Gildrien Farm

Our famous spring butter lettuce is ready (and the other lettuces, too)! We'll have it at the market this week.

From the last indoor winter market.

We won't be at the market tomorrow (the 21st) because all the wet weather got us a bit behind & threw off the succession plantings. But we should be back next week with lots of goodies, and we're getting really excited for CSA!

The first "summer" farmers' market is tomorrow - from now on, they'll be weekly, outside at the Marble Works. We'll be in the same spot as we were last year, and we plan to be there every week, so come say hello. We've got radishes this week - and our three successions all matured at once, so it looks like it'll be this week only! They're really tasty, nice and mild. We'll also have pea shoots and spinach again, and if you haven't tried this spinach, you're missing out. I think it's the best we've grown, really nutty and just good tasting. It feels like the perfect thing for spring. And we took Sonora on her first big hike this week to gather ramps, the amazing and delicious wild onion that only appears for a few weeks each spring. They are a real treat, good everywhere that you'd usually put onions or garlic. We especially like to use them in scrambled eggs, added to hamburgers, and in pasta. Come get some while they last!

Martha Stewart may not be everyone's cup of Earl Grey, but she has a great seasonal recipe section on her website. While the "spring" ingredients might not all make their appearance here until summer (green beans?), there are a bunch of recipes for asparagus, rhubarb, ramps, radishes, spring lettuce, and other yummies that will be ready soon if they aren't already. We should have radishes and ramps at the next market, and scallions and lettuce are coming soon. (Did anyone see our spring lettuce last year? We're hoping to get some even bigger, more beautiful heads this time!)

We'll also be adding some more spring-time recipes to our recipe section, so check back there for updates. If you have any favorites, let us know & we'll share!

Thanks to Joanna of Otter Creek Yoga for including information about our CSA in her April newsletter - just another example of why we love the Middlebury community so much. Welcome to anyone here as a result! Please poke around the website and get in touch if you have any questions.

That's ginger being planted down the middle of the solar heated bed, with seedlings on either side.  We're pretty exited about that.

(Yes, the CSA will get ginger. Yes, you can still sign up.)

And thanks to everyone who stopped by the market to visit and meet Sonora today - it was great to see you all! The farmers' market moves outside starting May 7, so if you didn't get a chance to come down today, stop by then for some spinach, pea shoots, and maybe radishes and more.

We'll be at the Middlebury Farmers' Market next Saturday, April 23, with a bunch of fresh spinach! We'll also have eggs from our chickens, who are psyched to be back on grass after the long winter.

Afterwards, we're going to be at the Middlebury College Earth Day celebration with some information about our solar heat set-up. Come down and say hello (and meet the new baby)!

We've been busy with all sorts of projects, but the biggest and most important arrived on the first day of spring. Meet Sonora Rose.

(Also pictured: pea shoots and spinach seedlings. Look for us at the farmers' market in another month or so!)

Oh, March. It's time to start dreaming of warmer weather and green things... and with that in mind, we've posted some new recipes featuring winter salad ideas. Check it out - and let us know if you have some of your own!

The Addison Independent featured our solar-heated germination bed in the 3/14/11 issue! Click here to download a PDF of the article, or you can read it on their website.

Thanks to Andrew Stein and the Addy Indy for a great, thoughtful article.