What’s been going on!

Twenty years ago this week we were cleaning up from the worst natural disaster to ever hit the farm and the state, Hurricane Fran.  For anyone who lived through the storm and its aftermath just the memory of it gives one pause, almost chills.  We have been through numerous hurricane/tropical depressions, thunderstorm straight line winds and floods from torrential downpours and other than the Big Storm, all of them rolled together don’t match what Fran had all in one shot.

From the ferocity of the winds that went on for hours and eventually brought many trees down around the farm but amazingly not on any buildings, to the rain that brought the river up to the 500 year flood level and floated the transplant greenhouse which required us to move it out of the bottom field and up onto the hill, this storm had it all.

We were without power for a week and the mid 90 degree temperatures and high humidity made the days of chainsaw work and clean up really taxing.  No running water meant that we had to haul buckets of water from the pond to water 1000’s of transplants with a watering can.  At least it was warm enough to rinse off in the pond every evening and it was peacefully silent in the neighborhood until the generators all roared to life.

In the end we only missed one Saturday market (the market did go on the day after the storm but we skipped it while cleaning up) and we had good fall crops up to frost.  While we came out relatively unscathed monetarily, we never want to see such a storm again.

Pictures of the Week

Big oak trees down all around the house

The 500 year flood level of the Haw River in our bottom field

What’s going to be at the market?

We are no longer at the Wednesday market, for the rest of the season.

We will only be roasting until 11:00 this Saturday

If you want to roast peppers remember to stop by our stall first thing to get your peppers into the cue, then go shop and they will be ready for you when you are done.  If you would like a large amount of peppers roasted (5# or more) please let us know by Friday morning so we can have them ready for you at market.

Peppers!  An amazing amount of red and yellow Bells; red, yellow and orange Corno di Toros; Cubanelle, Ashe County Pimentos and Aji Dulce the habanero without heat in sweet peppers.

Hot peppers from mildest to hottest- Passilla, Anaheim (New Mexican), Poblano, Spanish Piquillo and French Espelette, our own Picante Pimento, Serrano, Jalapeno, Cayenne and Datil.

Plenty of the Shishito and Padron appetizer peppers prepared the same easy with a quick blister in a pan then sprinkled with salt and eaten whole.  Get some of both and do your own comparison. .

A great supply of Eggplant Italian heirloom and the striped Nubia.  The last of the cured sweet Red Onions.  Spaghetti and Butternut Winter Squash.  Tender and sweet Japanese Salad Turnips.  Red Radishes.

Fall greens, more each week. Summer Crisp lettuce.  A bit of Asian Braising Greens and of course Callaloo the summer cooking green to replace Kale, actually an amaranth, also known as the Jamaican spinach, great for a fast sauté.

The flower department is into late summer mode lead by the Crested Celosia wave.  Sunflowers.  The radiant Plume Celosia is back too.  Beautiful Limelight Hydrangeas ready for drying.

 

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.  Just so you know, sometimes not everything listed will be at the Wednesday market.

Hope to see you all at the market!

Alex, Betsy and Jennie

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