Fall CSA Week #5

Fall CSA Week #5

Fall CSA Week #5

Thursday October 22nd: 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm

We took some time this past week to gather as a farm crew and just about had everyone who has not gone back to school made it!. After a walk in the woods, potluck dishes came out. Farm produce, eggs, and meat adorned the table...we certainly enjoyed the time together.

Addison is all about the “High-one” instead of the traditional “High-five”

We nestled into the seed room last week during the cold wet days and popped Garlic: breaking apart then bulbs into individual cloves for planting. As the garlic harvest came in back in July, Tim went through the harvest saving the largest bulbs for next years seed. Sometimes the bulbs are small but the cloves big!

Sunday we made it over to the Oxbow and planted the 200 pounds of seed. Almost 4 full beds with 3 rows each, we are looking at about 4,800 row feet of garlic.

We used to sit on the back of the water-wheel transplanter and plant the garlic like Jaime, Mikaela and another employee did back in 2022 In recent years we set the water-wheel transplanter to dibble the holes and we just follow behind and plant by hand. We find this method easier and faster.

Evrald, Shawn, Jav, Colin, and Sam made quick work of the planting.

Planting Garlic!

We space the garlic in 3 rows so that the cub can drive over the beds with the basket weeder spaced perfectly between the rows of garlic. We will utilize this tractor implement in the spring as the garlic grows to help us manage weeds.

Frosty mornings have arrived

We share 809 Brook Road with Woodland Community School. CHILDREN AND PARENTS MAY BE STILL IN AND AROUND THE DRIVEWAY WHEN CSA PICKUP BEGINS, PLEASE BE CAREFUL NAVIGATING THE PARKING LOT.

Send us photos of your carved pumpkins if you like! We will share them in next weeks Newsletter!

Pickup
Come anytime between 3 pm and 6 pm on Thursday.

Please bring your own bags or box to gather your choices.

 Remember to contact us in advance if you will be unable to pick up on Thursday, so that we can store your share in our walk-in refrigerator to keep it fresh. You can email or call us to let us know. Thank you to all of those who have already arranged another time to pickup!

Here's what you will find in this weeks share:

When you arrive at the farm, look for the CSA sign straight ahead and to the left.

Jaime will check you in and help you gather your share.

The Fall CSA is a set share chosen by your MSF Farmers. You will receive everything on the “basket” list. We will have a trade box available if you would like to trade one (1) of your items!

Your Farmer, Sam (For Tim, Mikaela, Jeannie, Jim, Evrald, Shawn, Jav, Colin, Jaime, Franconia, and Ridge)

Fall CSA Week #4

Fall CSA Week #4

Fall CSA Week #4

Thursday October 15th: 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Greenhouse #11 work has begun. Ridge stripped the greenhouse, took off the back wall and has begun to pound in posts to extend it from 46’ to 150’. Jav and Ridge have raised bents and baseboards have been added. The hope is to finish construction and then get plastic on top over the next few weeks. Check out what GH11 looked like this past spring in the picture above!

GH11 from the outside

Basil was removed a few weeks ago and the back wall was taken down.

Soil and debris behind GH11 was flattened and a level line was stretched out on each side for ground posts and bents.

G6 lettuce will ultimately be covered up by the greenhouse and become part of GH11.

Sam recently went to Profile and talked with students and faculty about food waste collection and compost. The hope is to encourage some renewed energy around food waste collection at Profile within the student body. We have been collecting food waste from Profile, Bethlehem Elementary, and Laffayette Elementary School for a number of years, along with The Littleton Food Coop, Polly’s Pancake Parlor, Franconia Market and Deli, and a number of other local restaurants.

Anyone can come to the farm and actually see the entire process of food waste to compost. It starts as Food waste, then animal feed, then gets mixed into a compost pile with animal bedding, spent grain from Schillings, and some wood chips, and by turning the piles and adding oxygen, micro organismns followed by heat generating bacteria expedite the decomposition of the material eventually resulting in “black gold” otherwise known as compost.

We encourage you to collect your own kitchen food waste and either create a compost pile at home or bring it to the farm.

Jim has been monitoring our Jerusalem Artichokes over the years and over the last couple weeks has been harvesting them out of the Farm Stand Gardens and Kiosk Gardens out front. We are excited to have these nutty, sweet, tubors for you this week.

This article from Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners contains a number of recipe options as well as some history of Jerusalem Artichokes. Definitely check it out for some info and ideas.

We share 809 Brook Road with Woodland Community School. CHILDREN AND PARENTS MAY BE STILL IN AND AROUND THE DRIVEWAY WHEN CSA PICKUP BEGINS, PLEASE BE CAREFUL NAVIGATING THE PARKING LOT.

Pickup
Come anytime between 3 pm and 6 pm on Thursday.

Please bring your own bags or box to gather your choices.

 Remember to contact us in advance if you will be unable to pick up on Thursday, so that we can store your share in our walk-in refrigerator to keep it fresh. You can email or call us to let us know. Thank you to all of those who have already arranged another time to pickup!

Here's what you will find in this weeks share:

When you arrive at the farm, look for the CSA sign straight ahead and to the left.

Jaime will check you in and help you gather your share.

The Fall CSA is a set share chosen by your MSF Farmers. You will receive everything on the “basket” list. We will have a trade box available if you would like to trade one (1) of your items!

Your Farmer, Sam (For Tim, Mikaela, Jeannie, Jim, Evrald, Shawn, Jav, Colin, Jaime, Franconia, Jennings, and Ridge)

Fall CSA Week #3

Fall CSA Week #3

To nurture and rebuild soil and soil nutrients we aim to cover crop in all locations on the farm even the greenhouses. In the back of Greenhouse #1 where we have had basil, cucumbers, greens, scallions and more over the years, we gave the section a rest from cash crops and planted oats and peas. Before going to seed, Evrald broke out the weed trimmer and laid the cover crop down. WE then tarped for the winter, setting us up for a good place to plant come spring.

A final harvest of the older spinach we have in GH3 and GH4 took place. These side beds were then prepped for over wintered Paper Pot Scallions. You can learn more about the paper pot planting system in the Summer CSA week #11 newsletter. Spinach and Scallions don’t do much growing in the winter, however go dormant and with row cover often survive the cold temperatures, waking back up when sunny days return in March.

New and improved baseboard GH9

Inside view GH9 baseboard

Jaime moved some swiss chard from Garden 3 into greenhouse 10 for a bit more winter protection

Pole beans are flourishing in GH3, finally producing some beans!

With colder weather arriving, we have been moving storage crops to our root cellar. We have a section for squash and potatoes and another colder section for carrots and cabbage. We have a third room that will soon be home to onions.

We share 809 Brook Road with Woodland Community School. CHILDREN AND PARENTS MAY BE STILL IN AND AROUND THE DRIVEWAY WHEN CSA PICKUP BEGINS, PLEASE BE CAREFUL NAVIGATING THE PARKING LOT.

Pickup
Come anytime between 3 pm and 6 pm on Thursday.

Please bring your own bags or box to gather your choices.

 Remember to contact us in advance if you will be unable to pick up on Thursday, so that we can store your share in our walk-in refrigerator to keep it fresh. You can email or call us to let us know. Thank you to all of those who have already arranged another time to pickup!

Here's what you will find in this weeks share:

When you arrive at the farm, look for the CSA sign straight ahead and to the left.

Jaime will check you in and help you gather your share.

The Fall CSA is a set share chosen by your MSF Farmers. You will receive everything on the “basket” list. We will have a trade box available if you would like to trade one (1) of your items!

Your Farmer, Sam (For Tim, Mikaela, Jeannie, Jim, Evrald, Shawn, Jav, Colin, Jaime, Franconia, Jennings, and Ridge)

Fall CSA Week #2

Fall CSA Week #2

“Extending the Seasons” both in the spring and the fall enables us to successfully grow in the north country. Over the last week a couple of projects on the long term to-do list have made it to the top of the list and are being worked on.

A simple overlap where the roll up sides of a greenhouse meets the baseboard definitly makes an impact holding heat in and noticeably keeping crops that much more protected throughout the shoulder seasons. GH3 and GH4 were completed a few years ago, and Ridge has taken on the project with GH10 where cherry tomatoes still reside. Many seasons of crops will benefit from this Greenhouse upgrade.

GH9 plastic going on: winter 2019

In the Fall of 2018 and winter of 2019 Greenhouse 9 was erected out by the blueberries. We set it up to roll (another way to extend the seasons…check our MSF tour “moveable greenhouses video” to learn more) although due to the levelness of the two other GH9 locations, we have never rolled the greenhouse. The decision was made to treat this house as though it can’t move. Over the last week the rotting baseboards were replaced, it was leveled and sealed up where it rests on the ground.

New and improved baseboard GH9

Inside view GH9 baseboard

GH9 south section got a layer of compost before being tarped for planting next spring. Spring radishes and turnips and season long scallion successions were grown here this season.

Another project on the fall list is to extend GH11. The back wall in the picture below will be removed along with the greenhouse plastic and we will over double the length of the greenhouse. Keep an eye out for updates as we move through the CSA season.

Addison helped make sure her mom Mikaela was getting every bit of basil out of the greenhouse as another greenhouse was cleaned up.

Ridge did a thorough job of cleaning out the silver bullet composter. Tim has been developing a farm potting soil that we are planning on using in our seed room again this season.

Could have used Addisons’ help with this job!

Can’t resist an updated photo of the spinach in GH8, also out by the blueberries. Check out the wheels on this greenhouse!

We share 809 Brook Road with Woodland Community School. CHILDREN AND PARENTS MAY BE STILL IN AND AROUND THE DRIVEWAY WHEN CSA PICKUP BEGINS, PLEASE BE CAREFUL NAVIGATING THE PARKING LOT.

Pickup
Come anytime between 3 pm and 6 pm on Thursday.

Please bring your own bags or box to gather your choices.

 Remember to contact us in advance if you will be unable to pick up on Thursday, so that we can store your share in our walk-in refrigerator to keep it fresh. You can email or call us to let us know. Thank you to all of those who have already arranged another time to pickup!

Here's what you will find in this weeks share:

When you arrive at the farm, look for the CSA sign straight ahead and to the left.

Jaime will check you in and help you gather your share.

The Fall CSA is a set share chosen by your MSF Farmers. You will receive everything on the “basket” list. We will have a trade box available if you would like to trade one (1) of your items!

Your Farmer, Sam (For Tim, Mikaela, Jeannie, Jim, Evrald, Shawn, Jav, Colin, Jaime, Franconia, Jennings, and Ridge)

Fall CSA Week #1

Fall CSA Week #1

Joining us for the fall CSA is one of the ways to support what we do and help us continue to grow…in all the ways! Thank you!

Incredible how the weather changed completely literally labor day weekend when school started fall also arrived. We have busily been transforming gardens from summer to fall, removing summer crops and either prepping and planting for a fall/winter crop or prepping for next season. With colder nighttime temperatures we have turned on the heat in a few greenhouses and pulled out row cover to protect thriving sensitive crops such as: green beans, cucumbers, peppers, and newly planted greens in our gardens.

Farmers on the move!

We have had a phenomenal team this season making it all happen.

Garden 4 (G4) peppers getting tucked in for the night. WE have had an incredible crop of snacking sweet peppers this season. The harvest continues, another 70 pounds made it into the washroom on Sunday.

Greenhouse 2 went from the home of farm seedlings in the spring to Cucumbers and basil for the summer and now lettuce going into the fall and winter.

Jennings planting Greenhouse 2 Salanova head lettuce. We cut these heads at full size 2-ish inches above the base and add the greens to our loose lettuce mix. They are a cut and regrow variety. Hooped with row cover within a greenhouse will hopefully enable us to have lettuce through to December.

We started planting greens in G5 back in May

G5 on the first day of fall with beets and carrots

After a vibrant, productive series of greens successions in Garden 5 (G5), we mowed the greens, reset the beds and seeded a late planting of beets and carrots. Typically we grow both of these over at the fields we lease a few miles from the farm as the rows are 400 feet long, flat and straight, however this season we have been doing some smaller plantings of both right here. We have baby beets for you this week from G5.

Summer Cucumbers to Spinach: GH8 spinach is coming along. For those in our summer CSA, you are familiar with the work that went into transforming this space for a fall/winter crop of spinach, for those unfamiliar, check out week 13 summer csa newsletter

Mature Salanova in Garden 6 will hopefully sustain our Jester’s Lettuce harvest through the fall. Over 100 pounds of lettuce will be harvested Thursday some for the annual Littleton Coop Harvest Sale and our Fall CSA members.

We share 809 Brook Road with Woodland Community School. CHILDREN AND PARENTS MAY BE STILL IN AND AROUND THE DRIVEWAY WHEN CSA PICKUP BEGINS, PLEASE BE CAREFUL NAVIGATING THE PARKING LOT.

Pickup
Come anytime between 3 pm and 6 pm on Thursday.

Please bring your own bags or box to gather your choices.

 Remember to contact us in advance if you will be unable to pick up on Thursday, so that we can store your share in our walk-in refrigerator to keep it fresh. You can email or call us to let us know. Thank you to all of those who have already arranged another time to pickup!

Here's what you will find in this weeks share:

When you arrive at the farm, look for the CSA sign straight ahead and to the left.

Jaime will check you in and help you gather your share.

The Fall CSA is a set share chosen by your MSF Farmers. You will receive everything on the “basket” list. We will have a trade box available if you would like to trade one (1) of your items!

Early European settlers quickly adopted it for its rich flavor and ability to store well through the winter. By the 1800s, acorn squash was a familiar sight in U.S. gardens and seed catalogs, its ridged, acorn-like shape making it instantly recognizable.

Today it remains a beloved heirloom variety, often roasted or stuffed, and a staple of autumn harvest tables. Check out: Stuffed Acorn Squash (vegan)

Your Farmer, Sam (For Tim, Mikaela, Jeannie, Jim, Evrald, Shawn, Jav, Colin, Jaime, Franconia, Jennings, Cole, Ridge, and Pam)

Fall CSA Welcome

Fall CSA Welcome

Spanning for most of the Fall season, this CSA will provide you with fresh fall hardy crops and storage crops that will bring farm flavors into the holiday season.

We have already been busy the last few weeks bulk harvesting storage crops: Onions, carrots, cabbage, and soon winter squash. In anticipation of a frost, we make protecting these crops crucial as the days shorten and the weather begins to get colder. Fall is upon us! With the flavors and weather of fall also comes the Fall CSA. We are excited to welcome you all here at the farm in a few weeks.

The first Fall CSA Pickup is:

Thursday September 24th from 3 - 6 pm

Expect the first Fall CSA Newsletter to arrive sometime at the beginning of the first pickup week.

When you come for pickup, look for the CSA sign by the shed roof ahead and on the left once you drive into the farm. Jaime will be present each week to help you gather your share.

If you have been with us this summer as a Summer CSA member, please remember for the fall there are no add-ons, and the basket is pre-determined by Meadowstone Farmers.

Remember please contact us in advance if you will be unable to pickup at the designated time on Thursdays, that way we can store your share in our walk-in refrigerator to keep it fresh for you to come and pickup at a convenient time. Also remember: Pickup is at the farm between 3:00 and 6:00 pm on Thursdays for 9 weeks from September 24th until November 19th.

Enjoy! Thank you for supporting local agriculture!