Summer Field Notes + Recipe for Cucumber Salad with Mint and Feta

As we roll into summer, things on the farm seem to be going pretty well. The sugar snap peas are coming on, and we will start seeing them in the share this week – they are such a treat! The farmers got the strawberry plugs planted late last week, and we will look forward to having delicious berries in the share next year. We thought we might be able to get one more year out of the old patch, but it gave up the ghost earlier in the spring.

Continue Reading: Summer Field Notes + Recipe for Cucumber Salad with Mint and Feta

Tags: fieldnotes | recipe | summer | cucumbers | onions | radishes | mint |

Early June Field Notes + Recipe for Garlic Scape Pesto

Very well watered would best describe the condition in the fields. Thankfully we have most of the newly planted summer crops on raised beds, which keep the plants up and out of the saturated earth. The black plastic we use to cover the raised beds keeps the soil temperature a bit warmer, the weeds at bay, and the moisture in—all good things if you are a heat loving tomato, pepper, or eggplant.

Continue Reading: Early June Field Notes + Recipe for Garlic Scape Pesto

Tags: fieldnotes | recipe | spring | garlic |

Field Notes and Mesclun Salad with Mango Chutney Dressing

Farming is hardly ever a perfect world. It is often too wet or dry, too hot or cold—but then every once in a while along comes the perfect day.

Continue Reading: Field Notes and Mesclun Salad with Mango Chutney Dressing

Tags: fieldnotes | recipe | spring | greens |

Field Notes and Stir-Fried Asparagus with Shiitake Mushrooms

This crazy spring just keeps on coming! Thankfully we are getting a bit of rain to settle the dust and take the dry edge off of everything.

The asparagus was starting to come on early last week, but rapidly retreated after a few cold days – so we have a just small amount for everyone. The early spring greens we planted in March are growing and this week we get to enjoy yukina savoy. Between the flea beetles and the extreme temperatures, it doesn’t look beautiful, but it still tastes good. This vegetable needs very little cooking, which makes it perfect in stir-fry, or as a late addition to Asian style soups.

Continue Reading: Field Notes and Stir-Fried Asparagus with Shiitake Mushrooms

Tags: fieldnotes | recipe | spring | asparagus | mushrooms |

Field Notes: An Unusual Start to Spring

Thank goodness the weather seems to be back to normal for this time of year. The past few weeks of warm weather had us moving around at warp speed trying to get fields prepared and planted.

In all my years at Tait Farm, I have never seen anything quite like this spring. We already have kales, chard, beets, Asian greens, and head lettuce seedlings planted out, as well as peas, carrots, and lettuce mix seeded in the fields.

Continue Reading: Field Notes: An Unusual Start to Spring

Tags: fieldnotes | farm |

Field Notes: Early March

The feel of early spring is already in the air. The smell of sleeping soil waking up, the reddening tips of the trees as the sap begins to flow upwards, and the songs of robins are just a few of the early harbingers of spring. We are continuing to stay busy seeding in the greenhouse, spreading compost on the fields, finishing up the new high tunnel and generally trying to get all the winter
work completed.

Continue Reading: Field Notes: Early March

Tags: fieldnotes | farm |

Field Notes: Mild February

The mild February temperatures are allowing things to roll along pretty smoothly these days. We have made great progress on the new high tunnel and should have the ends completed, the roll-up sides installed and the plastic cover on within a couple weeks. Once this is complete, we will lay in compost and seed an early spring greens mix, which we plan to be eating come April!

Continue Reading: Field Notes: Mild February

Tags: fieldnotes | farm |

Field Notes - Early November

There is an impatient feeling in the chilly, Fall air here in the fields. The heavy, wet snow that came down on Saturday had us curiously waiting to see how all the crops carried the weight.

Continue Reading: Field Notes - Early November

Tags: fieldnotes | fall |

Field Notes

This week as we are adding more fall greens to the selection of choices, we are embarking on a project that will provide us with the ability to extend the season and have even more greens!

Continue Reading: Field Notes

Tags: gardening | hightunnels | fieldnotes |

Field Notes

The approach of the Fall frost has us hustling around the fields, trying to get everything prepared for it. There is the first frost, which will knock out most of the common annuals such as peppers, summer squash, eggplants and if you still have ‘em, tomatoes.

Continue Reading: Field Notes

Tags: fall | fieldnotes |

Field Notes: Summer Garlic and a Recipe for Pepper Packets

It’s the middle of summer, and that means it’s time for garlic! From spring garlic to garlic scapes, and fresh garlic to stored bulbs… it’s one of our favorite year-round crops. And now is the time to hurry up and get it out of the ground and hang it to cure.

Continue Reading: Field Notes: Summer Garlic and a Recipe for Pepper Packets

Tags: recipe | summer | garlic | peppers | potatoes | fieldnotes |

Field Notes: Beet Salad

Field production is running a bit behind schedule this year, but this seems to be the case for most farms in the area. The “schedule,” of course, is always just an ideal planting time, when really we fall to the mercy of the weather in the end. But better late than never is the case this summer, as we are just now harvesting our spring turnips and beets.

Continue Reading: Field Notes: Beet Salad

Tags: summer | recipe | beets | fieldnotes |

Field Notes: Mid-June Radishes and Berries

The soil in the fields has been through so many changes already this year. It has been pounded and compacted by torrential downpours in early spring and then dried to a hard-as-a-brick state after a few weeks of really dry, hot days. This constricted the root development of a lot of crops, which, unfortunately, leads to a poor yield when the roots of crops like radishes are what you are looking to reap.

Continue Reading: Field Notes: Mid-June Radishes and Berries

Tags: fieldnotes |

Field Notes: A Hopeful Start to Summer

It’s not that it’s been a bad year for farmers in our region, or that it’s going to be one, but it sure has been a rough spring. We’re still seeing the somewhat disappointing effects of it, but it will soon be behind us. And, fortunately, summer season is looking great!

Continue Reading: Field Notes: A Hopeful Start to Summer

Tags: strawberries | fieldnotes |

Field Notes: Strawberry-Rhubarb Dessert Bars

Tait Farm’s CSA, Community Harvest, kicked off its main season in mid-May with a bang! To see the excitement on our CSA members’ faces when they picked up their “share” of asparagus, Swiss chard, salad mix, and more was so gratifying. We work hard to produce this food, and people couldn’t wait to get home to eat it. Ideas spouted left and right for favorite green garlic recipes and grilled asparagus.

It’s a comforting bustle of people who love being a part of our CSA. Eating is something we all have to do everyday anyway, and when the ingredients are fresh, organic, and seasonal, it adds a whole other ingredient to the meal: contentment.

Continue Reading: Field Notes: Strawberry-Rhubarb Dessert Bars

Tags: recipe | spring | strawberries | rhubarb | fieldnotes |

Field Notes: Asparagus Season and Recipe for Vegan Hollandaise Sauce

There are two times during the asparagus season that I enjoy picking it: the first time and the last time. Don’t get me wrong; I love asparagus in every way, shape, and form on my dinner plate, but the tedious task of picking it twice a day can make a person jump for joy at the end of its season.

Continue Reading: Field Notes: Asparagus Season and Recipe for Vegan Hollandaise Sauce

Tags: farm | fieldnotes | recipe | spring | asparagus |

Field Notes: Cold, Wet Days

Erin McKinney is one of two full-time farmers at Tait Farm in Centre Hall who oversees the fieldwork for the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, Community Harvest. Find out from Erin what is “growing on” in the fields at Tait Farm this week.

Continue Reading: Field Notes: Cold, Wet Days

Tags: farm | fieldnotes | recipe | spring | springgreens | garlic |