CSA Week 20 (of 24); Teetering between seasons
As we turn the calendar to October it’s really starting to feel like fall at the farm. The pigs and turkeys are fattening up, apples and potatoes fill the coolers, and the hills are dotted with flame-colored maple trees. Last night I lit the woodstove for the first time this season, which always feels like […]
SA Week 19; Battening down the hatches for cold temps
We gathered in the barn Tuesday for morning meeting as river mist began to lift and the warmth of the sun strengthened. The thermometer had read 44 degrees earlier in the morning, when I checked it as I waited for the tea kettle to boil. Phew, no frost! But the night’s forecast was for a […]
CSA Week 18; Still full-tilt farming!
Despite the cooler weather and feeling of fall in the air, we’re still going full-tilt at the farm (hence this late newsletter)! People often ask us if things are starting to wind down at this time of year, and while the peak work-load of midsummer is behind us, we’ve still got plenty to keep us […]
CSA week 17; The last hay-rah!
Today’s short and late newsletter is a product of scrambling to finish up haying for the year! With weather forecasts less reliable than we’d like them to be, we’ve had a bit of a roller coaster haying season. But we’re happy to report that the sun is currently shining on our final fields and we’re […]
CSA Week 16; Work/Life Balance
On Sunday we took a break from farm work to celebrate Fern’s 4th birthday. There were weeds to pull, equipment to repair, building projects to complete, and planning for the upcoming week to do, but at some point we’ve got to remember to stop and focus on what’s really important! Like picking out THE BEST […]
CSA Week 15; Pollinators
Yesterday we went out to mow our buckwheat cover crop, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. The densely planted crop is up to my waist, and is blanketed with tiny white flowers. The stems and leaves are succulent and full of organic matter and nutrients, which we’ll mow and disc into the […]
CSA Week 14; Late Summer days
There’s a feeling of late summer in the air these days. The morning mist hangs thick and lingers longer and the fields are wet with dew. We’re rolling down the sides of the hoop houses each night to keep the tomatoes steadily ripening. The foliage on the winter squash patch has begun to die back, […]
CSA Week 13; Thank a farmer
Every night at dinner time we pull two chairs, a booster seat, and a high chair up to our big pine table and clink forks with each other to toast the meal. Fern has gotten into the (much appreciated) habit of saying “thanks for making a nice dinner!” and even Ida waves a piece of […]
CSA week 12; To the back of the hayloft, and beyond!
It takes 39 steps to walk the length of our hayloft. Each May we sell the few remaining bales from the previous season, sweep the loose hay out for mulch and compost, and ready the haying equipment. Then, with each sunny stretch, we begin to pack the loft full, from back to front and up to […]
CSA Week 11; One step closer to carbon negative
“Harvest crew, do you read me on the radio? I am heading out to the field from the barn. Do you need me to bring anything?” This radio call can be heard over the Sweetland walkie talkies several times most days of the week. With our farthest flung fields nearly a mile apart as the […]