Plant sales at the farm!

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Suzanne Long
Plant sale coming! Sat-Sun-Mon, May 25-26-27 and June 1-2-3

2013 Plant Sale Coming!
Sat-Sun-Mon, May 25-26-27
and June 1-2-3

Time to be getting your gardens ready for planting. We will be having our annual plant sales over two weekends at the farm again this year, on Sat-Sun-Mon:

May 25-26-27 and again on June 1-2-3, both weekends from 1 pm to 5 pm on all three days

Our specialty is really growing a nice variety of big healthy tomato plants — some great reliable standards like Big Beef and Jet Star and lots of the tasty heirlooms: Brandywine, Hungarian Heart, Ruby Gold, Green Zebra, Black Krim . . . and of course our biggest seller, Sun Gold Cherry tomatoes.

You can also get great peppers and eggplants from us and other vegetable starts. We have gotten away from starting lots of flowers, but you will still find morning glories and nasturtiums to add a little colorful fun to your gardening.

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Killdeers in the field

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Suzanne Long
Killdeer nest in our field

Killdeer nest in our field

Late April and early May we have been very busy preparing the fields: spreading compost, tilling, making beds, mulching… Then we get to plant, plant, plant! This is also the time when our little feathered friend the Killdeer lays their first batch of eggs!

"Oh, my broken wing!"

“Oh, my broken wing!”

We always keep a lookout for the tell-tale “broken-wing” act that killdeer parents will do to lure you away from their nest. The goal of course is to lure a predator away from the nest and after a seemingly injured, flapping bird. When they get away from the nest, the parent killdeer miraculously recovers and flies away. Killdeer nests are very well camouflaged in the field so it takes a bit to find them even when you get an idea where the parents seem to get protective.

Our current nest is right in the middle of the main field where we recently dug out the overwintered carrots. Of course we are tilling and preparing beds for planting now so Tim has skipped over that section of the field and we’ve adjusted some of our planting plans until the eggs hatch.

Killdeer chick

Killdeer chick

Luckily the babies are ready to run just a few hours after they hatch so once that happens, we won’t need to worry anymore because the family is all on the go that very day. Killdeer chicks are so funny and cute. I think they just look like little puffballs on toothpicks. I think these guys should be hatching within the week.

Upper Valley neighbor Mary Holland posted about the killdeer nesting season as well last week.

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Our Local Seed Source!

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Suzanne Long
Solstice Seeds seed packets

Solstice Seeds seed packets

Our Local Seed Source! I wanted to post this earlier in the season, but it’s not too late. While we get the bulk of our seeds from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, High Mowing, and Fedco, we are delighted to also get some very locally grown seeds from Sylvia Davatz of Solstice Seeds in Hartland.

Sylvia Davatz offers seeds of “rare, endangered, interesting, or notable vegetable varieties adapted to our region.” Her goal is “to support, maintain, and disseminate diversity, and, above all, to encourage all of you to become seed savers.”

We have found that these seeds have been very high quality with a long viability. I think this is because Sylvia takes great care in storing her seeds, only filling packets when she gets a specific orders so they remain in optimum storage conditions.

Even if you are not interested in getting seeds for this season, I encourage you to take a look at Sylvia’s catalogue and read the introductory notes about Solstice Seeds. You will learn about the importance of open pollinated varieties and successes and challenges of growing seeds locally.

For a pdf of the 2013 Solstice Seeds catalog

Listen to a radio interview with Sylvia Davatz

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