April (and May) showers bring summer garlic!

Last November we spent a few beautiful days planting garlic around the farm. Laying on a nice straw cover, we tucked them in for winter and are anxiously waiting for the first scape and bulb harvest. Garlic has more benefits than we can list but it is strongly promoted for fighting the cold and flu and supporting heart health. It is also well known as being an aphrodisiac. (And garlic breath is not a problem if you both are eating it!)

We planted 4 varieties of garlic: German Red, French Red, Italian Purple and Ozark Soft Neck. I am looking forward to a blind taste test. And roasting whole bulbs of garlic on the grill!
But before we all get too excited, I should say this garlic will not be for eating...this year. We are growing it primarily for seed to provide our farm a beautiful future of producing yummy garlic. However, we will have a few of the smaller cloves to try at our markets this year. So, stay tuned and come visit us at market to learn more about our garlic harvest and taste the different varieties.
You can find us on Tuesdays at the Downtown Syracuse Farmers Market in Clinton Square and on Saturdays at the Syracuse Regional Market (Shed C).

Seedlings are ready but the soil is not

1000's of seedlings sit, ready to just about jump into the ground themselves. The soil is too wet to work, and we fear planting seedlings into this over-saturated soil will only lead to stress on the plants and possible crop failure. We will wait in hope that this weekend will bring sunny/windy weather to dry the soil.

Loads of broccoli, kale, cauliflower, swiss chard, leeks, and onion plants ready to be planted

***Stay tuned for information about garden seedlings for sale at our early markets. We will have all of our heirloom tomatoes and favorite varieties of cucumbers, peppers, herbs, and greens for sale soon.***

Drying out

It seems the soil is really starting to dry out-finally. I even got a bit of tilling done today. We are somewhat behind where we would like to be with seeding but we have had to wait for the soil to dry before we could work it. We are patient as are the plants: the greenhouse is full of onions, leeks, chard, and kale that would love to go into the ground. It looks like we are in for a bit of colder/wet weather this weekend, so we are hoping for a few big seeding/transplanting days next week.

We Live NY Summit

I just recently attended this conference in Ithaca, NY. It was an impressive gathering of young people across the state that are inspired to live and work for positive change in their communities. I participated in a panel of beginning farmers talking about how we got started farming and how it connects us to our community.
It was inspiring to meet Keeley from Keeley's Cheese Company and Will from VINES in Binghamton.

Thank you Jason Nelson

My new garden cart. It's light and fast and holds a ton! It's a Wizbang!

Thanks to my brother's incredible carpentry skills, I am now an owner of a great new garden cart for transporting all my tools and harvests from field to barn. A very generous gift from a very supportive brother.

Handspun Yarns

Clinton Square.  Nicholas Lisi / The Post-Standard

Hi everyone,
Because it's been a while since my last blog posting, I thought I would write a bit about how the end of the season went for us on the farm. This was a terrific first season for us and we are incredibly grateful for all of you who come out the markets each week. I recently drove by the downtown market location, and while it looks different covered in snow and ice skaters rather than fresh produce, I got a feeling of excitement anticipating next season and seeing you all again! We participated in a couple community events during the season. One at the Westcott Community Center Bulb Giveaway , and it was a huge success with over 4,000 flower bulbs given to the community.We then headed down to Watson Greenhouse where the CNY Men Who Cook gave a Fall cooking demonstration.We had a great time at both of these events and loved meeting everyone that participated.

Winter is upon us now and with 58 inches of snow accumulating in this past week, there is no longer any outdoor work to be done-other than shoveling. Now is the time when I slow down and enjoy the morning coffee. However, I am still busy spinning and dying wool for our handspun yarns. They are on sale at our Local Harvest store or through local craft fairs.
On Sunday, December 19th we will be in Utica, NY participating in the Holiday Indie Garage Sale from 11am-4pm.    Stay tuned for other events throughout the winter and updates on next year's crop planning. Seed Starting is just around the corner! Now, if only I could get out to the greenhouse through all that snow!

Have a great holiday season.
Sincerely, Farmer Angela and Matt.

Green tomatoes and rainy markets

We really appreciate everyone coming out for the past two Tuesday Downtown Markets. The past two weeks have not only been cold, but accompanied with heavy rains. Once wet and chilled, there is no getting warm during the market. This past week I wished I had remembered my long underwear, but I will never forget them from now on.
The only thing keeping a smile on my face was seeing everyone brave the rains to get their weekly produce-thank you thank you thank you. You make it all worth it.
This Tuesday will be our last Downtown Market for the year. I am so sad the season is over, especially since we still have beautiful greens and root crops taking in the sun on this beautiful afternoon. However, we will be at the Cazenovia Farmers Market until November, so you can still come visit us and pick up your food.
This week we will be bringing green tomatoes for my favorite fall snack: Fried Green Tomato Sandwiches. Serve it with a little Dijon mustard and crisp bacon.

We will be missing this Saturday Cazenovia Market (10/9). Our dear friends are getting married and we will be there to celebrate with them. It's a happy day!