New Minglewood Farm: June 2014

Dare I say, this is proving to be one of the nicest growing seasons in recent memory. From a cool and late start to the spring, we have progressed to a beautiful and mild late spring and early summer. While some strong storms and heavy rains have passed though the area, we have fortunately missed the worst of them. With modest amounts of rain each week and sunny, dry days in between, the crops have been growing quite well. What a difference from last season, where we basically drowned in the continual June and July rains.

The excellent growing conditions have produced a lettuce glut here on the farm. It has grown so fast and large, there is no way our sales can keep up with the growth. I have had to skip over whole weeks of plantings to harvest lettuce that is not too big or past its prime. This is a bit sad, but at least the local food pantries have been well stocked with beautiful organic salad!

I am sure growth will slow down as the summer heats up, but it's nice to have an abundance while it lasts.
Other crops have been preforming well also. The escarole is so huge it scares some customers away - how could they possibly use that much at one time? We just tell them they should invite some friends over and share the love...

Its been a few years since we have had a good pea crop, but this looks like it will be a decent one. We don't plant a lot of peas, but they are one of our favorites, so we always put in a few rows. In the past, we have grown Sugar Ann snap peas; these are the sweetest variety out there, but they have their problems. The vines are too short to bother staking, so the plants just lay on the ground. If you get a bout of rainy weather you end up with a rotting, stinking mess of vines and peas. This year we switched to Cascadia, a taller variety that trellises well, but is still quite sweet when fully ripe for picking.

So far, the patch looks great! We picked a few pounds of the earliest ripening pods this week, and it looks like the main harvest will start to come in next week.

Also, just starting to come in is: fennel...

...and Costata Romanesca zucchini. This is an Italian heirloom variety, less productive than modern hybrids, but with outstanding flavor and texture. The flavor is mild and a bit nutty,and the flesh is a little more firm and less watery when cooked... yum!

Still a ways off in the season are tomatoes and fingerling potatoes, but both crops look to be coming along excellent. We are growing many of our favorite tomato varieties that we've grown in the past, but are trying a few new ones too. Beaver Lodge is an heirloom from Oregon that is very early and has excellent flavor for an early tomato. We've grown a few in the past to check it out, but this year put in about 25 plants. The fruit are sizing up nicely and are sure to be the first to ripen for us.

Potatoes are staying healthy and are developing quickly. We are growing two fingerling varieties this year: Laratte and Red Thumb. Laratte originated in France, it is similar to the better known Banana, but has a nutty flavor and dark yellow flesh. Red Thumb are beautiful small red skinned and red fleshed potatoes. The Red Thumbs are in full bloom, so it should only be a few week before we can start to dig some of those yummy babies up!

May the weather Gods continue to look kindly upon us, and the woodchucks behave themselves... enjoy this beautiful summer.

Wow, what a nice spring we have been having... it really does seem like a sunshine daydream! The weather has stayed on the mild side with only a few days creeping into the 80's. We have had some thunderstorms and showers pass through, but so far have missed out on any of the severe varieties. This has allowed us to continue to stay on schedule with all the seedings and plantings.

Sunshine after the rain

We have managed to get all the major spring and summer crops in the ground - potatoes are planted and just starting to come up, snap peas germinated well and are about a foot tall, the first beans are in and poking through the soil. The hoop-houses have been erected and are full of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.

The farmer's markets have been going well - we've had plenty of salad and cooking greens available to meet the demand. One new item that has been very popular is bags of baby kale - who would have dreamed that kale would ever be that popular. Plant sales the past two weeks have been very busy, as well. I looks like a lot of people will be putting in a garden this year.

In addition to the Saratoga farmer's market, our products are now also available at the newly relocated and enlarged Four Seasons Natural Foods store. It is now quite convenient to farmer's market shoppers, right around the corner on Henry Street. They are currently stocking our salad and cooking greens, and assorted sprouts. They are open seven days a week, so if you miss the Saturday market, you can still get your greens for the week.

Shortly, we will also be stocking our products at Saratoga Apple in Schuylerville. So, when you go to pick up apples, don't forget to pick up some salad too.

Here are some recent scenes from the farm. Stay in the sunshine, until next time.