Garden Growth Spurts

New, mounded rows are added to the back corner of Better Farm's garden to house pumpkins, melons, and squash.

Exciting partnerships this year with high-end restaurants in the Thousand Islands Region, a burgeoning CSA program, increasingly popular farm stand, and the perennial mouths to feed at Better Farm itself inspired us to add three more rows to Better Farm's main garden.

We put the new rows in the right-back corner of the garden. The first thing we had to do was to turn the clay-rich soil over up the rows and rake the fresh dirt into mounds. After that, we hayed the new rows and started planting pumpkins, squash, and melons.

 

Meanwhile, in the other rows...

Pink Beauty Radishes

From left: King Richard Leeks, Pink Beauty Radishes, and oodles of Sunset Lettuce.

Penelope weeding out the bugs.

 To learn more about Better Farm's CSA program or to sign up, visit www.betterfarm.org/csa.

Wild Plant Foraging: Ramps

Allium tricoccum, otherwise known as ramps or wild leeks.

Wild leek season is upon us! The Allium tricoccum (otherwise known as ramps, spring onions, ramson, wild leeks, wood leeks, or wild garlic), is a wild onion that appears in early spring across much of the eastern United States and Canada. Ridiculously yummy and easy to prepare, ramps are a growing favorite among chefs in restaurants—and this weekend you can enjoy some of ours on the Mother's Day menu at Bella's in Clayton!

The broad, bright leaves on wild leeks make them easy to spot along hillsides in wooded, rocky areas:

A grove of wild leeks.

A group of foragers took to the woods yesterday to harvest more than 20 pounds of the tiny delicacy, which goes great in soups, on salads, in flat breads, or pickled and canned.

Here's the bounty, which will be part of this week's CSA:

A pound of wild leeks will cost consumers, on average, between $9 and $20 with leaves and roots on:

But you can get wild leeks from us for just $4/pound (while supplies last!):

To enroll in Better Farm's CSA program, click here. Many thanks to the Tulley family for allowing us to forage in their woods!

What's Growing at Better Farm

Seedlings and seeds enjoy some fresh air on (yet another) rainy spring day.

In spite of the perpetually crummy weather outside, spring is upon us at Better Farm. Asparagus, chives, garlic, leeks, strawberries, raspberries, peach and fig trees, and many many more plants and herbs throughout the gardens have been waking up each day and spreading new, green leaves. Inside, seeds are sprouting every day and we're getting regular shipments of new exotics like dwarf pineapple trees, coffee plants, and Mediterranean olive trees.



With evenings just starting to offer the sustained warmth necessary to harden seedlings off in the greenhouse, we've been getting the babies ready for the great outdoors by exposing them to the elements during daylight hours on the back deck. This late season hasn't reaked any havoc yet in regard to the health of our preemies—but it has certainly been inconvenient! Usually by this time of year, all the plants are living full-time in the greenhouse, potatoes are in the ground, and we're starting in on onions. Regardless; here are some photos of all the activity afoot:

Asparagus heads poke up out of the wet soil out back.

Tomato seedlings reach for the sky.

A preview of what's to come: eggplant, celery, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, and cauliflower make their grand entrances.

Our CSA begins today; but there are still spaces left if you'd like to sign up for weekly shares of fresh produce throughout the season. We also offer amended CSAs to those who are only in the North Country on weekends; or those who would like a bulk rate on what's in-season but can't commit to a weekly pickup. Our updated list of produce this season:

Vegetables (all organic)

Artichoke—Imperial Star Organic

Asparagus

Beans—Black Coco, Monachelle di Trevio, Envy Soya, Garbanzo, Great Northern

Beets—Lutz Green Leaf

Broccoli— Belstar

Brussel Sprouts—Royal Marvel Hybrid

Cabbage—Derby Day

Carrots—Purple Haze Hybrid, Rainbow Blend, Yaya Hybrid

Cauliflower—Veronica Hybrid

Celery—Redventur

Corn—Northern Xtra-Sweet Yellow

Cucumber—Lemon

Eggplant— Rosa Bianca, Japanese White Egg

Kale—Red Russian

Leeks— Giant Musselburgh

Lettuce—Buttercrunch, Sunset

Okra

Onions— Yellow Sweet Spanish

Peanuts—Jumbo Virginia,

Peas—Little Marvel Shell Pea

Peppers—Green California Wonder, Italian Sweet Red

Potato—Yukon Gold, Red, Sweet

Pumpkin—Shishigatani/Toonas Makino, Connecticut Field

Quinoa—Shelly

Radish—Pink Beauty

Rosemary

Swiss Chard - Bright Lights

Soybean

Squash— Thelma Sanders' Sweet Potato, Crookneck-Early Golden Summer, Caserta Zucchini, White Bush Scallop, Argonaut Hybrid Butternut, Black Beauty Zucchini

String Beans—Compass Bush Bean

Tomatoes—Ananas Noire, Purple Calabash, Better Farm heirlooms

Watermelon—Sugar Baby

Fruits and Trees

Apple

Apricot

Dwarf Banana (indoor)

Blueberry

Catalpa

Cherry

3-in-1 Citrus (indoor)

Coffee Plant

Fig

Kiwi

Mediterranean Olive (indoor)

Peach

Dwarf Pineapple (indoor)

Raspberry

Strawberries

Herbs

Basil—Large-Leaf Italian Basil, Lime

Borage—Blue

Chives

Cilantro

Dill

Garlic

Lemon Balm

Mint

Nasturtium—Mixed Dwarf Jewel

Parsley

Ramps/Wild Leeks

Rosemary

Sage

Salad greens—various

Flowers

Mammoth Gray Stripe Sunflower

Kochia Scoparia Grass

25 Giant Allium

“Red Sun” Sunflower

Various wildflowers

To join Better Farm's CSA and enjoy a weekly share of fresh produce all season long, please email info@betterfarm.org or visit www.betterfarm.org/csa.

Better Farm's First-Ever CSA Program

An afternoon harvest from last fall.

Better Farm' s Community-Supported Agriculture program is designed to bring individuals and families living locally weekly shares of fresh produce from Better Farm's gardens at extremely affordable rates.

Community-Supported Agriculture, or CSAs, allow individuals or families to have direct access to high-quality, fresh produce grown locally. When you join a CSA, you're buying a “share” of produce from a particular farm or group of farms. Better Farm's CSA runs weekly from May 1 through the end of November, about 31 weeks. CSA members can visit Better Farm on a weekly basis to pick up their shares of produce. CSA members pay for the entire season of produce up-front. This early bulk payment allows Better Farm to plan for the season, purchase garden supplies and seeds to ensure a productive yield, and more.

Weekly share amounts fluctuate in accordance with what is in-season. In May, a share may only consist of some salad greens and asparagus; while a share in October will include artichokes, tomatoes, greens, herbs, Swiss chard, potatoes, flowers, pumpkins, leeks, and much much more.

Typically, seasonal CSA costs are between $400 and $600 for an individual. Because Better Farm's goal is to increase access to delicious, organic, healthy food, the first year of this CSA program is available at rock-bottom rates:

These rates represent a a full 31-week program:

• $250/individual (roughly $8/week)
• $450/couple (roughly $14.50/week)
• $800/family of four (roughly $25/week)

CSA members will be notified of additional add-on opportunities (meat, eggs, cheese, soaps, baked goods, etc.) should these become available throughout the season; and may opt in to hear about food-related activities held at Better Farm throughout the year (supper clubs, farm-to-table events, workshops).

Click here for a list of the organic produce we are growing at Better Farm in 2014. Please note that this does not necessarily indicate produce you will receive (in some cases, certain plants do better than others based on weather, pests, etc.).

If you would like to sign up for Better Farm's CSA, send an email to info@betterfarm.org with the below information and we will bill you through Paypal (additional Paypal fees will apply). Or, you can print out the below form and mail it us along with a check made out to Better Farm. Those of you with special scheduling needs may contact us for a prorated CSA plan.

Mail to: Better Farm CSA Program, 31060 Cottage Hill Road, Redwood NY, 13679.

Name: ___________________________________________

Address: _________________________________________

Phone Number: ___________________________________

Email: __________________________________________

CSA Membership Level (About 31 weeks starting May 1):   

• ______$100 Summer Weekender (weekends only June 1-Sept. 1)
• _____  $150 Weekender (weekends only May 1-mid-November
• ______$250/individual (roughly $8/week) 
• _____$450/couple (roughly $14.50/week) 
• _____$800/family of four (roughly $25/week)

Preferred Day for Weekly Pickup: _________________