Giddy up!

Check out the spurs on Big Red, our alpha rooster! He hasn't been causing harm to himself or others with them, so we'll let them be for now. I did find numerous suggestions on the Internet about how to trim a rooster's spurs. Unfortunately, they all start with: "Pick up your rooster..."

Big Red is NOT the cuddly type.

Kids Creativity Workshop (And Free Cookies!)

Green Spring Station is sponsoring a special children's event during the farmer's market (see details below).  In support of this event, we'll be offering free cookies and flowers to kids during this week's market.
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Kids Creativity Workshop Saturday, June 26, 2-5pm Inside the station near Stone Mill Bakery and Wee Chic Enjoy an afternoon of creativity as Green Spring Station welcomes the talents of Zoll Studio of Fine Art, Little Hands Cookie Co. and Imagine Speech for art and cooking classes and language games for children of all ages.  The first 25 kids for the cooking class will receive a complimentary chef's hat.  All participating children will take home a completed art masterpiece and decorated cookies!  And if that's not enough to help beat the heat head over to The Nut Farm and Creamery for tasty ice cream.  From 2-5pm enjoy buy one get one half off any ice cream treat! http://www.greenspringstation.com/

Coming Soon (to a market near you)

This is one of the transitional periods on the farm.  The cool weather crops (such as spinach) can't tolerate the heat or are simply finished their growing season (like sugar snap peas), but the warm weather crops haven't really started producing yet. We are currently growing a large selection of produce using sustainable methods. The small, green tomatoes tell us that fresh, red tomatoes are not too far away. The bean plants have flowers that will be forming green beans and wax beans before we know it. We pick a few ripe raspberries daily--not enough to sell, so we're forced to eat those ourselves.

In the coming weeks, we'll have:

• Beans (green, wax, and lima)
• Summer squash (yellow, patty pan, zucchini)
• Tomatoes (many varieties, including several heirloom types)
• Raspberries
• Blackberries
• Basil and cilantro
• Okra
• Peppers
• And more!

Arugula and most types of lettuce are sensitive to the heat, so they divert their energy to making flowers and seeds in the hot weather. This is called "bolting," and it causes a bitter taste in the leaves. We are experimenting with a few techniques to extend the growing season. We have some new raised beds in a shady area, where the temperature is a few degrees cooler. We also continually plant seeds, in hopes that we'll have a chance to harvest the young plants before they bolt. Availability of lettuce and arugula will probably fluctuate throughout the season.

A Tree Falls in Joppa

Did we seem a little disorganized at last Saturday's market? We had just started picking produce for the market when a storm--complete with torrential rain, hail, and high winds--hit us on Friday night. We could see out the window that a beautiful, huge oak from the front yard was knocked over. The electric went out. After the short storm, we headed out to survey the damage. The oak had taken out tree limbs from two other trees, some fencing, and a couple of blueberry bushes. Tree limbs were down everywhere. A pine tree had fallen over, its roots forcing a section of fence into the air.

Q: How did a log get into the garage?
A: Through the roof!

Fortunately, the crops seem OK. Some plants got a little beat up, but most have recovered.

We're expecting!

One of our Barred Rock hens has gone broody. This means she is sitting on the nest, trying to hatch some eggs. We've helped her (we hope) by moving her to a separate area for some peace and quiet. Some hens are quite determined to use a certain nest box, even if there's already a chicken in it. Our broody hen would be pestered all the time by other hens trying to get in there, too! (This should not give the impression that there aren't enough nest boxes--hens do this even though there are numerous other boxes available. Chickens are not known as great thinkers.)

We try not to get our hopes up, since this is only the second hen to try hatching eggs. Many things can happen to thwart the process, such as unfertilized eggs, damaged eggs, a hen just giving up... We tucked in a few extra eggs from other hens in hopes that will increase the chance of getting chickies. It takes about three weeks for the eggs to hatch. Here's hoping for some new additions to the flock!