We’ve been busy planting!!!
The greenhouses are spilling out into the fields!
So last month I chatted about all the amazing plants we grow and the huge selection we offer. The Lunenburg greenhouses are open! We have begun bringing plants into Boston Public Market and soon the JP and Copley markets will begin, so there will be plants all over! I really hope our friends downtown visit us at any location and if carrying plants is a problem, we’ve invested in some large carry bags OR Jimmy from Everygreen Bike delivery will deliver.
Farm Dirt
Oh so much going on here as we get fields ready! In between the relentless rain spells, we have managed to plow and harrow up enough to get peas, corn, mesclun, lettuces, beets, carrots and a few other crops planted. I think they are hoping to plant potatoes tomorrow, and while I am not missing potatoes this year (as they have stored beautifully in the cooler, vs my cellar), I look forward to every benchmark of the planting season. And, no surprise, I managed to add a couple new varieties this season, just to make sure there was some new potato to look forward to!
It has been surprisingly cool during the days and downright cold many nights here, making the move outside a little tricky. Needless to say we have lots of row cover on many crops. The row cover is a spun/woven material that we buy in huge sheets and cover large areas with it for frost protection. It helps prevent wind burn and adds a few degrees of protection for the crop.
I spent a stupid amount of time finding a new label printer, but, thankfully, I have a working solution, long story short: planned obsolescence, I had to buy a new printer, 3 printers later, and thousands of dollars, I am printing labels for all the cool stuff Glenn grows – I printed 8,000 labels yesterday!!!
Some frustrating news this Spring has been waiting for our workers. If you are new to the farm, we have lots of domestic help, but we also employ several men from Jamaica as part of the H2A program. Some of them have worked and lived with us for over 20 years, so they are really part of our family. Anyway, this year the March crew was 2 weeks late and the April 1st crew is still not here…but we have the great news that immigration finally approved their paperwork and they should be here with the May 1 crew! So, we are running a little lean here with everybody putting in lots and lots of hours and hoping to catch up with everything when the workforce arrives 🙂
Some of you know we have our own cows (not to be confused with Kate’s at Stillman Quality Meats)…it’s really a hobby of Glenn’s. They are so fun to watch these days as there are little calves everywhere. The upside is watching the happy animals, as well as eating conscientiously raised meats. We shipped a few large steers a few weeks ago and have lots of ground beef for sale with such a deal for you -email if you are interested! BTW, grass fed Belted Galloway beef is reportedly higher in Omega 3 than fish!
CSA
Sign up HERE. Thank you everyone who has signed up and taken advantage of our discounted pricing!!! We have had plenty of expected and unexpected expenses this Spring and we just couldn’t’ do it without our CSA members. Really. Here we are in April and if you have not signed up for CSA yet, please take a moment and do so soon. Yes, you can pay by credit card, but you can also pay by check and that’s pretty slick if you don’t want to use your credit cards 😉
You can still find us at all our regular locations: Jamaica Plain, BPM, Cambridge, Lexington, Southboro, Framingham, Quincy, Lunenburg, Brookline, New Braintree.
AND THESE NEW LOCATIONS:
Ayer: Wednesdays 12-3PM, Union Coffee Roaster, 25 Main Street
Groton: Wednesdays 5-7PM 209 Main Street
Littleton: Wednesdays 2-4PM, Location TBA
Newton/Wellesley: Wednesdays, Newton Lower Falls Wine Co., 2366 Washington Street
Westford: Wednesdays 4-6PM, The Maker Farm, 5 Gould Road
We are looking forward to working with our new partners this coming season. Thank you partners!
Wildlife
We’ve been listening to the Spring Peepers and watching the waterfowl fly in and out of our ponds. Wood Ducks are so striking and it is hard to believe we have such gorgeous native birds. Speaking of gorgeous, we have at least three pairs of Bluebirds looking to nest here… it’s up to us to ward off the English Sparrows. We also had a muskrat hang out in the pond for several weeks this month, though I think Jaspar has scared him off. He watched intently daily…perhaps too intently. Faith went out on her annual salamander assay and found quite a few! I could write a letter exclusively about amphibians on the farm!