A week of many seasons

Garlic is looking good!

Weather has monopolized the forefront of my thoughts this week.  I am probably the first farmer ever to be vexed by this particular concern.  I spent the beginning of the week in July and the middle of the week in January and the end of the week back in April.  In spite of the curve balls coming our way from the weather we are slowly but surely catching up on field work.  With a lot of work and a lot of luck next week will include planting potatoes and preparing for the big onion planting push.

One advantage of the wacky weather is that we have been forced to go to the one place where we can control the climate.  Our greenhouse seeding is actually ahead of schedule as a result.  We are moving seedlings out to the cold frames as quickly as possible but it is beginning to look like weekend hours at the DMV: lines of fennel, scallions and napa cabbage impatiently waiting for their chance at the front of the queue.  Cold frames aren't the most comfortable place for our transplants so we are hoping to get them in the ground soon.

Our strawberries, snug under their blanket of mulch came through the winter just fine.  Even our experimental beds of fall planted berries look pretty good in spite of a spat of rodent related vandalism.  We have high hopes that this new technique will drastically cut down on strawberry maintenance and free up much needed field space through the spring and early summer.  Garlic has also begun to push up through the mulch and it looks fantastic.  Many of you have been curious about the long caterpillar tunnel in our underhill field.  We experimented with fall planting onions last season for the purpose of extra early onions this year.   Although there is some chance that these onions will bolt and go to seed rather than bulbing up, the first part of the experiment was a success.  I’m hoping that fall planting techniques such as these will help to balance out the planting delays caused by extra cold and wet springs like the one we’ve been having.

New Beginnings

Ginger! A new experiment we are trying in the greenhouse this year.

Greetings CSA members and blogging enthusiast, It is beginning to feel the tiniest bit like spring this week and speaking of unassuming beginnings I have now officially started as the new CSA manager.  Lise Holdorf left some big and extraordinarily muddy boots to fill but, with the help of our fantastic crew and the support of our invaluable membership (you), we are hoping to make this season just as fruitful as the last.

With our fields muddied by the thaw and spring rains, we haven’t yet been able to do any plowing this season.  This is a little discouraging because, according to both our records and our planting calendar, this puts us a little behind schedule.  Fortunately, all it takes to lift our spirits is a trip to the greenhouse where spring has come early.  We have now run out of table space and have been putting seed trays on makeshift benches in order to stay on schedule in the greenhouse.  Thanks to our wonderful greenhouse volunteers who helped us seed 48 trays of cabbage, 36 trays of kohlrabi, 40 trays of lettuce and 18 trays of snap dragons this past Monday for a grand total of 142 trays seeded.  Fantastic work everyone! 

In other CSA news our new apprentices will be starting this Monday.  They are excited, energetic and very eager to learn.   I am very pleased to welcome Rachel Kessler, Sean Cubbins, and Rachel Dennison and welcome back Ryan Donnelly to the Appleton Farms community.  Jon Berube and I can’t wait to begin working with these exceptional individuals.  Look for updates to our staff bios page in the next few weeks. 

Stay tuned for more exciting updates from the field!

-Ryan Wood

New and familiar faces at the farm

I wanted to share the news with all of you that I will be stepping down as Manager of the Appleton Farms CSA to start my own farm in Concord, MA this spring. I'll be leasing land from the Town of Concord with Melissa Maxwell (who many of you remember from her years working at Appleton), and we'll be opening a CSA and farm stand there in June. I've really enjoyed working at Appleton over the course of the past 8 years starting as an apprentice in 2006. It's a little bittersweet for me to be leaving, as I've met so many wonderful shareholders, volunteers and co-workers during my time here. However, this was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up (especially because Concord is my hometown and I'm excited for my new daughter to grow up down the road from her grandparents!). I hope that if any of you find yourself in the Concord area this year, you will come visit us at Barrett's Mill Farm. If you'd like to stay in touch, my new email address is lise@barrettsmillfarm.com.

I'm confident that the CSA is being left in good hands and that this year's crew will work hard to make this season a great one. Ryan Wood, who brought energy and experience to the Assistant Manager position last season will continue to be a part of the management team on the farm. He will receive excellent support from property Superintendent Mark Bailey and his experienced staff. You will also continue to see our wonderful shopkeepers Jo-Ann, Kathy, Michelle, Sandy, Marya and Nancy every week in the shareroom. Superstar apprentices Jon Berube and Ryan Donnelly will be returning for their third season on staff as well. In addition to these familiar faces, over the winter, we hired some new crew members. Our three new apprentices Rachel, Rachel and Sean promise to bring a lot of enthusiasm and hard work to the job. I know you all will enjoy getting to know these new crew members, as well as chatting and catching up with those you already know.

I hope you all had a wonderful winter, and let's keep our fingers crossed for some warmer spring weather so that your farmers can get out in the fields and start planting!

Take care,
Lise

Greenery sprouting in the greenhouse!

Leeks and onions are already popping up in the greenhouse. It's refreshing to see some signs of spring at our snow-covered farm. This past Monday we had an excellent turnout for our Monday morning greenhouse volunteers. Together we seeded a total of 164 seedling trays! Not only did we finish seeding our Ailsa Craig and Pontiac (yellow storage) onions, but we also managed to seed our first fennel.

In addition to our regular March seeding projects, we seeded a small early lettuce planting that will hopefully be available in the Dairy Store before the CSA season begins. We're also planning some small earlier spring plantings of greens and pea tendrils as we explore extending our growing season a little longer. As part of that experimentation, last fall we put in a planting of Bridger onions and some scallions to overwinter. Hopefully those will be available before the CSA opens as well. Stay tuned this spring to find out when early veggies will be available in the Store!

First day seeding in the greenhouse!

We had a great group of volunteers in the greenhouse Monday helping us to seed our first leeks and onions of the year. With their help, we seeded our entire leek planting as well as a significant chunk of our Ailsa Craig onions for a total of 115 trays of seedlings! By next Monday we should see some green shoots poking out of those trays. Even if the ground is still covered in snow, it will begin to feel like spring in the greenhouse very soon. Next week we will continue seeding onions and perhaps our first fennel and lettuce plantings as well. If you're curious about what goes on at the farm in the spring (or want to escape the chill winter air), stop by and seed a few trays with us. We meet in the greenhouse every Monday 9am - noon. Questions? Email Ryan at rwood@ttor.org.

Greenhouse Volunteers starting on Monday!

With snow still on the ground and temperatures consistently below freezing, it's hard to believe that the start of the 2014 is just around the corner! We mark the start of every season with the opening of our greenhouse. This Monday, March 3rd from 9am-noon we will be firing up the propane heaters and begin seeding our leeks and onions. Join us for just an hour or for the entire morning as we aim to plant over 100 trays of seedlings. We will continue planting in the greenhouse every Monday morning until June, seeding all of the CSA’s transplants such as lettuce, flowers, tomatoes, eggplant and more. No commitment necessary, simply stop by and jump in!

We will meet at the greenhouse located just behind the CSA barn on the left. Please park in the compost lot located beyond the greenhouse, also on your left. Seeds are small and attention to detail is important, so while we welcome visits from children, the work is generally best suited for adults. If you have any questions please email Ryan at rwood@ttor.org. 

We hope to see you in the greenhouse this spring!

Reminder: Renewals are due January 3rd

We hope you all are enjoying the winter weather we've been getting lately (or at least enjoying hunkering down at home drinking hot chocolate!). We wanted to remind all shareholders that the $325 deposit to secure your share for next season is due January 3rd. After the third, we will begin offering shares to folks on our wait list. All shareholders should have gotten a renewal form either at your last pick-up, or in the mail the following week.  If you are missing your renewal form, or if you need to make alternative payment arrangements, please contact our office manager Maura Mastrogiovanni at mmastrogiovanni@ttor.org or by calling the farm at 978-356-5728.