Farm Report 9/5/23 - It’s time to celebrate!

Celebrate with us at our 5th annual FARMYARD JAM on September 16th!

Tickets are available for advance purchase and on site the day of the event.
Raffle tickets are available online and at the event for the Grand Bucket Prizes

What else are we celebrating you might ask? First of all, TOMATOES!

We do have a bumper crop, even though the tomato vines are not looking pretty.

This past week we harvested and sent out hundreds of pounds of tomatoes. We still have at least another 300 pounds ripening in the seedling greenhouse, and there are still pounds of green ones left to ripen. With the weather we have had this summer, that totally calls for a celebration.

Have you tried some new recipe ideas with your own garden tomatoes? What about polenta with a fresh tomato sauce or bruschetta with lots of garlic and basil? My family loves crostini with roasted garlic, goat cheese, carmelized tomatoes, and basil!

If you are pressed for time, just wash, chop, and freeze, with or without fresh herbs. I am always grateful to add those summer flavors to my winter soups.

The current heat wave that is coming our way, with little precipitation, is also cause for celebration. Maybe it will continue to help our peppers ripen. Lots of peppers on the farm, but very slowly showing any color, and we all know–color means flavor. The peppers and eggplant in one of our grow tunnels seem to be doing the best. I went up to pick a few and came back with a bushel! No complaints about that.

Since we are getting a dose of warm sunshine, this might mean an opportunity to celebrate with a gelato!

Theda, where are you going with this?

Well, Gelato Fiasco in Brunswick has generously offered to donate 75% of their profits on September 18th, if you mention G2G when you order. Thank you, Mitch Newlin and Gelato Fiasco. Your continuous support with this event, gelato gift certificates, and just being a super nice guy are much appreciated.

Okay, back to farm news.

Friday was so much fun! We had seven little people come help us glean and hunt for snakes and Leopard frogs. A few frogs were captured and released. Much to Finn and Vera’s dismay, but lucky for me, no snakes showed up for this event.

Two of these children were at the farm in July to help us plant our last plot of zucchini squash. They were amazed to see what their efforts had produced. As their parents picked green beans (yes, more Riley green beans), I sent them on a zucchini hunt. They were so proud of their haul!

Vera loves a good task, even though the heavy hose for watering the newly planted spinach was a bit of a challenge. Carol helped her manage and away she went, spraying to her heart’s content.

A few carrots were dug for tasting, and Hazel, our youngest volunteer, wasn’t quite sure what to do with her prize. Well, when you don’t have any teeth, it works well for massaging those gums! Thanks to Emily and Cindy and Jay for bringing your children to the farm. Watching them run around and become excited about things we take for granted everyday, gives us a renewed sense of wonder for our world.

How much more could we possibly celebrate from this past week? Well, Bob and Burnham cranked out the frames for five more seedling tables, Mary and Diane created many more beautiful bouquets for donation, Judy was able to come and mow because it had not rained for several days, we cut open and shared a delicious G2G watermelon, Amanda allowed me the photo op, and the Tithonia is attracting Monarch butterflies to the farm!!