettuce
Arugula
Spinach
Swiss Chard
"Green Garlic"

This week's farm news:

Welcome, everyone, to the first CSA delivery of the season! Most of you have been with us in years past but we have a few who are new to Bugtussle CSA - so a special hello and welcome to you!

These past few months have seen us becoming increasingly busy on the farm. We are not hosting any interns this season, which is the first time since before Ira was born, so it's just the Smith family in action this year! (Along with the occasional helping hand from a gracious friend or neighbor!) We certainly have mixed feelings about not hosting interns. Last year's dear interns, Jesse and Hannah (follow their adventures at Rough Draft Farmstead), were about as good as we can imagine interns being! (As those of you who have been with us for several years know - some interns are, well, not so good!) So we have decided to end, or at least pause, on a positive note with our intern program and spend this season focusing on our family and really trying to improve the quality of our farm and CSA. Here's to a good season!!

Otherwise, the farm is bustling with life! The gardens are full of growing baby vegetable plants, we have one new calf and 63 (and counting) baby lambs!

Hooray for spring!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

More eggs this Saturday

Hello!! We are coming to Nashville this Saturday April 21st with eggs, sweet potatoes, and maybe green garlic. The West Nashville Farmers Market is now back outdoors in Richland Park. Check out www.westnashvillefarmersmarket.com if you need directions. We will be there from 9 am until 12 noon. So, starting an hour earlier than the indoor market. This will likely be our last trip to town before starting our CSA deliveries which will be the first or second Saturday in May. So, stock up! This will be the last bulk discount price sale of eggs until next winter.

Eggs: $5/dozen ($4.50 for shareholders). 5 dozen for $20 (shareholders only)

Sweet Potatoes: $1.50/Lb. ($1/Lb. for shareholders)

Green Garlic (if available): $1/stem

Please let us know what you want by mid-day Friday. But it's O.K. to show up unannounced for eggs. First come, first serve. But we'll do our best to honor egg orders.

Thanks and we look forward to seeing you!
Eric

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Eggs this Saturday

We are coming to the West Nashville Farmers Market indoor location again with eggs, sweet potatoes, and maybe, just maybe, a few greens. We will be there from 10-12 this Saturday, March 31st. If you need directions visit www.westnashvillefarmersmarket.com. We have an abundance of eggs so we hope your egg appetites are raging. And maybe you want some for Easter? The grass got really green. The bugs are out. That means extra good eggs. These birds are in chicken heaven here on this farm!

Hen Eggs: $5/dozen or $4.50/dozen for shareholders. 5 dozen for $20 (available to everyone this time). They keep very well for several months.

Ira's Duck Eggs: $7/dozen. $4/half dozen. $1/egg. He has about 15 dozen available.

Sweet Potatoes: $1/Lb. We have plenty so don't be shy.

Maybe Kale: $3/bag. We are super busy right now and short-handed so no promises.

Please let us know what you want (by email at info@bugtusslefarm.com or phone at 270-457-BUGS). Remember we won't come again for at least three weeks so buy plenty of eggs. Buy some for your friends too!

2012 Veggie Shares: we can take about 6 more folks and then we're full.

Lastly, if you haven't seen our new website and blog you should check it out. There are some sweet pictures of our children. www.bugtusslefarm.com

O.K., let us know what you want by Friday afternoon.
And yes, it's OK to show up without a reply if you're after eggs.

Thank you!!
Eric

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Eggs and veggies this Saturday

We are coming to the indoor West Nashville Farmers Market this Saturday with eggs and veggies. We will be there from 10 am until 12 noon. Again, it is located on the corner of 47th Ave. and Alabama just a block off Charlotte Pike sort of right behind McDonalds. www.westnashvillefarmersmarket.com if you need a map.
O.K., so here it is:

Eggs are $5/dozen or $4.50/dozen for shareholders with a special of 5 for $20. Remember these keep very well for several months so stock up while you can.

Ira's Duck Eggs: $7/dozen, $4/half-dozen, $1/each. He has about 8 dozen.

Kale: $4/bag

Sweet potatoes: $1.50/Lb.

Butternut squash: between $3 and $5 apiece depending on size.

2012 CSA Vegetable share: our membership is presently half full. We are only offering shares to 50 members this year. We usually take around 70. We are attempting to respect our original holistic goal which states our desire to stay small and personal. Today, February 15th, usually ends our "early bird" price however we will extend that to this Saturday for those of you that want to pay us in person.

Please let us know your veggie and egg orders by mid-day Friday and we will do our best to honor them however we will be operating on a first come first serve basis.

We miss everyone and look forward to seeing you all!

Thanks, Eric and Cher, Ira, Opal, Olivia

Friday, January 20, 2012

Eggs and veggies this Saturday

We are planning on coming to Nashville this Saturday, January 21st. We will be bringing veggies and LOTS of eggs. We will be at the indoor market once again which is at the corner of 47th Ave. and Alabama behind McDonalds off of Charlotte Pike. We will be there from 10 am until 12 noon. We will be selling veggies "by the item" rather than as a basket. Here's what we'll have:

Kale: $4/bag
Chard: $4/bag
Sweet Potatoes: $1.50/ Lb.
Buttternut Squash: $3-$5 each

EGGS!! : $4.50/ dozen. 5 dozen for $20. *These eggs will keep for several months. Get them while you can!

Your response is helpful (especially if you want to reserve eggs) but not necessary. And this is a great time to secure your 2012 CSA vegetable share. If you pay before February 15th it is a reduced price. The form is on our website (www.bugtusslefarm.com) and the price is staying the same so GO FOR IT!

Hope to see you Saturday!!
Eric, Cher, Ira, Opal, Olivia

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Missing Bugtussle

I hope everyone's winter holidays were wonderful! I don't know about you, but I'm really missing my Bugtussle veggies - only one butternut squash, a few sweet potatoes, and several heads of garlic linger on my countertop, and they'll be gone soon. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed we hear from our farmers soon about a January delivery...

So, in the meanwhile, I'll just have to satisfy myself by spending some time on photographer Tim Harris's website, looking at his amazing pictures of dear Bugtussle Farm. (Thanks Hannah and Jesse for the tip!)