Author: Bryan Housel

Hi Everyone, we had about 2 inches of much needed rain this past Wednesday. Although heavy at times it came over an extended period and so was mostly able to be soaked up by the soil. This should be a big help to the spinach and brassica plants as well as to our last planting of carrots. Temperatures remain balmy and this too will enable what is left in the field to continue growing and reach a respectable size. (more…)

We will be offering one additional share to be delivered during the week of November 22^th (Thanksgiving week). This will be a “stock up” share and will include various vegetables that store well, so that you will be able to enjoy produce from the farm well into the winter months as well as provide veggies for your Thanksgiving feast. The total weight of this share will be between 50 and 60 lbs. Approximately a third of the share will be an assortment of butternut, acorn, buttercup (kabocha), delicata, and sweet dumpling squash. The share will also include an assortment of root vegetables such as carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips, celery root and radishes. I expect that the root crops will comprise about 12 lbs. of the share. (more…)

Hello Everyone! So after the ice had melted and a few days had gone by we were able to assess the damage from last week’s deep freeze. It was fairly substantial; many crops that are generally quite hardy had leaves burned and appeared quite droopy for several days. Some have recovered and others are still trying to come back. The Swiss chard was badly damaged and probably won’t recover. The kale had a lot of leaves burned but is beginning to grow again; we just need to let it rest a bit. The broccoli and cauliflower had leaf damage as well; so the heads they produce will be smaller. (more…)

Hello Folks, We had a flurry of weather events over the weekend including a brief flurry of snow. On Friday night we had our first frost of the season followed by our first hard freeze on Saturday and again on Sunday night. We had 26 degrees at 6 AM Sunday morning and 24 degrees this morning – brrrrr! Last week in preparation, we were scurrying about trying to harvest anything that would be damaged and covering a few crops we thought maybe we could save. (more…)

Hello Everyone! So the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder. While it is forecast to be a mild fall with above normal average temps we will still have a killing frost soon — probably next weekend. This past weekend we had a very light frost which blackened some of the sweet potato leaves and burned the pepper plants slightly. This normal and expected and most of what we grow for the final weeks of the season can tolerate frost and even a hard freeze. (more…)

Hi Folks, so after much premature hysteria we were spared from the wrath of Hurricane Joaquin. We nevertheless received about 3½ inches of rain from 3 days of drizzle and occasional showers. This will be beneficial to most of the crops, especially the brassicas and the root vegetables, but as previously mentioned will speed the demise of the tomatoes. (more…)

Hello Everyone, So it’s been nearly 3 weeks without precipitation now, but we are forecasted to receive heavy rain on Wednesday. There is also rain forecast for Saturday, which will put a damper on my markets (both literally and figuratively). We are still managing to glean a few tomatoes from the fields but if it starts raining too much that will be the end of the tomato harvest for this season. The broccoli continues to head up prolifically and we have been sending Romanesco cauliflower to various groups over the last few weeks. If you haven’t gotten any yet you will soon. (more…)

Hi Folks, so autumn has officially arrived, and the nights are getting quite chilly out here in the hills of Northwest New Jersey. The long term forecast for the Northeast is for warmer than average temps through the fall, so hopefully we won’t have a frost until late October. This is a great time of year for veggies since we can still enjoy some of the summer crops, and the fall cool weather vegetables are beginning to come in as well. (more…)

Hi Folks, we received little over 2 inches of rain last week, ending the latest dry spell. The fall crops are growing beautifully, and the recent seeding has germinated well. Unfortunately the cool nights and heavy dews along with this rain are causing a premature end to the tomato harvest. We have mostly cherry tomatoes left and a late planting that may produce a few slicers and some plum tomatoes. We will distribute these as supply permits over the next few weeks. (more…)

Hello Everyone, Happy Labor Day! I hope you have all enjoyed your long weekend and have put your veggies to good use for your parties and barbeques. Of course here on the farm it’s just another day and we labor away. We don’t get long weekends or even weekends – the crops won’t wait! I’m just saying — not complaining — we get our time off in the winter! I will complain (as I am wont to do) about the weather: dry, dry, dry. The rain predicted for last week evaporated before it got here. There is more predicted for this Thursday (100% probability at present). Hopefully the weatherman has got it right this time; it does happen occasionally. (more…)