Spring 2013

Vernal Equinox
It's been a busy winter here.  We made improvements to our farm stand, which doubles as our sugar house in the spring, by adding a concrete floor, electricity and refrigeration. Hours are Friday afternoons and weekends, or by appointment. We currently stock our own maple syrup, yarn, pork, grass-fed lamb, poultry and eggs and also carry Goat-Boy soaps and beef from other local farms. Fresh produce, picked daily, will be available beginning in May.

Maple sugaring, March 2013

Spring lambs

We have a variety of yarns in various colors and weights, all spun in New England. Our wool (shown above) is processed at Bartlett Yarns in Maine, the oldest continuously operated mill in the United States.  We also have exceptionally fine pure Merino yarn in natural colors (white, grey and black) raised by our neighbor, Eileen Graham as well as our own pure Alpaca and Alpaca/Llama blends spun here in Connecticut. Prices range from $9 to $20/skein

Our own Maple Syrup -  Quarts-$24, Pints-#16, Half-pints- $10

Pickings, August 4th
Our tomatoes have arrived in abundance. Here's Striped German, one of our best varieties, weighing in at 2 lbs, 14 ounces.

CSA Distributions
Crops are all growing well and we're starting distributions tomorrow (Monday, June 11).

Crops this week may include:
Lettuce mix
Arugula
Spinach
Broccoli Rappi
Asian Greens mix (this is a very spicy mix of mizuna, red mustard, and leaf broccoli)
Peas, probably later in the week
Rhubarb
Radish, probably later in the week
Very limited quantities of strawberries and asparagus.


We have a great supply of eggs, maple syrup, as well as pork and lamb products. If you want to add something to your regular order, please email a day in advance and we'll package it for you.

The previously mentioned kittens are available for adoption.

Memorial Day Plant Sale
We have hundreds of vegetable seedlings ready for planting in your home garden. Tomatoes, Eggplant, Peppers and Cucumbers $2.00 each, or $20/dozen. Mix and Match.

 

Apple of My Eye

When Linda and I first bought this old homestead three years ago, the old apple orchard immediately caught my attention. So covered was it with multiflora rose, bittersweet and poison ivy that we couldn't even count how many trees there were. They had grown to nearly 40 feet - far too high to harvest - and were filled with dead wood and broken branches. We called  Linda's childhood friends in western NY state for advice - people who run one of the largest orchards and cold storage facilities in the state - and they firmly advised us to cut everything down and start over. But when we unearthed the first air photos of Connecticut from 1934 and could clearly see the orchard in the image, we vowed to bring it back to life.

At first we simply removed the weeds, established a meadow understory where we grazed the sheep, and planted a handful of cherries to fill in the grid. Today we took next next major revitalization effort with the first hard pruning the orchard's had in perhaps 25 years. The trees look a bit like a scene from a horror movie but over the next several years we'll shape and sculpt them into a productive organic fruit orchard. For now, we're content to see that birds are already building nests in them and eating bugs, aiding in our pest control strategy. Our souls are also at peace with the realization that our children, and very likely their children, will walk into the back yard someday and pick fruit growing on trees planted by someone eighty years ago.

Easter Dinner

We have a great selection for your Easter dinner and are taking orders.
Smoked hams - 4 to 5 pounds each, $12/lb
Leg of lamb, about 4 lbs, $10/lb
Loin, Boston Butt and Shoulder pork roasts, $10 to $11/lb
as well as smoked bacon, chops, sausage etc.

Call or email to reserve yours.

CSA info