Shareholders were excited about the fresh lettuce greens and cilantro newly available last week. In the next couple weeks kale, head lettuce, scallions and rosemary will also become available. We are seeding the second planting of beans today and the first one should be ready in a month or so.
Next Garden Morning Saturday, June 25th
In the fields 10am-noon with potluck lunch to follow
If you’d like to join us in the field for a non-garden morning, shareholders have an open invitation for Wednesdays 5:30-7:00pm as well as any Wednesday or Saturday 9am-1pm.
There’s a unique hybrid workshop happening next Saturday afternoon called Farm and Food Photography Skills. It’s associated with an exhibit –In Season: Our Rural Food System in Photos- that Flip worked on through her job at Cornell Cooperative Extension. Workshop participants will start at the gallery in TAUNY on Main Street Canton, learning tips and hearing stories from a professional photographer. Then the group will come to littleGrasse to take photos! Space is limited, reserve your spot here.
New life on the farm. We received these Red Rangers as day-old chicks. Young birds have no feathers, only down, so their ability to keep themselves dry is limited. We tend them for a couple weeks in an indoor protected area before moving them outside. Shareholders will get to see the birds later this month in the front range field with the maturing patch of rye. This area will produce no food crops in 2022, instead we are focusing on soil building with the rye cover crop and chicken rotation. As their name suggests, Red Rangers are an excellent breed for pasturing, we find them to be active, strong, curious birds.
Apprentice GH Werowinski has returned for his second full season at the farm. He soaks up new information with gusto, eager to apply it later in life to his own homestead. In this photo, GH is weeding the broccoli patch with a wheel hoe. He is especially fond of learning management systems that are light on the earth and reduce dependency of fossil fuel inputs. GH decided to return to littleGrasse in large part due to the interactive aspect of the farm, with shareholders coming right to the farm and into the fields for their produce. He’s always got a woodworking project close at hand and has been exploring all the roadways of the region by bicycle.
A photographer from North Country Now stopped by during a planting session. Here’s the shot they printed. Caption: littleGrasse Community Farm co-owner, Flip Filippi, standing, and Lianna Pront, of Canton who attends Columbia University, plant winter squash and edible pumpkins for farm shareholders. Behind them is a rye cover crop and a mobile chicken coop to house chickens in a few weeks. The chickens will fertilize the soil for next year’s crops.
Roots are incredible. This spinach plant germinated about a week ago, and while it’s only got two small leaves, there’s a well established root system pulling nutrients and moisture up from the soil.
Plant Spotlight: Chamomile is best known as a soothing addition to herbal teas. The flower is thedile part, both fresh and dried. In northern New York it’s considered a self-sowing annual. We maintain a patch that returns each year from the seeds that the plants shed. Shareholders will find it in the flower garden and the best time to harvest it is the next 4 or so weeks. In addition to herbal uses, it can be used in liquers or by adding to salads. Another option to add chamomile’s aroma to dish’s is to make a strong tea then substitute it for the liquid ingredients in sauces, baked products or other dishes.
Find other information and tips on the littleGrasse website in the Vegetables Pages where there’s a section for nearly every crop we grow.
Tips for Success
- How to harvest rhubarb stalks for a healthier plant. Instead of cutting, grasp the stalk near the bottom. Lean it to the side and in one motion gently twist and pull the stalk up. The stalk will pop and separate from the rhubarb plant at the root, and come cleanly away. Twisting and pulling off the stalk allows it to separate from the bottom of the plant near the roots. This tells the plant to regrow a new stalk in its place, leading to a more fruitful harvest and a healthier rhubarb plant.
- Did you know you can bring your kitchen scraps to the farm? There is a metal can by the entrance of the wash stand to deposit food waste as well as a newly constructed bin around the side of the barn next to the hand washing station.
We took a day trip to Ottawa this week that included a full eating schedule, from falafel to fresh bagels to pho. Once home, we tried a farm version of the falafel with a tahini sauce, chive laden labneh cheese, pickles and greens. It wasn’t as fabulous as the version from Cedar’s but it was filling and included a great mix of textures. A pleasing final touch is to put the whole thing on the grill before eating.
Crops Available
This list and availability are subject to change, check the share whiteboard at the start of every visit. If you are unsure about how to harvest: ask us! In person, via text or email.
Cell phone numbers, Flip: 315-854-5399 and Bob 315-854-5395.
*Asterisk marks crops added this week
- Green garlic (immature garlic, entire plant is edible)
- Lettuce greens
- Rainbow chard, also called Swiss chard*
- Rhubarb
- Spinach
Culinary and Medicinal Herbs
- Anise hyssop*
- Chamomile*
- Chives
- Cilantro
- Lemon Balm
- Lovage
- Mint
- Oregano
- Sorrel
- Tarragon
- Winter Savory
If you are looking for a memorable gift or an item to bring new pleasure in the kitchen, check out GH’s custom cutting boards, now set up in the wash stand area. These hardwood boards will last years and each one includes reclaimed wood from the scraps of building projects at the farm over the years.
Thank you,
-Bob & Flip