The Hickories: Newsletter

Dear All,

As a small, start-up organic farm we live daily the adage: “you make the road by walking.” So many challenges lie ahead and each requiring its own unforeseen innovation. As another season winds towards its conclusion we take a few cautious glances backward to the road behind us. Amid the slowly composting piles of what we have left undone, it is sometimes hard to see our way clear to a pat on the back. But there is cause to celebrate. Even more so, amid what can feel like an impending doom on the global environmental front, it feels good to be working together toward a solution we can live with, literally. It has been a delicious summer of food, reduced reliance on fossil fuels, reduced waste, and an increase in good people coming together. In farming, the future is always tenuous, but these fields on the ridge (of Ridgefield) will see another summer planting, so we are all cheering. I hope many of you can come to the farm and join in the conversations around the place before the cold weather sends us scuttling indoors to mend and rework and rewire by the fireplace.

The summer is on: weeds, orchards, vines, pigs, and pastures all need attention. These are the days when to-do lists grow faster than they can get checked off. The machines need repair, the tomatoes need staking, but Friday we plan to be in the berry patch taking our sweet time.

PICK YOUR OWN BLUEBERRIES: My favorite blueberries are the early ones, tartness and sweetness together. The patch will be open Friday, July 4th, and be open every day after that from 10am-6pm. Like strawberries in June, it is first come first serve and we all pick until the berries are gone.

The heat wave has picked up the pace on the farm, and we have exciting news. The harvest is starting to roll in. Farming is a community project here at The Hickories and to that end...

PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES: Opening this Saturday 10am-6pm. We will keep the patch open seven days a week until the berries are gone. They are ripe now and they will go quickly, so don't wait too long: strawberries have a notoriously short season. Bring your family and enjoy a day in the sun with delicious rewards. We will have containers here but feel free to bring a bucket or two. When you visit the farm, park by the barns and follow the dirt farm road on foot to the strawberry patch. Organically raised strawberries are a rare treat in this part of the world. A day on the farm is a fun adventure, too. And don't forget, after strawberries come blueberries in July!