What’s been going on!

We had another interesting first time experience recently when I recorded an hour and a half podcast for Chris Blanchard’s Farmer to Farmer Podcast series.  Chris was a farmer and now is consulting with organic farmers and has started doing these interviews with mostly organic vegetable farmers from all across the country.  If you have great stamina you can listen to the whole thing which is wide ranging but the following is a breakdown of the major subjects if you want to skip around.

Starts with an intro; minute 5- where we market and how we got started; min. 10- how we financed the whole thing; min. 20- record keeping and crop planning; min. 30- high tunnels and tomatoes; min. 45 our transition plans with Jennie and retirement; min. 65 efficiency, labor, equipment and farm design.  We recorded it over the phone so the sound is a bit funny as I sound out of breath.

Friday we have another interview for a profile of Peregrine Farm to be in yet another book, this one about successful small farms under 5 acres in production.  This will be, I think, the seventh book we have been included in over the years, something we never imagined.

Planting of fall crops picks up over the next few weeks with many flats seeded at the greenhouse and celery, turnips and radishes all in the ground already.  In the next few weeks we will plant or seed leeks, carrots, beets and Romanesco broccoli.  We even harvested the first of the winter squash yesterday, I know it seems wrong when it is 90 degrees but that is how the timing works here in NC.

Picture of the Week

Another steamy morning, summer cover crops with late flowers behind

What’s going to be at the market?

The Lisianthus parade marches on with pink, white, and apricot.  Fragrant Oriental Lilies in red, pink and white.  Beautiful Limelight Hydrangeas.  Colorful Zinnias and the wild felt like Crested Celosia’s come rolling in.  Of course lovely mixed bouquets.

Tomatoes!  Lots of beautiful red Big Beefs and German Johnsons. Fewer Cherokee Purples, Green Cherokees and yellow Kellogg’s Breakfast, just a few Orange Blossoms.  Fruity bi-colored (yellow and red, looks like fireworks) Striped Germans.  Sungolds, SunMix, Chocolate and Blush Cherry tomatoes.  Plenty of Romas for sauce.  Cheaper Tomato Freaks for salsa, gazpacho and freezing.

Basil to go with the tomatoes.  More Cucumbers.  Shishito peppers for appetizers and salads.  The first of the Jalapenos, Serranos and Anaheims.  Red onions for slicing and Long Red of Tropea onions for cooking.  We have a new crop of Callaloo, an amaranth green sautéed in Jamaica like spinach.

As a reminder if there is anything that you would like for us to hold for you at market just let us know by e-mail, by the evening before, and we will be glad to put it aside for you.

Hope to see you all at the market!

Alex, Betsy and Jennie

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