Last Week at Green Spring Station Farmers' Market

We have made the difficult decision to close up our farm early (last market is September 3rd). As many of you know, it has been a very trying year. The relentless heat took a toll on our crops...and us. Stinkbugs took a bite (no, many, many bites!) out of our tomatoes, and they're working on everything that is left. Despite several preventive measures, deer have chomped off every okra and sunflower that survived the heat wave.

Over the winter, we'll assess our business model to determine if, and in what form, we can continue.

No autographs, please!

Bella doesn't let her chicks, Yankee Doodle and Liberty Bella, out of her sight. Paparazzi are regarded with extreme suspicion.

Organic Venison, Anyone?

Farm Haiku

by Mhom

summer evening

unwelcome visitors feast

alas, poor okra

New Chicks

Our hen Bella is a mother once again. Yankee Doodle and Liberty Bella were born on the 3rd of July. They have their own private yard to roam in as Mama Bella teaches them what's good to eat. At night, the chicks snuggle up under her wings.

Heat Wave!

The weather has reminded us once again how quickly things can change. A few days in the 90s (in May!) have thrown some of our crops for a loop. Some of the lettuces bolted (turned bitter), the sugar snap pea pods are growing flat and elongated (more like snow peas), and plant beds are drying out. It was only a short while ago that the entire lower field was too wet to plant in!

The good news is that the larkspur are blooming, an event we look forward to every year. They produce beautiful spikes of purple flowers, and we also have pink ones that start just a little later than the purples. We've gotten the first flowers on our tomato plants, and the blackberries and raspberries are starting to form.

Farm-Fresh Eggs: What's the difference?

Compared to a typical grocery store egg, the yolks of our eggs have a darker, orangey-yellow color.  In a fresh egg (like ours), the egg white is thick and doesn't spread out very much.  The yolk "stands up" instead of flattening out.  The chalazae (white, ropey strands) are more prominent in a fresh egg.  (The chalazae are a normal part of every chicken egg, designed to "anchor" the yolk.  They do not indicate if an egg is fertilized.)

We think there's only one downside to a fresh egg:  it can be more difficult to peel a fresh, hard-cooked egg than an older one.  But a fresh egg makes the best fried-egg sandwich.

Rhododendrons

Our rhododendrons are providing splashes of color all over the farm.

STYLE at the Station

Green Spring Station is partnering with STYLE Magazine for a special event on Thursday, April 14th.  STYLE at the Station will feature designer trunk shows, giveaways, and live music throughout the day.  More details available online at http://greenspringstation.com/events/.

The event also includes a farmers' market that will run from 4 to 7 p.m. that day.   We'll be there, along with several other farm market vendors.

Signs of Spring!

Black Australorp Hens

Our black-n-white, penguin-looking chicks have all grown up. The full-grown hens are black, with green highlights visible in the sun. We've been getting lots of eggs from them (mainly small- and peewee-sized until they get a little older). Our latest farm record is 83 eggs in one day! (That's not bad from only 100 hens.)

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Our rooster Lucky takes a stroll through the snow.

Summer tomatoes in February

We froze bags full of tomatoes at the end of the season last year, and we break one out every now and again as a tasty treat for the chickens during a long, cold winter. These (as-yet unnamed) chickens were hatched on the farm, and they're about 5 months old now. 

Covering All the Bases

In an effort to get a head start for spring, we protected some greens--lettuces, arugula, etc.--through the winter by covering a few of our raised beds with plastic. The cover was ripped off the first bed early on in the winter. We fixed it a couple of times, but Mother Nature was very determined. After the plants had been exposed to freezing temperatures a few times, we gave up (you can see the hoops in the background). The second bed fared pretty well until the high winds last Friday pulled off the plastic. That's when we made the unpleasant discovery that it had simply been too cold for most of the lettuces and not many survived. To top it off, chickweed and other weeds were thriving under there! It wasn't a total loss, though. The weeds went to the chickens. Our hens can tell you that chickweed is aptly named. They love it!