Early May activity in the fields and farm stand

We planted 10 beds of potatoes last week! To get it all done in one day we used a tractor to make furrows and then we dropped a seed potato every foot. After laying out drip tape we used the hilling discs on the tractor to cover them all up again. Dave, our new Assistant Grower, started work just in time to help us plant all the potatoes before the rain began! Dave is an avid gardener and is trying out farming for the first time. He and Shaun are now on the farm full time for the season.

It is important to have a full farm crew in May as work really start to pick up! This time of year, each day starts with the asparagus harvest. When we meet up at 7am we head out to the asparagus field with knives and 5 gallon buckets. We each walk along a row, cutting any spear that looks tall enough. We walk quickly because after the harvest and washing is done it is time to prepare for the many crops to come next month and beyond! Last week we began setting up our deer fencing, installed some new herb beds by the farm stand, worked on securing row covers all over the farm, and continued seeding in the greenhouse and directly in the field. We also did plenty of transplanting and weeding this past week. In addition to potatoes we planted lettuce, bok choy, scallions, chard and lettuce. We also started our weed control campaign by using our basket weeder on the carrots and beets. We use a combination of tractor cultivation and hand weeding to make sure that each crop can out-compete the weeds for nutrients, space, and light. This week we will be carefully weeding and thinning the carrots and beets by hand to ensure a good harvest in June!

In the farm store this week we will continue to have asparagus, microgreens, and mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm. We will also have our own basil and parsley plants.  We hope to have field greens including arugula and red Russian kale by the end of the week. 

2017 farm store hours continue this week: 

• Tuesday/Thursday 11am-6pm
• Wednesday/Friday 2pm-6pm
• Saturday 10am-3pm

Shaun using the Farmall 140 hilling discs to cover our potatoes (and drip irrigation). 

The farm stand is open and certified organic!

We've got an exciting new sign (painted by Lise's dad of course) out in front of our stand! After 3 years of farming the land organically, we are now officially certified organic! Our newly leased land across the street is still transitional but most crops are grown on our main fields so unless otherwise noted all vegetables in the farm store and CSA are certified organic. 

We've been enjoying a pretty robust asparagus harvest for the past several days, which means the farm stand will be open this week for our regular 2017 hours:

• Tuesday & Thursday 11am - 6pm
• Wednesday & Friday 2 - 6pm
• Saturday 10am - 3pm

In addition to asparagus, we'll have our own basil plants, as well as mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm in Westford. By the end of the week we should also have our own micro greens and eggs from Pete and Jen's Backyard Birds. Also coming soon are arugula, red Russian kale, and a second planting of pea shoots.

The farm stand will continue to be self-serve this week, so exact change, check or Barrett's Bucks are accepted. If you are using Barrett's Bucks, we have cards for you to fill out for totaling your purchase. Just drop your filled-in card in the payment slot and we will debit your purchases in our record book.  If you have a question about your balance, don't hesitate to send us an email.

Asparagus starting at 2pm Friday April 28th!

Asparagus season is early this year! We will be open for self-serve on Friday April 28th and Saturday April 29th for the first time this season.  In addition to asparagus we will be selling basil plants, Fat Moon Farm mushrooms (both shiitake and oyster), as well as a limited number of bags of pea tendrils. With the variable temperatures we will have a variable asparagus harvest but we will try to keep you updated about our hours and availability. Each week as the weather warms we should have more asparagus as well as additional vegetables (salad greens are almost ready!) available for sale. 

We will be open for self-serve purchases at the farm stand

Friday 2pm-6pm & Saturday 10am-3pm

Please pay with exact change, check, or Barrett's Bucks.

 

The growing season has begun!

The 2017 growing season has officially begun! Strawberry plants are uncovered, the garlic is now poking up well above the mulch, and the first beet, carrot and spinach seeds have germinated in the fields.  The warm, relatively dry (but not too dry) weather last week was great for seeding peas and greens in the field, unloading supply deliveries, and cleaning up around the farm. We also kept up with the greenhouse schedule which included seeding lettuce, peppers, and tomatoes. The greenhouse and cold frames are bursting with plants ready to go in the ground so we continued to plow, disk, fertilize, and form beds to keep up with our planting schedule. This week it's time to plant our first transplants: leeks, onions, cabbage, and chard. 

To get everything done we need both people and tractor implements! Our new chisel plow is great for plowing efficiently and turning in cover crop while keeping more of our soil structure intact than our moldboard plow.  After plowing we will disk in remaining debris, lay fertilizer, and then prepare 5 foot wide beds with either the rototiller or the perfecta.  With almost 20 beds to plant this week it's a good thing we have more hands on the farm! Last week Rebecca returned for her second season on the farm and Shaun just joined us after farming in Maine. We are very happy for the field and greenhouse help, and the company of course!  

Plowing the fields with our new chisel plow! 

Open (Green)House this Saturday April 8, 10am-noon

In spite of the slow and chilly start to spring, our greenhouse is warm and filling up fast with young green plants. Come by the farm this Saturday, April 8th between 10am and noon to check out the seedlings and tour the new greenhouse we built during the 2016 season! You can taste test some of our micro greens and seed a plant to take home. We'll also be raffling off a 2-week trial CSA membership.

The early season sign-up discounts for the CSA, as well as early season bonuses for Barrett's Bucks are available until April 15th. If you have questions about either, feel free to contact Melissa or Lise, or just stop by the Open Greenhouse on Saturday and we'd be happy to chat!