This Week at the Farm: Summer Veggies are Here, Blueberries Coming Soon
Strawberry season is finally winding down after a month of picking, and tomorrow’s the last day the pick-your-own strawberry patch will be open for the season. Thank you to everyone who came out to the farm to pick–it was an amazing year for strawberries!
The good news is: even with the rainy and cold spring, blueberries are on track and already ripening. We pick a few ripe berries yesterday, and it looks like we’ll be able to start picking pints for the farmstand within the next week or so. Stay tuned for updates regarding pick-your-own.
If you’re looking for a fun activity in the meantime, stop by our cut flower garden to pick your own flowers and make beautiful bouquets! Skip to the bottom for tips on how to cut flowers and make long lasting bouquets.
Hiring
Before we continue on with farm updates, we have an important announcement: we’re hiring! As the fall semester quickly approaches, many of our staff members are getting ready to head off to grad school or college, which means we have some open positions in the kitchen, farmstand, and cafe. Experience is preferred, but we will train the right candidates. A passion for food and farming is a must.
Organic, Farm-grown Veggies in the Farmstand
We have tons of beets, radishes, cabbage, kale, collards, and celery. The season for shelling, snap, and snow peas is starting to wind down, so make sure you get some before they’re gone!
Summer produce has started to come in—zucchini, summer squash, slicer tomatoes, fresh onions, dill, hot peppers, and Japanese eggplants are trickling in every day now. Keep an eye out for slicing cucumbers, artichokes, Italian eggplants, which we’re starting to see out in the fields.
Yesterday, we harvested the first pickling cucumbers. Get your pickle recipe out because tons of these cukes are ready to be harvested and we’re expecting a flood of them in the farmstand this week.
Storing New Potatoes
If you’ve been in the farmstand this week, you may have noticed that the new potatoes are now being stored, unwashed, in the produce cooler with all the other refrigerated veggies. It’s important for you to know why, because new potatoes aren’t as hardy as storage potatoes.
New potatoes have a delicate skin, which means they get squishy quickly after they’re washed and are much more susceptible to turning green in the light. To keep them from spoiling within a day or two, we are selling them with the dirt lightly brushed off.
When you take them home, store them in a paper bag in your refrigerator and don’t wash them until just before using them. It’s best to use them relatively quickly, however, they can keep for a month or two if stored properly.
From Farm to Kitchen to Table
In case you missed it: we’ve harvested tons of cabbage and now have enough to start making the first batches of kraut of the season! The kitchen has made several different krauts, which will be out in the farmstand within the next couple weeks as soon as they’re done fermenting.
Our wonderful kitchen staff is tasked with figuring out how to use and highlight all of the seasonal produce, in sweet and savory baked goods, salads, yogurts, etc. For example, every day the bread puddings highlight different vegetables and greens, from new potatoes to scapes to beet greens to zucchini. This weekend, on Saturday and Sunday they’re making limited quantities of a special savory bun with scape cream, dill, gruyere, and poppyseeds for the Hello Café!
Summer Fun at Cedar Circle Farm Camp!
The second week of camp was filled with cooking, physical activity, science-based activities, crafting, games, and chores. One exciting highlight from this week, besides a camp-wide favorite game of Predator vs. Prey, was watching a cicada emerging from its exoskeleton and slowly making its way up a tree.
While the campers do spend a lot of time moving around and exploring, they also spend a bit of time reflecting and recharging each day. During their daily sit spot activity, they engage their senses and make observations, zooming in and zooming out, and compare how things change throughout the week.
Gardening Tips: Cutting Flowers in the Garden
Make sure to bring a bucket or container filled with water for your freshly cut stems. Flowers wilt quickly in the heat and do best when placed directly into water. (If you forget a bucket, we have small red ones for sale—you’ll find them over by the pottery, just next to the Hello Cafe.)
Get more flower picking tips →
Freshly harvested, certified organic veggies are so much more delicious than the ones you’ll find at the grocery store, and this time of the year, every time you visit the farmstand you’ll find more than enough to make a tasty meal.
If you’re curious about how to use and store certain veggies, we made little veggie info sheets for you to look through and take home. Make sure to browse through our recipe suggestions (over in the back corner by the bread and other baked goods) for inspiration the next time you’re here, too!
Happy eating!
–From all of us at Cedar Circle
Upcoming
July 13: Norwich Farmers Market, 9–1.
July 14: Knife sharpening at the farmstand, 10–2.
July 16: Little Farmers drop-in class for children ages 2 to 5, 10–11 am.
July 18: Lebanon Farmers Market, 4–7 pm.
