Heirloom Harvest

Seeds! Seeds! Seeds!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the early member discount program, which helps us purchase our seeds early before the big rush. Only about a half-dozen items are on back order, and all of those will arrived before we begin greenhouse planting in early March.

The picture above is the beginning of the organization of the seed order. There are four more boxes of seeds besides this one, and then miscellaneous other orders that have mostly come in from other seed companies: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Seed Savers Exchange, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

I will explain in more depth in the next newsletter (members only) what the new and different varieties are that we will be trying this year. I will also talk a little about some tactic changes in weed control this year, especially among the ground-crawling cucurbits.

More to Come

Trish Stepanko gives lettuce seedlings and other baby greens a soaking in the greenhouse.

When the World Gives You Kale

Don't forget the kale recipes we've got; they're gonna come in handy (thanks, commenting member!). Also, check elsewhere. Kale's just dang healthy.

Raddish

They look like radish seedlings to your uneducated editor, but Farmer John cleared it up: They're Chinese Cabbage. Wait for them. Your editor is happy to report that on making Grilled Asian Pork Chops and Baby Bok Choy recently, his five-year-old son actually requested additional Bok Choy. (It was provided and consumed. If it takes a little Black Bean Garlic Sauce to get the game up, well, that's just the price of admission.)

The editor would like to admit that food photography is an art, and no one has accused him of being an artist, including the time that he wiped up black oil paint with his new turquoise shirt, when he was 9, and spent the rest of the day in the backyard. Nevertheless, this is what the above recipe looks like while it is cooking.

Melon Up

We just finished transplanting out a majority of the watermelon crop. We transplanted three varieties, including Blacktail Mountain, which was bred to grow in Idaho with a short season. Also, we planted Cream of Saskatchewan, which is an heirloom variety that was brought to Canada by immigrants from Russia who had developed it for their short seasons. And we transplanted out the brussels sprouts.

Rain Starting

We’ve planted out the first rounds of tomatoes and potatoes. We direct-seeded the bush beans, and we are erecting the netting trellises for the peas to grow up. This year, weather and farm variables permitting, we are going to have sugar snap peas, shelling peas, and snow peas. Snow peas are new this year: They have a flatter pod, and are typically used in stir fry, when you cook them. They’re also sweet enough to be eaten right off the vine.

As for the first pickup, we can’t of course, make any promises, but we are hoping for the first week of June. The plants are running a little late; they’re sulky right now because of the cool weather.

The heavy rain has not caused us any harm. We have been doing pretty well because we have good drainage except at the far back at the back edge of the field next to the forest. There’s a shady enclosed one-acre plot that juts out into the swamp there. It’s sheltered from the wind, and members wouldn’t typically go there because it’s not in the you-pick area, ever. We do have some crops back there already, but it seems to have weathered the soupy soil back there. We’ve picked things that don’t mind the water, like lettuce.

Squashed: Send Help

The warm weather crops have all been transplanted into the fields, or at least the first wave of them, and we are now looking forward to transplanting our winter squash plantings. Volunteer and CSA member help over the next week would be helpful.

Generally catching up

The greenhouse is bursting with transplants, and we are getting them out into the fields now. We welcome anyone who would like to come and get their volunteer time in early in the year. The weather is still cool and insect issues are low!

The brassica vegetables and a lot of the onions are out. We direct-seeded lettuce, the first greens, and red beets. We’ve started with our tomatoes. We’re growing assorted modern varieties, but also some heirloom and classics including Black Krim, Great White, Striped German, and Red Iraq At least so far, deer pressure seems to be reduced this year. There’s less tromping damage, in any event.

The bluebirds are also back on territory, as are the tree swallows, and the bobolinks appear also to have returned. All grasslands birds are precious, but bobolinks in particular are declining across much of their historic range, and it is a measure of the value of the sustainable agriculture we practice that they remain here.

I say Tomahto

Around the farm--we are going full-tilt in the greenhouse right now. We have just finished the greenhouse transplanting of most of the pepper plants we will be growing this season. Soon we will begin the greenhouse transplanting of the tomato crop.

Also this week we will begin direct seeding and field transplanting of greenhouse transplants. We need volunteer and CSA member help.

Feel free to come in Sunday, Tuesday, or Thursday to help out.

Let's Call the Whole Thing Hot

Hopkinton resident and CSA member Kathy Mosher (left) came in with her daughter to help seed start Black Krim heirloom tomatoes, while Trish Stephanko transplants hot pepper seedlings at right.
Kathy is taking an organizational role in the effort in Hopkinton to establish a community farm on the 600 acres of Weston Nurseries land that is coming up for sale in that town. If you'd like more information about how to become involved in helping to preserve a significant portion of the 600 acre parcel for farming, contact Kathy at jkmosher@comcast.net.

Please note: Town water will not be turned on at the farmsite until around last frost in May, so please be sure to bring your own water bottles for drinking water, as the greenhouse can be as hot as 90-plus degrees even when it's only in the 50s outside.