Tomato Time

Good Morning All,

Another week under our belts, we’ve managed to dodge the bullet of Henri, and hopefully the high humidity will break! Weeds are getting thick and tall now, they enjoy this high humidity and take every advantage to grow out of bounds….

My college bound farm helpers have headed off to school for the season. I will miss them, I forget how much I rely on their helping hands and ready to do anything additive. I wish them luck but silently regret that they will not be around to help through the fall… DARN!

True farm fresh produce continues to tumble in, we have dropped the silver queen all white corn and the French green beans. Our Yellow corn variety is in it’s last week. BUT the melons are just now starting to come along. And if any of you took advantage of the cantaloupe last week, you know how sweet and juicy they are.. I will have them again this week, but please do not hesitate in your ordering. They will not be around for long. I anticipate local watermelon for NEXT week. Soooooo good!

Canning tomatoes and pickling cukes will be available for home canning and reserving, email me or call for availability.

Finally, I will be visiting my family at their summer cottage in New Hampshire for a few days this week, and will (unfortunately) miss Wednesday market. Life will go on here at the farm while I am away thanks to my trustworthy homesteader helpers, and I will gather your orders for Friday delivery.

I appreciate all of you and your ongoing commitment to fresh excellent local foods! Thank you, thank you!

I hope you can all enjoy the waning days of summer, it sure has been one to remember!

Gratefully,

Kath

Ripe & Sweet Cantelope

Hello All!

Another week gone by, and I always say to myself “ WHERE does our Summer go”? Quickly, it goes quickly! We still have a good many lovely days ahead, but the season is changing. These cooler nights do make for better sleeping….

New this week? Well I have all colors of the rainbow bell peppers, 3 varieties of sweet corn (solid yellow, sugar and gold and all white), apples are beginning to appear in abundance, and melons are beginning to ripen! Most of you the have purchased from us in years past and know the lovely flavor and aroma of our local Maine grown melons. However, like our berries, you really need to order soon and eat them quickly. Picked when ripe and at max flavor you will hunger for them ALLLLLLLLLLL season long and think about them wistfully during the colder months of the year. Watermelons are not too far behind as well.

Our pumpkin patch is zooming along, I so enjoy the surprises that our patch will have for us as the leaves begin to die back…….. not yet though, please not yet.

We have our thanksgiving turkeys on parade throughout the farmyard now. We shut the farm gates and let them lose from their pens to graze and eat whatever bugs they can find. They never travel too far from their feed dishes though.

My big puppy boys (Kip and Leo) continue to amaze me with their intuitive love for their sheep. I allow them out with the sheep and horses for 20 minute visits, and if they decide to chase, then back into their pen they come. They are maturing more and more every day, and I am hoping that I can soon let them out for the majority of the day. Full night time guardian work will be a big test for their guardian skills but I am still about a year away from that major task.

I again and as always thank you for your support of local foods, our excellent small Maine farms and the vibrant and thriving farmers markets that receive so much community support. Enjoy our lovely Maine summers, and I look forward to talking to you soon!

Kath

Early Apples are Ready!

Good afternoon All,

Hope that your weekend was filled with fun, family and excellent local foods! I have been seeing many of you at markets and hoping that you are enjoying the variety and abundance as much as I am! So many lovely colors, and so many awesome flavors…….

Corn is in and while I basically carry the 2 color sugar and gold variety, I can also get pure yellow corn and an all white. Both have their own unique flavor , I really enjoy the all yellow for the hearty eating experience (so good on a grill roasted ) and the all white has a very tender kernel and flavor. Both of these varieties are a very short season crop, please let me know if you’d like to try them.

Early apples are available now, we have a Paula Red (excellent eating ) and a yellow transparent (good to eat but BETTER for pies and sauces). Early apples do not have long keeping capacity, so better to just get a few and eat them right up , when the nights begin to get cooler, the apples will respond by getting a thicker skin and that will extend their firmness and keeping quality. I plan to travel to Massachusetts to load up on yellow peaches, a white fleshed peach and nectarines….. grown by orchardists that have had a long time relationship with my family ( more than 4 generations) I enjoy making my way to visit them and listen to tales they tell of my father, grandfather and great grandfather ,of simpler times well before all the gadgets and gizmos we all take for granted now. And of course, driving back to Maine loaded down with the most scrumptious fragrant fruit . I will bring back a lot for all of my market customers and Friday food friends….stay tuned!

I continue to be grateful for all of my customers that share in the bounty of what we can grow here in Maine, please let me know if there is something you are looking for, I can usually find it among my farmer friends!

Take good care,

Kath