For those of you that know me, you probably know that I'm a summer girl through and through. But I admit that there is something incredibly special about the fall here on the farm. The hustle and bustle increase, the fresh produce abounds, the farm stand and fields are bursting with color, and we are still in full swing.
There is a major misconception with the public that the farming season ends after Labor Day. We've welcomed a few new customers this week and they've said "I'll have to come back sooner next year..." (We do love that!) The truth is that modern agriculture is incredibly innovative. For us, this isn't a home garden, so we have to find ways to push the envelope and extend the growing season as much as possible. We're about to enter our busiest months and our variety is about to explode. We grow straight through mid-December!
What crops are expected to be available? Winter squash like spaghetti, butternut, acorn, and delicata; radishes and other turnips; broccoli and cauliflower; multiple varieties of cabbage; Brussels sprouts; lots of lettuce and escarole; beets, carrots, and root crops like celeriac; celery; fresh hardy herbs; leafy greens like broccoli rabe and choy sum; potatoes; garlic and onions; and SO much more. To give you a little trivia fact, Randy is growing 3,758 broccoli plants just for September!
We even have methods to keep the tomatoes, eggplant, summer squash, peppers, and other summer crops cranking out of the fields even after it frosts (we cover them with huge pieces of insulating cloth).
We'd like to thank you so much for your ongoing support each and every day. Randy got a call from his good friend at Cecarelli Farms in Northford to tell him that the storms that happened on Monday night across the state destroyed his entire farm for the year. He said the hail was so large and dense that they could have taken a snow plow down the street. Vegetables on the plants were ripped to shreds. We're devastated for him. It's a sobering reminder that tomorrow is never promised in farming.
Here he is giving an interview if you're interested:
Sometimes it feels so cruel to continue posting about life on the farm as usual, but you all have made this such a positive community that we press on toward the fall with joy and gratitude. The members in our Vegetable Subscription Program are continuing to pick up their weekly box of fresh veggies and are sharing their success stories and mealtime inspiration in our Facebook group.
We'd like to share some snippets of what they're posting in the hopes that it inspires and uplifts you, too. Some of the following were also posted to our social media or sent by email.
One more thing I'd like to say...
Wednesday was bittersweet as we sent our son Peter off to kindergarten for the first time. As you may know, I was a teacher before I was a farm manager, and when the pandemic hit, I decided to stay here full time. My driving reason was that our son Peter was one at the time, and I wanted to share more of the day-to-day with him as I mentally couldn’t teach, farm, and parent all at once. I have strong vivid memories from those early days in our “bubble” - farm walks, him sitting beside us in the greenhouse, picking blackberries to make jam - and most recently this summer, him with his village of boxes in the barn next to me as I packed shares, and planting and singing right along with the crew. I will cherish these memories in my heart always, with such gratitude that I was afforded the opportunity to “work from home” near my children every day. It’s because of you all that this was possible, each one of your shopping trips supporting our family’s livelihood, whether you’ve been with us since we started in 2013 or since yesterday. I look forward to future daily memories with our daughter and continued memories as I watch our son develop into the man he was meant to be. Raising kids on the farm has been the best dream come true. Thank you.
WHAT'S COMING UP?
We are closed on Monday, September 2nd for Labor Day.
Fall produce is ready in September: lettuce, radishes, and plenty of greens.
We'll change over our store for fall on Saturday, September 7th: mums, pumpkins, gourds, and special fall products like tea blends, coffee roasts, special oils and vinegars, mushroom ravioli, fall soap scents, pumpkin butter and apple maple jam, and so much more! We're launching a special new product!
The second week of September we're also launching our annual virtual cooking challenge: Who will be crowned the Secret Veggie Sneak? We're looking for submissions on ways to "sneak" more veggies into your meals - how do you hide them so you or other family members won't know they're there?
Sunday, October 13th: 2025 Vegetable Subscription Program enrollment opens! You know we always have an early bird enrollment period including a flash sale and perks!
Summer produce is coming in steadily now, which means we have lots of "firsts" and "seconds." Seconds are veggies that aren't quite our highest quality, but are still safe to eat. Think of a soft spot, a crack, or other physical blemishes.
We donate excess or "seconds" produce when we can, but we also want to pass the opportunity to save money onto you. So, we're selling $5 bags of "seconds" - these are discounted bags of produce such as tomatoes, onions, squash, peppers, and eggplant that are perfectly good to eat, but of lesser quality than our typical produce. These will be available intermittently in our store as inventory allows, already pre-packed in certain quantities. So, as you're shopping, you can grab a quick bag of seconds off the shelf in addition to our firsts that are already there. We'll continue this as long as interest allows.
This is two $5 "seconds" bags' worth of peppers, which I quickly sauteed for the freezer. You can find plenty of pepper seconds in our cooler now!
FINAL 2024 BUILD-A-BOUQUET
Build-a-Bouquet will take place for the last time this Saturday (from 9-4) and Sunday (from 10-3). The fields are producing much smaller amounts of flowers now.
As a reminder, Build-a-Bouquet works like this:
Visit the farm and the display of flowers is out front
Each bucket is tagged with instructions: limit X amount of sunflowers, or take any 10 stems from this row, etc. We provide a basket and you can fill it with your selection of blooms.
Head to the nearby table to do your arranging. We have clippers and rubber bands there.
After you make your bouquet, come into our store to pay: $20 plus tax.
The good news is...
We will continue to harvest and bunch mini arrangements of flowers in the store on weekends through the fall. Once build-a-bouquet ends, as of the weekend of September 7th and 8th, we'll stock these sweet little $7 bouquets as long as interest and availability allows.
Bulk boxes are available!
We pre-pack them every day. Simply come into the store when you're ready to ask for one - no pre-orders. You're welcome to purchase more than one as inventory allows. We are currently packing the following:
Bulk boxes of plum tomatoes are continuing for now, but we highly recommend you consider this the final weekend of major availability. When the nights cool down into September, the tomatoes slow down their ripening significantly and it's impossible to predict when the first frost will be. Plum tomatoes are 25 lbs. for $45.
We also have boxes of tomato "seconds" - 25 lbs. for $35.
Bulk boxes of pickling cucumbers are finished for 2024. Loose pickling cucumbers will still be sold in the store until the end of our cucumber crop.
WHAT'S IN STORE
Here is the fresh produce we plan to have in stock while supplies last (through Friday, 9/6):
Bell peppers
Cabbage (limited quantities)
Cantaloupe (final quantities for 2024)
Carrots
Collard greens
Cucumbers (slicing and pickling)
Eggplant
Fresh herbs (sage, thyme, parsley, rosemary, mint, and basil)
Garlic
Grape tomatoes
Green & wax beans
Hot peppers (assorted)
Husk cherries
Kale
Lunchbox peppers (limited quantities)
Onions
Potatoes (red and gold)
Scallions
Shishito peppers
Tomatillos
Tomatoes
Yellow squash
Zucchini (limited quantities)
STORE HOURS
Monday: 10:30 to 6
Tuesday: 10:30 to 6
Wednesday: 10:30 to 6
Thursday: 10:30 to 6
Friday: 10:30 to 5
Saturday: 9 to 4
Sunday: 10 to 3
So sorry, but we can't accommodate early or late arrivals even if we are around. Our staff is scheduled to work on prepping the store with the freshest products right up until we open. We also try to honor personal lives by closing promptly.
** Vegetable subscription pickup occurs during all open hours on members' scheduled pickup day and we hold shares for 24 hours afterward.
MARKET HOURS
Shelton Farmers' Market - Saturdays from 9 to 12 at 100 Canal Street.
Monroe Farmers' Market - Fridays from 3 to 6 at 7 Fan Hill Road.
THIS WEEK'S VEGGIE SUBSCRIPTIONS
MAIN SEASON WEEK 13 OF 20
(Tuesday, September 3rd through Saturday, September 7th)
Biweekly pickup occurs on all odd-numbered weeks - 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19.
Share Contents (Listed approximately from shortest shelf life to longest)
Large:
1 grab-a-green (you choose: kale, Swiss chard, collard greens)
1 lb. of tomatoes
1 pint of grape tomatoes
1 pint of tomatillos
1 yellow squash
1 lb. of peppers
2 lbs. of potatoes
3/4 lb. of onions
Small:
1 grab-a-green (you choose: kale, Swiss chard, collard greens)
½ lb. of tomatoes
1 pint of grape tomatoes
1 yellow squash
1 lb. of peppers
1 lb. of potatoes
Caring For Your Share (All of this information, plus long-term storage info, can also be found in our Vegetable Library of Resources).
Keep tomatoes out on the counter and out of direct sunlight, where they will get plenty of air flow. Do not put them in the fridge; it will dry out the tomatoes and change their consistency. Tomatoes continue to ripen after harvested, so use within a few days. To ripen a tomato quickly, put it in a paper bag in a dark place, like a cabinet.
Store peppers in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your fridge. Set the crisper drawer to low humidity to allow some of the ethylene gas that results from decomposition to escape. Ethylene gas will cause the peppers to rot sooner.
Store greens in a plastic bag in the fridge. Or, snip the ends and store in a glass of water, like a bouquet. Wash and spin out when ready to use, within a few days.
Store grape or cherry tomatoes in a bowl with lots of airflow on your counter. If stems are still attached, don't pull them off until you're ready to eat the tomatoes. Wash before using and enjoy within a few days.
Keep tomatillos in a paper bag in the fridge. Peel the husk and wash when ready to eat. Can be stored for a few weeks.
Store squash in the crisper drawer of the fridge for approximately a week. Wash when ready to use.
Store potatoes in a mesh bag in a cool, dark place such as a cabinet or pantry, and ensure that they get plenty of air flow. Do not wash until ready to use, but wipe away dense soil, if any. Keep away from onions.
Store dry onions in a cool, dark, dry place, such as a pantry, cabinet, or cellar. Ensure that they have plenty of airflow; you can store them in a mesh bag. Keep them away from potatoes.
The LGF Cooking Club (Recipes to try in addition to those in the Library of Resources!)
How to Change Your Vegetable Subscription Pickup Day
If you need to skip your share for the week, or change your pickup day, you must provide us with 48 hours notice for any of the options below. This is because we pack shares the day before pickup. Once your share has been harvested and packed, we can not cancel your pickup.
For Tuesday pickups being changed, we need to know by Sunday.
Wednesday pickups, we need to know by Monday.
Saturday pickups, we need to know by Thursday.
You have the option to choose another of those pickup days in a given week: Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday.
You can skip a pickup and receive a double the following week.
If you miss your pickup, we will hold your share for 24 hours after your pickup day, and then it will be donated to a local food pantry. With more members than ever before, we don't have the cooler space to hold onto shares longer than this. This is a great option if you accidentally miss your pickup - just come the next day.
You can always send a guest to pick up in your place by simply notifying us of their name.
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