Saturday, December 26, 2020

 

 

 

 

The Cayuga Lake inlet at the Ithaca Farmers' Market last weekend.
Our Solstice bonfire
Tender salad greens hiding in our hoophouses
The creek at the back of our property after last week's thaw and rain. This creek is normally a shallow trickle.

 

Expected harvest for this week (choose 6):

pac choi
fennel
celeriac 
parsnips
daikon radishes
watermelon radishes
turnips
butternut squash (non-organic, from Silver Queen Farm)
tetsukabuto squash (organic)
onions
shallots
garlic
leeks
Swiss chard
potatoes
carrots
kale
spicy mix
beets

Sunday, December 20, 2020

 Well Shoot! Today looks suprisingly snowy. With the roads covered, we are too chicken to make the trek to Elmira. For those from both Elmira AND Corning who were planning on picking up their CSA shares today: we will not be at the Chamberlain Acres Farmers' Market. Reminder: Corning Farmers' Market is WEDNESDAY this week, 10:00-2:00.

Saturday, December 19, 2020


This week we several large trees cut down from the edge of our pond. We hated to do it, but the previous owners really should not have let the trees grow up there in the first place since tree roots can damage the dike. Also the trees can suck up water from the irrigation pond.

The chickens got moved into the hoophouse before the snowstorm. They love it!

 Songbird, cat and chicken paw and claw prints

 Except the chicken who is in the habit of laying eggs up by the house. She still wants to get out and lay her eggs there even in snow.

 

 Well we did not get as much snow as Elmira and Corning did but it is still beautiful and festive.

*******The Corning Farmers' Market will be on Wednesday this week, 10:00-2:00*******

Expected harvest for this week (choose 6):

pac choi
fennel 
tatsoi
celeriac 
parsnips
lettuce mix
daikon radishes
watermelon radishes
Hakurei turnips
acorn squash (non-organic, from Silver Queen Farm)
tetsukabuto squash (organic)
onions
shallots
garlic
leeks
Swiss chard
potatoes
carrots
kale
baby kale
spicy mix
beets


Wednesday, December 16, 2020

 

Dear CSA members,
As you may have guessed, there will be no farmers' market tomorrow. CSA shares may be picked up Friday afternoon on the farm, Saturday at the Ithaca Farmers' Market 10:00-2:00, or Sunday 11:00-3:00 at Chamberlain Acres Farmers' Market. Or you can double up next Corning Market which will be on Wednesday Dec 23, 10:00-2:00. Enjoy the snow!! We plan to spend much of the day tomorrow working on our seed order for next year.
Matthew
Muddy Fingers Farm

Saturday, December 12, 2020

Getting the celeriacs harvested
Corning Winter Farmers' Market

We finished moving our hoophouses this week without running over or destroying any of the greens that are now under the them. We look forward to providing you many tasty fresh greens throughout this winter!
 

 Expected harvest for this week (choose 6):

pac choi
fennel 
tatsoi
celeriac 
parsnips
spinach
daikon radishes
watermelon radishes
Hakurei turnips
butternut squash (non-organic, from Silver Queen Farm)
acorn squash (organic and non-organic from Silver Queen Farm)
cabbage
onions
shallots
garlic
leeks
Swiss chard
potatoes
carrots
kale
baby kale
spicy mix
beets

Sunday, December 6, 2020

 

Baby pac choi (bok choy?)
Sorry if you have encountered these buggers in your leeks of late. Another new pest to worry about - Allium leaf miners.
Its finally time to move the hoophouses. Each fall we move 3 of our hoophouses onto various greens that were planted earlier in the fall. This gives the greens protection so we can harvest them all winter. The other 3 hoophouses are reserved for the chickens. We move the coops through the 3 hoophouses over course of the winter giving the chickens protection from the elements.

 

 Expected harvest for this week (choose 6):

pac choi
fennel 
tatsoi
celeriac 
parsnips
spinach
daikon radishes
watermelon radishes
Hakurei turnips
butternut squash (non-organic, from Silver Queen Farm)
tetsukabuto squash
cabbage
onions
shallots
garlic
leeks
Swiss chard
potatoes
carrots
kale
baby kale
spicy mix
beets

Saturday, November 28, 2020

Carrot art

 Chard carnage

 

 Expected harvest for this week (choose 6):

fennel 
tatsoi
celeriac 
parsnips
spinach
daikon radishes
watermelon radishes
Hakurei turnips
butternut squash
acorn squash
cabbage
onions
shallots
garlic
leeks
Swiss chard
potatoes
carrots
kale
baby kale
spicy mix
pea shoots
beets

Saturday, November 21, 2020

 




It might be crazy but we transplanted lettuce into one of our hoophouses today. We are hoping they might be harvestable by March or April.

  No market/CSA pickup on Thursday. Therefore those who would normally pickup their CSA share in Corning can get there share: Sunday (11/22) at Chamberlain Acres Farmers' Market in Elmira 11:00-3:00; Tuesday at Harvest Schuyler's Pop-Up Farmers' Market at the Performing Art Center 2:00-7:00 (906 Decatur St.) or Friday on-farm 12:00-8:00. 

This Friday we will have Covid-safe carrot tasting of the varieties we grew for trial this year. Come pick up your share, try some carrots and have a look around the farm.

 Expected harvest for this week (choose 6):

fennel
Brussels sprouts
celeriac 
parsnips
spinach
daikon radishes
watermelon radishes
Hakurei turnips
butternut squash
acorn squash
cabbage
onions
shallots
habanada peppers
garlic
leeks
Swiss chard
potatoes
carrots
kale
baby kale
spicy mix
pea shoots
beets

Monday, November 16, 2020

Sunday's windstorm brought down the top of our large spruce tree. But it was our lucky day because it did not hit our house!
 

                                                   

Not sure what happened with colors in this photo, but this is one of the tarps we put down over the compost we spread from our neighbor's composted horse manure (photo above). We will plant no-till Brussels sprouts and celeriac in these beds next spring


 

Working late getting ready for market...still have to clean the fennel.

 Expected harvest for this week (choose 6):

turmeric 
lettuce mix
fennel
Brussels sprouts
celeriac 
parsnips
spinach 
ginger (last week)
daikon radishes
watermelon radishes
Hakurei turnips
butternut squash
pie pumpkins
cabbage
stripetti squash
onions
shallots
habanada peppers
garlic
leeks
cherry tomatoes?
tomatoes?
roma tomatoes?
Swiss chard
potatoes?
carrots
kale
baby kale
spicy mix
pea shoots
beets

Sunday, November 8, 2020

 


I guess our minds were politically preoccupied this week, because Liz did not take many photos.

Update for this week only: the Corning Farmers' Market will be closing at 1:00 this week due to a scheduling conflict with the Union Hall.

 Expected harvest for this week (choose 6):

turmeric
fennel
Brussels sprouts
celeriac 
parsnips
spinach 
ginger
daikon radishes
watermelon radishes
Hakurei turnips
butternut squash
sweet dumpling squash
cabbage
stripetti squash
onions
shallots
habanada peppers
garlic
leeks
cherry tomatoes?
tomatoes?
roma tomatoes?
Swiss chard
potatoes?
carrots
kale
baby kale
spicy mix
pea shoots
beets

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

 I apologize to those members in Elmira who showed up at Grove Park to get their final share of the season on Monday. I realize now that it I did not say in my post from a couple weeks ago that the last CSA share for Elmirans could be picked up at the Chamberlain Acres market on Sunday. For those who did not get their final CSA share because of this miscommunication, please come to Chamberlain Acres this Sunday 11:00-3:00 to get it.

Sunday, November 1, 2020

Last week of CSA pickup on farm. For the fall/winter CSA we will be moving vegetables out of the cooler and having them out on tables like this for those who pick up their share at the farm
Spooky ghost daikon radishes
Harvesting watermelon radishes on a beautiful fall day.

Our regular season CSA has come to a close. Thanks for your support through this difficult year. But our fall/winter CSA begins on Thursday in Corning. We have plenty of shares still available.

Expected harvest for this week (choose 6):

turmeric
fennel
Brussels sprouts
celeriac 
parsnips
spinach 
ginger
daikon radishes
watermelon radishes
long turnips
butternut squash
sweet dumpling squash
cabbage
stripetti squash
sweet onions 
cooking onions
shallots
habanada peppers
garlic
leeks
cherry tomatoes?
tomatoes?
roma tomatoes?
Swiss chard
potatoes?
peppers
carrots
kale
baby kale
baby chard
lettuce mix
spicy mix
pea shoots
beets


 

Saturday, October 24, 2020

 

These farmers voted today.
Dried zinnia seed heads ready for threshing
These are some of non-orange carrot varieties that we grew for a Cornell trial. We were doing taste tests with the harvest crew. Give them a try this fall and tell us what you think. Our crew unanimously voted for the purple/yellow carrot on the left ("Purple Elite").

 Is it a white/purple carrot? No these are turnips! We grew these for the first time this year and we love them. We will plan to continue growing them next year. This farmer thinks they are quite beautiful.


Don't forget to sign up for our fall/winter CSA which starts in November!

This is the last week of CSA (except for Elmira members who will get one additional week because we missed one week at the beginning of the CSA season due to Grove Park being closed). It certainly has been a growing season we will remember for a while.We hope the weather evens out a little more next year. Thank you all for your patience and kind words!

  Expected harvest for this week (choose 8 for small share, 10 for large share):

fennel
Brussels sprouts
celeriac 
parsnips
spinach 
ginger
daikon radishes
watermelon radishes
long turnips
butternut squash
acorn squash
cabbage
broccoli
stripetti squash
sweet onions 
cooking onions
shallots
habanada peppers
garlic
baby leeks
cherry tomatoes
tomatoes
roma tomatoes
Swiss chard
potatoes (maybe)
peppers (maybe)
carrots
kale
baby kale
baby chard
lettuce mix
spicy mix
pea shoots
beets

Sunday, October 18, 2020

 

All of our garlic is now planted. These are the garlic cloves of our 3 different varieties before being planted.
Physically distanced vegetable washing.
The last of our trays of greens before Liz transplanted them on Thursday. They will be growing in our hoophouses this fall and winter.

 

 Expected harvest for this week (choose 8 for small share, 10 for large share):

Brussels sprouts
celeriac 
parsnips
spinach 
ginger
daikon radishes
watermelon radishes
long turnips
butternut squash
cabbage
broccoli
stripetti squash
sweet onions 
cooking onions
shallots
green peppers
shishito peppers
ripe peppers (maybe)
habanada peppers
hot peppers
garlic
baby leeks
cherry tomatoes
tomatoes
roma tomatoes
Swiss chard
potatoes
carrots
kale
baby kale
baby chard
lettuce mix
spicy mix
pea shoots
beets
flour (from Farmer Ground Flour - organic)

 

Saturday, October 10, 2020

The air conditioner in this cooler is broken so right now we are using this it to store seeds. The dehumidifier helps keep the room dry which the seeds like. On the floor are Blue Coco beans we grew for Fedco Seeds. Once the pods are dry enough we shatter them by walking on them to get the beans out. In the buckets are some of the already processed Blue Cocos and also edamame soybeans for Fruition Seeds. In the blue bins are Salmon Rose zinnia seeds for Fruition. On the left are various seeds for our own use. And drying calendula flowers.
We tilted the solar panels to their winter position this week. The steeper angle captures more sunlight because of the sun's lower position this time of year.
Our young hens (pullets) are starting to lay eggs. Unfortunately, we only have a small flock so we still only bring the eggs to the Corning Farmers' Market.
 

 Expected harvest for this week (choose 8 for small share, 10 for large share):

Brussels sprouts
celeriac
spinach 
ginger
daikon radishes
watermelon radishes
long turnips
delicata squash
cabbage
broccoli
stripetti squash
sweet onions 
cooking onions
shallots
green peppers
shishito peppers
ripe peppers (maybe)
habanada peppers
hot peppers
garlic
baby leeks
cherry tomatoes
tomatoes
roma tomatoes
Swiss chard
potatoes
carrots
kale
baby kale
baby chard
lettuce mix
spicy mix
pea shoots
beets
flour (from Farmer Ground Flour - organic)

Saturday, October 3, 2020

 

Mouse, Luna and Dorian
Stripetti squash (Delicata crossed with Spaghetti Squash) Prepare them like a spaghetti squash.



  Expected harvest for this week (choose 8 for small share, 10 for large share):

spinach 
ginger
daikon radishes
watermelon radishes
long turnips
butternut squash
cabbage
broccoli
stripetti squash
sweet onions 
cooking onions
shallots
green peppers
shishito peppers
ripe peppers (maybe)
green peppers (maybe)
habanada peppers
hot peppers
garlic
baby leeks
cherry tomatoes
tomatoes
roma tomatoes
Swiss chard
potatoes
carrots
kale
baby kale
baby chard
lettuce mix
spicy mix
pea shoots
beets
flour (from Farmer Ground Flour - organic)

Sunday, September 27, 2020

Our tractor in the process of being repaired


 Basil that got frosted on the tips.

We are still working on determining what are plans will be for fall/winter farmers' markets and CSA. As you can imagine, they will be different this year. It looks like we may still be able to attend the Chamberlain Acres market in Elmira, but the winter market in Corning will not be able to happen in the Information Center. We will be updating you on this in the next couple weeks.

Expected harvest for this week (choose 8 for small share, 10 for large share):

spinach
acorn squash
cabbage
broccoli
spaghetti squash
sweet onions 
cooking onions
shallots
green peppers
shishito peppers
ripe peppers
habanada peppers
hot peppers
garlic
baby leeks
cherry tomatoes
tomatoes
roma tomatoes
Swiss chard
potatoes
carrots
kale
baby kale
baby chard
lettuce mix
spicy mix
pea shoots
beets
flour (from Farmer Ground Flour - organic

Sunday, September 20, 2020

 

 


Measuring our current pond (when it is full, that is) to see how big we might need our second pond to be.
Salmon Rose Zinnias that we are growing for a seed crop for Fruition Seeds.

 First frost September 19. That is at least 2 weeks early. Squash leaves, basil and some weeds died. Bean seed crop and outdoor peppers seem to have made it through. Still no rain in the forecast!

 Expected harvest for this week (choose 8 for small share, 10 for large share):

spinach
sweet dumpling squash
husk cherries
sweet onions 
cooking onions
shallots
green peppers
shishito peppers
ripe peppers
habanada peppers
garlic
baby leeks
cherry tomatoes
tomatoes
roma tomatoes
squash
Swiss chard
potatoes
carrots
kale
baby kale
baby chard
lettuce mix
spicy mix
pea shoots
basil (maybe)
beets
flour (from Farmer Ground Flour - organic)