This Week at the Farm: Summer Bounty, Krauts, and Berries
It seems like just yesterday we were picking strawberries. Now, August is just around the corner and the PYO blueberry patch is open for picking. While it’s still early in the season, every day the picking is better and the berries are sweeter.
When you get to the berry patch, you’ll see that there are bushes to the left and the right of the berry shack. Since we have a few different varieties around the patch, we recommend taking a walk to survey before you start to pick. Otherwise, you might find the tastiest blueberries just when you’re almost done picking! (We may be speaking from experience.)
Plant Sales!
If you’re looking to fill in your home garden, we still have vegetable starts that can be planted now for your fall harvest (broccoli, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, etc.) and they’re 50% off until they’re gone!
Our remaining hanging baskets are also 50% off. Stay tuned for information about more summer sales, coming soon!
The Season’s Bounty
The farmstand is overflowing with the season’s bounty! There are mountains of cucumbers (pickling and slicing), zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes, cabbage, green beans, and the list goes on! Click here to see what’s usually in season around this time of the year and what you can look forward to in the coming months.
New this week, we have basil, dill, heirloom tomatoes, cauliflower, hot peppers, shishito peppers, green peppers (a limited quantity), and red fresh onions*. Keep an eye out for corn — we’re planning to start harvesting it by the end of next week!
*We’re highlighting fresh onions this week. They’re the “vegetable of the week”, and are 10% off through Monday, July 29.
Summer Eating (Farm-Made Food)
There’s so much produce to work with this time of the year, our kitchen staff could work dawn to dusk and still have more vegetables to cook and bake with. They’ve been making all sorts of tasty foods, like a summer squash gratin you can bring home and bake, curtido and garden krauts, refrigerator and shelf-stable pickles, pesto, carrot romesco, and more. We’re excited to have krauts in the farmstand again, and this week we were able to make our first batch of basil pesto!
Campers Giving Back
Our summer campers have been enjoying the season’s bounty while also talking about giving back. Each of the three groups got to ride in the tractor wagon down to the blueberry patch to harvest berries for camp-wide snack time. And on Thursday and Friday, as part of their morning chores they harvested a total of 140 pounds of potatoes, which will be donated to Willing Hands.
VT Open Farm Week
Vermont’s 5th Annual Open Farm Week is a great opportunity to meet your local farmers, learn more about farming, and get involved in your local food community! Events are taking place throughout Vermont from August 9–15.
This year, on August 15, we’re co-hosting a guided tour at the Willing Hands Garden on Pavillion Road. Come learn about the partnership between Cedar Circle and Willing Hands, and how we’re working to contribute nutritious organic produce to local food pantries through the development and management of our two-acre permanent bed garden.
Gardening Tips: Grasses
Did you know there are cool season grasses like Calamagrostis acutiflora that are in their prime in the fall, winter, and spring, and others like Schizachyrium that do best in the summer? You can plant a mixture of cool and warm season grasses so that they flower at different times during the season. Ask our greenhouse staff for guidance!
At this point in the summer, our crops our thriving and the farmstand is overflowing with beautiful produce. Stop by the farmstand and pick up everything you need for your next meal, extra veggies for preserving, and flowers to brighten your day.
We’re looking forward to seeing you at the farm!
–From all of us at Cedar Circle
Upcoming
July 27: Norwich Farmers’ Market, 9–1.
July 28: Knife sharpening at the farmstand, 10–2.
July 30: Little Farmers drop-in class for children ages 2 to 5, 10–11 am.
August 1: Lebanon Farmers Market, 4–7 pm.
August 15: Willing Hands Garden and Farm Tour (VT Open Farm Week), 6 pm.
October 13: Pumpkin Festival! 10 am–3 pm.
