As we hoped, we were all (plants and people alike) able to savor the sunshine and feel secure knowing summer is here in these last few days of June.   You’ll see more variety in this week’s harvest!


Welcome kohlrabi!  We have collected some cooking & eating ideas here   Remember that there is a list of produce on the right hand side – click to find ways to prep and enjoy!  If you have a recipe you want us to include please send an email!


We also happily welcome the arrival of strawberries this week in the Upic field – we’ll give you guidance on harvest size when you arrive.


The news from the farm is short and sweet this week…Seth is graciously traveling this week with Griffin and 93 other 8th graders to our nation’s capital and every single place in between, and Maura is, thanks to our abundance of snow days, still at working at school.  Our strong, caring, amazing crew has been keeping everything moving along steadily!

 


Fourth of July is on a Tuesday Pick-up will be Wednesday July 5th!

Since many of you will be in a hammock, an inner-tube, or the other side of a grill on the afternoon of Tuesday the 4th, we will move the pick-up to Wednesday (July 5th) 2:00-7:00 p.m. See you there!

 


Add-on Shares…

Add on shares (bread, cheese, yogurt, mushrooms, beautiful flower bouquets) have started last week, but you can still sign up. If you’d like to sign on for a weekly share (or any of the add-on shares), follow this link.  Talk to (or email) Maura about pro-rating the costs of the add-on share.

 


Fresh Fish Delivered to Farm on Fridays!

Port Clyde Fresh Catch – order by 8:00 am on Wednesday the 28th to pick up fresh local fish on Friday after 3:00 here at the farm.  Their website has lots of different options to order from and you pay them directly.  Unlike the other add-on shares, this is not a commitment – order each week as you please, just pay attention to the order deadlines for each week.  More information can be found here

 


What’s in the Share?!

  • Cabbage
  • Kohlrabi
  • Chard/Kale
  • Broccoli
  • Lettuce Mix
  • Escarole
  • Scallions
  • Summer Squash
  • Garlic Scapes

What’s in Upic

  • Strawberries (check in about quantity when you get here)
  • Sage
  • Marjoram
  • Winter Savory
  • Thyme
  • Chives
  • Oregano
  • Flowers coming soon!

The weather is improving, crops look great and in a couple weeks the plants will catch up with the calendar. First on this list is strawberries. If we get some heat they could be ripe next week, if it is cold they may take another (this is a solid two weeks behind our usual date). Zucchini, cabbage and kohlrabi are doing their best and will be sizing up soon. Tomatoes and peppers are enjoying the protection of our field greenhouses and have no idea what all the fuss about cold and wet is.

Add-on Shares Start this Week!

Want to sign-up but haven’t yet? Eggs, mushrooms, cheese, flowers, bread, and yogurt shares are available. Sign up online  and we will add you to the list.

Fourth of July is on a Tuesday Pick-up will be Wednesday July 5th!

Since many of you will be in a hammock, an inner-tube, or the other side of a grill on the afternoon of Tuesday the 4th, we will move the pick-up to Wednesday (July 5th) 2:00-7:00 p.m. See you there!

Flower Bouquet Share Kick-off This Week

Second year apprentice and assistant manager Virginia has created the flower bouquet share this season. She has put together a dizzying asortment of rare and exceptional varieties all grown in our dedicated kitchen garden by the farmhouse. Each week she will be harvesting and arranging bouquets for the share (and a few to sell as well). If you’d like to sign on for a weekly share (or any of the add-on shares), follow this link.

What’s in the Share

  • Spinach
  • Kale
  • Lettuce
  • Beets
  • Chickories

What’s in Upic

  • Sage
  • Marjoram
  • Winter Savory
  • Thyme
  • Chives
  • Oregano
  • Strawberries Soon!

 

Plants, like people, take time to adjust to change. After the extended spring that just ended on Saturday our crops are doing their best to get with the new season. Unlike us they don’t have the option of taking a break in the shade with a cool drink but instead must buck up and make the best of it. Peppers, tomatoes and zucchini are up for the task; lettuce, broccoli and cabbage need to protest a bit by wilting and looking sad for a few days. Eventually everyone is on board but what this means for all of us is that we need to be patient. This is a long winded way of saying we have a good but less diverse harvest for you this week. Thankfully we  put many hundreds of pounds of beet in the cooler last fall and will be able to share these with you this week in addition to some greens.


Add-on Shares Start Next Week: There is Still Time to Sign Up!

Egg, Bread, Cheese, Mushroom, Cheese, Yogurt and Flower Bouquet shares will start next week which means there is still time to make your weekly farm produce that much more complete. Here’s the link to look at what we have to offer for add-on’s.


Cows are Back. At Least for a While

In addition to our ever popular piglets we also have 11 heifers (young cows that have not borne calves) who are doing their level best to graze back the pastures along the CSA parking lot. On loan from our friends at Old Crow Ranch they will be with us for the next month or two. Old Crow separates their steers (young males) from the heifers to give the girls a break from the pestering of the boys. These young females thrive on good grass away from the boys for the summer (think all-girls boarding school). Beyond the gender politics we are happy to have them on the farm. Take a stroll on the trail off the CSA parking lot to get a closer look.


Make Hay While the Sun Shines

Eleven year old Leila Wraps bales in the shade.

There is nothing zen about farming. Instead of being where you are at this moment the true art of agriculture is to be thinking many steps and or many days ahead of where you stand. In addition to growing 140+ vegetable varieties we also grow 60 or 70 tons of grass to feed our neighbors’ animals thoughout the winter. Cutting this much hay and making silage (wrapped “wet”hay that is preserved by fermentation) is nothing more than a game of timing and chance. Cutting grass and drying it down from 80% moisture to 15% moisture using only sun and wind is an absurd game that puts inordinate trust in meteorology (it takes 2 days of sun and dry), equipment (we have a 30 year old mower pulled by a 40 year old tractor that also runs our 25 year old baler) and force of will (with 93° heat this past Sunday we forgot we were in Maine). If all these planets align we can bale up 30 thousand pounds of grass in couple days. Thankfully our kids are available to fall into the workflow; wrapping bales or loading them in the barn.


What’s in the Share?

  • Lettuce
  • Chickories
  • Storage Beets
  • Brocolli
  • Bok Choi

What’s in Upic

  • Chives
  • Winter Savory
  • Mint
  • Parsley
  • Thyme
  • Marjoram
  • Oregano

 

 

It’s dark. It’s cold. It’s rainy. Things are growing! Mother nature is persistent and even with the less than perfect weather of the last six weeks we are starting the CSA on schedule. That said the share is a bit light on diversity this week and most likely next as well. Please remember that the value of your CSA share comes over the course of the whole summer and that the harvests of strawberries, tomatoes, watermelon, and basil (just to name a few) will be filling your bags and boxes soon. See you this week on Tuesday or Friday from 2-7pm.


Shares Available

For the first time in five years we are starting harvest with farm shares available. Is it the weather? Is it the news cycle? We’re not sure but we hope both change soon and that all of you will tell your friends, tell your neighbors to join us for the season. We are happy to sign up new members and prorate until we are sold out.


Add-on Samples This Week at Pick-up

Try out the bread, cheese and yogurt or take a look at samples of our eggs, mushrooms and flower bouquets before we start these shares the week of the 19th. Remember you can still sign up for these great additions. Follow this link.


What are Storage Carrots?

We grow carrots for a couple local restaurants and supply them through the winter. When we have a good crop there are some to share with you this time of year. These sweet roots were harvested in November and kept in our big walk-in fridge at 33° and 95% humidity through the cold months. Our new crop will start coming in by July but these taste pretty good.

Upic Open with Bountiful Herbs

Our perennial herbs in the epic field had a great winter. They are exploding. (What’s their secret?) Head out to the field and cut a few to make a new salad dressing or season the carrots in this week’s share (thyme and carrots go great together).


What’s in the Share?

  • Lettuce Mix
  • Storage Carrots
  • Tatsoi
  • Kale
  • Chard
  • Hot Mustard

What’s in Upic

  • Mint
  • Oregano
  • Thyme
  • Marjoram
  • Parsley
  • Sage
  • Chives
  • Anise Hyssop

Come to the Farm Tuesday or Friday from 2-7pm next week for our first pick-up.


The sun is shining today and we are underway. Look for an email Monday with a list of produce in the first share. The crew is excited to start harvest and despite the cool and wet we have some beautiful stuff for you to take home next week.


Add-on Shares

We will have samples of the add-on shares for you to try so make sure and look for cheese, yogurt, bread, flowers


New Member Orientation

New members of the farm are welcome to join us this Saturday or Sunday at 3pm for a farm tour and orientation. See the piglets, learn about the upic field and get the lowdown on the where and how of picking up your produce. If you can’t make these times we will be happy to show you around when you come for your first pick-up.


Still Haven’t Signed Up? Want an Add-on Share? There is Still Time!

Look for the orange and green buttons on the right hand margin of this page for links.