Late Summer pickings at Village Farm

This is HB carrying four FULL boxes (of something light, I hope!!) to the walk-in cooler!!

This week's harvest:
Bok choi, watermelon, musk melon, onions, a rainbow of cherry tomatoes, red and golden beets, salad turnips, spinach, thyme and sage bundles, and Abundant shares got parsley, too and maybe chard as well.

A Belfast member told me this morning that she made a leek and white salad turnip soup that was scrumptious. I looked online searching for "salad turnip recipes" and found this recipe on cooks.com and this one on epicurious.com, my favorite recipe extravaganza. And, I know what we are having for lunch tomorrow!

This is week 13 with at least 5 more to go. . .and still coming: shallots, more leeks, winter squash galore, pumpkins, celeriac (celery root), celery, and other things you have already seen many times like carrots, beets, onions, garlic and the season's last flower bouquets.



2010 will go down in our book as the Year of the Melon. Wow. Seeds started in our greenhouse back in May grew to lovely seedlings, which were planted out into black plastic mulch, watered in, covered with remay row cover (protects them from bugs and adds a bit of warmth) and then left to grow and grow. They received rain water at just the perfect times, were uncovered at flower, saw many a honey bee and they set fruit. The fruit grew and swelled and were checked and prodded many a time before deemed "ripe." I couldn't tell you at this point how many thousands of pounds of melons we picked and gave out to our CSA members and sold to our wholesale accounts but it seemed like many thousands of pounds. But I am known to exaggerate, so if I ever figure it out, I will let you know.
If you missed the email where I sent out the Melon Salsa Recipe, here it is again.

Melon Salsa by Alex Fischer, 2010 Village Farm Intern
Chop and combine the following ingredients in a bowl and let chill in the fridge for 20 minutes. Enjoy!
1 musk melon (cantaloupe)
3 medium sized tomatoes
3 red onions
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
juice from 1/2 a lemon
1-2 TBS salt

I haven't made it with a watermelon but I am betting it would also be delicious with watermelon replacing the musk melon.

Over Labor Day weekend, we had the pleasure of having 12 Colby College students here for a few nights and days. An amazing number ( I count 7 in this picture) of them rose at the crack of dawn to bring in and milk Lucy, the dairy cow with Prentice and they didn't even go back to bed after that! That weekend was Hurricane Earl and all, so they pitched their tents in the greenhouse (of course) and everyone stayed dry. We had a grand time, working, cooking, eating and gaming with these 12 fine individuals and we are so grateful for their wonderful help harvesting all the onions, which are now curing in the greenhouse, cleaning garlic, weeding fall brassicas, erecting the walls of the new intern cabin, nicknamed, "the cube," and harvesting and freezing corn. Thank you Colby incoming students and their leaders!!! Come visit soon!

Unity College students have also been out to the farm in the past few weeks. We always enjoy this time with the next generation and we hope they get a good taste of what a small organic farm can look and feel like. Some work is usually accomplished, too. Great deal.

A few years ago, a neighbor gave us this truck. It is a Community Supported truck. If you ever need a truck to move things or borrow for some project, think of Brownie.
We use Brownie a lot, even though Brownie is getting up there in years and in rust accumulation. In this picture, Brownie is freighted down with all of the produce, boxes and flowers that need to get to Belfast members every Monday night.

We do drive Brownie a lot and though I often wish our deliveries could be made by horse and buggy like our Amish neighbors in Unity and Thorndike, I realize that we walk a lot, too. We use plenty of human powered vehicles to get a round and haul things. . . bikes, our bodies carry buckets to and fro, we pull gardenway carts (like this one with 50+ pounds of broccoli), we push wheelbarrows, and even the baby stroller is used as a harvest vehicle at times.
Prentice just told me last night that walking is one of his favorite things about being a farmer. For a guy whose Appalachian Trail nickname was "Strider" and whose legs are longer than some giraffes', this is maybe not a surprise. I found it a good anecdote to tuck away and tell the whole wide web world --and here I am, doing just that. Prentice likes to walk.

In the years ahead, we hope to walk more and more. Expanding the Farm pick-up CSA membership is the best way to accomplish this. About half of our CSA members pick up at the Farm this year, so that is not too shabby. Opening a farm stand or farm store is another possibility that seems probable. Dreams, dreams dreams. . .

I think that is it for now!

All the best from Village Farm

Polly

Our blog: The Ghost Town

Hello out there!
We have been neglecting the blog these weeks and months, it is true. CSA Members can attest that though we may not be spending time with the keyboard and digital camera, we are most definitely spending time with the vegetables. NO neglect going on in the garden realms. We trust, with the web's nearly infinite recipes, you are finding good ways to cook all that the farm has produced thus far. We always love to hear from you and welcome your questions and comments. In fact, we save most of them for future consideration.

It has been and continues to be such a bountiful growing season. As compared to last year when we felt like cheerleaders--"Come on, cucumbers, you can do it!"--This year we are more like riders.. . it's more like trying to keep up with, or better yet, stay on without getting bucked off a wild horse. The Plants, as individuals, are all doing their things: germinating, growing, fattening, sweetening, ripening and finally senescing (shutting down) with only minimal input from their farmer-caretakers. As a collective, The Plants make up the vegetable part of The Farm. The Farm, with its vegetables, pastures, trees, bees, farmers, interns, children, dog, chicks, chickens, geese, cows, calves, is a hopping and happening place. Wow.

We have been eating. (An incomplete list. . .and in no particular order)

peaches
pickles
snickerdoodles
roasted garlic, roasted cherry tomatoes and fresh basil over pasta
corn on the cob
thai glazed chicken
ratatouille
tomato sandwiches
sushi salad
farm vegetable pizzas
yogurt-cucumber sauce
roasted zucchini with marjoram
pestos: cilantro, basil, parsley almond
more corn on the cob
watermelon warmed by the sun, right there in the watermelon patch
muskmelon cooled by the walk-in cooler
three bean salad
and scrambled eggs

Enjoying every bite, or at least striving to .. .

We have been building. A small sleeping cabin for the interns. Here are the walls being assembled in the driveway. Carpentry is a great change of pace for everyone these days. However, hammering is harder than it looks when using big nails and rough sawn hemlock, says HB.

And we have had machine visitors. Many of them. Our irrigation pond got a facelift this month, thanks to a USDA Water Development Grant for farms. There have been diggers galore: bulldozers, dumptrucks, the works. We also had a frost free hydrant installed as part of the same water grant, so we had a backhoe digging a trench right through our front yard! Then a combine drove through to harvest some barley in one of Andy's grain test plots! Then the Gold Top Farm crew drove in with their grass harvesters and clipped, wind rowed and collected the grass from the 25 or so acres of forage. The three boys have been entertained, educated and even given rides by these machines and their many operators.

And we have had the most amazing people visitors. HB and Alex, visitors for the season (aka Interns and Apprentices, interchangeably), arrived in early July and have not only fit right into the works here but brought their fabulous abilities to laugh and have a good time with them. It is a delight to have them here.

At this farm in summertime, visitors = helpers. Our dear cousin, Kathy, harvested dozens and dozens of herb bunches one 90 degree day and then played with the boys and cleaned the kitchen after that. (Pictured below.) Our friend, Meg, retrieved a Playmobile pirate ship (from her basement and from her youth!) one day and entertained the boys for hours with sprinkler games, sandbox creations and her unbelievably good nature. Our friends Michelle and Laura, played with Abel one morning so that I could harvest and work with the crew while Prentice was away. Other visitors have shucked corn, chopped tomatoes, weeded, watered and washed. We had only a few members for the work day last weekend but much was accomplished and we always say about these events, "It doesn't matter how many people come. As long as everyone knows they are welcome here, that is most important thing." Our farm potluck was well attended (message here? Eating is more popular than working?) however and there was an amazing spread of food and wonderful conversation going on. Thank you to all who came out for that!!

And weekly, our parents and siblings arrive to "visit" and get swallowed by the Village Farm vortex of vegetables, children, phonecalls, meals, clean up, laundry etc.etc etc. By default, they join the crew for the day. It is just how it has to be around here. I think by now everyone "gets it" but I do find myself daydreaming about stormy winter days by the fireside when a cup of tea might actually be enjoyed with a friend or relative.

CSA members have received a few emails of late. Blueberries from Stoneset Farm are in and are being distributed to those who ordered. Chickens are also still available. We have lots of basil that is good for processing but not too pretty to the eye. If you would like one or twenty plants to make into pesto, let us know and we will clip you some and have them for you at the next distribution.

We are at week 10 of our CSA season and members received:

Satina potatoes, onions, carrots, zucchini and summer squash, cherry tomatoes, slicing red and heirloom tomatoes, green beans, and a choice of either chard, kale or braising mix and a choice of herbs: lemon balm and stevia for tea (just cover leaves and stems with some hot water and cool on the counter, add ice and some lemon slices and serve!), lavender or marjoram for bathwater or potpourri, sage and thyme bundle or winter savory for cooking.

You can expect more of the staples next week but also: corn again, watermelons and muskmelons for the first time and more lettuce and perhaps spinach! Flowers will also be included again soon! So nice that people seem to love them as much as I do!!

We are looking forward to having a group of incoming Colby students here for a few days of farm work and learning over Labor Day weekend. Unity College students have come several times already this year and it looks like there will be another few groups this fall. We are grateful for these connections at both colleges. It is always amazing to have fun and interested young people here on the farm. We benefit from their willing, helping hands and we hope they benefit by seeing and experiencing the ups and downs of a small, organic farm.

As always, with so much gratitude for your support in the many ways you give it,

Polly and the rest of the Village Farmers.

Week One! 2010 CSA Season Begins!

Beet green bunches~ spinach bunches~ salad mix~ garlic scapes~radish bunches

Welcome to your vegetables, Village Farm CSA Members!

I grew up eating beet greens, steamed for 10 minutes with a pad of butter, squeeze of fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. That is still my favorite way to eat not only beet greens but most vegetables, actually. Beet greens can be enjoyed, roots to leaves. Give them a scrub to remove any bits of earth that we missed, steam them , saute them or add them to a risotto, soup or even a stir fry. They are overflowing with Vitamins A and K and other good for us nutrients in their most natural and absorbable form--fresh food!!

Spinach bunches and salad mix are self-explanatory but the radishes we will recommend with a touch of vinegar and salt. Somehow that cuts the hot and spicy radish flavor that is exciting but a little much for some people (like myself).

Garlic scapes are the flower buds of garlic plants. The bulbs grow under ground and the leaves fan out above in a symmetrical array. At this time of year, the plants produce a flower bud that goes straight up from the leaves and then starts doing a lovely loop-de-loop. We snip these flower buds and they are mildly garlic-y in flavor and so artistic in their form. They can be chopped by hand or in a food processor and used as your would garlic. They can also be sauteed whole until tender and served as a side vegetable. I have not tried it but have heard that they are great on the grill: baste with a bit of oil and roast them up! A friend brought a garlic scape pesto that we all devoured. I do not have a recipe but I am guessing that it was pine nuts or walnuts, garlic scapes, olive oil, salt and parmesan cheese blended until smooth in a food processor.

Our "Resources" page of our website has links to several websites we like for identifying and enjoying many vegetables that we produce. I often use them myself for inspiration for farm lunches.

Next week: (Always a bit of a guessing game...) Peas? Cilantro, salad turnips, head lettuce, salad greens again. . .and more I am sure. Things are looking so good out there.

Please come and visit anytime!

And mark your calendars with the following dates:

Farm Project Parties--a great way to see the farm, visit and lend a hand on whatever is going on around here.

July 10 -- 9-11 am with a lunch provided

August 21-- 9-11 am with a lunch provided

October 9 --9-11 am with a lunch provided

Evening Potlucks--Walking Farm Tour with a potluck dinner on the porch.

August 17th 5pm

October 5th 5 pm

All the best from one and all,

The Village Farmers

First CSA Distributions Next Week!

Planting continues here on the Village Farm. We installed some horizontal trellising for the zinnias this week which is looking pretty snazzy. (First picture below). The last of the nursery stock was planted. (Second picture below) These beauties are Cornus Rugosa, a native dogwood that I am so excited to watch grow. We grow about 3000 or so trees and shrubs each year and dig about half of that number in the fall to sell to FEDCO Trees of Waterville. The nursery is one of the many enterprises here that all add up to a biologically diverse farm, varied work through out the seasons and cashflow through out the seasons. Importantly, we find it fun to have different crops and are constantly noodling over how they and we fit together here.

The last of the peppers and eggplants were planted into black plastic mulch. We try to use as little of this "stuff" as possible but for the heat loving crops, it really makes a huge difference in vigor, yield and earliness. The field tomatoes (there are hundreds more in a hoophouse/hothouse) behind Andy are mulched with oat straw and will be trellised up the fencing. Most of these tomatoes are cherries and pastes.

Last fall, our wettest field was chisel plowed and then planted to rye and vetch. The rye is now flowering and will soon form viable seed--and lots of it. Andy is bushhogging it with the deck of the bushhog set high so that the rye will be mowed down but the vetch will be clipped and continue growing. Vetch is a legume and so gifts the farm soils with atmospheric nitrogen caught or "fixed" and then deposited into the soil.

Below is a snapshot of what can be harvested in about two minutes--a harvest for my parents. They came to visit and play with the children and so received their reward. Cilantro, beet greens and spinach. CSA members will also receive mesclun mix, radishes and salad turnips next week. And of course, whatever else is ready!

( I have no idea how the following got underlined, nor do I know how to Un-underline it!! The mysteries of this blog program!!)

We are looking forward to first CSA distributions next week;

Monday, June 21, 4-6p.m. Belfast at the UU Church

Tuesday June 22, 4-6 p.m. at the Farm in Freedom

Friday June 25, 4 -6 p.m. Rockport at Farmers Fare

As always, please be in touch with any questions.

Best wishes to all from your

Village Farmers

VF seedling sale days

If you still need a few seedlings or a whole garden's worth of seedlings, come over to Freedom for herbs, vegetables, and lots of flowers.

We have got winter squash, summer squash, melons, cukes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, basil, parsley, and dozens of flower varieties, just to name a few.

We will be open for seedling sales

Friday, June 4, 7 am to 5 pm

Saturday June 5, 7 am to 12 noon

Friday, June 11, 7 am to 5 pm

Saturday, June 12, 7 am to 12 noon.

Email us if you would like an availability list or need directions or have questions.

Hope to see you!

May became June!!

Greetings from Village Farm.

( I began this post nearly a month ago and true to May-form, I am posting it, finally-- on June 4th!!)

Boy, is it ever May! This is the month when it ALL lines up in front of us: all the rows to be plowed and amended, all the seedlings to be planted, all the seedlings to be sold, all the animals to be fenced. And on and on.

We are getting the proverbial "job done" . . .as all jobs are ever done: day by day, row by row, and seedling by seedling.

These are our Chinese Weeder Geese. Actually, they are Andy Smith's. Andy was a 2009 apprentice who will be returning for another year with us in 2010. And Andy is into projects and experiments. So--There are a lot of high hopes for these big-little goslings. We plan to fence them in our tree nursery and never have to weed a single sprout. Technically, they are totally herbivorous and supposedly stick to green things growing from the ground, not from trees (good for our trees and shrubs in the nursery). Un-technically, they are cute, hilarious and easy keepers. We will report back.

Work in the greenhouse continues. This picture is from Early April. We have been very fortunate to have Alicia Billman working with us for the last week or so. She just graduated from Unity College. We are so enjoying her company and fine work. We are sad that she is only available to work with us for a few weeks!! She will be here for another week before heading off to new adventures, like getting married. Thank you and best wishes to Alicia!

Hannah and Andy both returned to the farm this week and have made quick work of the backlog of transplanting, seeding and greenhouse work. I hesitate to say "caught up" , but there, I said it. . .we are feeling caught up.

Now I am writing on June 4th:

Ha Ha Ha Ha!! "Caught up?!?!?" It really was early May when I wrote all that. We are up to our eyeballs in transplants that need planting and are trying to keep up with all the direct seeded crops like carrots, greens, sunflowers and cilantro that need planting every 10-14 days.

The rain, gentle and fine, has been wonderful for all the gardens and resident plants. The crew got the irrigation pump and pipe working last week so we are equipped to irrigate if need be in the future.

Last year, we posted a few videos that became cult favorites amongst some relatives and CSA members. Prentice has been up to some more video-ing tricks and he is quite fond of this one.

Prentice and Joseph have a project this year: Bees. I have witnessed Prentice reading from "Beekeeping for Dummies", aloud, to Joseph, in some unlikely spots over the last few months. They have been studying up: in the hammock , the tub, at the breakfast table. Ten years ago, some generous and thoughtful family members gave Prentice and me a whole bee set up, "soup to nuts." Everything except the bees, right? Well, we FINALLY ordered some bees! They arrived a couple of weeks ago and are doing great at the Village Farm!! Neighbor and great bee guy, Brian Jones has been of enormous assistance and encouragement, so thank you, Brian!!

The CSA will be starting up in a couple of weeks. Exact dates still need to be nailed down. Hard to know when that spinach and beet greens, cilantro and broccoli will be ready! We will contact all CSA members very soon with a first distributuion date. I know you all must be getting very hungry.

All the best from here,

Polly for all at Village Farm

Spring spring spring!

Spring greetings to one and all!

The Village Farm people have been busy these
days of early spring. Joseph, Ben and Prentice collected some sap from the maples across the street in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery and boiled it down outside. It is dark and delicious. As you can see, Joseph was amply prepared for anything that might happen while tending the sap.


Sorry about the funky formatting in this blog. It seems to be beyond me to get the pictures and text exactly where I want them.



In March, Prentice and I took an excellent workshop on farm business management with Richard Wiswall of Cate Farm in Vermont. We got a lot of gems from Richard and from his new book including a renewed appreciation for
1. A clean office and desk (not perfected--yet!)
2. Dropping low-profit ventures (pork) and picking up high(er) profit ventures (seedlings)
3. THE FAMILY FARM. We are the real deal. Here is a picture of Prentice filling out our MOFGA organic certification paperwork. (It seemed like 200 pages of it.) Oh, and Ben is by his feet but not in the picture.


Our (new) greenhouse is up and going and I will have some luscious green seedling pictures to share soon. The morning we put the plastic on got a tad windy as we were buttoning up the sides. Some great neighbors helped lay the two layers of plastic on and Andy Smith even came out from Colby. Did we tell you that he will be joining our farm crew for a second season? We could not be happier about that!

We are still enjoying many fruits and roots of

last year's harvest. I put parsnips and peas in the red lentil curry this evening. The freezer is still green with spinach, broccoli, beans and peas frozen last summer and there are still carrots, beets, potatoes, cabbage and bottled kim chi coming out of our root cellar = the cemetery's crypt/tomb.

Word is getting out that we are using the crypt as a

root cellar. A fellow called this week to come photograph our vegetables in there! Sure!!

I am reading Michael Pollan's newest book,

Food Rules, in preparation for a talk I am giving on being an organic farmer and the environmental attributes of local food. What a great hero for the good food/real food/local food movement he is!
Three cheers for Michael!!

Many CSA members have signed up or let us know that they will be signing up for 2010. As always, your recommendations to your friends, family and coworkers are the best publicity for our farm. We are aiming for 50 households this year, so point folks to our website or call for a brochure. We are looking forward to growing food for our community for another season.

All the best from Village Farm,
Polly