Spring into 2017 with HBF!

With the first round of seedlings germinating in our greenhouse, we’re excited for the growing season ahead and bringing more healthy beautiful food to you from Quaker Hill, CT! We wanted to let you – our friends, our family, our community – know about some news from around the farm:

• New web site! Yes, we have a new web site! We invite you to check it out and subscribe to our farm e-mail updates – we promise not to inundate your inbox! (Please note: In the coming weeks, we’ll be phasing out this site, so we invite you to subscribe to our e-mail list on our new site, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.)

• 2017 CSA shares available: If you’re looking to stock up on delicious, seasonal, nutritious vegetables, consider joining our CSA! We have shares available for this season, so please e-mail us at huntsbrookfarm@yahoo.com or click here to learn more.

• 5th Annual Seedling Sale: Save the date!  Join us for our 5th annual Seedling Sale on May 20th and May 21st, from 8 am-4 pm at the farm! Stock up on some of your favorite seedlings and plant starts, including many heritage and heirloom tomatoes, herbs, zucchini & summer squash, lettuce, greens, cabbage, broccoli, and more. We’ll provide more details in the coming weeks about the Seedling Sale, but we hope you’ll consider us as you start planning your garden!

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or just want to say “hey!”, please contact us. Here’s to a bountiful season and stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks!

Blessings from the farm,

Teresa, Digga and the Hunts Brook Farm family

The harvest awaits under the CSA tent (A.Gross)

 

Transplant and transplant some more!

And it begins. It starts in February with thousands of tiny plants and all of our time consumed by cultivating and coddling teeny tiny seedings. Giving them the nutrition, sunlight, warmth, and water that they need to grow big and strong.

Once it warms enough to turn the soil outdoors we start the preparations for all the beds to be made. Once it is relatively warm enough some plants that are cold tolerant are able to go out. We use all drip irrigation on our farm, as it’s very sustainable for preserving water so the lines get laid out after the plants go in and they can get a nice drink to establish their roots into the Earth. Most of the crops will need hoops and row cover to keep them warmer than they would be if they were exposed to raw elements. In a few weeks, all the crops we grow will be safe to go out into the world to produce thousands of pounds of chemical free nutrient dense food!

We plan our plant sale for a time when it becomes safe to plant out all plants for the season so we hope you can join us! As a reminder, it is on May21 and May 22 from 8am to 4pm.

Many Blessings to you All,

Nicole

 

New Beginnings

Each year, in the spring, it feels like a new beginning. Not just for farmers, but for all life where the winters are cool. There is so much magic in the new beginning of each spring. It’s a chance to do things differently than the year before. And a chance to do things perfectly right (FAT CHANCE!).

I love this recent post on the Elephant Journal. The Super New Moon will be in Aries this month, which is pretty magical. There are some powerfully beautiful words in there:

“Together these planets will be handing us the key enabling us to finally leave our comfort zones. Sometimes the best thing we can do is close our eyes, hope for the best and jump.”

Every season it feels a bit like jumping off the edge of a cliff. Will the seeds germinate? Will the heaters break? What will the weather present us with? What major faux pas will happen? Will all of this years crew be healthy and happy? Will we fill our CSA? There are SO many what if’s. The truth is we are always moving forward and jumping off the edge of the cliff, knowing for certain that we are doing the best we can. We are doing something beautiful that we believe in with all of our hearts. When it comes down to the hard stuff we encounter, we navigate it and make the best out of each challenging situation.

We are so grateful to those of you who support our farm. You are making our dreams come true and allowing us to trust in our own magic each year. Happy Spring!

~Farmer Nicole

2016 PLANT SALE!!

 

Hi friends,

We hope you had a relaxing and peaceful winter. The 2016 farm season is well on its way and we have solidified the dates for our annual plant sale! Come and join us at the farm on Saturday May 21 and Sunday May 22 from 8am-4pm. There will be a huge variety of garden favorites!

• beefsteak tomatoes
• cherry tomatoes
• heirloom tomatoes
• sweet peppers
• hot peppers
• italian eggplant
• asian eggplant
• summer squash
• zucchini
• cucumbers
• herbs, herb, and more herbs!
• cut flowers and edible flowers to attract those beneficial insect colonies!
• lettuce
• kale
• collard greens
• swiss chard
• onions
• broccoli
• cabbage

Looking forward to seeing you all there:-) HAPPY SPRING!

 

July 15, 2015 ~ CSA Week 5

It’s July. The month of extreme exhaustion on every farm. Let’s just say this weeks post is short!!

Here are the goodies you can expect in this magical July share:

• head lettuce
• dandelion greens… delicious recipe here
• zucchini
• zephyr
• cucumbers
• tomatoes
• cippolini onions
• french breakfast radishes
• carrots
• green peppers
• eggplant
• kohl rabi
• cilantro
• fresh garlic

We are swimming in cucumbers! We urge you all to make some refrigerator pickles. They are so easy and delicious and don’t require canning… We will have bulk pickling cucumbers on the stand this week!

REFIRGERATOR PICKLES

Makes 2 quarts 

1 pound medium cucumbers
3 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
½ teaspoon whole mustard seed
1 teaspoon fresh dill weed
1 whole dried bay leaf
⅔ cup organic light brown sugar
6½ tablespoons white distilled vinegar
6½ tablespoons white-wine vinegar
¾ cup water

1. Cut the cucumbers into spears or slices and place in a 2-quart container or jar with a lid. Add the garlic, peppercorns, mustard seed, dill weed, and bay leaf.

2. Stir together the brown sugar, vinegars, and water until all the sugar is dissolved. Pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumbers and shake the jar well to combine. Cover and chill. For fullest flavor, wait at least 24 hours before serving. These pickles will keep up to 3 months in the refrigerator.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015 ~ CSA week 4

Summer. It is definitely summer. And a summer’s sun is worth the having. I, Nicole, have personally been thoroughly enjoying this humid, sweaty summer weather. The plants seem to adore it as well. The farm is looking fantastic and just about to enter the peak of production. We have a delectable variety of veggies coming in and are so excited to share them with all of our shareholders this week! And of course with our market supporters this weekend. Here is this weeks CSA share:

• lettuce
• kohl rabi
• fennel
• tendersweet cabbage
• hakurei turnips
• zucchini
• summer squash
• carrots
• tomatoes
• cucumbers
• kale
• scallions
• fresh garlic
• herbs, Italian basil

ROASTED SUMMER VEGETABLES

This weeks recipe is roasted summer vegetables. These can be eaten hot but is also delicious as a cold leftover on top of a salad for lunch the next day:)

*Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients:

peeled and cubed kohlrabi

shaved fennel

zucchini and/or summer squash

julienned carrots

2 cloves chopped fresh garlic

What to do:

Put all prepared vegetables in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil and salt. Toss to coat the veggies and put them on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Garnish with fresh chopped basil when they are done.

Wishing you all a beautiful week filled with beautiful food,

Your farmers at Hunts Brook Farm

Wednesday, July 8, 2015 ~ CSA week 4

Summer. It is definitely summer. And a summer’s sun is worth the having. I, Nicole, have personally been thoroughly enjoying this humid, sweaty summer weather. The plants seem to adore it as well. The farm is looking fantastic and just about to enter the peak of production. We have a delectable variety of veggies coming in and are so excited to share them with all of our shareholders this week! And of course with our market supporters this weekend. Here is this weeks CSA share:

• lettuce
• kohl rabi
• fennel
• tendersweet cabbage
• hakurei turnips
• zucchini
• summer squash
• carrots
• tomatoes
• cucumbers
• kale
• scallions
• fresh garlic
• herbs, Italian basil

ROASTED SUMMER VEGETABLES

This weeks recipe is roasted summer vegetables. These can be eaten hot but is also delicious as a cold leftover on top of a salad for lunch the next day:)

*Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients:

peeled and cubed kohlrabi

shaved fennel

zucchini and/or summer squash

julienned carrots

2 cloves chopped fresh garlic

What to do:

Put all prepared vegetables in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil and salt. Toss to coat the veggies and put them on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Garnish with fresh chopped basil when they are done.

Wishing you all a beautiful week filled with beautiful food,

Your farmers at Hunts Brook Farm

Wednesday June 17, 2015

“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” 
― Laura Ingalls Wilder

Like the first beets of the season. Simple, sweet, tender, and earthy. It’s the simple things. And spring greens, lots of greens!

Here we are again at the start of the 2015 season. The CSA begins tomorrow! We hope you all have survived the winter and are excited for the new growing season ahead of us. We are very much looking forward to seeing all of your sweet faces and sharing the fruits of our labor with you in the upcoming weeks.

What to expect in your share this week:

• Tat Soi
• Bok Choi
• French Breakfast Radishes
• Curly Kale
• Spicy Salad Mix
• Head Lettuce
• Garlic Scapes
• Beets
• Hon Tsai Tai
• Oregano, see how to dry and store oregano here

 

We have lots of spring greens for you this week! We know this amount of greens can feel a little overwhelming for some. Here is a delicious recipe for “Simple Lemony Spring Greens” that is a lovely addition to most meals. 

Wishing you a beautiful day,

Your farmers at Hunts Brook Farm

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 15, 2014

“Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!”
― Humbert Wolfe

“GATHERING LEAVES
Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons,
And bags full of leaves
Are light as balloons.
I make a great noise
Of rustling all day
Like rabbit and deer
Running away.
But the mountains I raise
Elude my embrace,
Flowing over my arms
And into my face.
I may load and unload
Again and again
Till I fill the whole shed,
And what have I then?
Next to nothing for weight,
And since they grew duller
From contact with earth,
Next to nothing for color.
Next to nothing for use.
But a crop is a crop,
And who’s to say where
The harvest shall stop?” 
― Robert Frost

“No, we will not be giving you leaves as one of you crop shares this week.  We loved this poem and wanted to share it with you.”

With love in our hearts and a few tears in our eyes we post this as our last CSA pick up of 2014.  Our members truly become part of our family.  You are appreciated and we work for you!   The work  load becomes lighter when we hear the joy from you about your experience.  As Farmer T says “It makes our hearts sing”.

We are working at bringing Healthy ~ Beautiful ~ Food, to you even in the winter. The above picture shows our high tunnel that is full of winter spinach and braising asian greens.  Farmer Nicole and Dig are working on planting the greenhouse with delicious winter salad greens.  If you look close you can see row covered beds.  Those are late planting of beets and carrots to offer up this winter. We are a “work in progress”!   Farming is deep in our hearts and soul.

You can find our produce this winter at the Winter Madison Farmers Market on Fridays at the Madison VFW 3-6, also retail at  Foodworks in Old Saybrook and Fiddleheads Food Coop in New London.

Pardon our lapse in CSA blogs late this season, we will try better next year. In the mean time check in for farm updates via this blog throughout the winter.

With love from your farmers,

Nicole, Digga and Teresa

This Weeks Share:

• Lettuce
• Kale
• Asian Greens
• Bok Choy or Tatsoi
• Potatoes
• Eggplant
• Green Peppers
• Carrots
• Beets
• Rutabaga
• Scallions
• Radishes or Hakurei Turnips
• Fennel
• Butternut Squash
• Onions
• Garlic
• Herb Bundle
• Hot Peppers

October 1, 2014

 

“She is Out Standing in Her Field”

 

 

Sorry for the belated blog entry folks. We have been rather busy and tired and skipped a few weeks!

The season is definitely winding down. There is LOTS of field clean up happening and cover crop seed going down where there has previously been lots of crops.  The leaves are starting to change and we have just a few weeks left for CSA and markets. There is still lots of food growing in our beloved fields, although the crops ferocity of growth slows a bit as the days get shorter and cooler. Luckily the weeds slow down too.

This time of year is bittersweet. As much as we love what we do, we always look forward to some respite. Our bodies slow down and lots of rest in necessary to prepare for the next season. The 2015 planning is already on track and we are looking forward to the preparation. And I personally am a little too excited about cozying up to our wood stove with a cup of hot tea on those upcoming chilly mornings! Wishing you all a wonderful week…

On behalf of the HBF crew,

Nicole

The goodness this week:

• Lettuce
• Arugula
• Kale, Collards, or Bok Choi
• Beet Greens
• Zucchini
• Winter Squash
• Onion
• Garlic
• Carrots
• Tomatoes
• Yukon Gold Potatoes
• Peppers
• Hot Peppers
• Herbs

RECIPES:

Nicole’s Farmy Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients:

1 qt. cooked down farm tomatoes

3 large carrots pureed in a blender

1/4 fresh herbs… any combination of basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary, and/or marjoram

2 cloves minced garlic

1 minced red onion

1 lb. local ground beef

Directions:

Sautee the garlic and onions in some olive oil for a few minutes and then add the beef. After the beef is cooked add the herbs and continue to cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and carrots and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over pasta and add some parmesan. This dish is to die for!