Coming Up For Air

Aah... so nice to just breathe again. With the end of our season drawing near, it really does feel like we're finally coming up for air. What a season it has been - certainly one we will remember, but would rather forget. The respite of relatively normal weather in August ended abruptly with hurricane Irene - dumping over 6 inches of rain on us over the course of the storm. As if this wasn't enough, the following week brought an additional 5" - for a total of over 11" in a ten day period. No wonder it feels good to breathe, we've been drowning.Actually, we have little reason to complain, considering all the flood destruction that occurred all around us. Minglewood came through alright, just a little more muddy, rotten, and smelly than normal. The damage to our crops was minor, compared to other farms, but still significant for us. Much of the fall lettuce was lost due to rot, the spinach drowned and died ... again, and most the broccoli was damaged by diseases brought on by too much water.

The other consequence of the storms was that it delayed the planting of the last of the fall crops by a couple of weeks, meaning they did not have much time to grow before the cooler weather set in. Fortunately, fall temperatures have remained fairly mild, so we have bean able to harvest some of these crops for our final markets.

Due to this whole situation, we have not had as much product for market as we would like, especially salad greens. After selling out early on both Wednesday and Saturday markets for a couple of weeks, we decided to consolidate what we had, and just attend the Saturday market for the rest of the season.
Despite all the problems, the produce we do have has been beautiful, perhaps the nicest of the whole year. Growing conditions in the greenhouses for baby salad greens has improved, so we have had some lovely arugula and musclun greens. In the fields we continue to harvest escarole, radicchio, cilantro, broccolini, baby boc choi, and Asian stir-fry greens, as well as, lettuce for our cut mixes. Recent additions on the market table include: baby salad turnips, Tuscan kale, and broccoli rabe.
In the field tunnels we're continuing to harvest heirloom tomatoes and bell peppers. The ripening of the tomatoes has slowed dramatically, as expected, in the past few weeks, but we've still got a respectable sampling of all the varieties. The hornworm activity seemed to abate for a few weeks in September, but came back with a vengeance in early October. Some of the plants have literally been reduced to nothing but stems. Oh well, at least it made finding the tomatoes a whole lot easier. Oh yeah... if you want to meet the hornworms up close and personal, check out this You Tube link: www.youtube.com/user/vanlinc#p/a/u/0/ONvXw4SgvX4
Mushrooms are one crop that actually like all the rain. Many of our logs sprouted spontaneously over the past few weeks, without having to soak and force them to produce. This past week we brought a record16+ pounds to market. It is also the season for our cool weather strain of shiitake, Snow Cap, to produce. This is a beautiful robust mushroom, covered with a downy white fringe.

Things are pretty quite on the farm these days. The crew has been cut back to just Fridays to harvest for Saturday's market. The fields are gradually being put to bed for the winter. Despite all the rain, we did find a couple of dry windows in the weather to seed some nice cover crops of oats, peas , and vetch, which have done wonderfully. So far our frosts have been light, so things are still refreshingly green.
Aah... breathe in... breathe out...

Summer Crops and the Return to the Mother Ship

August brings the farm into full swing each year, and 2011 is no exception. With so much going on, it doesn't leave much time for blogging, thus the long gap between postings. After the extremes in the weather earlier this season - the cold, wet spring, followed by abnormally warm weeks in the 90's - it comes as a relief to settle into the relatively normal summer weather of the past couple of weeks.August is high season in Saratoga as well, and we have been busy trying to meet the demand of some very busy farmer's markets. So far we have been able to keep up with a steady supply of greens. This is always a challenge in the warmest summer months, since lettuce is essentially a cool weather crop. Our strategy is to just plant a lot of it every week - between 2000-3000 heads a week. Often whole sections of the plantings will end up going to waste because it goes to seed so fast, before we have a chance to harvest it. With weekly plantings, at least, there is usually a block that is the right size and of good quality that we can harvest it for market.
We have also kept up with production of most of our other standard crops: baby boc choi, stir-fry greens, broccolini, escarole, radicchio, frisee, and scallions. In addition, for the summer season we have added cucumbers and green beans to the market offerings. This year we tried a new cucumber variety called Picolino, which is an English cuke bred to be picked small, at 4-5 inches long. We first saw these at some of the farmer's markets we visited in California during our sabbatical last year, and knew we would have to grow them. They make a great convenient snack when picked small - crunchy, sweet, with a thin skin and small seeds. The variety is very prolific and it has been hard to keep up with the picking. Fortunately, the larger cukes taste pretty good too, so we haven't had to waste the ones that get away from us between pickings. The plants are starting to wane, so enjoy them while the supply lasts.
We have not grown beans for a couple of seasons, but we're excited to have them back this year. The variety we grow is called Jade, which is a standard green snap bean, but it stays thinner and grows longer than most other varieties. It too, is quite prolific, requiring long hours of picking in the bean patch. We have several more plantings that have not come into production yet, so we should have beans up until frost.
Of course, the most exciting summer crop are the heirloom tomatoes. These are finally starting to ripen in marketable quantities. This year we are growing eleven varieties, including some of our favorites from past years like: Brandywine, Black Krim, Eva Purple Ball, Earl of Edgecombe, Green Zebra, and Minglewood's own creation, Far Out Willie. We have also added some new ones to try: Marglobe, Big Red, Marvel Striped, Peach Blow Sutton, and the original Red Brandywine.
So far the tomato plants have stayed relatively healthy, with only minor foliar diseases, however, our biggest problem this year has been the devastation caused by the Tomato Horn Worms. These creatures are right out of a sci-fi horror movie. They will grow up to the size of your index finger or larger, and eat voraciously. For whatever reason, their population exploded this year. We joke that perhaps they thought the 'caterpillar tunnels' we grow the tomatoes in was the 'Mother Ship' and they were returning home. Nevertheless, they really did a number on the plants, pruning back the top foliage and chomping on a lot of fruit. Our salable yield has been significantly reduced. With diligent worm eradication, search and destroy missions, we have at least reduced their population to a manageable level to prevent much more damage. Such is the life of a farmer, always something to complain about.
So, stay on the positive side. Take the time to savor the fruits of the season, as time passes so quickly. The signs of the changing season are all around us already: the nights are cooling down, the Battenkill is a bit more bracing, the first leaves on the swamp maples are starting to turn, and the cricket chirps are slowing down.

In the Heat of the Summer

School's out, graduates have graduated, the first clutch of robins have fledged, and Fourth of July picnics are just past... it must be summer. The farm is growing and markets have been busy. We finally have a decent supply of lettuce coming out of the field - almost enough to make it all the way through a market without running out. The market table is filling up with an assortment of early summer vegetables: baby boc choi, Asian stir-fry greens, broccolini, escarole, frisee, and fennel.

We even have had a small harvest of early tomatoes. This past winter, my gardening fanatic friend Lyle, suggested we see how early we could get a ripe tomato. Adventurer that I am, I willingly agreed to the plan. In late February, we started plants in the basement, right next to the furnace with grow lights. We selected two varieties to try: Glacier, a super cold tolerant heirloom, and Beaver, another cold tolerant variety from Oregon. By early April they were busting out of their pots. We prepared a bed in the fieldhouse and planted on April 3. First, we laid out red plastic mulch, and then filled up the legendary 'Wall-o-Waters' which surround each plant and add an extra insulating layer.

We were shooting for a ripe tomato by June first, but didn't quite make it. We ate the first ripe, sweet and juicy tomato on June 14- not bad considering all the cool and cloudy weather in May. There are only about 20 plants in the fieldhouse, so production is quite limited, but we have been able to start bringing a few pints to market the past couple of weeks.

The main crop of heirloom tomatoes did not get planted until June 2, so they are quite a way behind the early planting. So far, the plants look healthy and are putting on about 6 to 8 inches of height each week. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the disease gods are kind to us this year and that we will have a joyful and abundant crop. Due to the late start, I would not expect to have tomatoes in quantity until mid-August or later this year.

This past week we started bringing escarole to market. This is one of our favorite cooking greens and a key ingredient to the classic Italian Beans and Greens dish. It's quick and easy to prepare, and so tasty: wash and coarsely chop the escarole, saute some onions and garlic in olive oil, add the escarole and cook until tender - about 1o minutes. Top with cannallini beans and cook until warmed through. Add fresh or dried herbs to taste... and you're done.

In the past we have only grown escarole as a spring and fall crop, as this is when it does best. This year we are also trying some summer plantings - we'll see how it does.

We also started bringing fennel to market this past week. We used to grow this unique crop regularly, but dropped it from our planting plan the past few years because it was not that popular. We brought it back this year, one - because we missed it, and two - there is a small dedicated following of customers who ask for it. The simplest way to use this unusual vegetable is to thinly slice the bulb on a green salad. There are also all kinds of recipes that call for it in rice or pasta dishes. Used fresh, there is a distinctive licorice flavor, but when cooked, the intensity fades, leaving a wonderful sweetness.
Along with this year's successes, we continue to have a number of problem crops. Our gamble on late planted peas was a bust. Germination was very scattered and sparse. The plants that did come up were very short and not very productive. We have been harvesting a few for ourselves this week and we may have a few pints to sell at this week's markets, but that will be all.

Spinach has also been disappointing this year. The earlier plantings were inundated with excessive rain and basically drowned. Spinach is intolerant of having its roots saturated for more than a couple of days. The more recent plantings have not done well either; I guess it's just too hot and the plants bolt (go to seed) before they're barely in the ground. Hopefully, the fall plantings will do better - we'll keep trying.

Finally, we have been having problems with our baby greenhouse greens that we add to the mesclun mix. Again, poor germination and damping off, where a fungus attacks the roots and kills the seedlings, are the problem. There is not much you can do to prevent it, except get as much air flow through the greenhouses as possible, and be careful how and when you water. We also covered the houses with shade cloth to cool them down, and changed our seeding method, which seems to be helping some. Mostly, the diseases just need to run their course and eventually the situation usually improves... we hope.

That's about all the news for now. Enjoy the summer weather while it lasts.

Getting Back on Track

Despite some recent improvements to the weather, the 2011 farm season continues to offer some challenging growing conditions. This past week we finally saw the return of the sun, but it was a long time coming. Here's an interesting statistic for May weather in Greenwich, NY. The average rainfall for the month is 3.75". This year we received 4.84" - about 30% more than average - significant, but not shocking. What I do find shocking, however, is the the fact that there was measurable rain on 20 of the 31 days of May. So, while it did not rain outrageous amounts, it did rain nearly continuously, never giving the ground a chance to dry out. The biggest casualty of all the rain appears to be the potatoes. After waiting and waiting for the leaves to emerge from the ground, today I finally dug around some of the rows. What I found was not good - liquefied goo, where there should be potatoes. I guess being saturated for weeks was too much for them and they rotted, rather than sprouted. Needless to say, we are bummed.

We are still trying to get in sync this season. After getting so far behind schedule, it's difficult to figure out what to do first when we finally get a break. Everything needs to be done at once - all the planting, the seeding, the weeding, as well as, all the regular jobs like watering the greenhouses, growing the sprouts, soaking mushroom logs, harvesting crops and going to market.

This past week we decided to focus on getting the tomatoes and peppers planted. For any chance of having a crop, these really needed to get in the ground sooner rather than later. Before planting we first put up the growing tunnels. This is always a major production, involving laying out landscape fabric, pounding stakes, putting up hoops, and covering with plastic. It's a lot of extra work, but the benefits of growing in a protected environment is worth the effort.

We also managed to get in a couple more lettuce plantings during the past two weeks. One improvement to the farm this year is the addition of a waterwheel transplanter. This is a common piece of equipment on vegetable farms that we have contemplated buying for years. Our farm is an in between size - really not big enough to justify the cost of a lot of mechanized equipment, but large enough to make doing everything by hand a real challenge.


We decided the transplanter was worth the cost. It probably won't be much faster than planting by hand, but it is much easier on the back and knees. Basically, it takes three people to operate, one drives the tractor and two sit in the back to punch in the plants. A spiked planting wheel for each row in the bed makes a hole and then waters the plant. It is a little had to get used to and we have not hooked up the water part yet, but I think eventually it will run smooth and efficient.

With any luck, we will get back on track in the next few weeks. We'll keep you posted.

First Crops, First Markets

Finally, after what seemed like an endless succession of cold rainy weeks this spring, we were blessed with an absolutely gorgeous week of sunshine and moderate temperatures. Needless to say, we scrambled to try and catch up on all the planting and seeding that we have missed due to the wet conditions.

Beautiful crop of dandelions on a perfect spring day

This year's crew stepped up to the task and cranked through seeding the peas, potatoes, and the first field plantings of lettuce, spinach, boc choi, broccolini, Asian greens, salad turnips, escarole, radicchio, fennel, scallions, and cilantro. By the end of the week the soil was actually starting to get dry, so the showers and rain this weekend were welcomed, rather than sworn at, for a change. With all the rain early in the season, irrigation set up has been a very low priority.

The late start of the planting season will mean a delay for many of our crops at market, but at least we got them in the ground. The peas will be a bit of a crap shoot this year. Normally, they must be planted by mid to late April to have any chance of being productive. If the weather stays on the cool side, we may get something out of them, but if it heats up, it will likely be a loss.

Opening Saturday at the Saratoga Market

Farmer's market season started for us on May 4, so we have already had four of them. Opening day was a cold and rainy Wednesday, and a contender for perhaps one of the slowest markets I can remember in the past twelve years. Despite the awful conditions, we had a respectable showing of our most dedicated customers and we thank them for their enthusiastic support.

The later markets were a vast improvement in weather conditions and customer attendance. Our stand feels a little sparse since we have had to rely, solely on our limited production of greenhouse greens, but we have had some beautiful arugula, mesclun, and lettuce mix along with sprouts and an assortment of garden vegetable starts.

The new and improved stand set up

Our stand also looks a little different this year. We have struggled a long time to simplify our stand set up. We wanted tables that set up quickly with little fuss and displayed product well. This winter we took our ideas to our long time friend Ed Woods, who is a master woodworker. He magically brought ideas to reality, designing and building a prototype. The result is a series of folding tables with a lift-up slant top. So far we are very happy with the new design, although we are still trying to adjust to the new layout. Thanks Ed!

Come visit us at the market sometime soon. Wishing you all sunny days...and just enough rain to keep you hydrated.

April Showers Bring ... Anniversaries and Mud

Man, it’s been a long time since I’ve written a blog. In fact, it seems like a long time since I’ve farmed too. Despite the long hiatus, we are back and ready to roll. To pick up where we left off last summer in July…Tammara and I took a much needed sabbatical away from the farm and Tammara’s regular full-time job to travel across the country. We spent nearly three months camping, hiking, and canoeing through the US and parts of Canada. It was a trip of a lifetime that we feel truly blessed to have been able to do. If you are interested in the trip, itinerary, and our experiences, our companion blog www.vagabondfarmers.blogspot.com is still up on the web, so feel free to peruse.

In our anniversary finery

After returning home in late October, Tammara returned to work, and I returned to fall chores and planning for the upcoming season. Our trip clarified our desire to keep farming and reaffirmed what a beautiful and fertile part of the world we are lucky enough to live and work in. This will be our thirteenth season farming at New Minglewood Farm. This April was also our 25^th wedding anniversary…both of these milestones are hard to believe.

This spring has been a trial of patience. After a long snowy and cold winter I think everyone is pretty anxious for spring to arrive, but after a couple of false starts, it seems we are back to March like weather. With many cloudy cold days with frequent showers and rain, the soil on the farm has remained saturated. If you are lucky enough to farm on soils on the sandy side, you may have been able to plow some ground in early April, but here at Minglewood Swamp with its heavy silt and clay soils, we have been patiently (or not) waiting for it to dry out. The problem with trying to work soil when they are too wet is that you will compact the soil and just make a mess. So, you just have to wait. Finally, last Friday I couldn’t take it any more. Heavy rain was predicted for Saturday, so this was probably the driest it would be for the next week or so. I went over the fields lightly with a chisel plow, just to rip up some of the rye cover crop and expose more soil surface area, in hopes of facilitating more drying. I don’t know if it did much good, but I sure felt better driving around on the tractor.

Despite all the frustration of trying to get anything planted in the fields, we have been quite busy in the greenhouses. We were able to get some early lettuce planted in the fieldhouse, along with some early season tomatoes. We are also on schedule with the baby greens and with lots of transplants for the farm and for sale. We’ve also been busy getting this years mushroom logs inoculated with shiitake spawn.

Baby arugula

Lettuce plugs waiting for transplanting

Eggplants and peppers getting ready for your garden

Oak logs freshly inoculated

The Saratoga markets start in May, opening day this year is a Wednesday, the 4^th. We are looking forward to returning and seeing lots of friends and customers. As in the past, we will also be offering our Minglewood CSA Dollars option once again. Rather than a traditional CSA, where you receive a box of produce every week, this option allows you to pre-buy a share of produce, which gives you a credit at our stand at the farmer’s market. When you shop at our stand we simply deduct the sale from your credit. Savings are based on a sliding scale of 10 to 20%, depending on how much you pre-buy. This allows you to buy what you want, when you want it, and save money. Pre-buying early in the season helps the farm with springtime cash flow, but you can buy shares any time during the season. See us at the market for more information, or e-mail us, and we can send a flyer.

Happy spring!