Monday, December 30, 2013

January 3 pickup
Choose 7 

 Expected vegetables:
update: sorry no spinach or other salad greens this week due to the plastic blowing off our hoophouse and due to the cold and upcoming snow
watermelon radishes (~1 lb.)
daikon radishes (~1 lb.)
cabbage, purple or green
celeriac
acorn or carnival squash (1)
tetsukabuto squash
kale 
garlic (2) 
potatoes 
onions (2)
shallots (~1/2 lb.)
leeks (2)
carrots 
beets (~1 lb.)
sweet turnips (~1 lb.)
rutabegas (~1 lb.)
flour

Here is a price list from fellow vendors Marcia and Dennis Bauchle and Straightway Farm


Sunday, December 15, 2013

December 20 pickup
Choose 14 (double share pickup, no pickup December 27)
 Expected vegetables:
spinach (limit 1 per share)
arugula
Brussels sprouts
watermelon radishes (~1 lb.)
daikon radishes (~1 lb.)
cabbage, purple or green
celeriac
butternut squash (1)
acorn squash (1)
kale 
garlic (2) 
potatoes 
onions (2)
shallots (~1/2 lb.)
leeks (2)
carrots 
beets (~1 lb.)
sweet turnips (~1 lb.)
rutabegas (~1 lb.)
flour
dry black beans

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

December 13 pickup

Choose 7

Expected vegetables:
spinach
spicy greens
Brussels sprouts
watermelon radishes (~1 lb.)
daikon radishes (~1 lb.)
cabbage, purple or green
celeriac
butternut squash (1)
acorn squash (1)
kale 
garlic (2) 
potatoes 
onions (2)
shallots (~1/2 lb.)
leeks (2)
carrots 
beets (~1 lb.)
sweet turnips (~1 lb.)
rutabegas (~1 lb.)

Sunday, November 24, 2013

CSA pickup December 6

Choose 7

Expected vegetables:
spinach
arugula
Brussels sprouts
watermelon radishes (~1 lb.)
daikon radishes (~1 lb.)
cabbage, purple or green
celeriac
butternut squash (1)
acorn squash (1)
kale
parsley
garlic (2)
potatoes
onions (2)
shallots (~1/2 lb.)
leeks (2)
carrots
beets (~1 lb.)
sweet turnips (~1 lb.)
rutabegas (~1 lb.)

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Sorry for the late post
November 22 pickup

Choose 14 double share- no pickup next week!  have a good thanksgiving!:

Brussels sprouts
spinach
watermelon radishes (1 lb.)
daikon radishes (1 lb.)
cabbage, purple and green
celeriac
butternut squash (1)
acorn squash (1)
spicy greens
japanese lettuce (baby napa cabbage)
kale
parsley
garlic (2)
potatoes
onions (2)
peppers (as needed)
leeks (2)
carrots (1 lb.)
beets (1 lb.)
sweet turnips (1 lb.)
rutabegas


happened to be in a waiting room and saw this recipe made on TV, sounds tasty~!
kelly ripa's brussels sprouts salad

ingredients:
1 cup Walnuts, chopped
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 pounds Brussels Sprouts, trimmed and thinly sliced (sliced in food processor is fine)
½ cup shallots , finely chopped 
A pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
3/4 cup dried cherry
1 – 15oz can or chick peas drained and rinsed
Finish with fresh grated Pecorino cheese

directions:
1.In a large, dry skillet, toast walnuts over medium heat, tossing, about 5 minutes. Set aside & reserve pan. Using the same pan, warm oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add Brussels sprouts, shallot, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.

2.Cook, stirring, until Brussel sprouts are wilted, 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

3.Add dried cherries, chick peas, and reserved walnuts.

4.Toss to combine and finish with grated pecorino chesese and transfer to a serving bowl.
*(from live with kelly and michael's website)

Monday, November 11, 2013

Nov 15 pickup
This week's expected vegetables
 
Choose 7:

Brussels sprouts
spinach
watermelon radishes (1 lb.)
daikon radishes (1 lb.)
cabbage
celeriac
butternut squash (1)
acorn squash (1)
arugula
kale
Swiss chard
parsley
garlic (2)
potatoes
onions (2)
peppers (as needed)
leeks (1)
carrots (1 lb.)
beets (1 lb.)
sweet turnips (1 lb.)
rutabegas

Monday, November 4, 2013

Welcome to our Fall/Winter CSA
 
Expected items for this week
 
Choose 7:

Brussels sprouts
spinach
watermelon radishes
cabbage
celeriac
butternut squash (1)
lettuce mix
spicy mix
arugula
kale
Swiss chard
parsley
garlic (2)
potatoes
onions (2)
peppers (as needed)
leeks (1)
carrots
beets
sweet turnips

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Last week. Whew!
 
Choose: small share 8; large share 10
 
Brussels sprouts
spinach
watermelon radishes
cabbage
pie pumpkins
celeriac
acorn squash (2)
butternut squash (1)
lettuce mix
spicy mix
arugula
kale
Swiss chard
parsley
garlic (2)
tomatillos
husk cherries
potatoes
onions (2)
peppers (several)
leeks (2)
carrots
beets
maybe a few eggplants (4)

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Small share choose 8; large share choose 10

Brussels sprouts
spinach
watermelon radishes
cabbage
pie pumpkins
Jerusalem artichokes
celeriac
butternut squash (1)
ginger (1/4 lb.)
lettuce mix
spicy mix
arugula
kale
Swiss chard
parsley
garlic (2)
tomatillos
husk cherries
potatoes
onions (2)
peppers (several)
tomatoes (several)
cherry tomatoes
leeks (2)
maybe a few eggplants (4)

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Small share choose 8; large share choose 10
 
Brussels sprouts
spinach
watermelon radishes
cabbage
pie pumpkins
Jerusalem artichokes
celeriac
carnival or acorn squash (1)
ginger (1/4 lb.)
lettuce mix
spicy mix
kale
Swiss chard
parsley
garlic (2)
tomatillos
husk cherries
potatoes
onions (2)
shallots (1/2 lb.)
peppers (several)
tomatoes (several)
cherry tomatoes
leeks (2)
maybe a few eggplants (4)


Sunday, October 6, 2013

Don't forget our Fall/Winter CSA. Click the link on the right to go to the form. On the form we included a list of crops we expect to have available for the Fall/Winter - they include salad greens, kale, cabbage, root crops, squash and more.
 
This week:
Small share 8; large share 10
For those items that we sell loose I put in parenthesis the CSA item amount.
 
cabbage
pie pumpkins
sweet potatoes (2) They will go fast - they will be gone by next week I'm sure)
Jerusalem artichokes
celeriac
delicata squash (2)
ginger (1/4 lb.)
lettuce mix
arugula
spicy mix
kale
Swiss chard
parsley
garlic (2)
tomatillos
husk cherries
potatoes
onions (2)
shallots (1/2 lb.)
peppers (as needed)
tomatoes (several)
cherry tomatoes
leeks (2)
maybe a few eggplants (4)

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Last year we had a lot of squash and onions. And we really didn't have enough room to store them. And we didn't have the ability to effectively store the squash at the the right temperature (about 50-55 degrees). So we are building this insulated space to hopefully serve as our our new squash/onion/garlic storage room(s). Onions and garlic like to be stored colder (mid 30s) so we will have to have seperate rooms for the them and the squash. But it should be a lot better than covering the squash with old quilts at night with a little space heater! Hopefully next week we will have pictures of our progress to share.
 
 
sweet potatoes
Jerusalem artichokes
celeriac (celery root)
delicata squash
acorn squash
ginger
lettuce mix
arugula
spicy mix
kale
Swiss chard
parsley
garlic
tomatillos
husk cherries
potatoes
sweet onions
shallots
peppers - green or ripe
tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
leeks
eggplants

Sunday, September 22, 2013

This week the choices will be a little less than we'd like. Many of our "summer" crops are done (zucchini, cucumbers, beans) but our "fall" crops (celeriac, butternuts, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes) are not ready yet. And we know beets and carrots are favorites, too, but we had a couple of beds of both of these that got overrun with weeds. So probably no carrots or beets this week.
Choose 8 small share; 10 large share:
delicata squash
ginger
lettuce mix
spicy mix
arugula
kale
Swiss chard
parsley
garlic
tomatillos
husk cherries
potatoes
sweet onions
shallots
peppers - green or ripe
tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
leeks
eggplants

Sunday, September 15, 2013


Usually we post pretty farm photos here. Well this year we have been unable to harvest 100 percent of all the crops that should be harvested. So we have had some tomatoes, some peppers and some cucumbers that have just ended up rotting on the vine as we run out of daylight hours to finish harvesting and also we really don't have a market for some of these excesses. So we know next year - plant less tomatoes!
Small share choose 8; large share choose 10:
ginger
lettuce mix
spicy mix
arugula
kale
Swiss chard
parsley
garlic
tomatillos
husk cherries
potatoes
sweet onions
shallots
peppers - green or ripe
green beans
dragon tongue beans
tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
basil
pea and sunflower shoots
leeks
eggplants


Sunday, September 8, 2013



beets
lettuce mix
kale
Swiss chard
zucchini/summer squash
parsley
carrots
garlic
cucumbers
tomatillos
husk cherries
potatoes
sweet onions
shallots
peppers - green or ripe
green beans
dragon tongue beans
tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
basil
pea and sunflower shoots
leeks
eggplants

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Remember: no CSA pickup on Friday (Muddy Fingers farmers will be taking a much needed break enjoying the Jersey shore!!)
Choose 8 small share, 10 large share:
beets
lettuce mix
kale
Swiss chard
zucchini/summer squash
parsley
carrots
garlic
cucumbers
pickling cucumbers
tomatillos
husk cherries
potatoes
sweet onions
shallots
peppers - green or ripe
green beans
dragon tongue beans
tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
basil
pea and sunflower shoots
leeks
eggplants

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Vegetables for preserving

Looking for vegetables to preserve, freeze or can?
Right now we have we have large quantities of the following:

green or dragon tongue beans
yellow or red roma tomatoes
rainbow cherry tomatoes
cucumbers (probably not for much longer)
green peppers
ripe sweet peppers
sweet onions
garlic
parsley
tomatillos

If interested, let us know the quantity you might want and we can discuss pricing.
maglenn_1999@yahoo.com; 607-546-4535

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Part of the garlic harvest. We were trimming and putting them in crates to make way for the onions to be cured on the same tables.
 
This is our Japanese paper pot transplanter in action. Here we are transplanting tiny spicy greens mix seedlings.

Choose 8 small share, 10 large share:
beets
lettuce mix
kale
Swiss chard
zucchini/summer squash
parsley
carrots
garlic
cucumbers
pickling cucumbers
tomatillos
husk cherries
potatoes
sweet onions
shallots
peppers - green or ripe
green beans
dragon tongue beans
tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
basil
nasturtium flowers
pea and sunflower shoots
fennel
leeks
maybe a few: eggplants

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Follow the link on this page for a brochure for our fall/winter CSA!

We just moved the chickens to a new spot in the field. After they have been in one spot for a couple weeks they have chomped down all the grass and there's not much left that is exciting to them. This is of course one of the main reasons we have chickens - so they can clean up weedy areas. So when we move them to a new spot and let them out of the coops they all run and and scatter happily and start scratching and pecking at new ground. Yesterday we moved them onto the block where the garlic was this year. The garlic was mulched with hay so they love scratching through it to find worms and seeds.
 Lately it seems that half our lives are taken up with picking beans

 Terrified-worm's-eye view
Ripe sweet peppers - Jimmy Nardello, Tolli's, Garden Sunshine, Chocolate, Carmen

Choose 8 small share, 10 large share:
beets
lettuce mix
kale
Swiss chard
zucchini/summer squash
parsley
carrots
garlic
cucumbers
pickling cucumbers
tomatillos
husk cherries
potatoes
sweet onions
shallots
cabbage - red or green
peppers - green or ripe
green beans
dragon tongue beans
tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
basil
nasturtium flowers
pea and sunflower shoots
edamame
fennel
leeks
maybe a few: eggplants
Whew!!!

Sunday, August 11, 2013

We have really been pushing ourselves these past few weeks trying to get everything harvested for the markets. I guess this is a good problem to have, but it does cut into other farm time and it does start to wear us down. But the weather has been great and most crops are growing quite well.
Choose: 8 small share; 10 large share

beets
lettuce
kale
Swiss chard
zucchini/summer squash
parsley
carrots
garlic
cucumbers
pickling cucumbers
tomatillos
husk cherries
new potatoes
sweet onions
shallots
cabbage - red or green
peppers - green or ripe
green beans
dragon tongue beans
tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
basil
nasturtium flowers
pea and sunflower shoots
edamame
maybe a few: eggplants
also local, organic dry beans and flour

Sunday, August 4, 2013

We apologize for the lack of salad greens last week. We try hard to have salad greens of some kind (spinach, spicy mix, lettuce mix, lettuce) every week. But we fell down on planting a few weeks ago and so we have a lack of greens right now. We will have some small lettuce heads this week.
Garlic bulbs are back. We have begun the garlic harvest - a little late this year due to the cold spring weather.

Choose: 8 small share; 10 large share

beets
lettuce
kale
Swiss chard
zucchini/summer squash
parsley
carrots
garlic
cucumbers
pickling cucumbers
tomatillos
husk cherries
new potatoes
sweet onions
shallots
cabbage - red or green
peppers - green or ripe
green beans
dragon tongue beans
tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
basil
nasturtium flowers
pea and sunflower shoots
maybe a few: eggplants
also local, organic dry beans and flour

Sunday, July 28, 2013

 Almost there! Soon we'll have lots of delicious cherry tomatoes.
We will reuse these red netty things if you bring them back. We also will reuse: clean pint and quart boxes (the green ones), clean egg containers. Thanks!

Choose 7:

beets
lettuce mix
kale
Swiss chard
zucchini/summer squash
parsley
carrots
garlic scapes
cucumbers
new potatoes
sweet onions
shallots
cabbage - red or green
peppers - green or ripe
green beans
dragon tongue beans
tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
basil
nasturtium flowers
pea and sunflower shoots
maybe a few: eggplants, pickling cucumbers, tomatillos, husk cherries
also local, organic dry beans and flour

Sunday, July 21, 2013

beets
lettuce mix
kale
Swiss chard
zucchini/summer squash
parsley
carrots
garlic scapes
cucumbers
new potatoes
green onions
sweet onions
shallots
cabbage
peppers
green beans
dragon tongue beans
tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
basil
nasturtium flowers
maybe a few eggplants, a few ripe peppers, a few pickling cucumbers
also local, organic dry beans and flour
This excellent cover crop of field peas, oats and vetch grew in two of our blocks all spring. We mowed it down and incorporated it into the soil a couple weeks. Now the organic matter and nitrogen (supplied to the soil by the leguminous peas and vetch) will feed the crops we will be planting in the next few weeks that will be harvested in the fall and winter such as rutabegas, turnips, beets, carrots, cabbage and greens.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Choose 7:

beets
lettuce mix
kale
Swiss chard
zucchini/summer squash
parsley
carrots
garlic scapes
cucumbers
new potatoes
green onions
cabbage
peppers
green beans
tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
basil
nasturtium flowers
also local, organic dry beans and flour

Sunday, July 7, 2013

bad broccoli, human nature, and hungry birds

remember each cherry tomato starts as a flower, and check out these plants!  almost more flower than leaf!  look out for these little yellow beauties!
 

Thanks to the anonymous commentor a few weeks back, for drawing my attention to a need to follow up on a story. I forgot to mention that the insect exclusion netting worked like a dream! Not only did it exclude the swede midge- and we got the best crop we have had in years-actually ever! As an added bonus, it also excluded the cabbage moths, they lay the eggs that become those green caterpillars (that are the exact same color as broccoli). Additionally, and we are not sure why, the flea beetle damage on the plants under cover was significantly lower than the uncovered plants, and they got a big head start on the few plants that were being eaten around the edges outside of the covers. And the last thing that the covers did, was to exclude rabbits, who munched those plants that weren't protected! Those poor “control” plants outside of the cover, really are not in great shape, and the experimental ones under cover did fantastically! Overall, the insect exclusion netting gets a major thumbs up from us!

That praise for insect exclusion netting out of the way, now I will say that while the first half of the broccoli was a splendid success. The second half is is an excellent study in human behavior and farm economics. For some reason, those crowns, which looked fantastic last week, are now getting little brown spots on them, the spots seem to be superficial and the heads may have even all been harvested for the corning market last week, (but alas, the growth rate of veggies and how they don't pause for a federal holiday was not a factor in the cancellation of the market. ) but I digress.

The point being many or perhaps now most heads have brown spots on them. Now at this moment, you may well be thinking, well that's no big deal, I can just cut out those spots and not waste the other pound and a half of good broccoli. And we agree. But in eleven years of selling at farmer's market, what I have noticed is that sentiment doesn't acutally carry over to what a person selects at the market table, each person selects what they percieve to be the best product in the stack, leaving the last one on the table to be what was considered the least desirable. And teaching farmer's to only bring things of the utmost quality to market (yet still some people feel they most paw through every head of lettuce to find “the best” one, as if poor quality ones were brought to market, PULEEASE!)

Our propensity as a society for “perfect” food leads us to the farm economics lesson. An apple farmer that has a hail storm and has their fruit damaged, even just one or two marks on each apple is forced by the customer's selection of only perfect fruit to mark down their imperfect (yet still just as tasty) fruits in order to sell them- (reinforcing the idea that those “inferior” fruits are worth less than those perfect fruits) the problem being that it takes the same pruning, spraying, picking *, packing *, and marketing * effort to get fruits with two hail spots to market as it does to get blemish free fruits to the market stand (*in fact usually more effort on the starred items as there is a lot more sorting to do both in the field, in the packing stand, and at the market than for unblemished fruits). A farmer could be forced to sell these fruits for half price, thus losing half their yearly income, just because they had the bad luck of getting 10 minutes of hail in july. (also leading farmer's who do use sprays to use as much as possible to maximize perfect fruits and minimize less desirable fruits that are sold for less).

Off my soap box and back to the broccoli, it may not be worth the labor for us to pick it, wash it, pack it up, unload it at market, make it look nice nestled on our table, just to have people snub those little brown spots. So we'll see how the timing works out for harvesting this week as to whether we'll make the effort.
 
 
some of the first broccoli, looking fine!

On totally different note, the second hatchings of robin babies seem to be fledging right now and they have lots of food available in the form of a large tart cherry tree in our back yard. Its got birds in it all day long, and there are cherry pits all over the farm- from birds dropping them in flight. We picked the lowest limbs tonight, but short of a cherry picker bucket to lift us way up, there is no way that we could ever reach all of the highest fruits. Hope you, too, filled your freezers with fruits last week, the annual cherry frenzy is coming to an end up here!  this year we tried drying them for the first time and the conclusion, is thumbs up for dried sweet cherries!  some of those non bird eaten tart cherries will go in tonight to see how tart cherries measure up. 
It was really nice to show around lots of CSA cherry picking members this past week! Thanks for making the trip out to the farm! and to alternate markets as well this week, we feel that food every week is superior to twice as much food one week and none another.   

Here's a yummy sounding recipe that john, kathy, and amy passed on to us! Recipe from:


Creamy Maple Mustard Dressed Raw Chard Salad
vegan, serves 2-3

1 beautiful bunch of organic Swiss chard (any color will work!)

Creamy Maple Mustard Dressing:
2 tsp whole/coarse grain mustard
2 tsp vegan mayo, aka Vegenaise
1 tsp grade B maple syrup
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (you can substitute this with lemon juice if necessary)
1/8 tsp (or just a few pinches) or fresh orange or lemon zest
pinch of salt (to taste)
pinch of fine black pepper
pinch of cayenne powder
optional: squeeze of lemon juice

additional spices you may want to try: garlic powder, coriander, turmeric, onion powder, nutritional yeast - dried or freshly chopped jalapeno, garlic or parsley.

dressing notes:
* If your chard is an extra large bunch, or you just like
more dressing, double my recipe.
* choose a
spicy whole grain mustard if possible, otherwise you can add in a 1/2 tsp spicy Dijon mustard in addition - or a few extra dashes of cayenne. The spicy kick is a nice compliment to the sweetness of the maple

salad garnish: fresh lemon or orange citrus zest

Directions:

1. Rinse your chard in cold water - each leaf should be well rinsed to remove any sandy residue. Chop off any brownish ends on the stem. Pat leaves dry with a paper towel of you can use a salad spinner to help dry once they are chopped.

2. Thinly slice the chard into ribbons. Add to a large mxing bowl. You can rinse one more time in cold water if desired.

3. Whisk together your dressing in a small cup. Pour over top greens and toss well.

4. Pour into serving bowl and cover. Place in the fridge to chill for at least one hour before serving. Greens should be eaten within 8 hours of preparing. Serve chilled. Add fresh lemon or orange zest over top to serve.

The website mentions that this dish would be nice with some edible flowers on top, this week you'll start to see edible flowers at market if we have time to pick them- nice spicy nasturstiums in a wide array of shades of orange, red, and yellow!

Have a good week!

beets
lettuce heads
kale
Swiss chard
zucchini
parsley
carrots
garlic scapes
spinach
cucumbers
broccoli
new potatoes
green onions
cabbage
a few peppers
green beans
tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
also local, organic dry beans and flour
 

Liz and matthew



this is where garlic scapes come from, right in the center of the garlic plant, now you know...

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Hi,
The Corning Farmers' Market will unfortunately not be open this Thursday July 4. Therefore here are your options for picking up your CSA share this week:
Elmira - Monday, Grove Park 3:00-6:00
Watkins Glen - Friday, Lafayette Park 3:00-7:00
On the farm - Monday, 11:00-1:00; Wednesday or Thursday all day; Friday 11:00-1:30 Address: 3859 Dugue Rd. Hector, NY 14841
Please let us know which day and location you plan to pick up. If you are picking up Wednesday or Thursday on the farm please let us know which crops you would like and please provide a couple alternates in case we don't have some of your first choices. Choose 7 items.

baby beets/beet greens
lettuce heads
kale
Swiss chard
zucchini
parsley
carrots
garlic scapes
spinach
cucumbers
broccoli
new potatoes
green onions
cabbage
a few peppers
green beans
also local, organic dry beans and flour

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Goodbye TOTN

Ever since our days of interning at a small vegetable farm in Pennsylvania there has been one constant. Monday through Thursday at 2:00 we could always tune into NPR and be informed and entertained. Talk of the Nation was almost always interesting and it usually made us reconsider our own opinions. It has been our constant companion as we work outside weeding, harvesting and planting throughout the seasons and the years. We will miss you!!!!

Sunday, June 23, 2013


As yet we have not had much to harvest, but almost every one of the 170 beds on the farm is planted. The only block that is unplanted at this point is the one that will be filled with winter squash and pumpkins this week. Two of the blocks are not planted with vegetables but some really nice, lush cover crop of oats, field peas and vetch. These will be mowed this week and incorporated into the soil to make way for our fall and winter crops which we will start to plant next month.
But most crops we are just waiting on and trying to keep the weeds at bay.
It looks like we'll have a few more things to harvest this week, though!

Choose 6:
spicy mix
baby beets/beet greens
lettuce heads
kale
Swiss chard
a few zucchini
parsley
carrots
garlic scapes
spinach
cucumbers
broccoli
new potatoes
green onions
cabbage
a few peppers
also local, organic dry beans and flour

Sunday, June 16, 2013

The weather recently has been fantastic, plenty of rain and great temperatures for working outside.
So we will be rewarded, I think, with some nice produce in the next few weeks.
Don't forget by clicking on the link to the right you can sign up to receive emails when we post to this blog.

There was a fire at cayuga pure organics, the place that we get the beans (and that grows some of the wheat for the flour) that we offer in the CSA share.  apparently their insurance won't cover the cost of rebuilding and they have a campaign to help rebuild.  check out the site, this is an important part of our food shed!  we'll be making a donation, we value what they are doing....want to learn more, check out their indiegogo site! http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-cayuga-pure-organics-an-organic-non-gmo-farm-rebuild-after-fire?c=home

Choose 6:
spicy mix
baby beets/beet greens
lettuce heads
kale
Swiss chard
cilantro
parsley
baby carrots
garlic scapes
spinach
cucumbers!!??
also local, organic dry beans and flour

expected for next week:
all of the above plus new potatoes, broccoli,  maybe a few zucchini/summer squash and green beans

Thursday, June 13, 2013

 This is why we haven't had any sunflower shoots lately. Wow the birds, chipmunks and squirrels REALLY love them. I think the chipmunks have been taken care of, now the squirrels are getting in.
Um, I think we should have picked this lettuce a little sooner.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Week 2:
Well, it looks like more rain headed our way for this week. I say bring it on! What a beautiful day today, though, after all that rain. Wow! the plants are just about popping with energy. Unfortunately so are the weeds. And with the oncoming rain, the next few days won't be good for cultivating or weeding.
Sorry no new pics yet this week. I'll try to rectify that soon!

This week's CSA
Choose 5:
spicy mix
lettuce heads
cilantro
parsley
baby carrots
garlic scapes
spinach
cucumbers!!??
vegetable transplants
also local, organic dry beans and flour

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

available plants

Available Plants (can get as a share item for the first week)

Herbs parsley, basil and dill

pickling cucumbers

Slicing Tomatoes   Rose de Berne, taste test winner dark rose color
                               Garden Peach, fuzzy like a peach! Sweet for a tomato
                                         Green Zebra, green with yellow stripes medium size
                                         Paul Robeson, black heirloom tomato
                                         Goldie, large yellow beefsteak meaty texture

Cherry Tomatoes Sungold, orange and sweet
                            red cherry
                            Black cherry farmer favorite!
                            Yellow mini, prolific producer!
                            Snow white, very light yellow, nice flavor!

Paste tomatoes red or white

Peppers new ace- Green to Red Bell
                                    Golden Treasure, long pepper that turns brilliant orange     
                            Jimmy Nardello, sweet frying heirloom pepper

Hot peppers Jalapeno, habenero, cayenne

Yellow Onions

lettuce cut and come again style or head lettuce

eggplant long skinny asian eggplants or Rosa Bianca an italian heirloom

husk cherries and tomatillos

zucchini

kale green curly and red russian heirloom

broccoli

Beans Haircort verts fancy green beans

Monday, June 3, 2013

Oh yeah, we will also have parsnips available for CSA this week.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Hi,
Welcome to the first week of CSA!
Well, as always we are starting slow. Here is what you can expect this week.

Choose 5 items:
Lettuce
Lettuce Mix
Spicy Greens Mix
Spinach
Cilantro
Baby Carrots
Vegetable transplants

Plus we'll have local, organic flour and dry beans (black and red) as part of the CSA too.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

The start is near....

Chickens in the orchard.  We added laying hens to our farm because we wanted to use their manure in our fertility cycle.  The eggs are just a delicious side benefit!  Since organic growers must wait 120 days after fresh manure is added to the field, until they can harvest a crop from that ground, thre are times when they don't fit in our crop rotation cycle and can't be on the vegetable grounds.  When this is the case, the fall back location is in our small orchard, where they happily peck around for insects and their eggs, grubs and larvae and eat the grass and other greenery that grows between our trees.  Here they are last week when most of the trees were in resplendant bloom!  (The white "cube" on the right holds water for them)
 
We've noticed that people love firm veggies.  The kinds of things that thrive in the heat of summer, foods like cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and summer squashes.   (This is in contrast to cool season veggies that can take the cooler conditions of spring and all tend to be leafy and green.)  Because of this preference, each year we choose to take some calculated risks to get the earliest warm season crops to market that we can.  In this photo is one method of insurance that we use to help protect summer's heat loving crops from the last few frosts of the year.  Under the row cover (basically a blanket for veggies) are summer squash and zucchini plants that (mostly) made  it through last sunday's frost event. 

 
GOATS IN COATS!
Our goats get summer hair cuts two nights too early!  Ever the soft touch, liz hated to see them shivering through the night, so here they are all decked out in sweaters to keep the chill off!  Think the new doos will be appreciated when the heat turns up, though. 

 
KALE PESTO!
 
We've been enjoying some incredibily tender kale this spring!  The plants that fed our fall and winter CSA came through the winter just fine and now that it is spring, they are eager to fullfill their destiny!  No, not to kill some dark wizard- but the real goal of all plants- TO MAKE SEED!  For a few weeks (alas, before the summer CSA starts) they send up amazingly tender and delicious leaves (and then seed stalks) that we have just been eating up! 
a friend reccomended that we try kale pesto and i now wholeheartedly recommend it to you!
Use your basic basil pesto recipe, and swap in kale for basil.  here's how we had it, it was lovely over pasta! 
 
1 bag of kale
1-2 cloves of garlic
parmesan cheese, maybe 1/2-3/4 cup
nuts or seeds of your choice, perhaps 2 cups
olive oil to make smooth
(adjust to taste)
 
 
It is our goal to finish all of our major planting before the CSA starts on June 3rd.  It is hard to do much else besides harvest and go to market once we get into the swing of marketing 3 days a week.  We are getting quite close and as we wind it up, weed control will become the next priority. 
 
Still looking for a market helper in elmira and have room for more shares there and in Watkins, too.  Know anyone who would enjoy the CSA?  Please pass on the word. 
 
Happy Spring!
liz and matthew

Monday, April 29, 2013

Spring's planting time!

 Wanted for fence hopping: this chicken and two others that look very much like her.
 
Amazing how little the onion plants start out!  Just green blips in a big field.
 

Planted these lovely potatoes the other day!  Can't wait to eat them!


We're trying something new this year.  The last few times we've tried to grow spring broccoli, the plants haven't formed heads.  Upon closer inspection, it looked like an insect ate the growth tip that would have turned into the head.  In telling a farming friend about this he said with great dread, "it sounds like you have the swede midge".  According to the new york invasive species website, section on damage "As they feed, Swede midge larvae produce a secretion that breaks down the surface of the growing point of the plant and liquefies the cell contents, resulting the formation of leaf and flower galls and a misshapen growing point. Damage caused by Swede midge larvae feeding results in distorted growing tips and may produce multiple (or no) growing tips; young leaves may become swollen or crumpled and leaf petioles or stems may exhibit brown scarring. Swede midges feed only on cruciferous vegetable crops, such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts, frequently causing severe losses. The insect also damages canola, collard, horseradish, kale, mustard, rutabaga, turnip, and radish."  We haven't yet seen the culprit, and we may not, since it is a 1.5-2mm fly.  With a pest so small, the only hope of exlusion we feel that we have is to screen them out.  so the photo below shows the mesh that we hope will keep the swede midge off of the tiny broccoli plants. 

This is about the time of year that people start to think about the begining of the CSA.  The first pickups will be the first week of June, we'll look forward to seeing you then!  In the meantime, we have a little bit of space left in corning.  And plenty of shares available in Elmira and Watkins Glen.  If you know anyone who is in those areas, please feel free to spread the word.

Happy spring!
liz and matthew

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Local Foods Fest

Muddy Fingers Farm will be at the Local Foods Fest in Corning at the Union Hall on Friday 5:00-8:00. We have a few more CSA shares available for Corning pickup day and many more still available for Elmira and Watkins Glen. We will have for sale at the Foods Fest: eggs, parsnips and spicy greens.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

 
True spring weather has sprung so quickly this year! It seems one day we were showing some friends around the farm and hopping over puddles and then a few windy days later- matthew is out preparing the soil. Now our first plantings are in the ground and what we hope will be a nice stand of cover crops were planted and watered in by a little rain last night. Except for the fact that two loads of laundry on the line got rained on as well, things are looking just peachy!

Our baby chickens moved out side this past week and they went to town eating grass and scratching for bugs like they had never had such an exciting job before! (Being only 8 weeks old, I guess that they never had had a more interesting job to do. But they took to it right away!)
been seeing lots of these yellow spotted salamanders around this year!
 

baby chickens, big chickens (background) out on pasture

first week out, still get the heat lamp on cool nights!

A tractor trailer delivered our “seed” potatoes this morning-we didn't buy that many that we needed a whole tractor trailer load- but we will be planting 620 pounds this year. Seed is a misnomer here, because they are just the same as potatoes that you would eat, except they have been checked and certified to not carry potato disease (especially viruses) making them safe to be used as a “seed”for this year's crop- interestingly, there are only three common foods (that I can think of off hand) that you plant the same part that you eat as a whole. (They are potatoes, ginger, and sunchokes all three of which we do grow!  garlic could go in this list as well, but you don't plant the whole thing, just a clove.)

We look forward soon to a shipment that will contain our new tool for digging all of those potatoes that we grow from the seed! We'll use it to harvest garlic as well, and we hope that we will be able to dig carrots and parsnips with it, but are not sure if it will penetrate deeply enough into our heavy soil to dig the whole thing without breaking off all of the tips! That remains to be seen, we'll post an update if it works out!

The greenhouse is busting full right now and plants are outside in a “cold frame”, too. A cold frame is just a sheltered area where we can cover them up still at night. They spend a little time in this spot to help harden them off. The greenhouse is just so warm, and protected and perfectly watered. Plants that go straight from the eden of the greenhouse into the cold, windy, sometimes dry field can suffer. So the idea of hardening off is to get the plants used to a more real world condition, while still offering some protections, like sufficient water and some wind protection, but allowing the plants to experience the unfiltered light and cooler temperatures outdoors. After a week or so, the plants are ready to be put out into the big bad world.

One thing that I like about farm life, is that everthing has a season. While late February, March, and April are the time that we fill trays with seeds in the greenhouse. We are now moving into the time of year when we spend a lot of time removing those trays now filled with small plants and planting them out into the ground.

I really love greenhouse work; the way it smells like fresh earth in there, the way that it can be 25 and sunny outside and the under the plastic inside- the weather can be 70! (we have many times run inside for one more seed packet, and found ourselves surprised to be in a t-shirt in the winter!), and this year, they way the baby chicks peeped and cheeped, and otherwise enterained us as we sat in the sun, listened to the radio, and planted this years income into being. This is the first time we put them in the greenhouse from day one. They little day old babies seemed so fragile when they entered, but by the time we moved them out last week (they don't get hardened off much) they were little minature chickens ready to dig their own worms! Look for white and brown eggs from these gals in August or so.

We have found that after years of just growing veggies, it is nice to diversify our farm. While we feel conflicted about the added responsibility that having animals in our system adds. It seems right to add the diversity of animal manure into our system. Really our primary job here, is to encourage a diverse and rich soil ecosystem. This abundance underground contributes to lush, healthy crops above ground. Animals have long been a way to turn land not useful for growing food crops, into an area that is useful to produce animal protein. As our world becomes more crowded, we will need to effeciently produce food from the more and more marginal farm land that remains. At this point, we have no other animal additions in mind. Goat and chicken manure have proven to add fertility as well as biological diversity to our system and it feels right somehow to be feeding our soil from animals on our own land.

This rainy day has proven a helpful time to catch up on some office work, and on the blog, which I see has been ignored as we have been on our winter vacation. Worry not, we are back in full swing and food is growing for you now!

Happy spring!
Liz and Matthew

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Friday will be the last pickup for the winter CSA and the last winter market. See you there!

Choose 7 items:
spicy greens mix
garlic
carrots
beets
onions (red)
leeks
winter squash - carnival, tetsukabuto (big, gnarly and green)
celery root i.e. celeriac
parsnips
salad turnips (red)
watermelon radishes and black radishes
rutabegas

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Frozen field, with ski tracks around


Remember we are having a double-share this week to make up for missing last week so choose 14. Except for those from corning who got their shares last week despite the forecase of snow!

salad greens - We will try to harvest enough for CSA, but I'm not sure what you'll get. It could be lettuce mix, spicy mix or spinach.
garlic
carrots
kale
beets
onions (red)
leeks
winter squash - carnival, tetsukabuto (big, gnarly and green)
celery root i.e. celeriac
parsnips
cabbage
salad turnips (red)
watermelon radishes
rutabegas

Friday, February 8, 2013

No Farmers' Market/CSA today

We have cancelled the winter farmers' market in Watkins Glen for today and the Local Food Fest in Corning was also postponed. No CSA pickup for today. We regret the inconvenience and confusion.
We'll see you next week.We'll offer a double share next week.
Matthew

Monday, February 4, 2013

Well, I know some of you were disappointed by the minimal amount of greens we had available last week. We have already cut the beds of greens in our hoophouse once this fall and winter and they just have not grown back yet. We have another bed that has not grown enough to harvest yet and hopefully the other beds will start regrowing soon as the sun is returning. Otherwise we hope you can be patient and appreciate that we are still learning to grow for winter and we have limited hoophouse space. Our perennial decision is when to clear the summer crops out of the 2 hoophouses. To have greens that are mature enough to harvest in the winter, they need to be sown in September or early October. At that time we still have tomatoes, eggplant and peppers thriving in the hoophouses. So it is hard to choose to rip them out when they can keep bearing for another month. And it is also physically difficult to remove these plants before they are killed by frost as the tomato plants are about 15 feet tall. So this year we cleared out one of the hoophouses for winter production to plant greens for the winter. The spicy and lettuce mixes we planted did great and we have been harvesting them all fall and winter. The bed of spinach was mostly a failure though (not sure why).

For Corning members:
Either Liz or I will be at the Local Foods Fest Friday evening.
 
Locally-Grown Food Festival in Corning
buy_fresh_buy_localFebruary 8. Free! Cornell Cooperative Extension will present their 4th Locally-Grown Food Festival on Friday, February 8, 2013 from 5-8 p.m. at Union Hall, 100 Civic Center Plaza, Corning. The event features tasting of meats, vegetables, cheese, fruits, breads, preserves, wines and more! Come sample dishes created with local products, meet dozens of local farmers, and purchase locally grown products on site. Growers interested in participating should call 607-664-2300 for more information! Visit the website atwww.putknowledgetowork.com for the latest details.
 
If you would like to pick up your share at the Local Food Fest please email us a list of what you would like and we will bag it and bring it with us.

salad greens - We will try to harvest enough for CSA, but I'm not sure what you'll get. It could be        lettuce mix, spicy mix or spinach.
garlic
carrots
kale
beets
onions (red)
leeks
winter squash - carnival, tetsukaubuto (big, gnarly and green)
celery root i.e. celeriac
parsnips
cabbage
salad turnips (red)
watermelon radishes
rutabegas

potatoes are gone! We will hope for more rain next summer!

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Sorry - I harvested this morning and I was unable to get any lettuce mix. I did get a little spinach and a little spicy mix. Plus kale bunches. Will save for CSA! Wow it sure was wet out there this morning - standing water in the hoophouse.

Monday, January 28, 2013

We had a great weekend at the NOFA-NY conference (Northeast Organic Farmers Association). We attended many interesting conferences, some of them more related to our own operations than others. Among the workshops we attended: "Streamlining Your CSA System", "Soil Health and Advanced Organics", "Hosting Apprentices" (we are thinking of having paid workers on the farm this year), "The Rebirth of Agriculture in Native American Communities: Haudenosaunee Corn, "Worksongs on Diversified Small Farms", and "A Close Look at Teikei: The Japanese Version of CSA". I was able to attend three workshops on seed saving and breeding organic vegetable varieties and am getting very excited to learn even more about the "other side" of growing vegetables: growing the seeds! It is a fascinating part of the sytem and I am amazed at how little I know about growing vegetable seeds though I am a vegetable farmer! Its a completely different farming world. For example, the biennial vegetables (like carrots and beets) would be unrecognizable to many vegetable farmers and gardeners in their second year of growth! But I am getting very excited by the prospect and opportunity of possibly growing one variety of vegetable seed for commercial sales this year. If we are able to do that it would be an adventure and a great learning opportunity.
Plus we got to travel there and back and stay with our friends and fellow farmers Sharon and Dean. And we also got to visit with our Vermont farmer-friends Kara and Ryan of Evening Song Farm who lost their farmland to a devastating flood caused by Hurricane Irene in August 2011. When we arrived Thursday evening they announced that they had closed the deal earlier that day on a piece of property they had been renting this past year. This land is far above the creek that ruined their previous land and they are very excited to be starting anew, although it certainly is a daunting task. Hooray for their courageous spirit! We can't wait to see what wonderful things they will achieve there (they've already built a barn, two hoophouses and the foundation for a home!!!).

Choose 7:
lettuce mix
spicy mix
garlic
carrots
kale
beets
onions (red and yellow)
leeks
winter squash - butternut, carnival, tetsukaubuto (big, gnarly and green)
celery root i.e. celeriac
parsnips
cabbage
salad turnips - hakurei and red
potatoes
watermelon radishes
rutabegas

Thursday, January 24, 2013


Remember no market and no CSA pickup tomorrow. We are off to the NOFA-NY conference this afternoon!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

I thought the broccoli might have thawed out enough yesterday to harvest, but it did not. Therefore, no broccoli this week after all.

Monday, January 14, 2013

CSA January 18 pickup
 
lettuce mix
spicy mix
garlic
carrots
kale
beets
onions (red and yellow)
leeks
winter squash - butternut, carnival, tetsukaubuto (big, gnarly and green)
celery root i.e. celeriac
parsnips
mini cabbages, big cabbages, conehead cabbages, red cabbages
salad turnips - hakurei and red
potatoes
watermelon radishes
rutabegas
broccoli! (It was hiding protected underneath the snow that recently melted!)

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

This week's CSA vegetables:
 
lettuce
lettuce mix
spicy mix
garlic
carrots
kale
beets
onions (red and yellow)
leeks
winter squash - butternut, carnival, tetsukaubuto (big, gnarly and green)
celery root i.e. celeriac
parsnips
mini cabbages, big cabbages, conehead cabbages, red cabbages, zebra-stripe cabbages (just kidding on the last one) - I'll really try to remember to bring them all this time!
salad turnips - hakurei and red
potatoes
watermelon radishes
rutabegas
spinach - I think!