The Hickories: Newsletter

Dear All,

The sun has come out and the farm is making a mad dash for summer. After a month of gloom with an extraordinary amount of rain, the ground is soaked to bursting. The rain has been grueling at times and delayed some of our plantings substantially but we are relieved to report that erosion and flooding was kept to a minimum. Strong organic soil management has been our only defense against the deluge: soil strength is our genuine profit and loss statement here on the farm.

As new farmers, this spring’s weather has put us to the test. We are holding our own so far. But a few days of sun and a little breeze would set us up right, that’s for sure.

Pick Your Own Blueberries - the patch is open WEEKENDS ONLY NOW from 10am-5pm. Despite the mud, many of you joined us to pick strawberries last month. Thank you to all who took part in that harvest.

“The Stand” on Lounsbury Road is officially open – seven days a week from 11am-6pm. Note that our vegetables are certified organic by the USDA and Baystate Organic Certifiers.

On “The Stand”:

Dear All,

A week of rain is Mother Nature’s polite memo to farmers that we work for her. Comparing what we see in our crop plan spreadsheets to what we see in the fields, we are reminded that we are still pretty green at this. Resignation is not the right word, but learning to be calm and have faith amidst the oscillations of the seasons is part of what we are faced with this year. It may not feel like June; it may not look like June; but June will come – even if it comes in July.

Pick Your Own Strawberries Opens June 13th – The patch opens this Saturday and will remain open daily from 10am-5pm throughout the strawberry season. Rain, shine, wind… (and did I mention rain…) the strawberries are certified organic, and the many different varieties mean lots of interesting and subtle flavor differences. Taste a few of each to be sure!

Hello All,

Like the tops of the daffodils emerging from the semi-frozen ground we farmers are poking our heads out of garages and greenhouses and, maybe, just maybe, taking off our topmost layer of wool or fleece. What a winter! We slipped and skidded and chipped our way through, but we made it. I try during the cold months to hold onto an earthly sense of the importance of dormancy, of the winter die-back, of the snow – but somewhere along the way I got a little bitter this year. But Spring’s magic has erased all that: in one joyous explosion of sunshine and color, bitterness becomes folly.

Happy New Year to All,

Icicles hang from the barn door and the chickens huddle close together on their roosts. The cold weather brings a hardiness to our farm that, despite my squawking about chapped lips and cold toes, I consider a rite of passage. There is a little victory in standing up to this weather, chipping ice out of the water buckets and bearing our cheeks to the blasting wind while shoveling snow. And then there is the anticipation of the lunchtime stew made over our office woodstove. Frozen tomatoes set aside from summer's harvest, roasted potatoes and onions from the root cellar – winter blesses us with the mental space to linger over what we preserved in haste last year. Strawberry jam, carrots stored among black walnut leaves to preserve their freshness, and the last of the maple syrup. There is much to do this time of year, and as the sunrises and sunsets start to stretch out again we feel the greatest anticipation of all – seedlings!

Come join us in the pumpkin patch! Open Saturdays and Sundays 10am-6pm. Open Columbus Day, too.

See, smell, and touch the Autumn on these perfect New England days.

Visit with pigs and chickens from the haycart.

Hunt through the patch to find your own jack-o-lantern..