Author: Bryan Housel

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – September 11, 2014

Hi Folks, We finally got some rain this past Saturday, about a half an inch. The summer squash and the beans had more or less stopped flowering, so now maybe they will be revived. This week’s share will not be as large as the distributions have been over the past few weeks. I expect this will be the case for a few weeks until the brassica crops begin to head up and the winter squash ripens. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – September 4, 2014

Hello Everyone, Happy Labor Day! We don’t really get to take holidays here on the farm, so today we continue to labor away! A dearth of rain continues to make our job harder; we received a scant tenth of an inch from yesterday’s storms. We continue to have an abundance of veggies for you however. There was no cabbage in the share last week; so you know what that means…. This week it’s the red variety. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – August 28, 2014

Hi Folks, This week marks the midpoint of the season. It’s hard to belief we are half way through. I guess time flies when you’re working hard! I am very pleased with what we have been able to provide the members thus far and from the feedback I have received, you all are fairly happy as well. We got off to a late start and I have been behind on my planting schedule almost the entire season. I have been worried that we will reach a point when the shares are not so bountiful. That day may come but it won’t be this week! We are almost out of carrots and I was only recently able to plant more. The second planting of cukes and zukes is starting to wane and the third planting is just coming up. With the dry weather we have had this past month it has been challenging to get seeds to germinate, have transplants survive or even prepare more ground for planting. We received 1.4 inches of rain last week, still not enough, but we take what we can get! (more…)

Orach

Orach

Orach, also called mountain spinach and bearing some similarity to spinach, is an interesting heirloom vegetable that you probably won’t find in many grocery stores.  The velvety leaves are burgundy on one side and deep green on the other, with bright magenta stems, making it pretty enough to be a houseplant. When cooked, it bleeds pink, tinting surrounding ingredients like rice a reddish bubble gum color. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – August 21, 2014

Hello Everyone, We received about 1.3 inches of rain from last week’s storms that were predicted to bring 2 to 4 inches. While I was glad not to get 4 inches, I was hoping for a little more. After 3 weeks without rain, the ground quickly soaked up the moisture and is still on the dry side. The precipitation was helpful for germinating seeds and watering in some of our transplanted crops, giving us a break from moving the sprinklers around the field. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – August 14, 2014

Hi Folks, We are still very dry here on the farm. On Tuesday evening, returning from market in Hoboken, we drove through some heavy showers but when we arrived at the farm it was dry. It looks as though we may get some precipitation this Tuesday or Wednesday- keep your fingers crossed! (more…)

Tromboncino

Tromboncino

This unique heirloom squash from Italy can be either a summer or a winter squash depending on when it is harvested.  In late summer tromboncinos are pale green or almost white, and can be treated like a firmer, sweeter zucchini.  When harvested late in the season, tromboncinos become more golden and firm like a butternut squash. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – August 7, 2014

Hello Everyone, we continue to enjoy mild temperatures for this time of the season. Unfortunately the several days of potential rain that were predicted over the weekend did not bring us any precipitation. We have been busy seeding and transplanting fall crops and were hoping for some rain to get seeds germinating and young plants to take root. We will have to begin moving our overhead irrigation around the fields and keep our fingers crossed for the next chance of rain on Wednesday. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – July 31, 2014

Hi Folks, tomato season has begun! Yippee! Probably only a couple of fruits for this week but quantities will increase week by week. Melons have also begun to ripen so we will be shipping to some groups as availability allows. There are a lot of Korean melons, an oblong yellow type which looks like an overgrown cucumber. These are very sweet and have a crisp flesh, not as soft as other melons. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – July 24, 2014

Hello Folks, things continue to well here on the farm – crops are abundant and quality is good. We dodged a bullet with last week’s storms, receiving only about an inch of rain and no high winds or hail. Only about a mile north of us they got an inch of rain in 20 minutes on Monday afternoon, but that cell fortunately missed our farm. It was unusual but not unwelcome to have such mild temperatures for mid-July. (more…)