Whats new at the farm

Most of the plants remain healthy and productive even after being harvested repeatedly. We are still harvesting from the kale, swiss chard, collard greens etc. and they remain healthy. However, we had to uproot the cucumbers, yellow squash, snap peas and string beans. Fortunately, they were all somewhat productive and produced some plants that we picked, gave to our clients and also ate ourselves. I guess some plants live and some plants die during the growing season. The garden is colorful and is nice to look at. Our baby watermelons are continuing to increase in size but since they are starting to spread into the herb garden we are planning to build a trellis to hold and contain it.


-Stace Van Rossum

a poem by tara

today I helped John build a staircase,it was very interesting to learn something new .It was hot in the sun but we got it done and now we dont have to jump from space to space no more.

Even More Pictures II

(Snap Pea)
(Yellow Squash)
(Collard Greens)
(Baskets of the Harvest)
(Growing top tier)

Even More Pictures

(Growing bed # 3)
(Growing romaine)
(Growing top tier)
(Kingsborough seedlings)
(Front Yard)

More Pictures

(3 bare raised beds)
(Seed Packets)
(First signs of arugula)
(1 worm from wormbin in Stace's hand)
(Many worms from wormbin in Stace's hand)

Some Pictures

(Kale, Swiss Chard & Collard Greens)
Lavender
Herb Garden
Basil

Changes at the Farm (Part 2)

We continue to harvest and continue to get positive feedback from those who have tasted the produce. Personally I have sampled some of the excess food and I enjoyed eating it also. I am sure my co-workers feel the same way. I have eaten most or all of the vegetables that we have planted but I never saw or knew the progression that they take from seed to plant. What fascinated me most is seeing that plants like cucumbers, beans and snap peas need a trellis to grow. I never even knew what a trellis was before this year. To see what a squash plant or zucchini or pumpkin becomes after its seed spends days within the soil is truly amazing to me. They each take up so much space. My co-workers told me this before hand but I didn't know what to expect. With hard work we have accomplished much.



-Stace Van Rossum

Changes at the Farm

Today was my first day back from my vacation in the Riveara ,the plants have gotten rather large . I was pleased to see this. The eggplants are just about ready to bear fruit.The watermelons are having little watermellies .The yellow zucchini is really the pride and joy of the farm We harvested two green zucchinis and also some collard greens for the kitchen at the Bridge


- Tara

The Summer comes and goes

To date, we have harvested arugula, swiss chard, kale, spinach, romaine, snap peas, collard greens, cilantro, turnip greens, cucumbers, green beans, squash, zucchini, scallions, spearmint, and basil. The zucchini that we harvested was probably the largest one I have ever seen, it was close to 2 feet long and at its widest point was close to 6 inches wide. Everything was grown organically without pesticides which is amazing to me since I was under the impression that you needed pesticides to keep insects away. Our previous insect problem seems to be under control. We used an organic pesticide on the few areas where we saw certain insects and it seems to be working. We used some of the wormbin compost on five plants that we planted in the front yard and have one more bucket to use on some late season transplants in the coming weeks. It continues to be a wonderful experience and I am glad to be a part of it.


Stace Van Rossum

Progress

We are continuing to harvest mostly greens like collard greens and swiss chard. The rest of the garden is growing and it is amazing to remember how most started from seed and are now large plants. Our three compost bins are also moving along. We are in the process of gathering the compost from the wormbin for use on seedlings we will be putting in the earth some time soon. I can remember the first day that I put fruit and vegetable scraps into the wormbin and when I look at the end result today I think what I was taught in the Master Composter class at NYBG is being put to good use. At first I did not know what to expect but I am satisfied with the results.


Stace Van Rossum