Tulips, spinach, mushrooms and more!

What a difference a week makes! Last Friday our tulips were buried in snow and this week the first varieties are ready for harvest! Orders will be open this afternoon (Thursday April 22nd) at 2pm for pick-up tomorrow, Friday April 23, 2pm-4pm, and 4pm-6pm. In addition to tulips we will have the last sale of kale and spinach from our high tunnel, the first of our daffodils, mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm, and jam and vinegar from Silferleaf Farm. Orders will be open until 6am Friday morning. The link for the online store is: https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. First select your pick-up time (Friday 2pm-4pm or 4pm-6pm) and then the items available will appear on the page. All payments must be made by credit card, as we are not yet accepting Barrett’s Bucks as payment. Barrett’s Bucks members will be able to begin using their credit when we open regularly in May. Depending on the weather (looks windy!) pick up will either by on the farm stand porch or just inside the open double doors. Please wear a mask.

Available for pre-order starting at 2pm Thursday for pick-up Friday April 23rd 2021:

• Orange Princess Tulips - Flame orange double bloom “peony type” tulips

• Aafke Tulips - Lilac rose with petal edges that gradually fade to pale pink.

• Candy Princess daffodils - White with a peach center.

• “Kalebration” Mix - A mix of red and green kales. Not baby sized anymore so best lightly cooked but still tender enough to eat raw. Sold in half pound bags.

• Spinach - From our high tunnel. Sold in half pound bags.

• Mushrooms - From Fat Moon Farm in Westford, MA (https://fatmoonmushrooms.com) - Mixed 8oz bags.

• Raspberry Jam - From Silferleaf Farm Concord, MA

• Raspberry Vinegar - From Silferleaf Farm in Concord, MA (5oz bottle, smaller than previous bottles).

Our tulips last Friday in the snow!

Kale mix, Spinach and Mushrooms available to order for Friday pick-up

We will have another harvest of spinach and kale mix for this Friday! We will also have mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm in Westford, MA available. Orders will open online starting at 2pm today, Thursday April 15th for pre-order for pick-up tomorrow, Friday April 16, 2pm-4pm, and 4pm-6pm. Orders will be open until 6am Friday morning. The link for the online store is: https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. First select your pick-up time (Friday 2pm-4pm or 4pm-6pm) and then the items available will appear on the page. All payments must be made by credit card, as we are not yet accepting Barrett’s Bucks as payment. Barrett’s Bucks members will be able to begin using their credit when we open regularly in May. Pick-up will be on the porch of the farm stand. Please wear a mask

Available for pre-order starting at 2pm Thursday for pick-up Friday April 16th, 2021:

• “Kalebration” Mix - A mix of red and green kales. Not baby sized anymore so best lightly cooked but still tender enough to eat raw. Sold in half pound bags.

• Spinach - From our high tunnel. Sold in half pound bags.

• Mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm in Westford, MA (https://fatmoonmushrooms.com) - Mixed 8oz bags.

Greens, Spinach, and Mushrooms available to order for Friday pick-up

We have been busy planting and seeding in the greenhouse, high tunnels and fields this week to keep up with our crop plans. Fortunately our Assistant Growers Sarah and Dahlia are here to help daily now! Greens and spinach are still looking good in our high tunnels so we will have another harvest this Friday morning. We will also have mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm in Westford, MA available. Orders will open online starting at 2pm today, Thursday April 8th for pre-order for pick-up tomorrow, Friday April 9, 2pm-4pm, and 4:30-6pm. Orders will be open until 6am Friday morning. The link for the online store is: https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. First select your pick-up time (Friday 2pm-4pm or 4:30pm-6pm) and then the items available will appear on the page. All payments must be made by credit card, we are not yet accepting Barrett’s Bucks as payment. Barrett’s Bucks members will be able to begin using their credit when we open regularly in May. Pick-up will be on the porch of the farm stand - please wear a mask. Welcome back to the farm!

Available for pre-order starting at 2pm Thursday for pick-up Friday April 9th, 2021:

• Mixed Greens - Arugula, spinach, and baby kale from our high tunnel. Sold in half pound bags. This is likely the last sale of this mix.

• Spinach - From our high tunnel. Sold in half pound bags. We will likely continue to have spinach for sale in the coming weeks.

• Mushrooms! From Fat Moon Farm in Westford, MA (https://fatmoonmushrooms.com) - Mixed 8oz bags.

• Double B Honey - From hives on the property. 2lb jars.

Greens available to order today for Friday pick-up!

Spring greens are here! Warm sunny days last week meant a lot of growth for the arugula and spinach in our high tunnels so we have an unexpected crop of early greens ready for harvest! Greens and beets will be available on our online store starting at 2pm today, Thursday April 1st for pre-order for pick-up tomorrow, Friday April 2, 2pm-6pm. Ordering will remain open until Friday at 6am. The link for the online store is: https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. First select your pick-up time (Friday 2pm-4pm or 4pm-6pm) and then the items available will appear on the page. All payments must be made by credit card, as we are not yet set up to take Barrett’s Bucks orders (Barrett’s Bucks members will be able to begin using their credit when we open in May). Pick-up will be on the porch of the farm stand. Please wear a mask.

Available for pre-order starting at 2pm today for pick-up Friday April 2, 2021

• Arugula - From our high tunnel! Sold in half pound bags.

• Spinach (regular green spinach, as well as a new “Red Snapper” variety!), baby kale, arugula mix - From our high tunnel! All baby sized for salad. Sold in half pound bags.

• Beets - From our storage crop, no tops. Sold in 5lb bags.

• Honey - Double B honey from hives on the property. 2lb jars.

• Raspberry Vinegar - From Silferleaf Farm just down the road from us!

We will be open regularly starting in early May when the tulip, daffodil and asparagus harvests begin! At that time we will have more high tunnel greens, microgreens, and the first seedlings available! By June we will be up and running with a staffed farm store and CSA beginning June 8th! While the CSA is sold out we do still have a few Barrett’s Bucks memberships available. Those that sign up before April 15th will receive a bonus credit added to their account (details available here: http://www.barrettsmillfarm.com/barretts-bucks).

Next up - field crops! This field is being prepped for seeding the first outdoor carrots and beets.

April 15th Barrett's Bucks deadline and CSA balances due

We can’t wait to have you all back on the farm again soon! The farm store opening day will be in early May and the CSA will begin June 8th! CSA member balances are due April 15th, however please contact us if you need to set up an alternative payment plan. While our CSA is sold out for the season, we do have some Barrett’s Bucks memberships available and those purchased before April 15th (minimum $250) will receive a bonus credit added to their account. Details about Barrett’s Bucks memberships and payment options are available here: http://www.barrettsmillfarm.com/barretts-bucks. As always, the farm store will be open to the public so no membership is needed to shop online or in person. The first crops of the season are two of our favorites, asparagus and tulips! We are also hoping for a strong spring high tunnel harvest of spinach and carrots to carry us through to the start of field crops in late May/early June.

With less than two months to go before opening day we are ready for the official transition to spring next week! Siobhan, our new crew member and Greenhouse Waterer has been diligently hauling buckets of water to the greenhouse to water our growing leeks, fennel and onions. The small greenhouse is almost full, so by the end of the week we will be clearing tractors and supplies out of our second greenhouse to make room for trays of newly seeded fennel, kohlrabi, cabbage, stock flowers, and high tunnel peppers, as well as ginger that arrived from Hawaii last week! Fortunately for us Sarah began her third season with us last week when she returned to the farm to help seed, organize and generally keep up with our March to-do list!

In between outdoor projects this week we are finishing up winter office duties, as well as devoting significant time and energy to progress on our grant funded projects that must be completed by their deadlines this spring. Due to our lease arrangement with the Town of Concord, this was the last year we were eligible for MA Department of Agriculture grants (our current lease ends in 2024 although we do hope to be awarded another at that time!) so we applied for and received two different grants. One of the two major projects is automation of ventilation in our greenhouses and two high tunnels. The high tunnel project is particularly exciting as the controls and low voltage motors will be powered by small solar panels! The other grant funded project addresses food safety challenges on the farm by helping us purchase an enclosed shed for our harvest buckets and additional food-safe storage bins for produce. We are looking forward to having these farm improvements in place for the coming season (our 8th on the property!) and beyond!