The Weblog

This page contains news, event information, and other items added by the market managers.



 
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Strawberries


We will be open for strawberry picking at 7 AM tommorrow (Monday) morning. I just was walking around and looking things over. The strawberries were picked very hard yesterday including some of the green tip berries that should have been for tommorrow. This along with the fact that it is still early in the season means the picking is not going to be real good and probably will not last long in the morning. I see about 300 -400 quarts for tommorrow. The next picking after tommorrow will be Wednesday afternoon starting at 2 PM. (no morning picking on Wed.)The time period from June 25 -July 2 is when the berries will be the most abundant.
The online market is open for orders. We have garlic scapes now. I found a simple way to fix them that is good. I just put a bit of oil into the blender and chopped the scapes into the oil along with a bit of salt. It makes a nice pesto type of thing. I used it as a spread on my sandwich or it can go into any recipe that wishes for a mild fresh garlic flaver. Daniel

Strawberries


The first picking for u-pick strawberries starts at 7 AM Saturday June 21. There is a lot of red berries in the field today (wednesday) already so the picking should be real good by Saturday. We also are starting now to pick for the stand. The peak season will be next week and the following week.

The fields are located behind our stand at 11 Needham Road, Potsdam.

Our picking hours are 7-11 am and 2-6 pm or until the field is picked. We start back over the field every Monday at 7 am, Wednesday at 2pm (no morning picking Wednesday)and Saturday at 7 am. We are open on the inbetween days if we have not finished the patch the day before. These picking days repeat every week.
U-pick price is $1.30 per lb. Please bring your own containers. We weigh your containers when you come and then again after you are finished.
We also have picked berries on the stand as the supply lasts for $3.75 a quart. If you take 10 or more they are $3.00 a quart on days that strawberries are abundant.
I also offer share picking, you take one home for each two you pick for us. Daniel

Weblog Entry June 16


The online market is open for orders. We have lots of nice tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce. My boys found a few quarts of strawberries that were near ripe. They were very good with the cake. The plants are packed full of green strawberries. I will send an update later this week with the first picking dates. I think it will be either Saturday (June 21 or Monday June 23. The bulk of the strawberries are still dead green- It will be 10-14 days till peak season. All the rain and cool this past week was perfect for strawberries while they are sizing. It gives them time to grow big and sweet better than warm weather does. This is the last week for asparagus. When you come to our farm you are getting some of the finest “No spray” food around. You will also find that some of the headlands, pond banks and edges have not been mowed recently. I do this limited mowing on purpose as part of insect managment. You will also find assorted cover crops. Some of the effect is to provide food and cover for benificials and some of it is working as trap crops for bad bugs. I hope you enjoy some of our fine food this summer. Daniel

June 9


It is another beautiful day in the life of a farmer. There is 100s of lbs of tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini to pick from the greenhouse. Outside there is lots of radish, green onions, asparagus, lettuce and more. We have grown all this fine food for you. I hope you enjoy eating it as we have enjoyed growing it. The online farmers market is open for orders or just come and get it here at the farm. We are open 10 am- 6 pm Mon- Sat. Daniel

June 2


The online farmers market is open for orders. We have some really lovely lettuce heads right now. They are a bargin at $1.25 each. I just picked the first bucketful of zuchini out of the hoophouse. We also are picking cucumbers now. The plants in the greenhouse are at there full beauty right now- as pretty as the seed catalogue pictures. If you get a chance stop by and take a look at this lovely scene.
It is normally the last week of May or first week of June when the strawberries hit full bloom. They are at full bloom right now so I expect to start picking berries at normal time. (Peak berries should be last week of June.) Daniel

May 25


The online farmers market is open for orders. New for this week is the first outside lettuce and green onions. We are in the prime of asparagus season. Asparagus has about 3 weeks left yet. The strawberries are starting to bloom. In one month we should be into lots of ripe berries.
Both the cucumbers and zucchini in the greenhouse have half grown fruit on them. They should be ready next week. Tomatoes also have fullsize fruit; they are still green though. The greenhouses are about 7-10 days behind normal schedule. I am pretty happy with this as we had a long, cold, cloudy winter. It could be worse. God has promised seedtime and harvest, summer and winter- He is reliable. Daniel

Asparagus for freezing


The online farmers market is open for orders. We have lots of asparagus now. If you wish to get asparagus for freezing get your orders in. Freezing asparagus is $2.00 per lb when it is available. Freezing asparagus is top quality, fresh asparagus,available whenever the supply is too much for other markets. Minimum order is 30 lbs. We are also preparing for the future- I planted another patch of 5000 crowns this last week at the corner of 11-b and 47. Right now it just looks like a patch of deep furrows in the dirt. I will fill them slowly through the summer as the asparagus grows. It takes several years for the roots to get strong before it should be cut. The expected life-span of a well cared for patch is 15-50 years. Enjoy the springtime. Daniel

Asparagus tips


The online farmers market is open for orders. I just came in from cutting the first 100 lbs of asparagus of the season. It feels good to have some warm sun on the back and to smell springtime fragrances.
We will be opening the stand here at the farm at 3 pm today. After today we will be open 10 am- 6 pm, Mon- Sat. the same as past years.
We are excited about welcoming a new baby. Erika was born Thursday evening. She is a big baby (9 lbs 11 oz). We have 8 children now. Phillip is the oldest at 10 years. Emma turned 2 this winter and Brenda is 15 months old. Our house is wonderfully full of little children. Daniel

May 5, 2014


The online farmers market is open for orders. We have lots of nice salad greens from the greenhouse. The tomatoes and cucumbers look nice. It will probably be about a month till they they are ready. They do grow slower in cloudy weather. The asparagus is up but not ready to cut yet. Look for it starting next week through the middle of June.
We got all the onion and leek plants (about 15,000 plants) planted on Tuesday of last week. It was raining by the time we finished but we finished and they can enjoy the cool, moist weather to root fast. We are blessed in that there are many differant soil types on our farmground. The sandiest ground is the only soil that has been at all workable so far this spring. Daniel

Patience


The online farmers market is open for orders. There is a lot of good mild arugula in the greenhouse right now. In the last week it has doubled in size. The peas I planted two weeks ago are coming up and the asparagus tips are sitting right under the surface. The maple trees will get their leaves and the asparagus will be grow sometime during the first full week of May. (in Potsdam area)
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