Star Hollow Farm

Farm News: Week of Saturday, May 26, 2012

Tue, 22 May 2012 20:35:00 -0400

On-the-farm
Sam and I got up at 5:30 Monday morning and were out transplanting our field tomatoes, peppers and eggplants by about 6:15, trying to beat the rain. We finished about 11 AM, in a mist, just as the rain began.

Today, Tuesday, another big work day outside on the farm, pretty much got rained out. How many of you have your whole workday planned out, then just as you’re ready to start, it begins to rain, and you have to completely rearrange your day? If you’re in construction, that might be you, but not too many occupations these days (I suddenly thought of professional baseball…. any Nationals out there?) are so dependent on the weather. Of course I have loads of deskwork to do, but that is not where I really want to be, and is seldom my actual plan. More like what happens — on days like this — when I can’t be outside doing what I really like!

Most greenhouse planting is done, and the crops are doing reasonably well.

[PHOTO: This week we start with small eggs from our new flock of young hens (aka pullets). They started laying about a week ago, at age 17 or 18 weeks, and each day we get about 10 more than the day before. Early on they are all small, so we charge less. Then there will be several weeks with ‘medium’ eggs. Within about a month they’ll be up to regular size.

Off-the-farm
Chris came down to market with me last Saturday, as we had plans for the evening. Our daughter Anna — who works at market on Saturday, but whose day job is at the Ford Theater — had gotten us all tickets for the sold out final performance of 1776. We went out for dinner, to the theater, and then took a walking tour of 18th St. in Adams Morgan about midnight — always an eye-opener! Needless to say, after our 3 AM start at the farm, it was a long day, and we slept late Sunday morning at Anna’s place, before a nice breakfast at The Diner. Ahhh, city life. Y’all really have it made! (And it’s great when I’m there, but I’m more than happy to get back to the farm again at the end of the day!!!)

This week’s planned produce list

Berries: At the market stand on Saturday. Come early; they go fast!
Greens: arugula, Napa cabbage, rainbow chard, Russian kale, watercress, lettuce (Bibb & Romaine), microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix, spinach (big bag), stir-fry mix, sunflower shoots, watercress.
Veggies: asparagus, red beets, celeriac, fresh garlic, onions, sugar snap peas, red & watermelon radishes, ramps, rhubarb, scallions, hothouse tomatoes (red & orange).
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, lovage, oregano, parsley, peppermint, sage, French sorrel, spearmint, thyme, winter savory.
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, shiitake, white.
Other food items: eggs, chicken, butter, cheese, preserves. Cider is available at the farm stand.
Chicken: please note that there is a new category for the stewing chickens, with an expanded description. Many of you are quite excited for us to have the birds, yet many are also not following our recommendations about picking them up early. Please read and be careful!

Thanks to our CSA volunteers at the truck on Saturday!
I can’t believe I forgot this completely last week… Many thanks to LeeAnn, Rob, LuAnn & Chris for our first week, and to Tiffany, Gretchen and Phil for this past Saturday. You guys were great. Thanks very much! We have our sign-up calendar there at the truck where you pick up so that you can sign up for your shift whenever it suits you. We’re covered already for the next month or so, but starting in July there are openings.

Farmer’s Pick
This week’s box contents are planned to be red sails lettuce, big bag-o-spinach, Diva hothouse cucumber, onion, shell peas, bunch of scallions, hothouse tomato, and a jar of fruit jam.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Randy’s cell phone (works Saturday only): 814.386.5015

Farm News: Week of Saturday, May 19, 2012

Tue, 15 May 2012 20:21:00 -0400

On-the-farm
Marketing takes up a lot of my time, both building the store and coming to DC on Saturday. In fact, the only two days I have completely open for actual farm work, dawn-to-dusk, are Monday and Tuesday. It’s Tuesday evening as I write this. There was a beautiful sunset tonight shortly after we finished our supper. Turns out it rained — poured — all day Monday and much of today, for a total of slightly over two inches. Not only does it keep us out of the field, the gray skies slow down the growth of all of our plants. Asparagus goes almost on hold, and strawberries can’t be picked wet or they’ll mold overnight.

Rain isn’t bad per se — some things benefited — but I have a hard time accepting that I have no control whatsoever over the most important aspect of my business: the weather! (That is one of the attractions of the high tunnels we’ve been putting up; they give us a little more control over the plants’ environment!) All the tasks that really needed to happen this week will now have to wait until next. Some won’t make much difference, others might. Instead, I tuned up and readied my irrigation pump, planted in the greenhouse, weeded inside the high tunnels, and today built a new set of shelves for my truck. All good things to do, but none seeming nearly as important as laying plastic and planting the field tomatoes that were started in the greenhouse nearly a month ago and are pretty desperate to get into the ground now. Hopefully they’ll hold on until next Monday, and it will be a glorious sunny day!

[PHOTO: several varieties of lettuce growing in our front garden patch Tuesday evening.

This week’s planned produce list

Berries: Maybe at the market stand on Saturday, but not online now :(
Greens: arugula, baby bok choi, Napa cabbage, rainbow chard, Siberian kale, watercress, Russian kale, lettuce (3), microgreens mix, red mustard, ramps, salad mix, spinach (big bag), watercress.
Veggies: asparagus (limited), red beets, celeriac, Diva cucumbers, bulbing garlic and a few scapes, onions, sugar snap peas, red & watermelon radishes, rhubarb, scallions, hothouse tomatoes.
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, lovage, parsley, peppermint, sage, French sorrel, spearmint, thyme.
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, shiitake, white (limited).
Other food items: eggs, chicken, butter, cheese, preserves. Cider available at the farm stand.

Farmer’s Pick
This week’s box contents are planned to be Bibb lettuce, pea shoots, asparagus, red beets, onions, watermelon radish, hothouse tomatoes, and a nice bunch of spearmint for your mint juleps!

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, May 12, 2012

Tue, 08 May 2012 19:48:00 -0400

On-the-farm

We’ve been away from DC for two weekends in a row, so we’ve been able to complete lots of farmwork. At the same time, it really felt like a welcome break and we’re now ready for our every-Saturday-from-now-to-Thanksgiving routine. While we were away from you, we filled the one high tunnel with tomato plants, the other with beets, celery, scallions, bok choi, chard, radicchio, sweet onions, kales and collards. In the herb garden we’ve planted rosemary, tarragon, basil, parsley, and savory. The sage, lovage, chives, sorrel and thyme are perennials that come back on their own. In the fields we’ve planted cucumbers, summer squash, zucchini and okra. Asparagus and rhubarb are back of their own volition. Much more is still to be done, but we’ve got our spring groove going. Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday. Remember, this week starts volunteers handing out orders. If you have any questions about produce or the farm — or just want to say HI — I’ll be at either the farm stand or the truck, so come find me!

Off-the-farm
Last weekend we ventured to Pittsburgh for my niece’s wedding. Congratulations Jake and Natalie! It was great to see so much family and it was a beautiful day for a wedding. It also happened to be the weekend of the Pittsburgh Marathon, with lots of street closures and out-of-towners (us included) so getting around was something of a challenge. But we made it and it was fun.

[PHOTO: Our 2012 cherry and heirloom tomato crop in the high tunnel. The red plastic is a special kind of mulch that reflects the specific infrared rays that tomatoes like best. It also conserves moisture and suppresses weeds. There are plastic tubes under it to provide water to the roots.]

Volunteering at the truck
We are covered for this Saturday, the 12th. There will be a calendar at the truck each Saturday for you to sign up for any other date that works for you and hasn’t already been taken by someone else.

The chickies
They are now seven weeks old and about half their full size. Their “look” has changed considerably from cute to interesting. One looks like a hawk or eagle. No eggs expected until August or so.

We got our 2012 flock of 125 Rhode Island Red hybrids about two weeks ago, and they are busy acclimatizing to our henhouse and their yard. It always amazes me how different one flock is from the last. These are the quietest birds we’ve ever had. Hardly a peep from them! We’ve started getting the first small pullet eggs, and will probably have them available on a limited basis next week and thereon for about 3 or 4 weeks, until the eggs get sized up to normal.

[PHOTO: the heritage breed chickens outdoors in their new pen.]

Frozen chicken
We had our last flock of birds butchered about two weeks ago, and so are ready to offer you frozen stewing hens. The story, you’ll recall, is that they are older than fryers and thus not suitable for fried chicken — too tough — but they make great stock or pet food.

PLEASE BEWARE, temperatures are supposed to be warm on Saturdays — probably from here on out — and while the birds start out frozen, we have no way to keep them that way. So for your sake and ours we are asking that if you order a frozen bird, please come for it in the first hour — between 9 and 10 — so that it is still frozen. If you come later, we can’t vouch for it and you put yourself and us in a risky position. If you forget to come for your order, we will chuck the bird when we get home.

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, beet greens, Napa cabbage, Swiss & rainbow chard, dandelion, lambsquarters, watercress, Russian kale, lettuce (3), microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix, spinach (big bag) and sunflower shoots.
Veggies: asparagus, red beets, celeriac, Diva cucumbers, green garlic, onions, watermelon radishes, rhubarb, scallions, hothouse tomatoes, turnip soup pack.
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, dill, lovage, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, savory, French sorrel, spearmint, tarragon, thyme, herb mix, dried herbs.
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, shiitake, white.
Other food items: eggs, chicken, butter, cheese (including goat), preserves. Cider will be available at the farm stand.

Farmer’s Pick
This week’s box contents are planned to be Romaine lettuce, big bag-o-spinach, cabbage, asparagus (1#), onions (1#), scallions, HH tomatoes (1#), sage.

Farmer’s market stand
Remember that if you forget to order something, want to add something to your order, or forget to order at all, you can still come by the market stand, shop, and sign our list to have your purchases come out of your CSA account.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, April 21, 2012

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:30:00 -0400

On-the-farm
I’m going to keep this short as it’s late Tuesday night and I’m tired! It’s been a long day. Sam and I loaded up our main flock of egg-layers before 7 AM for their last-ever truck ride. We keep our main laying flock for a year. While hens will keep laying for a number of years, their production goes steadily down, and at the price of feed these days, it doesn’t work to feed hens that aren’t laying at full capacity, roughly 6 eggs per week. Our new flock is due next week, giving us just one week to clean out the henhouse.

Lots of planting being done. We planted potatoes, peas, cilantro and dill the day before leaving last week. This afternoon we transplanted lettuce, radicchio, broccoli raab, cabbage, kale and kohlrabi in the front garden. Seeding continues in the greenhouse. A new vegetable patch was created in the front yard, and the truck got a thorough cleaning.

Off-the-farm
As we’re nearing the end of our every-other-week schedule, we snuck in a 4 day vacation last week. Drove up to New York state to see Niagara Falls for the first time (mighty impressive!), and also went further up to see Fort Niagara on Lake Ontario. It dates to before the French and Indian War. On our way back through the Finger Lakes area of NY we stopped and visited my 3rd cousins, more farming Treichlers with a beautiful farm on the top of a ridge overlooking Keuka Lake. I envy their view compared to ours (we’re down in a hollow), but I’m pretty sure our soil is better! (Hi Rachel & all… we had a great visit!)

[PHOTO: Looking up at American Falls from the water]

Volunteering at the truck
This starts in May, on the first market day, the 12th. There will be a calendar at the truck Saturday (I will have it this time!) for you to sign up. Ask Randy there if you have questions.

The chickies
They are growing like crazy, and getting pretty wild. I shot another video, so you can get a look at them, if you have any interest. (http://youtu.be/Yo7gFMkzm9U)

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Empire, Fuji, Gold Rush, Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, beet greens, cabbage, Swiss & rainbow chard, cress, kale, lettuce (4), microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix, spinach (big bag), stir fry mix, and sunflower shoots.
Veggies: asparagus, red beets, carrots, celeriac, hothouse cucumbers, green garlic, leeks, onions, radishes (Black Spanish & watermelon), scallions, scorzonera, Old Henry white sweet potatoes, hothouse tomatoes, turnip soup pack.
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, dill, lovage, parsley, rosemary, sage, French sorrel, spearmint, tarragon, thyme, herb mix, dried herbs.
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, Royal trumpet, shiitake, white.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves.

Farmer’s Pick
This week’s box contents are planned to be Red Sails lettuce, Swiss chard, asparagus, carrots, fresh green garlic, onions, a hothouse tomato, savory, mixed apples.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, April 7, 2012

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:09:43 -0400

On-the-farm
We did get the cold spell we knew would come. Since I saw you all last, we’ve had three or four nights in the mid-20s; hard frosts. Most of crops outside are perennials and able to take it. Only a few flowers in the garden got hit. The orchards didn’t fare so well; several have reported that they got hit while in blossom, meaning frozen buds and no fruit where that happened. But they can’t tell how bad it is yet, or for some time.

Planting continues in the greenhouse and some outside, but we’ve had a number of rains that have kept us out of the field for a week now. Greens in the greenhouse and high tunnel are still going like crazy, but will soon need to be ripped out for the new season crops to be planted in their places.

Volunteering at the truck
This starts in May, on the first market day, the 12th. There will be a calendar at the truck starting this Saturday for you to sign up. Ask Randy there if you have questions.

The chickies
They are just over two weeks old now, and have more than doubled in size. We added half a dozen little Barred Rocks to the flock, so now we’ve got four breeds in there. They have wings and are figuring out how to use them, so we’ve needed to put netting over their brooder or we’d have a greenhouse full of flying chicks.

[PHOTO: The greenhouse on Monday, before we harvested most of the garlic and chard.

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Cameo, Empire, Fuji, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, beet greens, cabbage, Swiss & rainbow chard, dandelion, kale, lettuce (3), microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix, spinach (big bag), stinging nettles, stir fry mix, and sunflower shoots.
Veggies: red beets, carrots, celeriac, hothouse cucumbers, green garlic, leeks, onions, potatoes (seconds), radishes (Black Spanish & watermelon), rutabaga, scallions, scorzonera, Old Henry white sweet potatoes, turnips (purple-top, turnip soup pack).
Herbs: basil, chervil, chives, cilantro, dill, lovage, parsley, rosemary, sage, salad burnet, French sorrel, spearmint, tarragon, thyme, herb mix, dried parsley, savory & stevia.
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, Royal trumpet, shiitake, white.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves.

Farmer’s Pick
This week’s box contents are planned to be stir-fry greens mix, big bag of spinach, scallions, red beets, carrots, onions, fresh herb mix, 2 pink lady and 2 gold rush apples, one bosc pear.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, March 24, 2012

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 21:01:00 -0400

On-the-farm
Happy Spring! Well, it’s one for the books. Everyone’s talking about the weather; there’s no avoiding it. I call to talk with other farmers, and it’s the first thing. “Got any corn yet?” “Made any hay?” We’ve plowed our fields — well, gotten started anyway — the earliest by a month that has ever happened. We also started our greenhouse a month early this year — March 1st — to grow transplants for our field crops, and instead it feels like we’re a month late. Working in the greenhouse gets downright unpleasant on sunny, 80-degree days — even in March. Seems like we should be putting out tomato plants already, and we usually have frost up until the beginning of May. Beginning of May seems like a long way off yet. Our rhubarb is poking up, the sorrel, mint and chives are up, trees are budding, and all the plants have been growing like crazy. See our list of greens in the store this week for an idea of which ones have grown the most!

New crops, old crops
You’ll notice that our list of storage crops has taken a dive, as I warned last time. It was not a good storage season. But as with so much in farming — diversity is key. Because we had a lot growing in our tunnels and greenhouses, we’re having a remarkable early spring with fresh greens. We hope you’ll be wowed with the sudden plenty of tasty green things, and that that will divert your attention from the dearth of more solid food.

“Seconds.” Just what does that mean, anyway?
We are offering a number of items as seconds. Every week we get questions about what that means, so maybe it’s not as obvious as I thought. It means second quality, as opposed to first. In short: not so nice. But still edible in part, and cheaper, as long as you don’t mind using a paring knife. If you buy something marked “seconds” you shouldn’t be expecting ideal produce and should be accepting of poorer quality, although you should of course still be able to get something usable out of it.

New chickies arrived on Monday morning
As some of you will recall, we planned to start a new, second flock of heritage breed chickens this year, partly for the pretty multi-colored eggs, and partly to keep things interesting for us! We ordered 16 Araucanas, 8 Blue Andalusians, and a red rooster for this week from a hatchery in Iowa. They incubated the eggs, based on the date I wanted them; then popped them in the mail Sunday morning, and our local post office called me at 7 AM Monday to say that our box of day-olds was in, and making quite a racket. There’s a picture below of them in their new brooder where they’ll be living for about a month, until they outgrow it. I’ll try uploading a video, so you can watch them running around if you want.

The bad news is that it takes about 5 months until the girls will start laying. That’s why — for our “regular” chickens — we buy ready-to-lay pullets. We’ll just take care these 4 times a day, feed and water them, sing to them, entertain them as best we can, until August when we’ll start getting some eggs. I’d better get going, I’ve got a new chicken coop to build.

[PHOTO: Our 25 new peeps arrived Monday morning and are doing fine. If you want to watch a two-minute video, we uploaded our first YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWq_mFsiMUg]

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Cameo, Empire, Fuji, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, beet greens, cabbage, baby & full sized chard, claytonia, cress, dandelion (young & bunched), kale (red & green), lettuce (3), microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix, spinach, stir fry mix, and sunflower shoots.
Veggies: beets (red & Chioggia), carrots (orange & baby bunched), celeriac, garlic (green and old), onions, potatoes (only seconds), radishes (Black Spanish & watermelon), rutabaga, scallions, scorzonera, sweet potatoes (orange & white), turnips (purple-top, turnip soup pack).
Herbs: chervil, chives, cilantro, dill, lovage, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme, greenhouse herb mix, dried savory & stevia.
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, yellow oyster, shiitake, white.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves.

Farmer’s Pick
This week’s box contents are planned to be Romaine lettuce, tender young spinach, fresh bunched Swiss chard, fresh green garlic, carrots, onions, jar of pickled beets, 2 Empire and 2 Pink Lady apples, small bag of dried rosemary.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, March 10, 2012

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:55:00 -0500

On-the-farm
We started the greenhouse up (the full deal, not just minimum temperature for the winter greens we were growing in there) on the first of March and Sam has planted about 20 flats of seeds so far. Now planted are tomatoes (10 kinds of heirlooms and 10 kinds of cherries), chiles (6 kinds out of 9), kale, collards, chard, dandelion, mustard greens, bok choi, broccoli raab, cabbage, lettuce (3 kinds), herbs (10 kinds), leeks, beets, and more. We will harvest the last of the kale and chard in the greenhouse raised beds this week, as we’ll be running out of space for flats and need to put the benches back in over top of the beds.

Over the weekend I built a new brooder for our small flock of heritage chicks due to arrive in about 10 days. They’ll just be a day or two old when we go to get them at the Post Office, and will need a warm, protected area, sort of a nursery. We’ll of course include pictures next time. We’re pretty excited about it; we haven’t gotten day-olds for about 15 years, preferring instead to get ready-to-lay pullets. That works for the common egg-laying breeds, but not the “fancy” ones like this heritage flock. Hope it all works out well. It’s kind of fun to have some new project to look forward to.

Yes, our “stores” are running lower than usual…
You’ll no doubt remember our bad luck last fall when the Irene/Lee storm flooded our fields and we lost most of our storage crops. Well, it turns out that many of our farmer neighbors — even those whose fields didn’t flood — suffered from the excessive rains and wet soil, so that many storage crops did not hold up as usual. Thus we are running out of roots sooner than normal, by a month or so. And today you’ll note that a number of items are either ending or offered as seconds, the step before they’re over. Sorry about that.

The good news… greenhouse greens continue in pretty good supply, including some we haven’t had yet this winter: claytonia and dandelions. Also, we are trying a new herb mix to see if having a ready mix of several items in smaller amounts each works for you. In the summer our herb sampler was created along the same lines.

[PHOTO: Last week we showed you the new crop of garlic. Here is some of the old crop. The bulbs were harvested just after the Fourth of July, and are now starting to get soft, so we’re selling them as seconds. Usually they last about another month, but I think because I tried to cheat a little on my cooler temperature — I set it a little warmer to save electric use and $ — they haven’t held as well. False economy!]

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Cameo, Fuji, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Apple-a-Day mix, seconds.
Greens: arugula,cabbage, baby chard, claytonia, cress, dandelion, lettuce (3), microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix, spinach, and stir fry mix.
Veggies: beets (red & mixed), carrots (orange & mixed), celeriac, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, potatoes (only seconds), radishes (Black Spanish & watermelon), rutabaga, scorzonera, shallots, sweet potatoes, turnips (purple-top, turnip soup pack).
Herbs: dill, garlic chives, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme, greenhouse herb mix.
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, royal oyster, shiitake, white.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves.
Firewood: kindling.

old: Harvest Box, new: Farmer’s Pick (We changed the name again. This it will stay for some time!)
This week’s box contents are planned to be green oakleaf lettuce, stir-fry greens mix, carrots, celeriac, onions, turnips, parsley, a jar of sweet dill pickles, and 5 mixed apples.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, February 25, 2012

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:04:00 -0500

On-the-farm
Winter is marching on. We did have a little snow last week, but we are far behind normal. Several of you have asked us if the lack of snow would hurt us (or our crops, more specifically). Snow cover is important for several reasons, most importantly I think as relates to insuring adequate recharge of the ground water as it slowly melts away. Well, if you recall, we had a very wet fall, as well as several light snows, so I think we’re fine that way. Another issue is cold temperatures to kill pests. We have had colder winters, but this one isn’t quite so balmy as you have it in DC. Most mornings it’s been in the 20s, and we’ve had many in the teens and a few in single digits, so I’m guessing it did the usual job. The only thing that is of concern to me at this point is that we have had several warm spells, and if one of them lasts a week or so, the trees and some of our perennials are liable to be tricked into thinking winter is over and start budding or sending up shoots. It wouldn’t kill them, but it might mean no harvest this year. Depends on the crop.

Why do you sometimes get shorted something from your order?
Our goal is to offer you as wide an array of nice produce as possible. We also realize it’s bad business to offer you something and then not have it after all, and thus need to short you. I try to be conservative in what I offer, so that we don’t have that happen. But there are several reasons why it might happen anyway.

Unavailable after all: either because it didn’t grow as much as we thought and wasn’t ready to pick, or the quality wasn’t there, or another grower stood us up after telling us they’d have it.
Unacceptable quality: sometimes we look to see what we have growing and estimate quantity, but miss the fact that something else is going on — disease spots or insects. Or another farmer that we buy from does that and we end up rejecting it.

Both happened last week to many people and we’re sorry about that. We’ll try to keep it to a minimum, but I’m sure it will happen again sometime. That’s the business. Widgets would be more certain, but less appetizing.

CSA
We saw that there were several unhappy letters to the editor in the Post about the article we were in about “alternative” CSAs. The writer that interviewed me indicated that she’d had bad luck with CSAs she’d been in, and thought ours sounded like a better model. That’s what most of you tell us also. So I was happy to tell her what we do and why. I hadn’t known how hard she would be on “regular” CSAs, and so some of our farmer colleagues were understandably upset, especially since the article accompanied the annual list of CSAs in the area. Thanks for helping us make our CSA work and keeping our small farm and family in business working the land and providing you with healthy, tasty produce!

[PHOTO: Garlic in the greenhouse. We planted cloves from bulbs that were seconds quality about two months ago, and this is where they stand now. Hopefully by the beginning of April — when you’re really dying for some fresh garlic — they’ll be ready as “green garlic,” like scallions only with garlic flavor.]

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Cameo, Empire, Fuji, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, Asian greens mix, cabbage, baby chard, cress, lettuce (3), microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix, spinach, and stir fry mix.
Veggies: beets (red & mixed), carrots (orange & mixed), celeriac, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, potatoes (Gold, small Gold & Kennebec), radishes (Black Spanish & watermelon), rutabaga, scorzonera, shallots, sweet potatoes, turnips (purple-top, turnip soup pack).
Herbs: chives, cilantro, dill, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme.
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, royal oyster, shiitake, white.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves.
Firewood: kindling & logs.

Harvest Box / Farmer’s Choice (we changed the name again)
This week’s box contents are planned to be red oakleaf and green leaf lettuces, carrots, garlic, onions (2#), watermelon radishes, sweet potatoes (2#), Sarah’s homemade ketchup, dried herbs (rosemary, sage or savory), 5 apples.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, February 11, 2012

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:27:00 -0500

On-the-farm
We’re back home and recovering after being away at two different conferences last week. The first week of February is essentially “farmer school” for us, with some socializing thrown in for good measure. Sam and I spent a day at the PA Vegetable Growers Conference in Hershey, where I focused most of my attention on high tunnel workshops. Then two days later the three of us (Chris included) headed up to State College for the PASA (PA Assoc. for Sustainable Ag) conference, the largest of its kind in the nation. We’ve been going to that for 20 years now, and in addition to useful information, also get to see lots of farmer friends there — often the only time we see them — as the rest of the year we’re too busy!

Besides the usual workshops, I also like to take some less focused ones, where I’m just sort of generally interested or think it might be fun to learn something new. The outcome was that we are now planning to start a second small flock of chickens, the new one to be heritage breed birds. As a bonus, check out the beautiful, rainbow-hued eggs from some of these birds! The three breeds we’re looking at are Araucana, Speckled Sussex, and Andalusian. We’ll be ordering day-old chicks soon (25 of them) but there won’t be any eggs until summer. If it goes well, we’ll think about doing more next year.

[PHOTO: Araucana chicken eggs.]

On-the-Web and in the paper
We were interviewed a month or so by one of the Post’s food writers as one of the farms in the country doing CSA differently than most. (We were the local example of “different.”) Online and print editions (last week’s food section) ran slightly different versions of the article. The online one includes a small photo gallery as well. If you’re interested…

online version: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/smarter-food-the-flexible-csa-box/2012/01/11/gIQA6BvRfQ_story_1.html

New produce this week
Preserves. We stopped by the Amish farm of Stephen and Sarah Hostetler on our way to Hershey for the Vegetable Growers Conference last week and stocked up on lots of the wonderful preserves that Sarah and her daughters put up from their garden all summer long.
Apples. We have added apples from Rice Fruit Co. near Gettysburg to supplement the diminished offerings from Tracey’s, our primary tree-crop provider during most of the year.

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Cameo, Empire, Fuji, Granny Smith, Apple-a-Day mix and seconds.
Greens: arugula, cabbage, baby chard, lettuce (3), microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix, spinach, and stir fry mix.
Veggies: beets (red & mixed), carrots (orange & mixed), celeriac, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, potatoes (Gold & Kennebec), radishes (red bunch, Black Spanish, watermelon), rutabaga, scorzonera, shallots, sweet potatoes, turnips (purple-top, turnip soup pack).
Herbs: chives, cilantro, dill, parsley, rosemary, sage, spearmint, thyme.
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, royal oyster, shiitake, white.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves (including some new ones from Sarah’s Kitchen).
Firewood: kindling & logs.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Lolla Bionda lettuce, cress, arugula, mixed beets, carrots, garlic, onions, Kennebec potatoes, turnip soup pack w/recipe, Apple-a-Day mixed apples.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, January 28, 2012

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:33:09 -0500

On-the-farm
We’re managing to keep ourselves busy this winter; never really a problem. Our packing shed lighting, heating and electrical project — meant to take about a month — has now been almost two months, and we’re probably at the halfway point. Sam and I are both a little burnt out on the project, just because of the time spent, but I keep assuring myself that it’s worth it and we’ll really appreciate it when it’s done. The lights already make a big difference, and the heater guy is coming on Monday to hook up the gas. Then we continue with the outlets, switches, work station lamps, etc.

[PHOTO: The new ceiling and lights in the packing shed.]

21st Century technology comes to the farm
We now have DSL (after a 4-year wait) meaning about a 5-fold increase in speed over our old satellite connection. Considering that we run an internet business, that’s a pretty big deal for us (and it’s actually cheaper than the satellite!). As a little bit of icing on the cake, we went to Radio Shack last week and bought a cable to connect our computer to our stereo receiver and now we can stream radio and listen in the living room with good sound. (Also a big deal, as we get virtually no radio over the airwaves here.) COOL! So far we’re digging WXPN out of Philadelphia.

Our new membership limit policy (repeated from a separate email several days ago)

Accounts with no activity or communication in over 12 months will be closed.

We will email you at least 30 days prior to closing your account, so that you can resume ordering, if that is your intention.
We may make exceptions if you communicate with us your situation.
Placing just one order per 12 months will keep your account open.
We give no refunds on remaining balances in closed accounts.

AND NOW FOR WHAT YOU REALLY WANT TO HEAR ABOUT…

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Fuji, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Apple-a-Day mix and seconds.
Greens: arugula, cabbage, chard, lettuce (SALE!), microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix, spinach, and stir fry mix.
Veggies: beets (red & Chioggia), carrots (orange & multi-color), celeriac, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions (red & yellow), parsnips, potatoes (Gold & Kennebec), radishes (Black Spanish & watermelon), rutabaga, shallots, sweet potatoes, turnips (purple-top, sweet white, turnip soup pack).
Herbs: basil, cilantro, dill, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory.
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, shiitake, white.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese (including several new ones: Havarti and Goat Gouda), preserves (including some awesome herb-infused jellies, great on crackers with goat cheese curd!).
Firewood: kindling & logs.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be a half gallon of apple cider, bibb lettuce, small cabbage, carrots, small garlic, onions, sweet potatoes, tomato, basil, and JonaGold and Pink Lady apples.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, January 14, 2012

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:57:00 -0500

On-the-farm
Each January we go over to Harrisburg for one long day at the Farm Show. The Farm Show is our state’s mid-winter equivalent of a state fair, but without the midway. I volunteer at the PA Vegetable Growers food stand and Chris at the PA Sustainable Ag info booth. Thousands of people come to check out the livestock exhibits, rodeo, square dancing, and a thousand other exhibits, including the 1000-lb. butter sculpture. We walked for several hours taking it in, then went to our respective jobs.

I was assigned this year to the strawberry smoothie station. I made about 50 pitchers of smoothies over a 6-hour shift (and drank a few cups myself, just to make sure the mixture was correct). All the proceeds from the food stand go to support ag research at Penn State.

Sam and I continue our work on renovating our packing shed. We have about half of the new metal ceiling up, and most of the ceiling wiring installed. Today we got the new fluorescent lights hooked up. Tomorrow we’re installing a ceiling fan (for next summer) and the following week a propane heater ( for now). Even having half the ceiling covered it is warmer and brighter.

Thank goodness the days are getting longer. On the winter solstice the sun dipped below our ridge to the west at 3:30 in the afternoon. Now we’re enjoying it up to 4:00. Progress!

[Photo: The hens are still laying a decent supply of eggs.]

Policy Reminders

Missed boxes: If you order and for any reason don’t come to collect your order on Saturday, we bring it home, put it in our cooler, and automatically bring it back the next time we come (now two weeks later). Even after 2 weeks, the majority will be usable. About half those that don’t come to get their order the first time don’t come the next time either. If you can’t come, send a friend!
Multiple orders: Often if folks forgot to order something, they think “hey, I’ll place a second order!” Please don’t. It can mess us up because we don’t know there are two, they may not get packed together, or you may only get one of the two when you come to pick up. We’re just not set up to do that. Thanks.

Schedule
Below are the specific dates we will be delivering this winter. You order the Wednesday (or early Thurs. morning) before. If you should forget to place an order, we do bring a small selection of items for sale there at the truck which you can just sign out for to have it come out of your account.

JAN: 14, 28. FEB: 11, 25. MAR: 10, 24. APR: 7, 21

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Fuji, Jonagold, Pink Lady, Stayman, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, small cabbage, baby mixed chard, cress, lettuce (3 kinds), microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix, young spinach, stir fry mix, .
Veggies: beets (red & Chioggia), carrots (orange & multi-color), celeriac, hothouse cucumber, garlic (green & cured bulbs), Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions (red & yellow), parsnips, potatoes (Gold, Kennebec & purple), radishes (watermelon), rutabaga, shallots, sweet potatoes, hothouse tomatoes, turnips (purple-top, sweet white, turnip soup pack), butternut squash.
Herbs: basil, cilantro, dill, parsley, rosemary, savory.
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, shiitake, royal trumpet, white.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves.
Firewood: kindling & logs.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be red leaf lettuce, carrots, garlic, ½ # Jerusalem artichokes, 2# onions, parsnips, Kennebec potatoes, 1/2# of mixed mushrooms, small portion of rosemary, 2 Pink Lady and 2 Fuji apples.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, December 31, 2011

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:53:26 -0500

On-the-farm
We’re back. Our family was all together here for Christmas, and Monday we went to Chris’ family reunion. Lots of family, lots of good fun, lots of food. A good time had by all! Hope you had a great holiday season so far. The New Year is yet to come…

It’s going to be somewhat strange to be delivering your CSA boxes in the city on New Years Eve this year. I don’t think we’ve ever done that before. But it’s been two weeks, and will be two more after, so we figured we’d at least give it a try. You still have to eat, right?

Sam and I tore all the old electrics out of our packing shed, removed all the stuff up in the trusses, emptied out much of the packing shed, and got started putting up the new wiring and ceiling. We’re only about a quarter of the way done. I work slow where electricity is involved. The ceiling so far looks great. I think it’s going to be a big improvement. Alas, it’s time to pack orders again, so we spent the day today putting the shed back the way it needs to be for working with produce. Next Monday we’ll get it all torn up again and continue on our way. Pictures will follow so you can see what we’ve done.

[Photo: The front yard on Christmas morning.]

Schedule
Below are the specific dates we will be delivering this winter. You order the Wednesday (or early Thurs. morning) before.

DEC: 3, 17, 31. JAN: 14, 28. FEB: 11, 25. MAR: 10, 24. APR: 7, 21

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Fuji, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Stayman, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, Asian greens mix, cabbage, lettuce (3 kinds), microgreens mix, mesclun mix, baby spinach, stir fry mix, Swiss chard.
Veggies: beets (red & Chioggia), carrots (orange & multi-color), celeriac, garlic (green & cured bulbs), Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions (red & yellow), parsnips, potatoes (Kennebec & Russian Banana), radishes (watermelon), rutabaga, shallots, sweet potatoes, turnips (purple-top, sweet white, turnip soup pack), winter squash (acorn, butternut & seconds).
Mushrooms: Shiitake only this week. The holiday schedule messed up the delivery schedule and shiitakes are all that are available. Sorry.
Herbs: cilantro, dill, parsley, rosemary, savory.
Other food items: eggs, chicken, butter, cheese, preserves.
Firewood: kindling & logs.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Green leaf lettuce, a stir-fry mix, carrots, onions, Russian Banana fingerling potatoes, a large rutabaga, sweet potatoes (2#), a sprig or two of rosemary, and 2 fuji and 2 pink lady apples.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, December 17, 2011

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:10:00 -0500

On-the-farm
We are starting to get into the every-other-week groove. It has been very welcome to have a week where I could not spend so much time at the computer.

Sam and I have begun work to “winterize” our packing shed. That is the concrete block building that houses our coolers and all our work stations for cleaning, portioning and packing your orders. In the winter it is sometimes well below freezing when we go in there to work (this morning it was about 15 degrees outside, and 22 in the packing shed). We are going to install a metal ceiling, blow in insulation over that, install a propane heater, install better lighting so we can see what we’re doing, and see if that makes working in the winter any better! Hopefully if we are more comfortable and can see what we’re doing, we’ll do a better job with our produce and your orders!

[Photo: Lacinato kale in the greenhouse.]

Schedule
(I’ll probably repeat this through December, as not everyone looks every week.) We have begun our winter schedule early this year, starting in December instead of January. Below are the specific dates we will be delivering this winter. You order the Wednesday before.

DEC: 3, 17, 31. JAN: 14, 28. FEB: 11, 25. MAR: 10, 24. APR: 7, 21

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Fuji, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Pink Lady, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, cabbage, baby rainbow chard, lettuce (3 kinds), Lacinato kale, microgreens mix, pea shoots, mesclun mix, baby spinach, stir fry mix, Swiss chard.
Veggies: beets, carrots (orange & multi-color), celeriac, garlic (green & cured bulbs), Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, parsnips, potatoes (Yukon Gold, Russet, Russian Banana), radishes (Daikon, watermelon, red), rutabaga, shallots, sweet potatoes, turnips (purple-top, sweet white, mixed specialty, turnip soup pack), winter squash (acorn, butternut & seconds).
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, white, Royal Trumpet & Shiitake.
Herbs: cilantro, parsley, rosemary, savory, thyme.
Other food items: eggs, frozen chicken, butter, cheese, preserves.
Firewood: kindling and logs.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Grand Rapids green leaf lettuce, small cabbage, Chioggia Italian beets, carrots, XL hardneck garlic, red onions, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, winter savory, 5 pink lady apples.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

WINTER SCHEDULE

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:41:34 -0500

Our schedule

General
Weekly (May – Thanksgiving)
Bi-weekly (December – April)

Schedule (specific Winter 2011-2012):
- DEC: 3, 17, 31
- JAN: 14, 28
- FEB: 11, 25
- MAR: 10, 24
- APR: 7, 21

Ordering times: Wednesday 7 AM – Thursday 7 AM

Pickup times: 9 AM – 1 PM Saturday

Farm News: Week of Saturday, December 3, 2011

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:51:00 -0500

On-the-farm
We are slowly getting back to work after the Thanksgiving break. We had a great Thanksgiving with lots of family and good food. I slept in several mornings, and made a point of doing things differently than usual, just so I’d feel like it was a break!

Yesterday — in sixty degree weather — Sam and I mulched all of the garlic for the winter. That helps keep it from frost-heaving during the winter, and will control weeds next season. Many of our greenhouse greens have slowed their production pretty dramatically with the short, gray days and cold nights. This week was the start of deer hunting season in Pennsylvania. They close the schools and many businesses shut down for a few days to a week. I didn’t grow up with hunting and so for me it’s more of a pest control measure during the farming season than a family tradition. I sort of envy those that look forward to a week at the hunting camp in the fall, but then we get to live here in the mountains all year round…

Planning for next year
The seed catalogs have been arriving daily, and many are touting new and improved seeds. Last year we tried a number of new items, with mixed success, but still, I like experimenting. If there is any crop that we don’t have now that you think might grow and be in demand here (in DC), let me know and maybe we’ll give it a try.

[Photo: recently arrived seed catalogs.]

Schedule
As described in an earlier email, we have begun our winter schedule early this year, starting in December instead of January. Below are the specific dates. You may want to expand your order to cover two weeks instead of the usual one. Our greens usually will last about 10 days and the storage crops longer.

Specific dates for this winter’s Saturday deliveries:

DEC: 3, 17, 31
JAN: 14, 28
FEB: 11, 25
MAR: 10, 24
APR: 7, 21

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Fuji, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Stayman, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, cabbage, baby rainbow chard, claytonia, lettuce (3 kinds), kale (Lacinato & young curly), microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix, baby spinach, stir fry mix, Swiss chard.
Veggies: beets, broccoli, carrots (orange & multi-color), celeriac, garlic (green & cured bulbs), Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, parsnips, potatoes (Yukon Gold, Russet, Russian Banana), radishes (black Spanish, Daikon, watermelon), rutabaga, scallions, shallots, sweet potatoes, turnips (purple-top, sweet white, mixed specialty, turnip soup pack), winter squash (acorn, butternut & kabocha).
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, white & Shiitake.
Herbs: basil, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, savory, thyme.
Other food items: eggs, frozen chicken, butter, cheese, preserves.
Firewood: kindling and logs.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Bibb lettuce, broccoli, collard greens, carrots, onions (2#), garlic, russet potatoes (2#), sweet potatoes (2#), hothouse tomato, Apple-a-Day mix.

CSA volunteers last time
Many thanks to Carla, Megan, Jessica & Chris for their help handing out orders at the truck last time. We really appreciate your help!

Winter truck work
During the winter it will be me and — usually — my daughter Anna handing out the boxes. Volunteers will be back in May, and we’ll put up the calendar for sign-ups awhile before then. Thanks to all of you who volunteered in 2011!

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, November 19, 2011

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:54:00 -0500

On-the-farm
Yesterday, Tuesday, was our son Sam’s 20th birthday. Chris got up extra early and made several apple pies for breakfast, then we went out to work. Sam did his morning chores, then planted the next week’s microgreens and pea shoots, then worked on a greenhouse modification project we’ve recently started. Late in the afternoon we headed out to town to grab some dinner and see a movie. You have no idea what a different kind of activity that is for us. The nearest town with a decent restaurant and movie theater is 35 miles away!

[Photo: Red Romaine lettuce in the greenhouse.]

Schedule
We are coming down to the end of our weekly farmers market and weekly CSA deliveries. This Saturday will be my 34th straight Saturday opening the online market, filling orders, driving to DC and then setting up the market stand. We always take Thanksgiving weekend off, and I must confess I’m ready for a break this year more than ever! We’ll be back on Dec. 3 and every other week throughout the rest of the winter. We’ll be posting the dates on the website and regularly in this space.

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Cortland, Golden Delicious, Jonathan, JonaGold, Pink Lady, Stayman, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, cabbage, collard greens, cress, lettuce (2 kinds), curly kale, microgreens mix, mixed cooking greens, mizuna, pea shoots, salad mix, spinach, stir fry mix, tat soi.
Veggies: beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, parsnips, potatoes (Yukon Gold, German Butterball, Russian Banana), radishes (red, black Spanish, Daikon, watermelon), rutabaga, shallots, sweet potatoes, hothouse tomatoes, turnips (purple-top, sweet white, mixed specialty, turnip soup pack), winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, kabocha).
Mushrooms: crimini, white & Shiitake.
Herbs: basil, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, thyme.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves.
Firewood: We have both kindling and logs. The USDA informed me that we are now able to carry PA firewood down into DC without breaking three federal mandates.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be red Romaine lettuce, broccoli, English hothouse cucumber, carrots, onions, parsnips, sweet potatoes (2#), sage, apple sauce, 3 apples (Fuji, Granny, Stayman).

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Mike, Michael and Patrick for their help handing out orders at the truck last week. We really appreciate your help!

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, November 12, 2011

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:56:00 -0500

On-the-farm
There were some seriously cold nights over the last week or so — temperatures on our porch thermometer read 20 or 21 degrees several mornings recently. That pretty much puts the kabosh on most outdoor crops, although a few (kale, radishes, some herbs) will tolerate it. We’ve been busy wrapping up most of our fields and crops outside, getting plastic row covers and irrigation lines and tomato cages out of the fields and back up where they are safe for the winter. For produce we’re now counting now mostly on our high tunnels, greenhouse, storage crops and other crops from our farmer friends.

Baby (meaning tender & new) ginger
You may recall that we wrote about an experiment we were doing in the spring, planting small pieces of ginger that came from a farm in Hawaii, and trying a new method of production so that we could have local ginger for you this winter. Well, after considerable expense and effort, we lost our crop. But a neighbor, Tim, also tried it, and he did get some. I’m afraid it’s awfully expensive, but considering the trouble it was and how little was got, it’s not out of line. We had some in our dinner this evening, and it tastes just like the ginger you buy in the store. It’s just smaller and fresher, and won’t last as long. Pennsylvania-grown ginger — what would William Penn think of that? Hope you like it!

[Photo: The apple table while packing orders last Friday.]

Produce Quality
We think about quality all the time, when we harvest and pack orders. Our goal is to give you our best produce so that when you open your box on Saturday you say “Wow, this is great!” That’s the plan. But sometimes there are confounding factors. What if we’ve already sold something and then the harvest doesn’t look as nice as we would like? Is it better to short you something you may be counting on, or give it to you but not have the quality there? Sometimes, if we know something is not great to begin with, we can advertise it as “seconds” so that you know what to expect. Anyway, my point is that we’re trying to provide you with nice produce. We hope that you will appreciate the freshness and all, and that if there is a small imperfection you don’t have a problem using a paring knife. But — if you ever get something that is really not any good (onions are often hard to judge) — we encourage you to let us know and we’ll give you credit.

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Fuji, Granny Smith, JonaGold, Stayman, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, bok choy, cabbage, Swiss chard, lettuce (2 kinds), Lacinato kale, microgreens mix, salad mix.
Veggies: beets, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, garlic, baby ginger, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, parsnips, peppers , potatoes (Yukon Gold & German Butterball), radishes (red, Daikon, watermelon), rutabaga, shallots, sorrel soup pack, sweet potatoes, hothouse tomatoes, turnips (purple-top, sweet white, mixed specialty), winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, kabocha).
Mushrooms: crimini & Shiitake.
Herbs: basil, cilantro, dill, lovage, marjoram, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, thyme.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves. New or back are several goat cheeses and applesauce.
Firewood: We’ll have kindling for sure… I’m still waiting for a call back from USDA about whether or not we’re clear to bring hardwood down from PA to DC because of the Emerald Ash Borer problem. If you don’t see it in the store, either they’ve said NO or they just haven’t gotten back to me.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Cherokee red leaf lettuce, mixed chard, broccoli, carrots, garlic, Yukon gold potatoes, turnip soup pack (turnips, onion, parsley & a recipe), and pink lady apples.

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Kirstin, Sarah and John for their help handing out orders at the truck last week. We really appreciate your help!

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, November 5, 2011

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:30:00 -0400

Winter’s here!?
We had our first hard frost last Friday morning, the latest that’s happened since we’ve been farming. And the next morning, Saturday, it snowed several inches up here, the earliest that’s happened to us. Anything going on with the weather we should know about?

Well wasn’t last Saturday just a lot of fun? Up here they were calling for 5 to 8 inches of snow starting early Saturday morning, so I left home just after 2 AM to be able to make if over a nearby mountain pass before the snow started. I drove in slush and rain all the way down, arriving at 18th & Columbia about 5:30. I took a short nap, then went to The Diner for breakfast. It was still raining when I came out at 7:00, and I worked in the rain from then until the market closed about 1:00. Sales at market were the smallest in the last 6 months and the smallest October market in years. But with our CSA orders, we actually ended up with a decent bottom line for the day. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Photo: One of our high tunnels — unheated greenhouses — this afternoon. Outdoor production is effectively over here on the farm after several 25 degree nights.]

Garlic trick
I got an email from one of the companies I get seeds from occasionally — Seeds from Italy — and what caught my eye was a link to a YouTube video on how to peel garlic fast. Being a garlic kind of guy, I checked it out, as you may want to do. It’s called “How to peel garlic in less than 10 seconds.” Seems to work. My only caution to you would be: don’t peel up more cloves than you need for the dish you’re making, as they won’t store well already peeled. May be a great idea for a big tomato sauce, but I’m not sure what else. Fun anyway, though!

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Fuji, Golden Delicious, Nittany, Stayman, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, bok choy, cabbage, baby chard, cress, lettuce (4 kinds), red Russian kale, microgreens mix, salad mix.
Veggies: beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, fennel, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, parsnips, peppers (green bell, Jalapeno), potatoes (Yukon Gold, Russian Banana), watermelon radishes, rutabaga, scallions, shallots, sorrel soup pack, sweet potatoes, tomatoes (hothouse, green fryers, romas), turnips (purple-top, sweet white, mixed specialty), winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, kabocha).
Mushrooms: white and yellow oyster.
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, dill, lovage, marjoram, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, sorrel, spearmint, thyme.
Herb sampler pack: done for the season.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Bibb lettuce, pea shoot sample, mixed cooking greens bunch, cabbage, onion, Yukon Gold potatoes, green bell peppers, Daikon radish, Confection kabocha squash, and 3 Granny Smith apples.

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Markus, Lauren, Ryan & Susan for their help handing out orders at the truck last week during what was a rather unpleasant day. We really appreciate your help!

Thanks much to all of you for your support!
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, October 29, 2011

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:44:00 -0400

Hi folks,

It’s been a long season. Many things have not gone according to plan. It was time for a break. But breaks don’t come easily on the farm. So we’re working on devising a new method: the mini-vacation. Sunday morning we do all the chores, I figure out what the farm plan is for the week, we gather eggs about noon, water the greenhouse, and away we go. We’re back by early afternoon Tuesday, just in time to do chores again, fix whatever went wrong in our absence, and build this store again!

West Virginia trip
So our 48-hour spree this week was a dash over the Potomac River and into West Virginia, down to the Capitol, Charleston. Sunday evening we saw a live performance of Mountain Stage, an NPR-sindicated radio show that’s been on for about 20 years. There were five bands that played over the three-hour show, the final one being who we wanted to see the most: Dawes. They’re an LA-based rock band that our son Jack turned us onto a year or so ago and that we like a lot. Good stuff.

The next day we drove over to the New River Gorge, famous for its white water rafting, spectacular views, and the amazing bridge that spans it. We’ve posted a few pictures on our website at starhollowfarm.com, if you’re interested. (Scroll to the bottom.)

[Photo: Chris and I at the Gorge overlook.]

High speed internet… NOT!
Last week I reported that we had finally gotten DSL available here at the farm and had signed up. They sent us the modem and said we could drop our other provider. Turns out the company’s database says we have capability, but when the technician came out he said NO. Not even. And not likely. Damn!

Produce list.

Apples: JonaGold, Nittany, Stayman, York, Apple-a-Day mix).
Greens: arugula, bok choy, cabbage, baby chard, cooking greens mix, lettuce, lacinato kale, microgreens mix, pea shoots, spinach, salad mix.
Veggies: Romano beans, beet roots, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower (several types), celeriac, cucumber (hothouse), garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, parsnips, peppers (green bell, snack, chiles), potatoes (Yukon Gold, purple), radishes (watermelon and bunched), scallions, shallots, sorrel soup pack, sweet potatoes, tomatoes (green fryers, romas, mixed cherry), turnips, winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, kabocha).
Mushrooms: crimini and shiitake.
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, lovage, marjoram, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, savory, sorrel, spearmint, thyme.
Herb sampler pack: savory, spearmint, thyme.
Other food items: eggs, cheese, preserves.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Simpson lettuce, baby spinach, white cauliflower, garlic, green bell pepper, carrots, sweet white turnips, 2 Stayman and 2 Cortland apples.

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Cynthia, Bruce and Sangeeta for their help handing out orders at the truck last week. We really appreciate it!

Thanks much for your help and support!
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

West Virginia mini-vacation A few pictures from our 48-hour...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:22:00 -0400

West Virginia mini-vacation

A few pictures from our 48-hour vacation trip to West Virginia. The New River Gorge is pretty spectacular, and the bridge over it no less so. We also went to the capitol, Charleston, where on Sunday night we went to a live performance of the radio show “Mountain Stage” which featured 5 live bands for $15. That was fun!