Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Two dairy goat does. One is approximately 3 years old and is purebred Saanen. She is somewhat skittish but should be a good milker. The other is a 5-6 month old doeling with Saanen mother and Oberhasli father. Both good dairy lines. Her mother regularly gives us 3/4 gallon/day of milk.
Can be sold bred if preferred. Dairy goats make a great hobby and are great at grazing brushy areas. $250
Call or email for details. 607-546-4535 or maglenn_1999@yahoo.com

Sunday, October 25, 2015


SO we have arrived at the final week of CSA. But wait there's more! Join our Fall/Winter CSA for fresh vegetables all winter long. Pickup will be at the Corning Winter Farmers' Market in the Information Center on Market St. every 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month from November 7 through at least the third Saturday of February (maybe going longer depending on supply).


small share: 8 items; large share: 10 items
Brussels sprouts
celeriac
cabbage
hakurei turnips
purple top turnips
watermelon radishes
daikon radishes
winter squash
 pie pumpkins
 beets
carrots
potatoes
onions
leeks
kale 
lettuce
lettuce mix
flour

Sunday, October 18, 2015

small share: 8 items; large share: 10 items
Brussels sprouts
celeriac
cabbage
hakurei turnips
watermelon radishes
daikon radishes
radicchio
winter squash (butternuts)
pie pumpkins
 beets
carrots
potatoes
onions
kale 
lettuce
lettuce mix
flour

Sunday, October 11, 2015

hey all!  so you'll find that this week at market we have winter CSA forms with us, you can fill one out there, take one home a mail it back, or send it next week, or even print the one below and bring it with you.  the fall and winter CSA will be like last year.  you pay any amount you determine, we will give ten percent more free.  So if you pay $100, you will get to spend $110 worth.  just show up and shop, we keep track and record it for you.  Add more money at anytime!

its been a busy week in our personal lives, and its good that it has arrived at such a transitional time in the vegetable growing season.  You'll still see a few summer crops, like tomatoes, eggplants, and cherry tomatoes, but you will definitely notice that last week and this week have started to tilt toward the winter crops.  Right now the roots are especially gorgeous as they all still have their edible tops on them!  in a few weeks watermelon radishes will just be baseball sized balls rolling around, but right now, find them with lovely leafy edible greens on top!

Tasks at this time of year include planting garlic, making sure winter greens are cultivated one last time before they go into the low light/cold weather season, soon we will put the plastic on the newest hoophouse (its planted with greens, but not yet covered), and before the nights get very cold, we will pull all the storage radishes, turnips, celeriac, potatoes, rutabagas, carrots, and beets, and wash them and bag them for display and sale over the winter months.

hope you got a chance to see the lovely autumn colors today!  they were resplendent here in Hector today, and in the sugar hill state forest where we had a nice hike!
happy eating!  liz and matthew


celeriac
cabbage
hakurei turnips
watermelon radishes
daikon radishes
long red radishy radishes
radicchio (not a radish)
winter squash (carnival squash this week I think)
 beets
carrots
pac choi
potatoes
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
onions
tomatoes
kale 
pea shoots
tomatillos
lettuce
lettuce mix
peppers
flour
still no word from the beanery, so no black beans

Sunday, October 4, 2015


Just a reminder, the CSA runs through the end of October. For those interested in participating in the Fall/Winter CSA, based on feedback we have decided to organize it like we did last year with members paying up front whatever amount they choose. We need to figure out the details a little more. If we can figure the details out this week I may post to this newsletter later in the week. Or you can discuss it with us at market when you pick up your share. Sorry for the delay. The end of summer/beginning of fall kind of snuck up on us.
celeriac
parsnips
cabbage
hakurei turnips
watermelon radishes
daikon radishes
long red radishy radishes
radicchio (not a radish)
winter squash (carnival squash this week I think)
 beets
carrots
pac choi
potatoes
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
onions
tomatoes
kale 
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
tomatillos
lettuce
lettuce mix
peppers
flour
still no word from the beanery, so no black beans

Sunday, September 27, 2015

This week's expected vegetables
Choose 8 items (large share 10 items):
radicchio
winter squash
 beets
carrots
 radishes
pac choi
potatoes
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
onions
tomatoes
basil
kale 
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
husk cherries
tomatillos
lettuce
lettuce mix
peppers
flour

Sunday, September 20, 2015

We have finally gotten around to contemplating how we want to operate the CSA this Fall/Winter (or if we want to do it at all) . For those of you who participated last year you know we organized the CSA differently: members paid upfront any amount they wanted, we applied a discount, then members came to the winter farmer's Markets and "bought" whatever amount they wanted from what we had available. We added up what each member "bought" each week and subtracted that from their balance. Members could add to their balance at any time, and get the same 10% additional credit.
Prior to that, our Fall/Winter CSA was organized more like our regular season CSA. Each week members picked 7 items from what was available each week.
Whether you participated in our previous Fall/Winter CSAs or not, we would love your feedback on which model you prefer. Please feel free to "comment" to this blog post, send us an email (maglenn_1999@yahoo.com) or just talk with us at market.
Right now it looks like the Corning Winter Market will run the first and third Saturdays of each month (same as previous years). We plan to also be at the Ithaca Farmers' Market most Saturdays.

Speaking of this winter: we just planted most of the our winter greens. We hope that we will do a better job this year of having salad greens all winter. We plan to have three hoophouses full of winter greens including: lettuce mix, spinach, spicy mix, tokyo bekana (baby chinese cabbage), arugula, kale and chard. We'll see how it goes. We are still learning how to grow food for this difficult time of year.

This week's expected vegetables
Choose 8 items (large share 10 items):
radicchio
winter squash
 beets
 radishes
pac choi
potatoes
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
onions
tomatoes
basil
kale 
chard (maybe)
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
husk cherries
tomatillos
lettuce
lettuce mix
peppers
flour
dry black beans

Sunday, September 13, 2015


This week's expected vegetables
Choose 8 items (large share 10 items):
 beets
 radishes
pac choi
chinese cabbage
potatoes
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
onions
tomatoes
basil
green beans
yellow beans
dragon tongue beans
kale 
chard (maybe)
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
husk cherries
tomatillos
lettuce
lettuce mix
peppers
flour
dry black beans

Sunday, September 6, 2015

 Its been a very beany summer for us. Most harvest days we have been scrambling to get them all picked. Now they are slowing down in production and unfortunately we haven't been able to get the irrigation set up on them. With some rain I think they will perk back up for another round of harvesting.
Best tomato harvest ever...we hope you have been enjoying the abundant tomatoes this summer. Like the beans we have been struggling to get them all picked and there has been more than we can sell (and distribute to CSA).

This week's expected vegetables
Choose 8 items (large share 10 items):
broccoli
radishes
pac choi
chinese cabbage
potatoes
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
sweet onions
tomatoes
basil
green beans
yellow beans
dragon tongue beans
zucchini
summer squash
kale 
chard (maybe)
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
husk cherries
tomatillos
lettuce
lettuce mix
spicy mix
peppers
flour
dry black beans

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Wow, how about some rain? Didn't think I'd be having to wish for rain this year. We'll be installing our irrigation system for the first time this year.

This week's expected vegetables
Choose 8 items (large share 10 items):
carrots
broccoli
radishes
pac choi
chinese cabbage
potatoes
peppers
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
sweet onions
tomatoes
basil
green beans
yellow beans
dragon tongue beans
zucchini
summer squash
kale 
chard (maybe)
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
husk cherries
tomatillos
lettuce
lettuce mix
spicy mix
peppers
flour
dry black beans

Sunday, August 23, 2015

 recently germinated winter storage radishes (purple and green daikons, and watermelon radishes!)
 swallowtail caterpillars on carrot leaves
red noodle beans almost ready to harvest

a couple of fun and easy recipes!

roasted green beans:
these are so easy an really delicious!  toss beans with oil spread on a baking tray, sprinkle with salt and roast at 350 until tender, about 20 minutes (depending on size of beans).  we make these without pulling the tops off, and then just eat to the stem and leave the stem on the plate, great for a busy day!


zucchini pizzas. 
slice large zucchinis into three or four lasagna noodle length pieces (make them thicker than a noodle, though, about 1/2 inch thick) spray with oil, cook in oven or on grill 5 minutes or until tender.  flip over add tomato sauce, cheese and any other pizza toppings you like!  bake or grill until cheese is melted.  serve like french bread pizza.  easy enough a kid could make, simple and gluten free!


This week's expected vegetables
Choose 8 items (large share 10 items):
carrots
broccoli
radishes
pac choi
chinese cabbage
potatoes
peppers
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
sweet onions
tomatoes
basil
green beans
yellow beans
dragon tongue beans
zucchini
summer squash
kale 
chard (maybe)
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
husk cherries
tomatillos
lettuce
lettuce mix
spicy mix
peppers
flour
dry black beans

have a great week!
liz and matthew

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Tomato variety results from the tomato tasting potluck dinner at the farm:
In the sauce tomato category: Cream Sausage and Juliets tied
Slicers - the favorite turned out to be Green Zebra
Among the cherry tomatoes Pink Princess was the winner by far.
note: My favorite slicer (Rose de Berne) and cherry tomato (Sun Gold) did not even come close in the voting.

This week's expected vegetables
Choose 8 items (large share 10 items):
potatoes
peppers
carrots (hopefully for real this week)
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
sweet onions
tomatoes
basil
beets (maybe)
cucumbers (maybe)
green beans
yellow beans
dragon tongue beans
zucchini
summer squash
kale 
chard (maybe)
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
husk cherries
tomatillos
lettuce
lettuce mix
spicy mix
peppers
flour
dry black beans

Sunday, August 9, 2015

 We will have salad greens this week after not having any last week
 Thirsty bees
You might not be thinking of what you will be eating this winter yet...but we are. This is our new hoophouse before I tilled the soil yesterday. This week we will be transplanting kale and chard here and salad greens will be planted later in the early fall. Sometime in the next couple months when the weeding and planting and harvesting slows down and before it gets too cold we will put the plastic on the hoophouse. Also, this week we will be planting those beloved watermelon radishes that we hope to have available all winter.

Farm Event 
 Saturday August 15 6:00 we will host a tomato tasting event and potluck on the farm. Tomato varieties: Aunt Ruby's, Green Zebra, Jubilee, Geronimo, Rose de Berne, Great White, Black Krim plus 8 varieties of cherry tomatoes.

This week's expected vegetables
Choose 8 items (large share 10 items):
new potatoes
carrots
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
onions
tomatoes
cabbage
basil
beets
cucumbers
green beans
yellow beans
dragon tongue beans
zucchini
summer squash
kale 
chard (maybe)
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
husk cherries
tomatillos
lettuce
peppers
eggs (count as 2 items)
flour
dry black beans

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Tomato Season is upon us!  For those who are wondering why so many of our tomatoes are not red and are oddly shaped, let us introduce you to heirloom tomatoes!  Heirloom plants, like the family heirloom armoire that was handed down from grandma, are seeds from plants that families saved and handed down because they made delicious fruits!  its a radical concept- to keep seeds from really tasty plants, as today's breeding work generally focuses on keeping seeds from plants that all look exactly the same, mature uniformly, and ship well.  Modern plant breeding, in fact doesn't prioritize taste much at all, just getting things to the store looking perfect.  But older gardeners and farmers knew that the taste of a food was a very important characteristic!  Consequently heirloom vegetables are tasty, often have interesting and descriptive names, (such as Aunt Ruby's German Green (one of our favorites), Schimmeig striped hollow, Hill Billy Potato leaf, mortgage lifter, and many great others) and sometimes are downright oddly shaped or colored.  We try to grow a whole rainbow of tomato colors, so that we can slice a tray that covers the whole color spectrum!  A great place to learn more about heirloom tomatoes, seed saving, and the histories of some fascinating seeds is the seed savers exchange.  (www.seedsavers.org)

We want to give you a chance to taste test all of the colors we grow, so we are holding a potluck and tomato tasting event at the farm!  it will be saturday August 15th at 6PM, we will have farm tours, bigger than last time baby goats, slices of tomatoes and chance to spend some time on a lovely vegetable growing farm!  hope you can make it!


Sorry probably no salad greens this week. Due to the wet weather of the last few weeks we were unable to get any salad green planted in a timely manner so we will not have any available for this week. Potato salad anyone? Cabbage salad (cole slaw?) Kale salad! tomato salad? cherry tomato salad?! cucumber salad, shoots salad....time to be creative!

happy eating!

This week's expected vegetables
Choose 8 items (large share 10 items):
new potatoes
carrots
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
onions
tomatoes
cabbage
basil
beets
cucumbers
green beans
yellow beans
dragon tongue beans
zucchini
summer squash
kale 
chard (maybe)
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
eggs (count as 2 items)
flour
dry black beans

Sunday, July 26, 2015

 The meager garlic harvest. Turns out we still have not perfected the art of growing garlic. Many of them rotted again last winter and spring. Hopefully our ideas for fixing the problem will help for next year.
 A nice photo to stroke our farmer egos
Name that vegetable: A tomato of course

Casualties of all this rain:
chard: about 2/3 of the crop has died due to wet roots
carrots: 2 beds have completely rotted
onions: any onions in the slightest of depressions have failed to thrive
Ditto: sections of brussels sprouts, cabbage, peppers, tomatillos and kale

We are also lacking in any kind of salad greens this week due to the fact that that soil has been too wet to till and get anything planted in the last couple weeks. (we will still have shoots for greens)

We are thinking we need to find some way to add drainage tiling in our fields. We probably should have done so before but we have never had the urgent need for added drainage that we have this year.

eggplants are starting to roll in!  If you have never cooked with eggplant, you can just slice it, toss it with a little oil and basil (or your favorite herb) and saute or grill it!  For a little fancier presentation, try one of these great eggplant recipes from Julie, a super friend to the farm!

Spicy Eggplant with Onion

★★★★★
Main course
Prep 15 mins ∙ Cook 15 mins ∙ Makes 4 ∙ Difficulty Medium ∙ Source Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East Vegetarian Cooking

Ingredients

  • 1 lb eggplant
  • 1 ½ to 2 tsp chili paste with soy bean and garlic
  • 5 tsp Chinese thin soy sauce
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 large onion, peeled and cut into ¾ inch cubes
  • 1 cup oil

Directions

1. Cut the eggplant into 1 ½ inch cubes.
Mix the chili paste, soy sauce, sugar, and ½ cup water in a cup.
2. Heat ½ cup of the oil in a wok over a medium flame. When hot, put in the eggplant. Stir and fry for 4 or 5 minutes. The eggplant will absorb all of the oil. Add the remaining ½ cup of oil by pouring it around the edges of the wok and letting it slither downward toward the vegetable. Stir and fry for another 5 minutes or until the eggplant has browned lightly and is tender enough to eat. Remove eggplant with a slotted spoon and place in a sieve set over a bowl.
3. Remove all but ¼ cup oil from the wok. Add the garlic. Stir and fry for 15 seconds. Put in the onion. Stir and fry until the pieces turn soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the heat down a bit if the onion starts to brown. Separate the onion layers as you cook. Put the eggplant in the wok. Stir the mixture in the cup and pour it over the eggplant.
4. Cook on medium heat, stirring as you do so, until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove eggplant with a slotted spoon, leaving all the oil behind in the wok.

Notes

Delicious Chinese eggplant; the eggplant gets satiny and the sauce is spot on.
It does call for a lot of oil and I've found that there isn't that much that drains out, but it's delicious and I don't make it that often!


Ratatouille, or Baked Mixed Vegetables with Olive Oil

★★★★
Main course
Prep 30 mins ∙ Cook 1 hr ∙ Makes 4-6 ∙ Difficulty Easy ∙ Source Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ to 2 lb eggplant, diced
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus some for garnish
  • 2 large onions, diced
  • 1 lb zucchini, trimmed and diced
  • 4 plum or 2 round tomatoes, cored and chopped
  • Fresh herbs (can include thyme, marjoram, rosemary, savory, basil, parsley)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 10 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Film a casserole or heavy ovenproof skillet with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, then make a layer of the onion, followed by one of the eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, herbs, salt, pepper, and garlic cloves. Repeat. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil, cover with aluminum foil, and put in the oven.
3. Bake for about an hour, until the vegetables are completely tender. Garnish with more herbs, drizzle with a little more olive oil, and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Notes

I chop all of the veggies quite small and I add 1 can of chick peas. Great on top of pasta!
You could, if you choose, leave the veggies in larger chunks. You can also add green or red pepper, potatoes, and/or mushrooms.
I found it cooks better and stays moister if you cover the baking dish with foil.

Vegetable Lasagne

★★★★★
Main course
Prep 1 hr ∙ Cook 45 mins ∙ Makes 10 ∙ Difficulty Easy ∙ Source Sunset Vegetarian Cooking

Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 lb eggplant, diced
  • ¼ lb mushrooms, sliced or diced
  • 1 lb chopped fresh tomatoes (or canned)
  • 1 16 oz can tomato sauce
  • ½ cup dry red wine
  • 1 medium carrot, shredded
  • ¼ cup chopped parsley
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp each dry basil and salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 16 packaged lasagne noodles (I like the no boil kind by Barilla)
  • 1 lb ricotta cheese
  • 8 oz shredded mozarella cheese
  • 4 ½ oz grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, eggplant, and mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes. Add tomatoes (and their liquid if canned), tomato sauce, wine, carrot, parsley, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking until sauce is thick. You should have 5 cups of sauce; set aside.
2. If using traditional noodles, cook in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again.
3. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread about ¼ of the sauce in dish. Arrange ⅓ of the noodles in an even layer over sauce. Dot noodles with ⅓ of the ricotta. Sprinkle with ⅓ of the mozarella, then ¼ of the parmesan. Repeat this layering two more times. Spread remaining sauce evenly over the top and sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese. If made ahead, cover and refrigerate.
4. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven until hot and bubbly (40-50 minutes). Cut in squares to serve.

Notes

Takes time but it's worth it.



 

This week's expected vegetables
Choose 7 items (large share 9 items):
new potatoes
romanesca cauliflower
carrots
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
onions
tomatoes
cabbage
basil
beets
broccoli
cucumbers
green beans
yellow beans
dragon tongue beans
zucchini
summer squash
kale 
chard (maybe)
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
eggs (count as 2 items)
flour
dry black beans

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Uggh...more rain :(

 Weeded ginger on the left and unweeded ginger on the right
 Romanesca! We didn't think we would be able to grow this crop because it needs high fertility and because of the Swede midge pest. But we planted about 50 of them and most plants look like they will produce heads. So get them while they last...we'll only have a few at each market day.
Its that time of year - time to get the stepladder out to prune tomatoes!
 Mmmm kale!
Doh! Due to springtime busy-ness, tractor maintenance and attention goes out the window. So, after all the oil leaked out of the bearings, the wheel fell off. Because of all the rain though, the soil is too wet to till right now anyway.

This week's expected vegetables
Choose 7 items (large share 9 items):
new potatoes
romanesca cauliflower
carrots
baby chard (maybe)
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
onions
tomatoes
cabbage
basil
beets
broccoli
cucumbers
green beans
zucchini
summer squash
kale 
chard (maybe)
lettuce mix
spicy mix
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
eggs (count as 2 items)
flour
dry black beans

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Some of you have been asking about tomatoes. Well we hope to have a few this week. We will definitely have cherry tomatoes. Even though we planted our tomatoes extra early this year they still are not ripening yet. But the plants look healthy and we hope that soon we will have more tomatoes than we know what to do with. 

This week's expected vegetables
Choose 7 items (large share 9 items):
new potatoes
carrots
baby chard
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
onions
tomatoes (maybe)
cabbage
basil
beets
broccoli (maybe)
cucumbers
green beans
zucchini
summer squash
scallions
kale 
chard
lettuce mix
spicy mix
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
eggs (count as 2 items)
flour
dry black beans

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Announcement! There will be a potluck on the farm on friday!  starting at 6 pm!  come meet other CSA members, watch the baby goats frolic, watch the lightning bugs, and hear the frogs call!  evening on the farm is a truly lovely time, come on out to see your veggies growing! 


 We had three bee swarms this week. This one hung around long enough for beekeeper friends of ours to come collect them and add them to their own apiary.
Cute cat photo! this is one of our cats, Mouse. 

This week's expected vegetables
Choose 7 items (large share 9 items):
new potatoes
carrots
baby chard
eggplant
cherry tomatoes
onions

cabbage
basil
beets
cucumbers
green beans
zucchini
summer squash
scallions
kale 
chard
lettuce mix
spicy mix
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
garlic scapes
eggs (count as 2 items)
flour
dry black beans

happy eating this week!  liz and matthew

Sunday, June 28, 2015

 Harvesting cats. Actually, as you know, it was a rainy Saturday so we spent the day in the hoophouses and greenhouse pruning and trellising tomatoes and cucumbers and Dorian didn't mind hanging out with us.
 Juicy Colorado potato beetle larvae eating potato leaves. These are usually a minor pest on our farm that do not do too much damage to our potatoes.
Tiny Swede midge adults on a sticky trap card. This is an almost invisible pest that destroys broccoli, cabbage, kale, etc.

This week's expected vegetables
Choose 6 items (large share 8 items):
cabbage
broccoli
beets
cucumbers
green beans
zucchini/summer squash
scallions
kale 
chard
lettuce mix
baby chard
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
garlic scapes
eggplant (maybe)
eggs (count as 2 items)
flour
dry black beans

Sunday, June 21, 2015

 Two new doeling kids. These two arrived Wednesday morning while we were picking beans. No trouble in delivery and they both seem healthy.
 Start of the kale harvest
 Sad Brussels sprouts with drowning roots
 After a few days of no rain the soil was finally dry enough to till so I spent yesterday on the tractor. And before the rain came down again last night (1.32 inches) we got a bed of greens transplanted and several beds of bean planted.

This week's expected vegetables
Choose 6 items (large share 8 items):
cabbage
broccoli
beets
cucumbers
green beans
zucchini/summer squash
scallions
kale 
chard
lettuce
lettuce mix
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
garlic scapes
eggs (count as 2 items)
flour
dry black beans

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Well these past couple weeks the rain valve has been stuck open and we can't seem to close it. This coming week doesn't look to good either. With our heavy soil spots that are especially poorly drained are now completely saturated and the plants are not happy. Ah well! Hopefully this week we (i.e. Liz) will remember to take some nice photos I can post to the newsletter for next week.

This week we expect to have available for CSA (small share choose 6, large share choose 8):

cucumbers
green beans
zucchini/summer squash
scallions
kale 
chard
lettuce
lettuce mix
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
garlic scapes
eggs (count as 2 items)
flour
dry black beans

Sunday, June 7, 2015

The past few years we have been able to offer eggs from our farm to CSA members only in Corning since we just don't have very many. We hope to be able offer eggs as a CSA choice to members in Elmira this year that are from our neighbors at Wolf Tree Farm. Let us know if you like them, Elmirans.

This week we expect to have available for CSA (small share choose 5, large share choose 7):
raab
scallions
kale (maybe)
spicy mix (maybe)
rhubarb
lettuce
lettuce mix
spinach
pea shoots
sunflower shoots
garlic scapes
eggs (count as 2 items)
vegetable transplants (its the last week we will have them available)
flour
dry black beans

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Hello and holy cow!  Its hard to believe its here again!  Its time to start the CSA. Here we are for our 13th go around at farming.  We are so glad that you have joined us to eat your way through the seasons with us.  The CSA starts as Spring is winding down and just a few weeks remain until summer officially begins.  The first few weeks are filled with greens, the last few 2014 root crops, transplants, organic dry beans, and flour.  As the season unfolds, we'll get to summer crops like luscious tomatoes, peppers, zucchinis and cucumbers.  Eventually we'll blink and the fall crops will be filling our soup pots and roasting pans, and then those who continue into the Fall and Winter CSA will eat stored roots, cabbages, and hardy greens on through the late fall into the deep winter.  What a wonderful journey we plan for it to be!  Thanks for joining us!

Spring is a crazy time to be a farmer.  There are lots of plants to be put in the ground.Some like celeriac, parsnips, and leeks that won't be harvested until October, yet need to be put in now so that they have time to grow all summer long.  The funny thing is that the work depends totally on the weather, and so some years we have 5 weeks to do the work and some years 10 weeks to do the same jobs!  We find that it pays to be list lovers in the spring.  It helps to feel a deep satisfaction with crossing items off the list, since it can be quite long!

There are lots of things going on the farm this year, here's a snapshot.  Don't forget that you can subscribe to this blog (on the right of the screen), and it will be emailed straight to your inbox, whenever we post to the blog. 


On-farm trials to help Cooperative Extension understand how the devastating pest Swede Midge operates. This netting is covering broccoli, one of its favorite meals.
 Uh...whoops, didn't realize the soil was still too wet.
 First time using our new flail mower on a luscious stand of rye and vetch. It worked great grinding up the rye into small bits that won't get caught up in the rototiller. Unlike when we had to use the brushog which just left long stalks that bound up the rototiller. This takes longer to mow but the result is far superior.
These peppers were covered but that last frost (friday 5-22) still hit them pretty hard. We had replacement plants though.

Available for CSA this week (expected):

Basic Shares Choose 5, Deluxe Shares Choose 7:
rutabagas
turnips
cilantro
hakurei turnips with greens
radishes
lettuce mix
lettuce heads
turnip raab
maybe spinach
vegetable transplants
flour
dry beans

Monday, May 4, 2015

potluck at the farm May 10th 6 PM

HOLY COW, its spring!   Things at the farm a lovely right now!  there are lots of plants and seeds in the ground, the grass is greening up and growing, the cherry tree in our yard popped into full bloom today, and we hope by the weekend that the cherry trees in the orchard and the blueberries in our field will be likewise! 

We will be hosting a chance to come see the farm, SUNDAY MAY 10th  we will be having a potluck at 6 pm.  bring a dish to pass, and one to eat from if you can.  come see our baby chickens learn to enjoy the grass and insects, pet the goats, tour the fields, and stay till the peepers start calling!  it really is a great time of year to be on a farm! 

the CSA starts on June 1st, come see what's cooking up getting ready for that day! 
liz and matthew
come see how much these guys have grown since this photo was taken just a few weeks ago!

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

A little while back we mentioned buying a new hoophouse for growing greens next winter.  This tunnel will be set aside for only that task, so hopefully, we will be able to have a better supply of greens in 2015-16.  (It would help to be a touch warmer, and maybe just a little sunnier, too, but i digress...)  Tomorrow we will be putting up the frame for that tunnel, its a neat mobile design and really cool how the whole thing goes together quickly and goes from metal parts on the ground to a structure that will provide a heavenly growing space. 

You are Cordially invited to help assemble the frame tomorrow (thursday april 2nd) at 10 am. lunch will be provided, please let us know if you plan to attend.  Wear boots for mud!  its scheduled to be a lovely day!

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Scallion seedlings




New endwall for the hoophouse...okay not an exciting picture, but a nice little accomplishment for the farmers.

We still have plenty of shares left in the CSA. So if the ground ever thaws we can get out there and starting growing lots of beautiful vegetables for you.
In the meantime though, the greenhouse is just about full and we will soon have to be moving onion trays outside to harden-off so that we have more room in the greenhouse. The chicks are growing quickly and we will soon have to move them into a larger space. The laying hens are out of the barn and enjoying the sun out in the field, even if there are no bugs or grass for them to eat yet.





Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Well its that time of year again. Our new chicks have arrived and have begun making themselves at home here at the farm. This year we decided to get Rhode Island Reds. This is a historic breed that should be good, hardy egg-layers. We will keep them in the greenhouse for several weeks until they get big enough and the weather warms up enough for them to go outside.

Don't forget the CSA if you haven't already joined this year! The greenhouse is about 2/3 full of seedlings - onions, leeks, shallots, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cabbage, broccoli. Although I have a feeling we are going to have a late wet spring and it might be a while before these can be transplanted. Despite that, robins were spotted on the farm last Wednesday and yesterday was the first day we heard the geese going north overhead and the red-wing blackbirds started to arrive yesterday evening.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

 Our new idea for heating seedlings. We built these 1"x3" frames atop our greenhouse tables and laid gutter ice melting cables inside and blue insulation board underneath. We plan to cover the cables with potting soil to help distribute the heat and protect them, then put our trays of seedlings on top. We'll see if it works!
Our empty "hotbed". It is now full of horse manure which will hopefully be hot in a couple of days so we can start planting onions and tomatoes.


Our Fall/Winter CSA has officially ended, but if you still have a remaining balance, you can use it at the Corning Winter Farmers' Market, Ithaca Farmers' Market or at the farm by appointment.

Even though it is still cold outside, please remember we are now taking CSA memberships for the 2015 CSA season. Use the link to the right or email us for a CSA brochure and membership form.

Friday, February 20, 2015

Believe it or not this is Seneca Lake which, from what I've read, has not frozen over since 1912. This picture was taken near Peach Orchard Point in Hector this morning and as you can see it is not frozen over the whole width, but it is quite close.

For CSA this week we will have:
cabbage
carrots
watermelon radishes
daikon radishes
purple or green radishes
sweet turnips
purple top turnips
fennel
parsnips
rutabagas
Chinese cabbage
onions
butternut squash
tetsakabuto squash
onions
garlic
potatoes

flour
black beans

Monday, February 9, 2015

A wintry scene at Muddy Fingers Farm


We are busy getting ready for the next growing season which starts at the end of this month!
We ordered another unheated greenhouse (hoophouse) so we can have better winter greens production next year. Our barn is being fully rehabed and looking awesome. We bought a new mower for our walk behind tractor that will help us better chop up all of our soil-building cover crops. Plus we are planning all sorts of other little improvements and experiments for the coming season.
So don't forget: we are now accepting CSA memberships. Follow the link on the right side of the page to download the form. Let me know if it doesn't work for some reason.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Please note our 2015 CSA form is available for download. Please click on the link on the right side of the screen.
Back in Novmeber our cat Pumpkin, who lived in our house when we bought it, died. Unfortunately it was quite tragic and unexpected.
The two kittens in the picture are two new additions to the farm/home. The male on the left is Dorian and the female on the right is Mouse. They are both still very shy and uncertain about their new home, but we hope given time they will be both as good friends as Pumpkin was.
The funny things is that they are wary of us, but they are very friendly to both of our dogs!