September 3, 2011
This week's harvest:
Potatoes
Tomatoes & Cherry Tomatoes
Sweet & Hot Peppers
Garlic
Basil
Eggplant
Okra
Arugula
Onions
This week's farm news:
Ohhhh... It's so dry here! And so hot, too. Not a good combination when we're already so far behind on the season's rainfall! Lots of our summer crops are shutting down - mostly the peppers and eggplant. (For this reason, this week your eggplant is hard and should be roasted and then scooped out of the skin, which we suspect might be bitter.) Even though your farmers' instinct right now is to also "shut down," we've got to keep rolling along as if all is normal... We've got to get the remainder of the fall crops in the ground, assess what's still alive and re-plant where necessary, and get empty fields sown to cover crops. There is such a good chance for rain this weekend, and next week so much cooler that this could prove to be our last planting frenzy for the season! Who knows, it could start raining and not stop until December! Ultimately, we've got to sieze the opportunities where we can, take a deep breath, and hope for the best!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
2011 Season, Week 17
August 27, 2011
This week's harvest:
Arugula
Tomatoes & Cherry Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Eggplant
Potatoes
Garlic
Basil
Okra
This week's farm news:
There was a good chance of rain last weekend, so when we got home from market last Saturday, we set out a bunch of fall transplants and sowed another row of arugula. It's always a bit of a gamble setting transplants this time of year, since rain can be so spotty. Well, on this occasion, we gambled and won! We had a really nice rain shower on Sunday morning that settled in the transplants. The arugula was germinating in just a few days! Later in the week, however, when there was another decent call for rain, Hannah and Jesse set out some more transplants and this time we weren't so lucky. The rain never came and was instead very hot and dry! So, unless it rains again really soon, we are going to need to water-in the transplants ourselves. Oh well, you can't win them all!
The Smith family took a little excursion off the farm for a day to celebrate Cher's birthday. We went to Mammoth Cave and took a couple of tours and camped overnight. The cave was awesome (I've not been there before) and also very educational for our home-schooled kiddos. When we got home, Eric and crew jumped right into butternut harvest.
This week's harvest:
Arugula
Tomatoes & Cherry Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Eggplant
Potatoes
Garlic
Basil
Okra
This week's farm news:
There was a good chance of rain last weekend, so when we got home from market last Saturday, we set out a bunch of fall transplants and sowed another row of arugula. It's always a bit of a gamble setting transplants this time of year, since rain can be so spotty. Well, on this occasion, we gambled and won! We had a really nice rain shower on Sunday morning that settled in the transplants. The arugula was germinating in just a few days! Later in the week, however, when there was another decent call for rain, Hannah and Jesse set out some more transplants and this time we weren't so lucky. The rain never came and was instead very hot and dry! So, unless it rains again really soon, we are going to need to water-in the transplants ourselves. Oh well, you can't win them all!
The Smith family took a little excursion off the farm for a day to celebrate Cher's birthday. We went to Mammoth Cave and took a couple of tours and camped overnight. The cave was awesome (I've not been there before) and also very educational for our home-schooled kiddos. When we got home, Eric and crew jumped right into butternut harvest.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
2011 Season, Week 16
August 20, 2011
This week's harvest:
Sweet Peppers
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Hot Peppers
Garlic
Basil
"Drought" Cilantro
Watermelons - medium shares
Okra
Cucumbers &/or Yellow Squash - small shares
Eggplant
This week's farm news:
We are pushing 40 days without a real rain. We've only had about 3/10" total rainfall since July 12, our last rain event. We've longingly watched storms pass by the farm in all directions, leaving us all the more thirsty for rain. Storms have missed us so many times that Eric is convinced that "They are not just missing us, they are avoiding us!" There are moments of feeling a little desperate and grumpy, especially when seeing garden plants wilty and suffering, but we know in our bones that, yes, sometime again it will rain. Who knows maybe even today? (Trying hard to be hopeful!) The term "isolated thunderstorms" really has a whole new meaning for me now when in Nashville, just 70 miles away (and even in places a lot closer than that) rain has been plentiful!
Well, would you believe it? Just after writing this letter into Bugtussle rolls the thunder, lightening, and rain. Ahhhh! Yes, rain!
This week's harvest:
Sweet Peppers
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Hot Peppers
Garlic
Basil
"Drought" Cilantro
Watermelons - medium shares
Okra
Cucumbers &/or Yellow Squash - small shares
Eggplant
This week's farm news:
We are pushing 40 days without a real rain. We've only had about 3/10" total rainfall since July 12, our last rain event. We've longingly watched storms pass by the farm in all directions, leaving us all the more thirsty for rain. Storms have missed us so many times that Eric is convinced that "They are not just missing us, they are avoiding us!" There are moments of feeling a little desperate and grumpy, especially when seeing garden plants wilty and suffering, but we know in our bones that, yes, sometime again it will rain. Who knows maybe even today? (Trying hard to be hopeful!) The term "isolated thunderstorms" really has a whole new meaning for me now when in Nashville, just 70 miles away (and even in places a lot closer than that) rain has been plentiful!
Well, would you believe it? Just after writing this letter into Bugtussle rolls the thunder, lightening, and rain. Ahhhh! Yes, rain!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
2011 Season, Week 15
August 13, 2011
This week's harvest:
Tomatoes and Cherry Tomatoes
Sweet Corn
Eggplant
Sweet and Hot Peppers
Potatoes
Garlic
Basil
Melons - "Sorbet Swirl"
Lettuce - medium shares only
Choose between Cucumbers, Okra, & Squash
This week's farm news:
First off, we celebrated Farmer Eric's big birthday #40 this week. The Smith family took a couple of days off from life on the farm to do some things we seldom ever do... Like going out to dinner, staying in a hotel (with a pool of course), and taking the kiddos to nearby "Dinosaur World". It was a nice, much needed family getaway. Big thanks to our superhero interns, Jesse & Hannah, for taking care of the farm while we were gone!
Next, we'd like to announce this year's fall share. It will be an eight-week season beginning Saturday, September 24 and ending Saturday, November 12. The price will be $175/small shares, $275/medium shares, and $375 for the "new" family-sized share (which is the equivalent of a small share plus a medium share.) We aren't absolutely certain about all the vegetables it will include yet, as they are still germinating in the field and in the shade house, but your baskets will be bountiful nonetheless! We do know that we'll have lots of sweet potatoes and winter squash (these are our family's winter staples, so we grow lots!) We'll begin our fall share sign-up next Saturday! We truly hope you'll join us for the extended season!
This week's harvest:
Tomatoes and Cherry Tomatoes
Sweet Corn
Eggplant
Sweet and Hot Peppers
Potatoes
Garlic
Basil
Melons - "Sorbet Swirl"
Lettuce - medium shares only
Choose between Cucumbers, Okra, & Squash
This week's farm news:
First off, we celebrated Farmer Eric's big birthday #40 this week. The Smith family took a couple of days off from life on the farm to do some things we seldom ever do... Like going out to dinner, staying in a hotel (with a pool of course), and taking the kiddos to nearby "Dinosaur World". It was a nice, much needed family getaway. Big thanks to our superhero interns, Jesse & Hannah, for taking care of the farm while we were gone!
Next, we'd like to announce this year's fall share. It will be an eight-week season beginning Saturday, September 24 and ending Saturday, November 12. The price will be $175/small shares, $275/medium shares, and $375 for the "new" family-sized share (which is the equivalent of a small share plus a medium share.) We aren't absolutely certain about all the vegetables it will include yet, as they are still germinating in the field and in the shade house, but your baskets will be bountiful nonetheless! We do know that we'll have lots of sweet potatoes and winter squash (these are our family's winter staples, so we grow lots!) We'll begin our fall share sign-up next Saturday! We truly hope you'll join us for the extended season!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
2011 Season, Week 14
August 6, 2011
This week's harvest:
Sweet Corn
Tomatoes & Cherry Tomatoes
Melons - assorted
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Onions
Garlic
Eggplant
Basil
Red Potatoes
Cucumbers
Dill
Choose between: Okra, Summer Squash, Zucchini
This week's farm news:
First of all, we would love to thank all of you that made it to the farm for the swimming party and potluck! What a success! We love sharing this beautiful farm with you and love when y'all get even more connected with where your food is coming from. Thank you, thank you!
It was another intensely hot week. We had about 1/10" of rain last Saturday but otherwise all of the storms keep creeping right past us. All of the fall crops that Eric sowed this week - carrots, beets, salad turnips, kale & Tuscan kale - could sure use a good rain to get them off to a good start!
We had another calf born this week. It's another heifer, too! That makes 4 out of 4 girls! Remarkable! The mama cow is doing a great job but her udder was really distended (too full of milk) so the calf was having a hard time nursing. Eric has been giving the calf our home-made electrolytes as a preventative since it's been so blasted hot, but also needs to make sure the calf is able to nurse... So in between trying to milk the cow's very sore udder and holding the calf up to its mama to nurse he got a swift kick in the leg! Ouch!
This week's harvest:
Sweet Corn
Tomatoes & Cherry Tomatoes
Melons - assorted
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Onions
Garlic
Eggplant
Basil
Red Potatoes
Cucumbers
Dill
Choose between: Okra, Summer Squash, Zucchini
This week's farm news:
First of all, we would love to thank all of you that made it to the farm for the swimming party and potluck! What a success! We love sharing this beautiful farm with you and love when y'all get even more connected with where your food is coming from. Thank you, thank you!
It was another intensely hot week. We had about 1/10" of rain last Saturday but otherwise all of the storms keep creeping right past us. All of the fall crops that Eric sowed this week - carrots, beets, salad turnips, kale & Tuscan kale - could sure use a good rain to get them off to a good start!
We had another calf born this week. It's another heifer, too! That makes 4 out of 4 girls! Remarkable! The mama cow is doing a great job but her udder was really distended (too full of milk) so the calf was having a hard time nursing. Eric has been giving the calf our home-made electrolytes as a preventative since it's been so blasted hot, but also needs to make sure the calf is able to nurse... So in between trying to milk the cow's very sore udder and holding the calf up to its mama to nurse he got a swift kick in the leg! Ouch!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
2011 Season, Week 13
July 30, 2011
This week's harvest:
Melons!!!
* Watermelons - "Peace"
* Muskmelons - "Halona"
Sweet Corn
Tomatoes & Cherry Tomatoes
Onions
Garlic
Basil
Cucumbers
Yellow Squash
Peppers - Hot
Choose between Sweet Peppers, Okra, & Eggplant
This week's farm news:
**DON'T FORGET**
Tomorrow, July 31, picnic and swimming at the farm. Come around 2pm.
Directions here.
Please join us!!!
The heat this week was unrelenting. We didn't have any rain either, so the gardens are getting dry. Eric prepared some more ground for fall crops and planted some cover crop seeds. Other than that and keeping up with all of the harvesting and chores, not a whole lot was accomplished in the garden this week! We sometimes get nervous about investing in a bunch of planting with no real prospects of rain in the forecast. But that's summertime for you! When the sky turns dark and there's thunder around you can just about bet we'll be putting seeds in the ground! This week we did begin our annual tomato canning project. So far we've canned about 35 quarts. I normally like to put up at least 100 quarts for our winter stash, so we're off to a good start!
This week's harvest:
Melons!!!
* Watermelons - "Peace"
* Muskmelons - "Halona"
Sweet Corn
Tomatoes & Cherry Tomatoes
Onions
Garlic
Basil
Cucumbers
Yellow Squash
Peppers - Hot
Choose between Sweet Peppers, Okra, & Eggplant
This week's farm news:
**DON'T FORGET**
Tomorrow, July 31, picnic and swimming at the farm. Come around 2pm.
Directions here.
Please join us!!!
The heat this week was unrelenting. We didn't have any rain either, so the gardens are getting dry. Eric prepared some more ground for fall crops and planted some cover crop seeds. Other than that and keeping up with all of the harvesting and chores, not a whole lot was accomplished in the garden this week! We sometimes get nervous about investing in a bunch of planting with no real prospects of rain in the forecast. But that's summertime for you! When the sky turns dark and there's thunder around you can just about bet we'll be putting seeds in the ground! This week we did begin our annual tomato canning project. So far we've canned about 35 quarts. I normally like to put up at least 100 quarts for our winter stash, so we're off to a good start!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
2011 Season, Week 12
July 23, 2011
This week's harvest:
Tomatoes & Cherry Tomatoes
Green & Yellow Beans
Basil
Lettuce
Yellow Squash
Cucumbers
Garlic
Onions
Zucchini and/or Red Peppers
Hot Peppers
Eggplant - small shares
Assorted Melons - medium shares
Potatoes
This week's farm news:
First of all, we would like to invite all of you up to the farm for our annual swimming party and potluck picnic. It will be next Sunday, July 31. Come around two or so... Don't fret if you are running "late", just come when you can. Bring a potluck dish to share and we'll spend the day swimming at the creek and enjoying this beautiful farm. Please join us! Directions can be found on our website.
On Wednesday we hosted a bunch of folks (we never did an exact head count but we think there were at least 60 in attendence) from farms around the region for our annual "C-R-A-F-T" (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training) event. Even though it was an extremely hot day, everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy seeing what Bugtussle Farm is all about! The title of our event was "Attempting the Impossible: Creating a Farm, Family, and Future with no off-farm income while paying for the land." This pretty much sums it all up!!!
This week's harvest:
Tomatoes & Cherry Tomatoes
Green & Yellow Beans
Basil
Lettuce
Yellow Squash
Cucumbers
Garlic
Onions
Zucchini and/or Red Peppers
Hot Peppers
Eggplant - small shares
Assorted Melons - medium shares
Potatoes
This week's farm news:
First of all, we would like to invite all of you up to the farm for our annual swimming party and potluck picnic. It will be next Sunday, July 31. Come around two or so... Don't fret if you are running "late", just come when you can. Bring a potluck dish to share and we'll spend the day swimming at the creek and enjoying this beautiful farm. Please join us! Directions can be found on our website.
On Wednesday we hosted a bunch of folks (we never did an exact head count but we think there were at least 60 in attendence) from farms around the region for our annual "C-R-A-F-T" (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training) event. Even though it was an extremely hot day, everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy seeing what Bugtussle Farm is all about! The title of our event was "Attempting the Impossible: Creating a Farm, Family, and Future with no off-farm income while paying for the land." This pretty much sums it all up!!!
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