Saturday, November 29, 2014

2014 Fall Season, week 6

November 8, 2014

This week's harvest:
Kale
Sweet Potatoes
Potatoes
Garlic
Onions
Ginger
Assorted Winter Squash

This week's farm news:

Well, folks, this basket wraps up the fall share! We can't believe how quickly the weeks went by! We hope you enjoyed the season...

Just after we finished up the week's harvest, we drove the truck down to the house. Eric mentioned the truck was acting a little funny. So, we tried to fire it up again to investigate and something went kaput! (We're guessing the alternator.) So we put in a call to our mechanic and a tow truck driver - fortunately, Eric had backed the truck into its spot making the tow truck driver's job so much easier! Anyhoo, we had to quickly shift gears and pack up the mini van for market. Normally, this would not be a big deal - some of us would just stay home to ease the packing job in the smaller space of the van. But... today is the Elves Faire at the Waldorf School and the kids look so forward to this event all year and they just wouldn't hear of missing it! So with a little strategy I was able to cram it all in! We were hoping to bring y'all extra sweet potatoes today since it's the last week but just couldn't fit the extra. So if you need some, come on up to the farm for a visit!

2014 Fall Season, week 5

November 1, 2014

This week's harvest:
Sweet Potatoes
Potatoes
"Thelma Sanders" Heirloom Acorn Squash
Ginger
Garlic
Kale (Lacinato for Mediums, Red Russian for Smalls)
Greens Choice: choose between Mizuna, Arugula, Red Mustard, Parsley, and Flat Leaf Kale

This week's farm news:

October sure went out with a chilly bang! During our misty and rainy Friday harvest, the cold air started to move in from the north... By the end of harvest, I could see Eric's breath in the air as the temperature dropped. Brrr! Really, though, it feels just right. Just like November. The leaves are really coming down now, littering the ground with jewels.

This week we got all of next year's garlic planted. It's not mulched yet, but we hope to get to that next week. We also got all of the remaining ginger harvested as well as the rest of the winter squash and pumpkins picked up from the field. Just in time, too. Our first freeze is right around the corner. I think we're ready for it now. Ready for the remaining weeds in the garden to have their end. Ready for a clean slate. Ready for dreaming and planning for next year's gardens and all of the bounty.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

2014 Fall Season, week 4

October 25, 2014

This week's harvest:
Sweet Potatoes
Potatoes
Kale
Chinese Cabbage
Pie Pumpkins
Sweet Dumpling Squash
Garlic
Sweet & Hot Peppers
Onions
Ginger

This week's farm news:

Eric and I celebrated our fifteenth! wedding anniversary this week. On the same day, Olivia celebrated her 5th B-Day - so it was a big week for our family! Do you know what we did on that special day? Wrangled sheep (Ram lambs) into the truck and hauled them to a sheep sale in Bowling Green! After that, though, we did go out for pizza (rare treat!). When we got home, I made Olivia her birthday cake and we celebrated that special, growing little girl.

The weather this week was gorgeous. We had a few more very light frosts, but not a killing frost yet... So there are still peppers in your baskets this week! The leaves are really beginning to come down now. Here on the farm the colors are getting so beautiful... My favorite time of year!! Have a great week, friends!

2014 Fall Season, week 3

October 18, 2014

This week's harvest:
Sweet Potatoes
Potatoes
Onions
Ginger
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Kale
Butternut Squash
Greens choice (between Mizuna, Arugula, Red Mustard, &/or Parsley)

This week's farm news:

Well, I thought last week was wet and rainy... Ha! This week has proven to be even more wet and rainy. Wow! One overnight rain event poured down three inches! We've had more than seven inches these past 10 days or so. Needless to say, the farm is soaked. And we have had no chance of getting the garlic in the ground, or covercrops for that matter. Some years, that's just the way it goes...

Even though the garden was wet, we tromped around to harvest the remaining winter squash and pumpkins. The vines were all killed in the frost that we had - some of the fruit was not all the way mature, but it was time to get it all out of the field. I've heard green pumpkin pie tastes a lot like apple pie - I guess I'll have to give it a whirl with some of the under-ripe pumpkins!

2014 Fall Season, week 2

October 11, 2014

This week's harvest:
Ginger
Sweet Potatoes
Spaghetti Squash
Kale
Garlic
Onions
Potatoes
Greens choice (Arugula, Cut Lettuce, Mizuna)
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers

This week's farm news:

We had our first frost of the season this week. So it was farewell to most of the remaining summer crops. Somehow a few tomatoes survived, and the sweet pepper plants mostly just had their top-most leaves touched by the frost. The melons and summer squash were scorched, though!

Otherwise this week it was rain, rain, rain. Typically, October is our driest month of the year... That is certainly not the case this year! We are thankful for the rain even though it makes things challenging for us as we try to wrap up any remaining garden work for the season. So I guess what I'm saying is that we didn't accomplish much in the garden but had a nice week doing other things. We hope you had a nice week, too!

2014 Fall Season, week 1

October 4, 2014

This week's harvest:
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Dumpling Winter Squash
Ginger!
Kale
Greens choice (between Arugula, Mizuna, Lettuce Mix, or Turnip Greens)
Potatoes
Garlic
Onions
Watermelons(!)
Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Patty Pan Summer Squash

This week's farm news:

Welcome to this year's fall share! It's crazy to be kicking off this first week with watermelons but oh, well... I'm sure no one will mind! We have had very dry conditions on the farm... With this cold front that is moving in, we did receive about 1/2 an inch. Certainly, we would love a bit more than that though!

The big project on the farm recently has been digging the sweet potatoes. We have just three rows (of 15) to go and that task will be complete for another year. The crop seems good and bountiful, which is such a blessing. And nothing marks the arrival of fall for my family quite like that first baked sweet potato fresh out of the oven. Yum, yum!

The summer crops are winding down for sure. This week might very well be the last of the tomatoes so enjoy them while they last! Have a great week!

Saturday, September 27, 2014

2014 Season, weeks 19 and 20

September 13, 2014

This week's harvest:
Sweet Potato Greens
Greens Choice (between Mizuna, Red Russian Kale, Cut Lettuce, and Arugula)
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Assorted Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Patty Pan Squash
Sage

This week's farm news:

Well, friends, today wraps up this year's summer veggie share! I honestly can't believe it, though. I can't believe summer is fading and fall is upon us. This cooler weather is tantalizing and feels much more fall-like. In fact, during Friday's harvest was the first time since I don't know when that I didn't break a sweat while working! Most of our week this week was spent preparing the farm for our time away. I think it's impossible, with all that we are doing, to ever feel fully prepared to leave for vacation. But, we're leaving the farm in Jesse & Hannah's very competent hands, so that feels good...

We really want to shout out a great-big-gigantic-heartfelt thank you to all of you for taking part in this year's summer CSA. Many blessings to you all!

And if you're getting a fall share, we'll see you Oct. 4!

Sunday, September 7, 2014

2014 Season, week 18

September 6, 2014

This week's harvest:
Arugula
"Patty Pan" Summer Squash
Garlic
Onions
Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Potatoes
and a few Melons for those that have still missed out...

This week's farm news:

Can you believe it's September already? I can't! These months are passing so quickly!

On the farm this week we squeezed a little bit more fall planting in, in between rounds of rain. We yanked out the eggplant (which had completely petered out) and re-vamped those beds for Chinese cabbage, kale, and arugula. We also yanked out broom corn and zinnias (which the sheep destroyed!) to plant some carrots and daikon. We are working on preparing the garlic beds for this year's planting that will be in just a few weeks when we return from our trip to the beach. On that note, I hope y'all got the email about next Saturday: We hope to double your shares next week (combining weeks 19 & 20) so that while we are away Jesse and Hannah won't have to do a CSA delivery in addition to everything else they'll be doing for us!

2014 Season, week 17

August 30, 2014

This week's harvest:
"Patty Pan" Summer Squash
Onions
Garlic
Parsley
Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers
Various Hot Peppers
Potatoes
Eggplant
Melons - for those small shares that missed out last week...

This week's farm news:

Eric and I spent a fair bit of time on the road this week. We drove to Virginia (yes, Virginia!) to pick up a new bull. It's kind of a crazy thing to do - hauling a 2,000 pound animal in a trailer through the mountains! But, it was also my birthday, so Eric thought it would make a fun birthday road trip. We made a few stops along the way, Monticello being one, but once we got that bull loaded, we pointed the truck west and headed directly to the farm. It was about 10 1/2 hours of driving with a mere 5-minute re-fueling stop. That was a long day. But we made it and we were so relieved with the new bull, Goldie, was able to set his feet firmly on the farm! Crazy, fun times!!

Sunday, August 24, 2014

2014 Season, week 16

August 23, 2014

This week's harvest:
Assorted Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers
Mild Peppers
Hot Peppers!
Sweet Potato Greens
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Choice of: Yellow Sweet Peppers, Eggplant, Patty Pan Squash
Mixed Melons - some small shares this week - see news

This week's farm news:

Well, y'all, we apologize but our melon crop is pretty sporadic this year. It's a gorgeous patch and was tended meticulously, but the melons are ripening in fits and spurts. We don't quite know why, but it's one of those humbling farming moments where we feel like we did everything perfectly just to be left pining for a bountiful harvest... So we're left to dole them out over the weeks! But we'll do our best to make sure everybody gets some - precious treat that they are. We hope you understand...

Otherwise, this week we had ample rain. Those drought worries are fading from our memory now, thank heavens! I spent lots of time with our milk cow, Lilly, trying my best to become a better milker and we started some more trays of fall crops this week. All in all, another busy week on the farm!

Sunday, August 10, 2014

2014 Season, week 14

August 9, 2014

This week's harvest:
"Halona" Muskmelons
Tomatoes & Cherry Tomatoes
Sweet Red & Yellow Peppers
Hot Peppers
Garlic
Onions
Potatoes

This week's farm news:

Thank heavens, we had some rain this week! Not quite an inch, but we'll take that without complaint! At this point any amount is a blessing. On Thursday, when our chance for rain was the greatest, we got busy planting fall greens. We had been putting it off because conditions were so dry but we figured it was now or never - as it's getting late in the season for planting. We feel pretty good about what we planted: kale, lettuce, arugula, mizuna, turnips, red mustard, etc. It feel super to have some seeds in the ground and to have them get rained on shortly after planting! Once we see how things germinate, we will have a better idea of what we can offer for our fall share, so stay tuned! Also this week Eric planted our entire one-acre spring garden to a cover/forage crop. It was a huge job!

Sunday, August 3, 2014

2014 Season, week 13

August 2, 2014

This week's harvest:
Tomatoes - all colors, shapes, & sizes!
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Melons - choose between musk- or water- melons
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Basil
Choose between: Eggplant or Zucchini
And a Zinnia Flower

This week's farm news:

Well folks, it's getting pretty dry around these parts! Fortunately, lots of our crops are mulched heavily, so there is still good soil moisture down under the hay. The eggplant, which are not mulched, are suffering, though, and we are seeing some pumpkin plants that look pretty wilty in the heat of the day. A good rain would sure be nice. At least the daytime temperatures are cooler. And we even matched one record nighttime low this week! Until we get some rain, direct-seeding of fall crops into the garden is on hold. We made a big potting mix this week so we will be starting a bunch of seeds in the coming days in soil blocks. We've got to get those fall greens going one way or another!

2014 Season, week 12

July 26, 2014

This week's harvest:
Tomatoes
Carrots
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Basil
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Choose between: Eggplant, Sweet Corn, and Zucchini
And a Zinnia Flower to make you smile!

This week's farm news:

It was awfully quiet around the farm this week as all three children were in Nashville the entire week! They spent their time with a dear friend and her family and I'm pretty sure they had a blast! You would think that Eric and I might have just spent our quiet time staring at the walls... But the show must go on, right? So we finished up the year's potato harvest. We estimate about 3,500 lbs were dug and are now stored in the barn and cellar. We hope you love potatoes as much as we do!!

We spent lots of time this week on animal chores as we needed to corral and wrangle some sheep that were headed to a sheep sale in Bowling Green. After we dropped off the sheep Eric and I actually snuck in a little date and went out for pizza... A rare treat for us!

Sunday, July 13, 2014

2014 Season, week 10

July 12, 2014

This week's harvest:
Sweet Corn!
Potatoes
Sweet Red Peppers
Hot Peppers
Onions
Basil
Eggplant
Carrots
Beets
Zucchini
Garlic
Yellow Crookneck Squash

This week's farm news:

The week was fairly hot & dry. We are starting to really need a good soaking rain. We had just a few sprinkles earlier in the week which didn't amount to anything more than a morning dew... And when the temperatures reach the nineties, moisture dissipates quickly!

We harvested our onion crop this week. Several thousand bulbs are now drying on racks in our greenhouse. Yum! Caramelized onions are one of my favorites!

We also dug a few potatoes to see how they look so that will be the big project for next week.

We set out transplants and direct-seeded our winter squash and pumpkins this week as well. So keep your fingers crossed for some rain in Bugtussle!

Saturday, July 5, 2014

2014 Season, week 9

July 5, 2014

This week's harvest:
Cabbage (Savoy type)
Purple Cabbage - medium shares
Carrots
Beets
Green Beans
Yellow Crookneck Squash
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Basil
Garlic
Hot Peppers

This week's farm news:

Happy 4th of July weekend!

Sunday, June 29, 2014

2014 Season, week 8

June 28, 2014

This week's harvest:
Cabbage (Savoy type)
Lettuce - medium shares
Carrots
Beets
Green Beans
Yellow Crookneck Squash (and a few Zucchini)
Cucumbers
Basil
Tomatoes (just a few)
Garlic
Hot Peppers

This week's farm news:

We had a few very brief rain showers on the farm this week. Soil conditions are verging on the dry side at this point... Rain is in the forecast, though, and I can hear distant thunder, so I am hopeful.

Let's see... Otherwise on the farm we did lots of weeding, mowing down of spent crops, and more weeding! Jesse yanked out the pea trellises and Eric continued with his very cool mulching project: he sowed buckwheat heavily (as a cover crop) in between the rows of melons. Now that it is about 3'-4' tall, and the melons are ready to vine out, he is unrolling big bales of hay over the buckwheat so that the melons can vine. Talk about some serious soil building! So now let's hope for some awesome melons! The first planting is flowering prolifically now, so it won't be too long...

Sunday, June 22, 2014

2014 Season, week 7

June 21, 2014

This week's harvest:
Green Beans
(Fresh!) Garlic
"Yellow Crookneck" Squash
Carrots
Beets
Red "Cipollini" Onions
Cucumbers
Broccoli
Basil

This week's farm news:

Happy Solstice, friends! Summer is officially here! The weather this week was very summerlike, too, requiring lots of trips to the creek to cool off!

The big news this week is that we brought a new milk cow, her name is Lilly, onto the farm. She was an incredibly generous gift from some dear friends that have their hands full with several other milk cows, and they wanted Lilly to go to a good home and be well-tended and loved. We can do that! Lilly integrated with our other cows and all of our sheep with no problem. Now once she calves, which will be in just a few weeks, we'll be blessed with fresh milk. Holy cow! (Sorry - couldn't help it!)

We started pulling the garlic crop this week. So this week in your baskets you're getting the delicacy of very fresh, very juicy, amazing garlic. We hope you enjoy...

Sunday, June 15, 2014

2014 Season, week 6

June 14, 2014

This week's harvest:
"Yellow Crookneck" Squash
Carrots
Swiss Chard
Basil
Beets
Shelling Peas
Broccoli
Cilantro
Red Cipollini Onions *use like a green onion
Garlic Scapes - free choice

This week's farm news:

Lots more rain on the farm this week. And many days when it wasn't raining, the skies were gray and the days felt sleepy. Work in the gardens was limited because of the wet conditions, but there's always plenty of other tasks and the animal chores to keep us busy. We integrated our young pullets and goslings in with our laying flock, and so far that seems to be going smoothly. I was eager for them to be together so that two separate chores became one. It saves a little time each day now!

We also took a day trip to our dear friends' farm (Hill and Hollow Farm) for the first CRAFT (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training) event of the season. It's an opportunity for interns and young aspiring farmers to get to visit and tour farms in the region. We all had a great time and shared a fabulous meal topped off with hand-cranked ice cream. Ahh, summer! We'll host our own event in August. I met such wonderful folks that I look forward to the next gathering!

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

2014 Season, week 5

June 7, 2014

This week's harvest:
*Shelling* Peas
Carrots
Garlic Scapes
Swiss Chard
"Sweet Valentine" Lettuce
"Crookneck" Summer Squash
Basil
Cilantro
Kohlrabi
Salad Turnips - free choice

This week's farm news:

Well, another week has flown right on by! We had several more rain showers this week which kept the gardens moist and the crops growing. We did a bit more planting this week, too, seeding our second round of watermelons and muskmelons and re-seeding peanuts where the germination wasn't that great. (Or the voles had a party!) Eric put up a deer fence around our "lower" garden to protect the crops, particularly the sweet potatoes, from those voracious mouths.

We had some sweet friends come for a visit this week. We had not seen them for ten years, which is the last time that they had seen the farm as well. From their point of view, a lot had changed on the farm but a lot of things seemed familiar and unchanged. I'm glad for that. And I'm so thankful they made the trip here!

Thursday, June 5, 2014

2014 Season, week 4

May 31, 2014

This week's harvest:
"Bronze Arrowhead" Lettuce
"Bright Lights" Swiss Chard
"Red Russian" Kale
Garlic Scapes
Purple Kohlrabi
Cilantro
"Hakurei" Salad Turnips

This week's farm news:

We had regular rain on the farm this week... Little showers here and there to keep everything growing, growing, growing! Including the weeds. Oh my, the weeds! Eric spent a whole bunch of time on the tractor this week, cultivating the crops and keeping those weeds in check. We did a little more planting this week, setting out more lettuce and parsley, and seeding peanuts and parsnips.

With the warmer days, our trips to refresh ourselves in the creek became more frequent - a big clue that summer is upon us! The seasonal shift will be quite apparent in your baskets next week as well. You'll see the first of the summer squash, basil, and later spring crops - shelling peas, carrots, beets, and so on. Have a great week!

Monday, May 26, 2014

2014 Season, week 3

May 24, 2014

This week's harvest:
"Cracoviensis" Lettuce
Swiss Chard
"Red Russian" Kale
Garlic Scapes (Pigtails)
"French Breakfast" Radishes
Purple Kohlrabi
Cilantro

This week's farm news:

My goodness, it was a busy week! I hardly know where to begin! Early in the week, we did a bunch of cultivation work in the gardens. On Wednesday and Thursday, we planted... a lot! We set out all of our sweet & hot peppers and eggplant. We planted watermelons, muskmelons, zucchini, and tons of buckwheat seed. We planted ginger. And sweet potatoes. And my, oh my, did we ever plant sweet potatoes! Nearly 2,500 row feet (that's about 1/2 mile!) of our favorite crop! I think Eric and I could feel the approaching storms in our bones 'cause we were working in overdrive. And then it rained, leaving all those plants so happy!

Monday, May 19, 2014

2014 Season, week 2

May 17, 2014

This week's harvest:
Arugula
"Deer Tongue" Lettuce
"Green" Garlic
Walla Walla Green Onions
Spinach (and Swiss Chard for medium shares)
"French Breakfast" Radishes

This week's farm news:

We had several rainy days on the farm this week. The rain totaled about 4 inches and after all the rain the cooler temperatures made all of us on the farm feel chilly! The locals call this "Blackberry Winter" - the spring-time cold snap that coincides with the blooming of the blackberry blossoms. It felt a bit like winter, too, as I wore a wool hat all day during our harvest!

We have had almost 80 lambs born so far this spring and by the looks of some of the ewes - wider than they are tall - we should still have more lambs on the way! It's a sight to see!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

This Saturday - veggies!!!

Hello friends,

We hope the holiday season has been a pleasant one, and that you are all merry and bright!!! And in need of some Bugtussle veggies! We are planning to bring a load of veggies to Nashville this Saturday (January 4th). We will be at the indoor market (the "Love" building, 4611 Alambama Ave.) from 10 am - 12 pm. I know that is a short window of time, but we hope you will swing by for a visit! We would love to see you!

We will be bringing sweet potatoes, potatoes, butternut squash, and maybe a few bags of kale. We will sell the produce by the pound/item, instead of by the basket. All of these items are excellent keepers, so consider stocking up! We may not make it back to Nashville for awhile!

We look forward to seeing you,

Cher and Eric