Summer Hours Ending Wednesday

It feels good to be almost finished harvesting an abundant crop of all the fall crops. There are only leafy greens such as kale and spinach left to pick. The stand is still well stocked with all sorts of good food. As I was working I got to wondering how many thousands of crates full of produce have gone through our stand this year. If there are 30- 60 bushels of vegetables brought in on most days and this goes on for 150 days that is…. a lot. It amazes me as I think about how much food can be grown on about 25 acres of good farmground. This year we had a rough spring for growing things with a very dry April and May along with wild temperature swings including a hard freeze at the end of May. We had really good weather for crops all summer and fall. The weather was warm enough without being to hot. We had regular rains as we needed them. The fall harvest was good enough that even without a strawberry crop we have enough money to live well and and improve the infrastucture. Thank-you God for taking care of us.

Wednesday, November 18 will be the last day of normal summer hours for this year so make sure you are stocked up for thanksgiving needs by then. Any online orders this week need to be picked up by Wednesday evening rather than the normal Thursday pickup time. The online market will be closed for the week of thanksgiving. We want to have two full weeks to be completely off duty and then in early December winter hours will start. Winter hours are informal. We are always closed Sundays and other days we will give service during normal hours if we are available. Daniel

November Spring mix and spinach

The beautiful weather that we have had this past week has made the last planting of lettuce grow to just the right size to make lots of perfect salad mix. Spinach, arugula, kale, and even more romaine and red lettuce heads- the stand is still full of beautiful greens. We also have lots of all the normal fall root crops except onions are sold out. There are still hundreds of pounds of butternut squash waiting for someone to take them home.
Wednesday, November 18 will be the last day of normal summer hours for this year so make sure you are stocked up for thanksgiving needs by then. After that we want to have two full weeks to be completely off duty and then in early December winter hours will start. Winter hours are informal. We are always closed Sundays and other days we will give service during normal hours if we are available.
Today I have started hauling leaves for putting the strawberries to bed for the winter. I am looking forward to some good fresh strawberries next June. Daniel

Sweet Carrots

The late carrots that we are harvesting now are sweet and good- better than the earlier carrot crop was. There is a lot of them. We pack them into 25 lb bags. To store carrots and red beets you want them to stay moist and as cold as you can without freezing them. I am separating the #2 carrots into bags with nice but small carrots and other bags that have the forked or crooked etc carrots. These are both priced at $12.50 per bag and are an especially good deal for juicing etc. We also have lots of #1 carrots.($25 bag) They have the same great taste with less cleanup time and waste. We hope to finish the carrot harvest tommorrow and then I will be turning attention towards the rest of the beets- there are a lot of them and it is likely that we will have them available all the way till spring.
Wednesday, November 18 will be the last day of normal summer hours for this year so make sure you are stocked up for thanksgiving needs by then. After that we want to have two full weeks to be completely off duty and then in early December winter hours will start. Winter hours are informal- we give service when we are available but it is best to call or e-mail before coming if you want to be sure not to waste a trip. With the new display cooler we will be able to give you give much better service in the winter because the goodies can all be nicely displayed. Daniel

Honey and Apples

Hello again. It is time to be thinking about laying up a supply of things like honey, potatoes, apples, carrots, kale, beets etc. There is something right about well stocked cellars and pantries as winter starts.

My Dad has harvested several hundred pounds of honey from our bees which is available on the stand. I may be partial but I think Dad’s honey that we have this fall is way better than most honey. We have a full selection of storage apples picked and lots of late potatoes dug.
There are still a lot of potatoes, beets, carrots etc in the field. Do any of you wish to help with the late fall harvest? It is a way to stock up with out spending money. Have a good night. Daniel

Honey and Apples

Hello again. It is time to be thinking about laying up a supply of things like honey, potatoes, apples, carrots, kale, beets etc. There is something right about well stocked cellars and pantries as winter starts.

My Dad has harvested several hundred pounds of honey from our bees which is available on the stand. I may be partial but I think Dad’s honey that we have this fall is way better than most honey. We have a full selection of storage apples picked and lots of late potatoes dug.

There are still a lot of potatoes, beets, carrots etc in the field. Do any of you wish to help with the late fall harvest? It is a way to stock up with out spending money. Have a good night. Daniel

Frost is not the end

The frost we had over the weekend is not the end for good local food. The leafy greens such as lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula and cilantro all survived and look good. This is the time of the year that the late root crops such as beets, carrots and parsnip are at thier prime. And of course this is the time for apples, squash and so much more- the stand is still full. We harvested 20 bushel of peppers ahead of the frost along with the last of the beans. If you want to freeze or pickle peppers for the winter this is the last call for that. This is also a really good day to smile and say something kind to someone. Daniel

Planting garlic.

It is time to harvest all sorts of things. We have not had a hard frost yet. There are still lots of peppers, beans, lettuce, squash, radish and leeks. Last evenings picking of cauliflower was over 100 heads. Most of them are bright white but there are a few that are a gorgous purple. We also planted a good portion of the seed garlic yesterday. That should be ready to pull about the third week of July.

A farmers life is characterized by a lot of waiting and patience. In the spring we tend to be impatient- it is so cold and wet. Then after things are planted we need to wait many days for the harvest.
If you are a gardener you have also probably noticed that plant growth is not linear. Little plants tend to grow very slowly for a number of weeks and then in a short time grow a great deal.
The farmers life is also characterized by a great deal of precision. Besides waiting we need the be prepared to act in a precise window of time when it is time to plant, harvest etc.
The seasons also come and go more than we tend to be aware of in the spiritual realms. If it is time to reach out and love someone, or listen to your child etc. do it now- tommorrow life has moved on. Daniel

Sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes, lots of sweet potatoes, we have successfully grown lots of nice big sweet potatoes. In past years the sweet potato harvest was an awful lot of work as we dug them with a spade; they dig hard. This year I bought a tool for the tractor that reaches underneath the whole bed and loosens the ground with out stirring the soil much. It was a much easier process. I am looking forward to parsnip harvest.
The big fall irish potato harvest will begin late next week or early the following week, depending on soil conditions.
We just had some really good white sweet corn for supper. This last planting is at its prime right now. Daniel

Cauliflower

Hello again on a rainy fall evening. There is something cozy about relaxing in a warm house with the smells of good food cooking and a wonderful family all around.

I have lots of nice cauliflower right now. Bulk pricing is a 25 lb tubful for $25 or we also have a buy two get 1 free sale on it right now. This sale will remain as long as we have lots of cauliflower. This week or next week is the time to freeze or pickle your winter supply.

We still have plenty of both sweet corn and green and yellow beans. I am just starting to pick on the last plantings for the year for both of these crops. They will be gone with in a week or two. We are still picking both tomatoes and cucumbers from the greenhouse again.

The lettuce is at its prime right now- sweet and good. Radish, onions, peppers, potatoes, beets, carrots, brussel sprouts- the stand is packed with all sorts of fall foods. Come soon and get yourself the finest food in Potsdam for your cooking and canning needs. Daniel

Good raw honey

Hello, The market page at martinsfarmstand is open for orders. The selection is rapidly shifting from summer things to fall crops. The storage onions are dry now and we are mostly finished hauling large amounts squash in from the fields. We have raw honey here at the stand again.
We plan to have the stand open this fall with normal hours until sometime in mid November. After that we will still be open into the winter with informal hours- If we are around we will give you service. We also have a wonderful lot of really good watermelons right now. Andrew just hauled in three loads with the van. Daniel