This Week at the Farm: Summer Sales, Salsa Season, Beets, and Berries
Ahh, summer. Now that the heat wave has passed, we’re back to enjoying the sunny, warm weather and the wonderful harvests that come with it.
The good thing about the heat is that it helps the blueberries ripen faster—there are tons of berries out there for you to pick! And, judging by the number of berries that still need to ripen, it looks like the season is going to last quite a while longer.
The Pick-Your-Own Blueberry patch is open from dawn to dusk, daily. While it doesn’t look like thunderstorms are in the forecast, please keep in mind that, for your safety, the patch closes as soon as we hear thunder and remains closed until 30 minutes after the last sound of thunder. Be safe out there!
Sales!
Summer annuals are 50% off until they’re gone! This includes all of the plants in Greenhouses 1 and 2, herb starts, hanging baskets, and many of the plants in the displays outside the farmstand.
Beets are the vegetable of the week and 10% off through Monday, August 5. This little info sheet includes tips on how to use beets and how to store them, along with two recipes: Quick Pickled Beets and Beet Dip with Goat Cheese & Hazelnuts. Bookmark the hyperlink or stop by the farmstand to pick up a printed copy!
From the Fields
Our dedicated morning harvesters spend their time down at the blueberry patch at this point in the season, picking pints upon pints of berries for the farmstand. The rest of the crew spreads out across the farm to harvest everything from zucchini to cucumbers, watermelons, and more! The heirloom tomatoes are slowing coming in now, and we have a number of different varieties—Striped Germans, Cherokee Purple, and Brandywine. And the corn will be in within the next few days!
On Thursday, it was all hands on deck while the production crew harvested our entire garlic crop. The summer day campers got to help, too! Most of the day was spent harvesting, bunching, and transporting the garlic back to the barn, where it will cure for the next couple of weeks.
From the Kitchen
If you like to cook, you’ll understand that the inspiration is endless this time of the year, when there’s a continuous supply of delicious, fresh produce. Our kitchen makes garden salads and many prepared foods using fresh veggies, like orzo salad and summer squash gratin, but they also spend a lot of time preserving the season’s harvest, for you to enjoy later in the year and through the winter.
Their krauts are a farm favorite, and there’s never a shortage of flavors. Right now we have Curtido, Garden, and Blush krauts in the farmstand. Recently, they made shelf stable pickles, refrigerator pickles, fermented veggies (which are also in the garden salads!), and even dilly beans, which you can look forward to finding in the farmstand in the fall.
Summer Cooking
We’re nearly up to our ears in zucchini and summer squash, so the kitchen is featuring it in breads, muffins, and bread puddings, and we’re brainstorming all the different ways you can use it (like this Zucchini and Summer Squash with Crispy Cornmeal Coating).
It’s also salsa season. Everything you need to make a fresh salsa, mild or hot, is in the farmstand: tomatoes (heirloom, cherry, or slicer), fresh onions, hot peppers, and cilantro. Try Will’s Fresh Salsa recipe. You won’t be disappointed!
Work Trade, For Flowers!
Our Pick-Your-Own Cut Flower Garden is absolutely stunning, thanks to the work of our greenhouse crew and operations staff. However, they need a little more help with deadheading and weeding! If you’re interested in trading one hour of work for one 20-stem bouquet, please contact Michelle for more information and to schedule a time.
Full Season Retail Staff and Baristas Needed
Spread the word! As the beginning of the school year approaches, we’re losing many of our wonderful retail staff who are heading back to school. If you know someone who is looking for full time work, has customer service and [preferably] retail experience, please encourage them to apply.
Gardening Tips: Make Your Bouquets Interesting
Take a stroll through the flower garden and spend a few minutes coming up with a vision before you start cutting. Make sure to include a mixture of textures, colors, and flower varieties to add interest to your bouquets. And for greenery, look for Bupleurum, Eucalyptus, and ornamental grasses.
Need help or don’t have time to cut your own? Our experienced flower staff can pick the flowers for you, creating a beautiful mix of organic, seasonal blooms based on your color requests and vision.
Learn more about Buckets of Blooms →
We’re gearing up for Open Farm Week, which kicks off on Friday! Farms all around Vermont welcome visitors and host events to connect with their communities and get people excited about farming. Check out this video about Open Farm Week or find other events taking place at farms around the state. We hope you’ll join us for a tour of the Willing Hands Garden on August 15!
In the meantime, stop by the farm and feel free to wander through the farmstand, gardens, and greenhouses, say hi the chickens, and visit the circle of cedars. We love to share this beautiful place with our community.
–From all of us at Cedar Circle
Upcoming
August 3: Norwich Farmers’ Market, 9–1.
August 4: Knife sharpening at the farmstand, 10–2.
August 6: Little Farmers drop-in class for children ages 2 to 5, 10–11 am.
August 8: Lebanon Farmers Market, 4–7 pm.
August 15: Willing Hands Garden and Farm Tour (VT Open Farm Week), 6 pm.
