Monday, May 21, 2012
Directions to Foothill Farm Orange MA
Take Route 2 to exit 14, Holtshire Rd. Go south on Holtshire until you reach the four way intersection at Lake Mattawah. Turn Right onto Chestnut Hill Road. We are less than one half mile up on the right!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Herbs and Warm Season Veggie starts are Available NOW!!
Here comes the Sun! The farm stand is stocked and awaiting your visit. Warm season veggie starts and herbs are out on the stand.
It is a beautiful weekend to get the garden in. Make it a family time. The 10 day forecast looks good for all veggies. Perennials will do well when planted now, especially if we continue to get several rainy days in a row, followed by these glorious sunny days, as we have been.
The Farm Stand is well stocked with quality starts and perennials. You can get some variety here that you don't see at other places. heirloom starts, quick producing hybrids, field grown perennials, and now HERBS!
The following Herbs are now available:
It is a beautiful weekend to get the garden in. Make it a family time. The 10 day forecast looks good for all veggies. Perennials will do well when planted now, especially if we continue to get several rainy days in a row, followed by these glorious sunny days, as we have been.
The Farm Stand is well stocked with quality starts and perennials. You can get some variety here that you don't see at other places. heirloom starts, quick producing hybrids, field grown perennials, and now HERBS!
The following Herbs are now available:
- Broadleaf Sage
- Parsley
- Spicy Globe Basil
- Marjoram
- Mammoth Dill
- Cilantro
- English Tyme
- Sweet Basil
Herbs (and other starts) are available as singles, two packs, or four packs.
- singles/1 pack = $1.00
- 2 pack = $1.50
- 4 pack = $2.00
Warm season veggies are also ready for sale. We have three kinds of tomatoes, including the Amish Paste heirloom. There is a nice red cherry tomato, and "the famous" Wisconsin 55 tomato, a nice older slicing tomato. Four kinds of pepper starts are available including: "king of the north" red bell which is a good producer in northern climates; Jimmy Nardello's sweet frying pepper, Hot portugal, and Joe's long cayenne hot pepper. The heirloom diamond eggplant is back again this year, along with Black King Eggplant. We are testing out a 51 day eggplant in our gardens for potential sale next year. Wouldn't it be great to get eggplant in July!
Early season veggie starts are still available and can be planted in many areas depending on your garden conditions. We have plenty of broccoli starts, lettuce and other greens, and also, three kinds of onion starts at the farm stand. A limited supply of Lancelot Leeks are also available.
Our perennial selection continues to grow. Iris, heuchera, New England Aster, Hosta, ladies mantle, scented geranium, astilbe, lambs' ear, blazing star, and more are all available. Perennials are $3.00 for the small size and $4.00 for large.
Finally, there are a few annuals for sale as well. Why not take home a pot of sunflowers, and grow them in a large planter on your patio? Our "glorious porch marigolds" are also ready and blooming. These tough plants get between 12" and 18" tall and are very bushy. They are quite showy.
The Farm Stand is always open and self service. Come on out to 40 Chestnut Hill Road in Orange MA, and pick up some plants!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
THE FARM STAND IS OPEN - PERENNIALS NOW AVAILABLE
Perennials are now available on the Farm Stand. Some beautiful mid-sized Green Hosta, Iris, Scented Geranium, New England Aster for great fall color, and lambs ear for garden bed variety. More perennials will make their way to the stand over the next few weeks.
Herbs will begin making their appearance soon, perhaps as early as Mothers Day weekend, depending on the 10 day forecast. We don't want you to plant if you might lose your starts. Look for a couple of kinds of basil, some oregano, parsley, dill and more.
The farm stand changes almost everyday. If you don't see what you want, it might be out a few days later - depends on development and weather. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and warmer season crops will make their debut around May 20th. We have many varieties and they are looking pretty nice. Cool season veggies are available and looking very nice. Onion starts are now available. Come on out and pick some up this weekend.
4-packs of starts are only $2.00. Perennials are $3.00 for small and $4.00 for large. These are nice plants and they are guaranteed to grow.
Herbs will begin making their appearance soon, perhaps as early as Mothers Day weekend, depending on the 10 day forecast. We don't want you to plant if you might lose your starts. Look for a couple of kinds of basil, some oregano, parsley, dill and more.
The farm stand changes almost everyday. If you don't see what you want, it might be out a few days later - depends on development and weather. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and warmer season crops will make their debut around May 20th. We have many varieties and they are looking pretty nice. Cool season veggies are available and looking very nice. Onion starts are now available. Come on out and pick some up this weekend.
4-packs of starts are only $2.00. Perennials are $3.00 for small and $4.00 for large. These are nice plants and they are guaranteed to grow.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
The Farm Stand is OPEN!
The Farm Stand at Foothill Farm opened for business for 2012 on Saturday April 28th. This year we have more cool season veggie starts available. There are three kinds of lettuce and they look fabulous! They are ready to go in the ground and will be providing fresh greens in no time. Or, you could pot them up and grow them on a windowsill, and pick a few greens for your sandwich. There are three kinds of Broccoli on the farm stand as well. We have a fair amount of Long Island Improved Brussel Sprouts, which look quite good and are ready to go! This is an 1890's heirloom. Reported to freeze well for storage.
Additional "greens" include: kale, arugula, swiss chard and two kinds of spinach. All of these plants are well developed, have great root systems and are ready to go in the ground. Some are in limited supply as we are testing out what grows (and sells) well.
Perennials will be making their appearance on the Farm Stand this week. We have some beautiful hosta that will be available soon. Other perennials that will be available include: lambs ear, coral bells, new england aster, blue iris (a very nice iris, not too tall), and more. All of our perennials are "field grown" with great root systems.
Herbs will be available when the weather is consistently warmer, probably mid May.
Summer veggies will also be available in abundance in about two weeks. Many are ready to go now, but the weather is not conducive to putting tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and the like in the ground just yet. In addition, we will have squash, pumpkins, and cukes this year.
All four packs are only $2.00. Support your local farmers and artisans on Chestnut Hill by coming out and visiting (and purchasing) locally grown and produced items!
Additional "greens" include: kale, arugula, swiss chard and two kinds of spinach. All of these plants are well developed, have great root systems and are ready to go in the ground. Some are in limited supply as we are testing out what grows (and sells) well.
Perennials will be making their appearance on the Farm Stand this week. We have some beautiful hosta that will be available soon. Other perennials that will be available include: lambs ear, coral bells, new england aster, blue iris (a very nice iris, not too tall), and more. All of our perennials are "field grown" with great root systems.
Herbs will be available when the weather is consistently warmer, probably mid May.
Summer veggies will also be available in abundance in about two weeks. Many are ready to go now, but the weather is not conducive to putting tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and the like in the ground just yet. In addition, we will have squash, pumpkins, and cukes this year.
All four packs are only $2.00. Support your local farmers and artisans on Chestnut Hill by coming out and visiting (and purchasing) locally grown and produced items!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Solar is coming to Foothill Farm - Seed Starting Update
This week, we signed the papers to place 4.640 kw of solar photovoltaics on our roof. The roof faces a little east of south - so it is nearly perfect. This is all the panels that would fit there. We expect the panels to arrive in a week or so, and construction will likely occur by May. We are so excited. Now our veggie start grow lights in the propagation room, will be powered by the sun! Become a follower to track this project.
There is a whole lot going on in the propagation room. This year, we will have a lot of cool season veggie starts for those who want to set out plants early to get a jump on the season. With the weather we are having, this may be just the ticket for an early Spring. There are three kinds of lettuce, swiss chard, two spinach's, two broccoli, and more.
There are three main phases of planting for veggie starts. In early to mid February, we have the earliest varieties, or the one's that take the longest; in early to mid March, we plant the tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, and others; finally in late March to early April, we will plant the squash's, cukes, gourds, etc. This progression allows efficient use of space, heat and electric, while ensuring that the plants are the right size for market at the right time.
This year we will have the Wisconsin 55 tomato, large red cherry tomatoes, and Amish paste tomatoes. Peppers will include: king of the north sweet bells, joe's long cayenne, jimmy nardello's sweet frying pepper and more.
The early season veggies are starting to make their way into the hoophouse. Soon all the lettuce, spinach, beets, onions, leeks, shallots, swiss chard, pansies, and glorious porch marigolds will be using natural light to grow.
The season progresses. Stay tuned.
There is a whole lot going on in the propagation room. This year, we will have a lot of cool season veggie starts for those who want to set out plants early to get a jump on the season. With the weather we are having, this may be just the ticket for an early Spring. There are three kinds of lettuce, swiss chard, two spinach's, two broccoli, and more.
There are three main phases of planting for veggie starts. In early to mid February, we have the earliest varieties, or the one's that take the longest; in early to mid March, we plant the tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, and others; finally in late March to early April, we will plant the squash's, cukes, gourds, etc. This progression allows efficient use of space, heat and electric, while ensuring that the plants are the right size for market at the right time.
This year we will have the Wisconsin 55 tomato, large red cherry tomatoes, and Amish paste tomatoes. Peppers will include: king of the north sweet bells, joe's long cayenne, jimmy nardello's sweet frying pepper and more.
The early season veggies are starting to make their way into the hoophouse. Soon all the lettuce, spinach, beets, onions, leeks, shallots, swiss chard, pansies, and glorious porch marigolds will be using natural light to grow.
The season progresses. Stay tuned.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Seed Starting is underway! and more....
Seeds
It still seems strange to me that the vegetables that are some of the latest to set out in the garden, need to be started the earliest. Eggplant is one of those. It really does not like being cold or too wet. My experience is that only a little progress occurs, if any, on plants set in the garden earlier than June 1st in our zone 5 area. (and yes, I believe it is STILL Zone 5 - more on that in another post). So, Eggplant seed (we hope to have 3 varieties on the farm stand this year) have been started in the propagation (prop) room. It will take them over 8 weeks from emergence, to grow to the point where they can be set out. My target date for having these plants ready for the farm stand is May 15.
We began seed starting in earnest On February 3rd. Early/cool season plants, and those with long germination/development times (its a combination of the two), are being started now. Many folks think of peppers and tomatoes and squash when they think of starts, but those won't even be in the mix until sometime in later March. Now, we have onion, lettuce, beets, two kinds of celery, petunia, parsley, cilantro, leek, oregano, rosemary, and three kinds of eggplant started. Additional herbs will be started in the next week or two. We hope to have a selection of common herb starts for sale at the farm stand in late April. We'll see if there is a demand for those. As for the Léger family, we find that using fresh herbs right out of the garden really enhances the flavor of our home grown vegetables. Additional veggie plant starts will begin around March 1st.
Germination "Trials"
In addition to the activity outlined above, we have seed from 18 plant varieties undergoing germination testing right now. All this seed was collected from Foothill Farm and we are considering packaging and offering some for sale this Spring. Our germination tests will not be all that scientific, but at least we will be able to convey that the seed will come up. Our record in growing plants from seed we have saved is fairly good, so I expect decent results. Some seed has already germinated, with Glorious Porch Marigolds and Lupine leading the way. I'm pretty confident that the purple coneflower, poppies, prairie coneflower and more will be viable seed.
Work continues at the farm on increasing production capacity. Shelf units have been constructed for the hoop house. Hoop house temperatures have been in the 50's and 60's on most sunny days. Night time temps are still not much different than ambient temps outdoors. Still, by the time the lettuce and onions are ready to go in the hoop house (about March 10th or so), it should be more moderate in the evenings.
Usually direct sown in the Spring, we are experimenting with starting a few beets from seed in an effort to move up harvest times. This also could supply a earlier source of beet greens for salads.
Perennial "Futures"
I am very excited about our introduction of perennials this Spring at the farm stand. There are many possibilities, but we'll have to see which plants and varieties are actually ready for sale. One that I am very confident about is New England Aster, a just wonderful native perennial with a fabulous show of purple flowers in early fall - when many other plants are done for the year. We will have New England Aster for sale in 2012, as a result of divisions of our field stock. I'll let the plants speak for themselves when they are on the farm stand, but I am very optimistic. There are likely to be several other varieties of perennials available this year. Look for more information on this in April.
Weather
The weather continues to be unseasonable at Foothill Farm. Snow total for the past 6 weeks is approximately 3 inches. Almost all of that occurred in early January. Except for the occasional dusting, snow has been nonexistent. Daytime temps have been consistently in the high 30's for low 40's F, although it has been colder the last few days. I understand that the maple sap has been running in some areas of the northeast for a month, off and on. This could really screw up the sugaring season!
You can really tell that the daylight is increasing and the angle of the sun is changing!! Since I blogged on this earlier, we have gained 30 minutes of light in the morning, and nearly an hour (52 minutes) in the afternoon. It is just fabulous standing at the top of the "bowl" (south facing above the orchard) and soaking up the sun on a bright mid-winter day. As the light comes, the warmth shall return also.
It still seems strange to me that the vegetables that are some of the latest to set out in the garden, need to be started the earliest. Eggplant is one of those. It really does not like being cold or too wet. My experience is that only a little progress occurs, if any, on plants set in the garden earlier than June 1st in our zone 5 area. (and yes, I believe it is STILL Zone 5 - more on that in another post). So, Eggplant seed (we hope to have 3 varieties on the farm stand this year) have been started in the propagation (prop) room. It will take them over 8 weeks from emergence, to grow to the point where they can be set out. My target date for having these plants ready for the farm stand is May 15.
We began seed starting in earnest On February 3rd. Early/cool season plants, and those with long germination/development times (its a combination of the two), are being started now. Many folks think of peppers and tomatoes and squash when they think of starts, but those won't even be in the mix until sometime in later March. Now, we have onion, lettuce, beets, two kinds of celery, petunia, parsley, cilantro, leek, oregano, rosemary, and three kinds of eggplant started. Additional herbs will be started in the next week or two. We hope to have a selection of common herb starts for sale at the farm stand in late April. We'll see if there is a demand for those. As for the Léger family, we find that using fresh herbs right out of the garden really enhances the flavor of our home grown vegetables. Additional veggie plant starts will begin around March 1st.
Germination "Trials"
In addition to the activity outlined above, we have seed from 18 plant varieties undergoing germination testing right now. All this seed was collected from Foothill Farm and we are considering packaging and offering some for sale this Spring. Our germination tests will not be all that scientific, but at least we will be able to convey that the seed will come up. Our record in growing plants from seed we have saved is fairly good, so I expect decent results. Some seed has already germinated, with Glorious Porch Marigolds and Lupine leading the way. I'm pretty confident that the purple coneflower, poppies, prairie coneflower and more will be viable seed.
Work continues at the farm on increasing production capacity. Shelf units have been constructed for the hoop house. Hoop house temperatures have been in the 50's and 60's on most sunny days. Night time temps are still not much different than ambient temps outdoors. Still, by the time the lettuce and onions are ready to go in the hoop house (about March 10th or so), it should be more moderate in the evenings.
Usually direct sown in the Spring, we are experimenting with starting a few beets from seed in an effort to move up harvest times. This also could supply a earlier source of beet greens for salads.
Perennial "Futures"
I am very excited about our introduction of perennials this Spring at the farm stand. There are many possibilities, but we'll have to see which plants and varieties are actually ready for sale. One that I am very confident about is New England Aster, a just wonderful native perennial with a fabulous show of purple flowers in early fall - when many other plants are done for the year. We will have New England Aster for sale in 2012, as a result of divisions of our field stock. I'll let the plants speak for themselves when they are on the farm stand, but I am very optimistic. There are likely to be several other varieties of perennials available this year. Look for more information on this in April.
Weather
The weather continues to be unseasonable at Foothill Farm. Snow total for the past 6 weeks is approximately 3 inches. Almost all of that occurred in early January. Except for the occasional dusting, snow has been nonexistent. Daytime temps have been consistently in the high 30's for low 40's F, although it has been colder the last few days. I understand that the maple sap has been running in some areas of the northeast for a month, off and on. This could really screw up the sugaring season!
You can really tell that the daylight is increasing and the angle of the sun is changing!! Since I blogged on this earlier, we have gained 30 minutes of light in the morning, and nearly an hour (52 minutes) in the afternoon. It is just fabulous standing at the top of the "bowl" (south facing above the orchard) and soaking up the sun on a bright mid-winter day. As the light comes, the warmth shall return also.
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