Gildrien Farm

 
 
And we will be at the market this week! Come give us a hug. :)
Add Comment
 
Tomatoes! 07/08/2011
 
Picture
Yup, they're here! CSA got the first tomatoes on Tuesday, and we're bringing several flats to market tomorrow. We've got both red and golden slicers - try them both and see which you like best. The heirlooms and cherry tomatoes are on their way, and should be ready in the next week or two.

We'll also have eggplants - both the big purple ones and the little green Thai ones - and cucumbers, as well as lettuce, kale, green beans, peas, and more! The weather looks perfect for tomorrow, so we hope to see you there.
Add Comment
 
 
From the last indoor winter market.
Picture
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!
Add Comment
 
Heading outside 05/06/2011
 
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!
Add Comment
 
 
Picture
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.
Add Comment
 
 
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)!
Add Comment
 
 
Whew! Things are busy! We just finished the third farmers' market of the year, and this coming weekend is the start of our CSA! We've been tilling and seeding and transplanting away in our field in Salisbury, and we've opened up a new field in Middlebury, as well.

The land in Salisbury is pretty heavy clay, and it's been challenging to work with. We've spent a lot of time and sweat in the past few weeks moving about 20 yards of compost from piles along the edge of the field, into the pickup or wheelbarrows, and out onto the beds. This has improved the soil structure quite a lot, but it gets really cloddy if we work in it if it's even a little bit too wet. There's a smaller patch of land that we're using there as well, which had been a garden for a long time, and it's much more manageable. That's where all the potatoes are.

We've been proceeding slowly in the big field, preparing just what we need and waiting for the right conditions. But we've got cukes, zukes, winter squash and field tomatoes that are busting out of their soil blocks and they need a home now. So we got back in touch with a school in town that has some open land, who we'd talked with last year when we first started looking for a field to use. They were still excited to have us, so we mowed and had it plowed over the weekend. Jeremy has been out there all day today making beds, and I think we're going to plant tomorrow! Things sure move fast sometimes!

So that's the news from the farm. If you've been thinking about signing up for a CSA share, now's the time! If you're already a member, we can't wait to give you your first veggies!
Add Comment