BUGS! Our days begin with what we call bug patrol. Trying to rid our plants of cucumber beetles and various beetles is a daily activity. We have found that a very long pair of tweezers to get into the bright yellow blossoms and rid them of the cucumber beetles work best. Making duct tape bracelets is ... Click to read more.
After being gone for 10 days, I was eager to see what impact 3 inches of rain had on the farm. I was most interested in what we could start to harvest. We are starting to see some new vegetables enter our harvest schedule. Our first peppers, cucumbers and scallions are now being donated. Just ... Click to read more.
This week we (Carrie, plus Bowdoin interns Paul, Grace, Tucker and WWOOFERs Nathan and Nathaniel) held down the fort while Theda was away in Wisconsin. The heat wave certainly made things challenging, but thanks to John--who came to the rescue with every irrigation blowout--we were able to keep the fields watered before we finally had ... Click to read more.
Some new vegetables went into our donation boxes this week: purple top turnips and zucchini. Hopefully there will be lots and lots of zucchini. I say hopefully, because last year's crop got hit with the squash vine borer and cut short our harvest. We grew more of the Costata Romanesco variety, to combat the borer, and ... Click to read more.
We are still planting seedlings. This week it was Napa cabbage, tomatoes (I think we are up to 1,200 plants in the ground), lots of winter squash, zucchini and direct seeded green beans. The afternoon showers gave us an inch of rain but you wouldn't know it by the following day. So, lots of extra ... Click to read more.
The heat was brutal this week. We had 3 days of excessive heat and 3 days of students volunteering from the Maine Coast High School. Lots of water and breaks under our shade awning kept everyone going throughout the day. Even in those 90 degree temps lots was accomplished. Beds weeded and pumpkins and carrots ... Click to read more.
John installed an awesome awning for us to work under and escape from the heat. We utilized the space during our Friday gleaning and look forward to working in the shade, much better for veggies and humans! Carrie finished the new beneficial hedgerow this week with help from our WWOOFERS and B.J. Carrie was on ... Click to read more.
We had a break in the drought and a much needed shower brought a boost to all the plantings. A trench was dug and we now have available water from our new well. Just in time, since the farmhouse well ran low this week, and it's only May. More cover crops are being ... Click to read more.
This week ended with our plant sale. It was great to have people back to the farm and we thank everyone for their support. I am sure Cathy will be glad to be able to stop fretting over whether the plants needed to be watered! We still will have elderberries and a few other extra vegetables ... Click to read more.
This was our first gleaning of rhubarb. Rebecca picked a wagon load and you can't even tell she picked any! Lot's more to share these next couple of weeks. The Cumberland County gleaners came for the first time this year. Colleen and Lauren picked and washed 100 pounds of lettuce! It went to Presente in Portland. ... Click to read more.
