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Pick of the Week: Click on the link below (or on the right) for your drop-off location. This time of year the deliveries will be the same in pounds & variety but may include different items at each location.Monday, October 29, 2007
Vol 12 No 22 - Week of October 29th
Monday, October 22, 2007
Vol 12 No 21 - Week of October 22nd
Monday, October 15, 2007
Vol 12 No 20 - Week of October 15th
- Pickled Garlic Crunch
- Pickled Garlic Flowers
- Red Pepper Garlic Dipping Sauce
More info on www.jerseygrown.com – they make nice gifts for the holiday season. Just e-mail us your order & we’ll e-mail you an invoice to pay via credit card!
Pick of the Week: Click on the link below (or on the right) for your drop-off location. This time of year the deliveries will be the same in pounds & variety but may include different items at each location.
- Hoboken Midtown Drop -Off
- Hoboken West Drop-Off
- Jersey City Hamilton Park Drop-Off
- Beth Haverim Drop-off
Monday, October 08, 2007
Vol 12 No 19 - Week of October 8th
Monday, October 01, 2007
Vol 12 No 18 - Week of October 1st
Super dry conditions continue. While we did have 1/10” of rain during a roving thunderstorm, Farmer Rich continues to have to irrigate. Normally this late in the season when the days are shorter, any water will usually linger in the soil longer than usual. But is it so dry out there, any watering just seems to disappear. The autumn colors are starting around the farm so peak autumn leaves should be coming soon. While the temperatures were very summerish the last week plus, the mornings are very seasonally cool. Weather Report: During that roving thunderstorm, Farmer Rich was concerned that there was a possibility of hail. Hail is possible anytime during the year when there is a severe thunderstorm, but with only a few weeks to go we would hate to loose our field crops, especially the leafy greens such as chard, kale & lettuces. From the Fields: The fava greens, mustards, radishes and oriental greens are all doing well. Our latest planting of carrots is coming along. The warmer weather crops; tomatoes, eggplant, peppers & summer squash, are all but shutdown. Animal Report: No sign of the gourmet groundhog this past week and seems like all the other wild animals are taking a break. We didn’t see any deer either. A quiet week all in all, but for a lone cat cruising the fields for mice. Fruit Report – Golden Delicious Apples –Freshly picked from Windy Brow Farm. Excellent for eating fresh, pies & salads; Very good for baking & apple sauce. Windy Brow does have apple picking at their farm this time of year. Their phone # is 973.579.9157 so you can call for directions & dates & times they are open. It is a nice day out in the country! Upcoming Events: It Garlic Time! Come out for a few stinkin’ days of fun at the following events: · October 6th & 7th – 6th Annual Garlic Gathering @ Olde Lafayette Village – Lafayette, NJ · October 13th – 1st Annual Garlic Festival @ the Hoboken Historical Museum Hoboken, NJ CORRECTION – last week I had the wrong date listed. This event will be held on the Saturday the 13th.
Here's looking @ You:
Pick of the Week: Click on the link below (or on the right) for your drop-off location. This time of year the deliveries will be the same in pounds & variety but may include different items at each location.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Vol 12 No 17 - Week of September 24th
Warm Snap
Last week we had our first frost warning and a low of 35º and this week we have had 4 days of 80º+ weather! Sometime Farmer Sue & Farmer Rich harvested the mustard greens & more potatoes on Sunday. There are another 4-6 rows of potatoes yet to be dug. It was noted that in digging up the potatoes the ground is dry-as-a bone due to the lack of rain for at least a week now.
Weather Report: There was no rain during the week at the farm. Farmer Rich continues to irrigate the crops in the field. The shorter days & cooler nights, lack of water is not as big as a problem as it would be in July when the ground just totally dries out.
What’s Up & Growing: The fall greens are all coming along nicely, being mustards, white radishes, bekamaru, shanghai cabbage & Torazorah. The yellow celery is also up & doing well. The fava greens should be ready to harvest within the next week or two.
Animal Report: The gourmet groundhog continues to munch in the fields. He liked the cabbage this week and Farmer Rich cannot find where he is getting in through the fence. Perhaps he has tunneled in.
From the Fields: Tonight is the autumn delivery of decorative gourds & mini pumpkins. Farmer Rich has to prepare fields for garlic planting in October and we will be scheduling a trip to the farm for members to come up & help with this project. In just a few hours hundreds of cloves of garlic can be planted. He was able to find some time to take down some old fencing that was in the middle of our newly expanded fields, so this area will be ready to be worked for next season. With the cool temperatures last week, the cucumber plants just shut down.
Fruit Report – Empire Apples –Freshly picked from Windy Brow Farm. They were developed in 1966 at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva as a cross between Red Delicious and McIntosh. Empire Apples have a sweet-tart taste that is ideal for eating and salads but also great for sauce, baking, pies and freezing. Windy Brow does have apple picking at their farm this time of year. Their phone # is 973.579.9157 so you can call for directions & dates & times they are open. It is a nice day out in the country!
SAVE NJ FARMS UPDATE ! Shale Hills Farm in Wantage continues to take the lead on getting out information to fellow farmers regarding the proposed “land-grab” by the DEP who proposes to limit use of farm land within a 300’ area of a C1 stream. As noted in prior newsletters, this would in essence make our farm no longer viable as we could not farm the land. As a matter of fact, the potatoes we just harvested and the ones already delivered to you are no more than 10’ from the stream! More information can be found at www.saveruralwantage.com and of course we encourage you to write letters to Secy of Agriculture Charles Kuperus at: charles.kuperus@ag.state.nj.us. THANKS!!!!! We need ALL of you to do this. We believe that e-mails coming from Bergen & Hudson counties will definitely make an impact.
Upcoming Events: · October 6th & 7th –6th Annual Garlic Gathering @ Olde Lafayette Village – Lafayette, NJ · October 14th – 1st Annual Garlic Festival @ the Hoboken Historical Museum Hoboken, NJ
Pick of the Week: Click on the link below (or on the right) for your drop-off location. This time of year the deliveries will be the same in pounds & variety but may include different items at each location.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Vol 12 No 16 - Week of September 17th
Monday, September 10, 2007
Vol 12 No 15 - Week of September 10th
Monday, September 03, 2007
Vol 12 No 14 - Week of September 3rd
Monday, August 27, 2007
Vol 12 No 13 - Week of August 27th
Monday, August 20, 2007
Vol 12 No 12 - Week of August 20th
Monday, August 13, 2007
Vol 12 No 11 - Week of August 13th
- August 26th – 8th Annual Heirloom Tomato Tasting – Hoboken Historical Museum
- September 8th – 6th Annual Heirloom Tomato Tasting – Ramsey Day
- September 15th – 3rd Annual Garlic Day @ the Arboretum-Frelinghuysen Arboretum – Morristown, NJ
Who’s eating the tomatoes? A tomato horn worm !
Pick of the Week: Click on the link below (or on the right) for your drop-off location. This time of year the deliveries will be the same in pounds & variety but may include different items at each location.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Vol 12 No 10 - Week of August 6th
Monday, July 30, 2007
Vol 12 No 9 - Week of July 30th
Awash with Squash!
Wow - this week we are awash with squash!!! So there will be a lot of squash recipes in the newsletter. There will be mixed varieties in your delivery this week.
We started to harvest potatoes with the help of CSF member Lisa from Mahwah. The weather was threatening to rain most of the day which prevented some from making the trip up, but luckily the it only sprinkled off & on during the day. We had a great on-farm barbecue with fried up blue potatoes just picked minutes before.
Next Trip to the Farm - Sunday - August 19th
More potatoes to be harvested - We started to harvest the blue potatoes, but in a few weeks the red skinned potatoes will be ready for harvest. If the potatoes aren't ready, we have plenty of other projects we need help with, such as mulching.
Sunday -August 19th 11 am to ??
Just let us know that you plan on coming up so we can plan on lunch & refreshments and send you directions. Spend the day or just come for a few hours.
Weather Report: We received about 1 1/2 " of rain during the past week. This helped immensely, and the veggies are nice & happy all fluffed up! Seems like overnight the weeds started overtaking areas which were recently weeded, but this will be a project to re-weed during the week. The weather was mostly cloudy, hot & sticky which is typical for this time of year.
What's Up & Growing: The seeded lettuce and Chinese cabbage in the greenhouse are ready to be transplanted in the field. The cucumbers, peppers & eggplant are all doing very well. Looks like the sorrel & chard will be ready for delivery for next week. The newly seeded fennel & cauliflower are unfortunately growing poorly. The last planting of carrots are finally up. This week dill, cilantro, turnips & spinach were seeded and celery was transplanted.
From the Fields: The area were we harvested the onions has be tilled up & should be tilled again prior to planting some autumn greens. Our squash patch is scheduled to be replanted due to weeding up. Hate to say it but - our last planting of squash is up. Last year we did not have hardly any green zucchini and there were quite "rare" among our neighboring farmers. This year there is an over abundance of squash. But that is farming. Seems what was a bumper crop last year did poorly this year and poor yields last year are over abundant this year! Oh the joys of farming.
Fruit Report - Shiro Plums are in this week's delivery. This is a yellow Japanese plum variety. Freshly picked from Windy Brown Farm in Newton. Excellent for fresh eating, cooking, canning, preserves and desserts.
Pick of the Week: Click on the link below (or on the right) for your drop-off location. This time of year the deliveries will be the same in pounds & variety but may include different items at each location.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Vol 12 No 8 - Week of July 23rd
Trip to the Farm-Sunday
Farmer Rich arrived at the farm early on Saturday morning and was surprised to see the front gate open. Upon investigating, he found footprints from 2 deer (1 adult & 1 baby) that made the rounds. It looks like they ate some beets, Spanish radish greens and some weeds. Either Farmer Rich forgot to close the gate Friday night or the deer figured out how to untie the gate wires!! Farmer Rich is convinced that they untied the gate! Trip to the Farm - Sunday - July 29th Want to harvest potatoes? We planted 100 pounds of potatoes in the spring, so it is time to start harvesting them. We have yielded about 3-4x in the past and may yield up to 10x, so that is a lot of potatoes. Fun for all ages!!!! Sunday - July 29th 11 am to ?? Just let us know that you plan on coming up so we can plan on lunch & refreshments and send you directions. Spend the day or just come for a few hours.
Weather Report: Cooler weather came during the week along with some rain on Wednesday. About ½" of rain fell at the farm, which was quite different from the torrential rain fall that fell further south in Bergen, Passaic & Essex counties. It was just the right amount.
What's Up & Growing:The turnips, black Spanish radishes are doing well. The cabbages are a little spotty in the fields, but should start showing up in your deliveries in the next week or two. The tomatoes, peppers & eggplants will be starting in the deliveries real soon. Our late planting of tomatoes are doing well also. We always try to get a late planting in so as to be able to deliver tomatoes late in the harvest year.
From the Fields:The garlic harvest is finally over. It took Farmer Rich 3 days to finish the harvest. The garlic bulbs are a little on the small side, mostly due to the drought conditions we had early in the season. The first run of blue potatoes looks really good. The onions are almost ready to be harvested. Once the tops have died down they will be ready for storage. Farmer Adam's corn (probably the best corn ever!!) will be ready in about 2-3 weeks, as long as the bear or deer don't eat it. It is starting to tassel-up! There is another delayed planting right behind it, so we hope to be able to deliver some great corn soon.
Fruit Report- Red Heart Plums are in this week's delivery. This is a Japanese plum variety.
Pick of the Week: Click on the link below (or on the right) for your drop-off location. This time of year the deliveries will be the same in pounds & variety but may include different items at each location.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Vol 12 No 7 - Week of July 16tth
Heat Stroke
We surely had a few hot days last week and last Monday, Farm Hand Leslie suffered from heat exhaustion in the field and Farmer Rich had to get her into the shade. Luckily with the air conditioner turned on in the truck & a few packets of salt later, she recovered and did not need medical attention. Sorry for the 1 hour delay in delivering on Monday afternoon, but it was unavoidable due to the circumstances. Heat exhaustion can happen to anybody and it seems just to creep up on you.
From the Fields:The fava beans have been tilled under & the patch has been planted with turnips & kale. Celery is also going to be planted in this section. The garlic harvest has started. The garlic you are receiving is "fresh" garlic as it has not yet been cured. The flavor will be milder than cured garlic, but definitely more flavorful than supermarket garlic. Dill and sweet peppers were planted in the greenhouse this week.
Weather Report: Super hot the beginning of the week and luckily transitioned to cooler weather thereafter. About ¼" of rain fell on Sunday afternoon, which was the only rain we received all week. Farmer Rich continues to irrigate the fields to make up for the lack of rain. We finally have been seeing a drought report on the news channels, though we have been complaining about it for weeks now.
What's Up & Growing: The new planting of carrots and zucchini are both up. The crows have been picking at the seedlings, pulling them out of the ground. Farmer Rich assesses that the start of the tomato season should begin in about 2 weeks. The peppers are a little behind, but are on their way. A nice crop of avocado squash & cucumbers are also coming along nicely.
Animal Report: The baby rabbits are still about, and some are staying out of the fields. They are content to stay in the shade by the picnic area. A few others have gotten inside the fence but luckily have not feasted on much so far.
Fruit Report - This week the fruit deliveries start. We do not grow our own fruit but have partnered with Windy Brow Farm in
Pick of the Week: Click on the link below (or on the right) for your drop-off location. This time of year the deliveries will be the same in pounds & variety but may include different items at each location.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Vol 12 No 6 - Week of July 9th
New Crop!
A new crop discovered this week - A fawn & baby rabbit were both roaming around the farm on Sunday (luckily outside the fences). Many people ask us do we have animals at the farm, such as cows, pigs, horses or chickens. Our answer is always only the "wild animals" such as deer, bear, rabbits & groundhogs. Once in awhile we'll be visited by a coyote. We have bass in our pond & very, very large snapping turtles! You won't want to go swimming in our pond if you do come up & visit. [Sometime Farmer Sue was walking past the cattails & heard some rustling - low & behold there was a baby fawn just ambling about. It can't be more that a 1 week or 2 old. A quick run to the truck for the camera to get a few nice shots!]
From the Fields: The garlic harvest probably will begin during the week. Hopefully next week we will have fava beans for the members who have not received them yet. The first fava bean patch has been mowed and we hope to get more fava greens from these beds. If not, that area will be replanted with mustards & dicon radishes. We are leery about putting lettuces in that spot since we had such a problem with the animals. Lettuces were transplanted during the week in the large greenhouse & the round field. While Farmer Rich was delivering last week, Farm-Hand Leslie finished trellising the tomatoes & cucumbers.
Weather Report: There was a tiny bit of rain during the week, and then we got hit with the 95˚F + days over the weekend. Luckily we always seem to have a nice breeze blowing at the farm so it wasn't too unbearable and we arrived super early on Sunday to start the chard harvest.
What's Up & Growing: The turnips & black Spanish radishes are doing well. The dill is small, but we hope to deliver it in a week or two. The cilantro & other herbs are doing quite well. The new beets are spotty, but Farmer Rich is keeping an eye on them. Carrots were seeded and Leslie transplanted more tomatoes in the greenhouse for a late crop of Beefsteak tomatoes. The Oriental Greens have become "buggy", and since we don't spray we may end up delivering them with the holes rather than throw them out. They will still taste good, but not look so great. The Strawberry spinach that we thought was flooded out during that very heavy rain, may not have been totally lost. Looks like some of the plants are making a comeback.
Animal Report: Not only did Sometime Farmer Sue catch the fawn in the cattails, she also got a few shots of a baby rabbit in our picnic area (photo next week). Other than these two surprises on Sunday, the week was relatively quiet except for a groundhog that Farmer Rich had to relocate so preserve the crops in the field from being devoured!
NEW FEATURE-Sometime Farmer Sue has put together weekly Harvest Delivery Tips Sheets. She likes to call it the Harvest Identifier. It will include photos & tips for the veggies included in your delivery. A link to it will be e-mailed each week along with your Pick-of-the-Week email that she sends early in the morning on delivery day. Let us know how you like it.
Pick of the Week: Click on the link below (or on the right) for your drop-off location. This time of year the deliveries will be the same in pounds & variety but may include different items at each location.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Vo 12 No 5 - Week of July 5th
Happy 4th of July
The corn plants in the fields at the surrounding farms are "knee-high" by the 4th of July! We had some wonderful corn from Farmers Adam & Diane last year. We hope that the continued good weather will lead to a great crop of corn this year.
From the Fields: The fava bean crop this year is very poor. We probably will have to split the deliveries from the harvests this week & next between the delivery sites. Last year we had a bumper crop of favas (we actually delivered 3 weeks in a row) and this year we hope to at least deliver some to each site. The tomato plants are trellised up as well as the cucumber plants. Just a few more rows to go and all the trellising will be done. Farmer Rich spent alot of time in the garlic fields on Friday investigating their maturity. They should be ready for harvest soon.
Weather Report:We received some more rain this week - actually just a little too much on the 27th & 28th. Actually 4 ½" of rain fell on those two days. It was so intense during a short time, that it washed out part of the driveway and the runoff ran into the lower field and the big greenhouse. Some tomatoes & winter squash were washed away. Farmer Rich repaired the driveway with gravel from our on-site gravel pile with the large tractor. Tuesday & Wednesday were very hot, but the rest of the week the temperatures were ideal to work in and Sunday was just perfect.
What's Up & Growing: The radishes are up that were seeded last week. The rain helped the turnips, beets, cucumbers & herbs. Two beds are prepared and ready to be planted this week. Leslie transplanted peppers, eggplant, arugula & kale during the week. More transplanting will be done this week as the seedlings in the greenhouse are ready to go into the field. The celery & celeriac seem to be slow to start. Don't know why as they usually pop by now. They are up but seem to have stalled in the last week. The first planting of potatoes are flowering & Farmer Rich cultivated the second planting on Sunday. The plants look great we so hope to get a good crop of blue & white potatoes.
Animal Report: A rabbit ate the entire row of kohlrabi, right down to the bottom stalks. Not that anyone really goes wild for kohlrabi, but we planted it & hoped to delivery it in a few weeks. Luckily, no other animal invaders have created havoc in the fields this past week and we hope it will stay that way.
Pick of the Week: Click on the link below (or on the right) for your drop-off location. This time of year the deliveries will be the same in pounds & variety but may include different items at each location.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Vol 12 No 4 - Week of June 25th
Summer Arrived
Summer arrived during the week and so did some much needed rain. The rain definitely perked up the crops. We received about 1/3" of rain each day between the 19th & 21st. Farmer Rich & Leslie worked hard all week working on irrigation and replanting beds. Farmer Rich plowed up a new section to finish transplanting peppers & eggplant. With the new drip irrigation system and long rows of plastic, Farmer Rich was finding it difficult to keep the weeds from invading between the rows. He spent the better part of Thursday cultivating long rows with the rototiller (so he could find the plants).
From the Fields: The fava bean crop is not "beaning" up as they should. Mostly likely cause is the late planting due to severe cold weather we had through April. They are usually planted around March 15th, but at that time the ground was still frozen and Farmer Rich couldn't plant until April. Another crop has been planted for the newest "gourmet" crop of the year - fava greens! You'll get your first taste of fava greens in tonight's delivery. Tuesday, Leslie transplanted into cells lettuce & broccoli to be planted into the fields in about 2 weeks. More tomatoes, 7 varieties of sweet peppers & some hot peppers were also transplanted. Red amaranth, basil, cucumbers, kale & arugula were also planted into the fields.
Weather Report: Despite the rain, the ground remains quite dry. Farmer Rich is diligently irrigating the crops. The hot weather to come definitely will impact the cooler weather crops which are now being replaced by the warm weather crops. Lettuces & greens start to bolt and want to go to seed.
What's Up & Growing: The gai lan crop has failed and was replaced on Sunday by radishes. The tomato crop is coming along overall very well. The chard, sorrell, collards & kale are all coming along nicely and you should start seeing them in your deliveries in the coming weeks. Our squash isn't doing well, but with our neighboring farmers Diane & Shawna we should start having squash soon. On target are the onions & garlic, and green onions probably will be delivered next week. The garlic bulbs are bulbing up now and the harvest will start in July.
Animal Report: Looks like the culprits who have been eating the lettuces are a few baby rabbits. Instead of eating a few whole heads, they have been enjoying munching on many heads as they move down the row. I guess they are sampling the varieties. Farmer Rich interplanted green & red lettuce, so it must have looked like quite a layout for the rabbits!
Rabbit in the Field - Sometime Farmer Sue caught this rabbit up by the pond last week. It's probably not the one eating your lettuces, as it was outside the fence.
Pick of the Week: Click on the link below (or on the right) for your drop-off location. This time of year the deliveries will be the same in pounds & variety but may include different items at each location.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Vol 12 No 3 - Week of June 18th
Trials & Tribulations!
Oh - what an interesting year! Last week we had employee problems on harvest day and this week Farmer Rich was in the Emergency Room at our local hospital for 5 ½ hours on Saturday! Friday he came home early with severe pain close to the site of his hernia surgery this past January, but of course thought it would pass. He slept for 12 hours and went back to the farm with his farm helper Leslie on Saturday morning but only lasted until 10:00 am at which time he called me that he just couldn't function anymore. I told him to bring Leslie home & I would bring him up to the ER, and he agreed! Being married to Farmer Rich for the past 28 years I knew that if he agreed to go to the ER it must have been pretty bad. We were there for all afternoon and they did a lot of tests, found the problem and he is now back on track. Luckily it was nothing major, though we thought it could have been. I went up & helped him harvest on Sunday morning so the deliveries are just waiting for the last minute additions on Monday morning.
From the Fields: The large greenhouse was turned over with radishes & oriental greens which are already sprouting. We transplanted more tomatoes & cucumbers into the fields. Arugula, kale & fuzzy gourds are slated to be seeded this week. Meanwhile on delivery day, Leslie will be working at the farm and seeding some beans & squash & also transplanting lettuce & broccoli. The potatoes are doing well, as the mulching is helping them hold more water.
Weather Report:We finally received some much needed rain. About ½" fell on Saturday night. The garlic crop looks like it is suffering from lack of water, so the garlic bulbs may be small this year. Some of our farmer friends that hay their fields actually got damaged by the rain that helped us. The rain ruined their cut hay so what would have been good feed hay is now only good for mulching. Just the other end of farming & how rain might help us but hurt another farm - oh the yin & yang of things!
What's Up & Growing: The seeded turnips, beets, radishes & dill are all up & growing. They look good despite the dry conditions most of the week. Some of the squash plants don't seem to the "squashing-up" as they should. It may be because of an area that became too wet with the irrigation.
Animal Report: Something is breaking in & eating the lettuce. We believe it may have been a groundhog that ate an entire delivery of lettuce during the week. The lettuce in your delivery this week was harvested a few days prior to what we normally like to so the groundhog wouldn't get it. Farmer Rich & Leslie went through the field on Friday & harvested the lettuce like Sherman went through Atlanta!. They got it all into the cooler and it has held up very well for the extra few days.
Pick of the Week: Click on the link below (or on the right) for your drop-off location. This time of year the deliveries will be the same in pounds & variety but may include different items at each location.
- Hoboken Midtown Drop -Off
- Hoboken West Drop-Off
- Jersey City Hamilton Park Drop-Off
- Beth Haverim Drop-off
- Click here for theRecipes of the Week