Category: News

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…)

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…)

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…)

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…)

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…)

Hi Folks, As most of you know, and with the kind support of many loyal members who prepaid for the 2014 season, I was able to buy a beautiful 80 acre property in Andover last November. The property has been known as Circle Brook Farm and I have chosen to keep this moniker. Starbrite Farm has now become Circle Brook Farm. I have formed an LLC and have opened a bank account with this name. I will be continuing to rent land from the adjacent property-Good Hand Farm, as I transition the additional 50 or so tillable acres to organic. I hope to soon begin establishing an orchard and planting a variety of berry and other small fruits. Very soon we will begin hosting regular farm visit events and I hope that many of you will have the chance to visit and enjoy this beautiful place and learn about how your food is grown. (more…)

Hello Everyone, So I think we’ve been doing fairly well so far with the share quantities and quality. Especially considering the late start we had with planting. Now it will really start to get good. We have beautiful broccoli coming in heavy right now. There was not quite enough for all groups last week, so those who did not receive any broccoli last week will definitely have it this time. We also have some lovely small heads of Napa cabbage and cauliflower is beginning to make heads. Sugarsnap peas are still abundant as well as some snow peas. We will certainly have enough for this week and I am hoping to continue for one more week with the peas. We will also be sending some sweet, gorgeous carrots in the share for this week. And there is some very nice basil as this week’s herb. Radicchio and fennel are almost ready and will be in next week’s share. Peppers and eggplant should begin in a couple more weeks and tomatoes shortly thereafter. (more…)

We will once again offer a fruit share for the 2014 season! We will soon begin planting a variety of fruit trees, bushes and brambles. In coming years I expect to produce most, if not all the crops for a fruit share. But for now, most of the fruit we distribute will come from an organic farm in the Hudson Valley, NY. (more…)

Hi Folks, We received .6″ of rain this past week. I was hoping for more but we’ll take what we can get. As we head into July we typically experience a dry spell until sometime in August. There are scattered and isolated storms predicted for most of the week so hopefully some of these will drop some rain on us. In the meantime we are busy moving the sprinklers around to help germinate recently planted seeds and to give the brassica, carrot, and beet crops the moisture they require. (more…)

Hello Everyone, summer has officially arrived and with it our first heat wave of the season. The hot weather was beneficial for the summer crops like tomatoes and peppers but a bit stressful for the cool weather plants. Cool weather crops like lettuce, radicchio, spinach, and the mustards (arugula, tatsoi, mizuna etc.) react to this stress by bolting. This is the reproductive mode of the plant whereby it stretches out and sends up a flower stalk. (more…)