Category: News

Hello Everyone! So, the heat wave broke and now we have a little taste of fall. The nights have been a bit chilly up here in the mountains of NW New Jersey! The daytime temps will be creeping back up into the 80’s, but the nights will be dipping into the low 60’s. It seems that we might get a brief break from the frequent rain in the coming weeks, although this Wednesday looks to be a little wet. Somewhat drier conditions will be welcomed, as we have lots of potatoes to harvest, and the digger doesn’t work well when the ground is saturated. It may also give us a chance to do some work on the farm roads, which are deeply rutted in most of the low spots around the fields. (more…)

Hi Folks! So, it continues to rain regularly here on the farm. We received almost 2½ inches over the past week, a bit more than the inch per week that is ideal. I’m not complaining though — it’s been good for the thousands of transplants we’ve been setting out, as well as helpful for germinating the direct seeded crops. It’s come mostly in the evening and overnight which means it hasn’t interfered with our work. In case you hadn’t noticed we’re in the throes of another heat wave, which might be worth complaining about if it would do any good. Besides, I’m still working on my string of consecutive weeks without complaining about the weather! Although the Guinness folks haven’t returned my call yet. (more…)

Hi Everyone! So, the weather continues to be excellent for both plants and humans! If this keeps up, it will be a Circle Brook Farm update record for consecutive weeks without complaining about the weather! Maybe I should call the Guinness Book of World records folks – I understand they’ll certify just about anything if there’s enough money in it. There are strong storms forecast for tomorrow, so we’ll have to wait and see how that goes. In the meantime, we have lots of nice produce heading your way! (more…)

Hi Everyone!  So, we begin as usual, with the weather report.  We had two light rains over the weekend totaling about a half an inch.  This was greatly appreciated as we are in the process of transplanting the fall brassica crops as well as direct-seeding other crops for harvest during the second half of the season.  Generally, we have been receiving plenty of sunshine and warm, yet not scorching, temperatures.  All in all, I would say the weather has been copacetic and is predicted to remain so for the next couple of weeks.  We did have a large planting of fall carrots and a planting of dill and cilantro fail to germinate after the heavy rain 2 weeks back.  I am in the process of replanting but had to order more seed, since I used up all of my favorite varieties. (more…)

Hi Folks!  So after a brief respite, the heat is on again.  It looks like it will break by Wednesday or Thursday.  I imagine there will be a few more heat waves to endure yet this season!  We did receive too much rain (3½ inches!) after the last scorcher.  The combination of extreme temps and wetness took its toll on our lettuce crop, and we won’t have it in the shares for a few weeks. (more…)

Hello Folks! We have survived the heat wave, although it has taken a bit of a toll on some of the crops. Primarily, the lettuce has been damaged — we have lost hundreds of heads. But this may be good news for those of you who have been struggling to use 2 heads of lettuce a week! (more…)

Hello Everyone! So, Solanaceae is the name of the family of plants that includes tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potatoes, as well as tomatillos and their cousins. You might infer from the “sol” in their name that they are sun and heat lovers, which is true (although the etymology is unclear). (more…)

Hi Everyone! So, we received some much-needed rain over the weekend. The broccoli and cauliflower are heavy drinkers lol. I also have a lot of seed in the ground waiting to sprout. (more…)

Hi Folks! So summer is here and the heat is on! Nothing too extreme on the horizon just yet- mid-80’s and dropping mercifully into the 60’s at night. This type of weather is tough on the lettuce, peas, broccoli, and other cool weather crops but it’s just the ticket for the peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and the melons. We should have plenty of sunshine now and hopefully a little rain from a passing thunderstorm now and then. (more…)

Hello Folks! So, it was a wet spring and the final week of the season was even wetter. It’s been a challenge to get our planting done and now all the moisture is starting to affect the crops a bit. We lost hundreds of heads of lettuce to rot before it was even close to maturity. The spinach is turning yellow. Anywhere there is a low spot in the field where the water collects the crop is stunted or has died. (more…)