Author: Bryan Housel

Hello Everyone, So we have arrived at the end of the season. I know that it’s a sad moment for many of you, but as you can imagine I and my crew are happy that the end is in sight. My workers are anxious to return to their families and their tropical climate. I am looking forward to a rest and a respite from the worry and stress that seems to be an inevitable part of my occupation. (more…)

Hi Folks, As we head into the final weeks of the season winter weather is already rearing it’s ugly head. In last week’s episode I mentioned feeling frustration; my mood at present can best be described as mildly depressed. Most of you have just recently had your first frost, but out here we are a bit farther north and at a slightly higher elevation. I’ve lost track of how many frosts and hard freezes we’ve had so far. It doesn’t really matter much anymore since the tender crops are done and what is left in the field is fairly hardy. (more…)

We will be offering one additional share to be delivered during the week of November 23rd (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 table. 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 it’s November now; a frustrating month for farmers, or at least I find it so. The combination of short days, cold soil temperatures and even colder nights slows the growth and maturation of the crops to a snail’s pace. Frequent overcast days exacerbate the situation. The brassica crops grew a bit slowly during the dry period in late summer. Now that they have adequate moisture the limiting factors are warmth and sunshine. I look out over fields of broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage; big beautiful plants, and wonder when they will make heads. Will they delay until just before one of the bitterly cold nights that are all but certain to arrive in the weeks to come, only to be frozen solid and ruined? (more…)

Hi Everyone, We had a nice group of folks out here on the farm last Saturday for a tour and a campfire. It’s always a pleasure to meet the members and especially the children that are being raised on our veggies. Thanks to those who came out on Sunday and helped break apart garlic bulbs to prepare them for planting. These were the last two farm events for the season. Next year I plan to host more events and provide more frequent opportunities for members to see the farm and learn how their food is grown. (more…)

Hi Everyone, so we finally got a substantial rain last week- 2 inches worth. The fall crops should now begin to grow a little better. We also had our third light frost last night; this one a little harder than the previous two. We continue to try to glean what we can of the warm weather crops before each of these frost events. (more…)

Hi everyone, if you missed the spring order of maple syrup, or would like to purchase more maple products now is your chance!  Please fill out the attached form and mail it back to the address listed.  Please note that orders must be received in the mail by Oct 31!!  That’s pretty soon!

Also, please write WESTFIELD across the top of the order form.

The maple products will be available for pick up on Nov 20.

Hi Folks, Mother Nature continues to dole out the precipitation with an eye dropper. On Saturday we received about .3 inches of the wet stuff. Once again the rain event coincided perfectly with the hours of my Saturday market, dampening sales as well as my workers and I. We are predicted to get a more substantial drenching on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. (more…)

We will host several more events at the farm this fall. These will all be opportunities to see the farm, help out a bit and to receive a pumpkin. I hope many of you will be able to attend. If you are not able to make it out to the farm and would still like to get a pumpkin, you can visit us at one of our markets over the next few weeks: (more…)