Spring CSA Pickup #5

Thank you for joining us this season as a Spring CSA Member! We look forward to having you with us again! We do still have a few spots available in our Summer CSA if you are not already signed up.

The planning and detailed work nurturing our cherry tomato crop in GH4 and GH10 has begun to really pay off with not only a yield in early June, however a yield that solidly supports the CSA, farm-stand and Littleton Food Coop. Evrald has been our primary harvester bringing in 40-50 pints every other day. Supper Sweet 100 and Sungold grafted cherries started back in January reside in GH4 and in the pots in GH10. We have younger plants of the same varieties in the other beds of GH10.

We prune off the “suckers” of our indeterminate cherry tomatoes so there is one leader stem with fruit clusters and leaves. This creates an environment with better air circulation, reducing the risk of fungal diseases (like blight) by allowing more air to move through the plant. Gives an opportunity for improved light penetration to leaves and fruits, which supports healthier growth and better fruit ripening. The fruit clusters tend to be of higher-quality. With one stem, the plants energy is directed to fewer fruits. Harvesting and maintenance also become easier and we find that fruit ripens quicker with less foliage and fewer fruit clusters.

Cucumbers and head lettuce in GH6 are thriving. The yellow sticky traps have helped catch and monitor pest pressure, the cucumber beetles have made their presence known, however not in huge numbers.

Parsley started in January with salanova head lettuce are doing well in Garden 6. We did some drainage work after last season in Garden 6, so far it seems to be working in moving some water out of this garden.

Our self guided tour is almost completely up. From chickens and pigs, to blueberries and flowers, to moveable greenhouses and soil heath, we hope everyone who comes and walks around the farm will learn something new.

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Pickup is from 3:00 - 6:00

If you are unable to pickup Thursday, please let us know so we can put your share aside to be picked up at your earliest convenience.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING BAGS!

Woodland Community School children and parents may be still in and around the driveway when pickup begins, please be careful navigating the parking lot.

Check out our CSA recipe page for some yummy kitchen ideas!

CSA Recipes

Your Farmer, Sam (For Tim, Mikaela, Jeannie, Jim, Evrald, Shawn, Jav, Jeb, Colin, Jaime, Wyatt, Ani, Sophie, and Jess)

Spring CSA Pickup #4

As you know, the farm property is home to the Woodland Community School, a private day school for children aged 5–12. While students don't directly participate in farm chores and activities, they occasionally have the opportunity to explore the farm environment with a hands-on educational experience. We have been thrilled to provide a deeper look at the farm operation with Woodland students and teachers the last couple of weeks. Time was spent checking out the donkeys, goats, pigs, chickens, greenhouses, seed-room, and some tractors, followed by their incredible help cover cropping in between our tomatoes and planting beans in the field. The saying “Many hands makes light work” rings true when thinking about their positive and substantial impact on the farm in the brief time they were with us getting their hands dirty!

In addition to Woodland Community School, we recently hosted a first grade class from Laffayette in Franconia, who braved the rain and after learning about the farm through a tour set to work planting beans (yes we have lots of beans!), collecting eggs, and doing some potting up outside our seed room.

We find it incredibly important to educate and expose children of all ages (1 - 99+ years old) to the farm and what we do. We hope that children gain a better understanding of where their food comes from and the importance of nourishing and caring for the soil. We hope to inspire a future farmer as well!

Woodland Community School students planting cover crop between cherry tomatoes in GH4. Our first round of lettuce this season once occupied these holes. We cut the plants out, letting the roots decompose in the soil. Check out our shared instagram post above to learn more about the school and see some other things that are happening at the farm.

Woodland Community School students enjoyed some sun while planting beans in G6.

Future farmer Addison enjoyed watching and helping mom as she planted cucumber seeds in soil blocks a couple weeks ago.

Our female cows and a few calves moved from their winter pasture to a summer pasture and have been enjoying the grass.

Jaime easily harvested large heads of lettuce for you all last week from a couple different greenhouses. Lots more lettuce to come! We have head lettuce again for this week. If you run out we will have loose lettuce in the farm stand or find it on sale at the coop this weekend!

We made the move outside last week planting zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers.

We are crossing our fingers, hopeful that last night was the final potential frost of the spring. With clear skies, little wind, and temps in the 30’s we typically get one….last nights was spotty. Thankful for everyone here rallying and getting everything covered, heated, or watered to ensure nothing perished in the colder than usual temps.

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If you need a place to dispose of your food scraps besides the trash, we collect them here at the farm and feed them out to our chickens. Eventually the waste gets moved to our compost piles. We also have collection containers at The Littleton Transfer Station and The Littleton Food Coop.

Pickup is from 3:00 - 6:00

If you are unable to pickup Thursday, please let us know so we can put your share aside to be picked up at your earliest convenience.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING BAGS!

Woodland Community School children and parents may be still in and around the driveway when pickup begins, please be careful navigating the parking lot.

Check out our CSA recipe page for some yummy kitchen ideas!

CSA Recipes

Your Farmer, Sam (For Tim, Mikaela, Jeannie, Jim, Evrald, Shawn, Jav, Jeb, Mary, Colin, Jaime, Wyatt, Ani, Sophie, and Jess)

Spring CSA Pickup #3

Typical spring flavors and crops of course dominate your spring CSA share, however with the control we have over the environment in a greenhouse we are able to bring you some early fruiting crops such as the cucumber you will find in your share this week. Considering this mornings temperature here at the farm was down around a surprising (and scary) 36-37 degrees, the process to keep cucumber plants alive this winter and spring has definitely been quite exciting at times.

At the beginning of December, cucumbers were just an organized idea in our seeding spreadsheet. The crop line containing this GH3 succession of cucumbers included a seeding date, variety, how many, in what tray (32 cells, 72 cells, blocks, etc), potting up date, transplant date, and row spacing. Enjoy the journey down memory lane!

February 11, 2025 Colin and Evrald were working with the cherry tomato plants on the bottom shelf (Now just about producing ripe tomatoes in GH4). Check out the shelf above: Cucumbers had already been potted up, now time to get bigger!

February 20, 2025, they are growing greater root systems and greenery above. The yellow sticky trap helps us monitor pest pressure, in this case just a few fungas gnats.

Heating the air is crucial, however for roots and thus the cucumber plant to thrive soil temperatures above 60-ish degrees is critical. We use a wood boiler with radiant heat to heat the soil in GH3. We had a busy 4 days at the beginning of March when outside temperatures were consistently cold and we had to repair a hole in one of the radiant loops. a hole was dug, pex repaired and the entire system was refilled with glycol water mix.

March 11, 2025 cucumber are in the ground in GH3. Check out the snow bank outside the greenhouse!

March 16, 2025: This single cucumber was the first and led the way to maturity and eventual harvest. We are excited about the early cucumbers this season and hope the crop will continue to ramp up. In addition to slicing cucumbers we also have a greenhouse of snacking cukes this season!

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Garlic tends to be one of the first crops to appear in the spring, marking the beginning of the season. We planted the garlic in three rows per bed, matching the spacing of our basket weeder. Our 1950’s Farmall Cub is the perfect tractor for the two rows of baskets on the basket weeder. If used when weeds are small, it disrupts their growth and provides space for the garlic to grow without competition. Check out the banner picture above of the garlic and the basket weeder at work in the video below. We have spring garlic for you in this weeks share. Yummy in soups, cut up and sautéed or even grilled.

Pickup is from 3:00 - 6:00

If you are unable to pickup Thursday, please let us know so we can put your share aside to be picked up at your earliest convenience.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING BAGS!

Woodland Community School children and parents may be still in and around the driveway when pickup begins, please be careful navigating the parking lot.

Check out our CSA recipe page for some yummy kitchen ideas!

CSA Recipes

Your Farmer, Sam (For Tim, Mikaela, Jeannie, Jim, Evrald, Shawn, Jav, Jeb, Colin, Jaime, Ani, Sophie, and Jess)

Spring CSA Pickup #2

As we wait for frost free weather to arrive, the weeding list has been formed, gardens continue to be prepped, orders filled, animals moved, all while plants that are ready to go in the ground get bigger and bigger. Peppers, zuchinni, squash and pumpkins, and more are ready to go in the ground. It is a balance of planting and waiting, understanding if we transplant into the soil, those plants may need covering and protecting with a possible future frost.

As we run around the farm checking items off the never ending to-do list we have had many discussions about the names of specific gardens so that the location of specific jobs are clear. Here at the main farm we have roughly 37 different gardens and greenhouses, granted Green House #8 has three different sections: GH8 North, GH8 Middle, GH8S, so it counts as 3 spots. When you add in the acreage we lease (we call it the Oxbow) suddenly we are looking at an additional 8 - 10 locations. Not included in these numbers are the different animal pastures, blueberries, or buildings. We cant just say “after harvesting basil, go out and weed the radishes” as we also have different plantings of radishes in different places. Navigating the farm and the specific tasks can certainly get exciting.

Three other greenhouses also have multiple sections like Green House 8. Only one section of the greenhouse is covered at a time, however the greenhouse is moveable and can be rolled from one section to the next. Using these greenhouses, we can extend the season in both the spring and the fall seasons. In March and April we planted radishes, turnips, beets and carrots under the cover of greenhouse 8M and then once the weather warmed up the first week of May, we simply rolled the greenhouse to the South section where we prepped beds and planted cucumbers and greens. Check out the videos below to see greenhouses move and to learn more.

GH8M Beets and Carrots

GH8S Beds, as we finished rolling the greenhouse

GH8S Beds after planting

GH8 being moved with two tractors to the next section.

Wheels are rolling as GH8 moved

Self Guided Tour video

Green House 6 has a different rail and wheel setup. 2024 video.

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Pickup is from 3:00 - 6:00

If you are unable to pickup Thursday, please let us know so we can put your share aside to be picked up at your earliest convenience.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING BAGS!

Woodland Community School children and parents may be still in and around the driveway when pickup begins, please be careful navigating the parking lot.

Check out our CSA recipe page for some yummy kitchen ideas!

CSA Recipes

Your Farmer, Sam (For Tim, Mikaela, Jeannie, Jim, Evrald, Shawn, Jav, Jeb, Colin, Jaime, Sophie, and Jess)

Spring CSA Pickup #1

Folks always ask what we do in the winter and is it a time to relax? We do take our moments to ski and enjoy the snow and maybe relax, however our animals don’t stop and need attention, we plan for the season ahead, tackle some projects we typically don’t have time for in the summer season and begin seeding around the new year. Harvesting lettuce continued into December, so cleaning up greenhouses blended right into seeding for this season.

More piglets joined the farm family in January.

In February, with some other farmers and producers, Jeannie met with Jeanne Shaheen to discuss how farms and farmers could be supported.

In March Sam was part of a panel with other growers in collaboration with The Littleton Food Coop and Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust (ACT) discussing food resiliency in the north country and how climate change has affected farms.

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We are most excited for our Vegetable Manager and flower guru Mikaela as she and her husband welcomed Addison who is doing great! And like our plants, Addison has been taking her primary responsibility of growing very seriously!

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With the sunny weather, planting has been the priority over the last few days. Basil, lettuce, parsley, tomatoes, slicing cucumbers and snacking cucumbers have all gone in the ground. By the time you come and pickup on Thursday we are hoping to have another bed of onions planted, potatoes planted and some outside lettuce in the ground. Plants are ready!

Jav pruned our cherry tomatoes this past weekend…..they are just about as tall as he is: 6+ feet!

Sophie, has been planting away in the seed room, helping with lettuce, tomatoes, herbs, flowers and more.

Tim drove the Carerro the 4ish miles to the Oxbow and brought his own wheels to get himself back to the farm. He has been busy prepping beds for planting here at the main farm and the fields we lease over at the Oxbow.

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Pickup is from 3:00 - 6:00

Woodland Community School children and parents may be still in and around the driveway when pickup begins, please be careful navigating the parking lot.

If you are unable to pickup Thursday, please let us know so we can put your share aside to be picked up at your earliest convenience.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING BAGS!

 When you arrive at the farm, look for the CSA sign straight ahead and to the left. Under our shed roof you will see lots of goodies waiting to head home with you.

Jaime and Sophie will be present to help, however.... Please check off your name so we know you picked up your share!---

Check out our CSA recipe page for some yummy kitchen ideas!

CSA Recipes

Your Farmer, Sam (For Tim, Mikaela, Jeannie, Jim, Evrald, Shawn, Jav, Colin, Jaime, Sophie, and Jess)

Spring CSA 2025 Welcome

Thank you for supporting us and welcoming our fresh, nutritious, high quality, local produce into your kitchen this Spring. We are thrilled to welcome you into the farm community and share what we have been working hard to grow.

We are less than a week

away from the first pickup!!! 

First pickup: THURSDAY MAY 15TH  FROM 3 - 6 PM

An email will arrive at the beginning of each week with reminder about pickup, however the newsletter will be accessible here where you will find the farm happenings, farmer thoughts, some pictures, and what you can expect to find in your boxed share. If you like, bookmark a link to this page and come back here each week to find out the CSA details. We will aim to have the newsletter ready for you each week by Tuesday evening at the latest.

Your CSA Pickup is at the farm between 3:00 and 6:00 pm on Thursdays.

Look for the CSA sign (see picture above) by the shed roof ahead and on the left once you drive into the farm. After checking in with the farmer welcoming you, remove the contents of one black crate and drop the goodies in the bag or box you brought with you to transport your share. Bring your own bags or box so you can take your share and leave the black crate. 

Remember please contact us (email or phone) in advance if you will be unable to pickup at the designated time on Thursdays, that way we can store your share in our walk-in refrigerator to keep it fresh for you to come and pickup at a convenient time.

Enjoy! Thank you for supporting local agriculture. See you on Thursday May 15th if not before!

In the meantime stop by the farm stand (open 7 days a week) and pickup some greens or stop by for our plant sale (Thursdays - Sundays 10:00 - 5:00). Also check out our CSA recipe page.

Your Farmer, Sam (For Tim, Mikaela, Jeannie, Jim, Evrald, Shawn, Jav, Colin, Jaime, Sophie, and Jess)

Onions going in the ground!