Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the flooding last Sunday. We thank everyone for checking in on us. Our farm was completely fine, and we hope your property and loved ones are all doing well.
Many farmers have shared the same sentiments, so I will reiterate them. The best way to show support for a business affected by the flooding is to shop there as much as possible, or when possible again. For example, our friends at Guardians Farm in Southbury lost some of their pasture amidst launching their new dairy. Since flood insurance doesn't cover most farms, the best way to support them is to help increase their revenue to put toward reseeding and improving their pasture. Their milk is on sale at the Monroe Farmers' Market every week going forward.
Of course, this is just one example of a business affected by the flooding, and as everyone who is reading this now goes out of their way to shop local, we know you will find numerous, thoughtful and creative ways to support the local community affected by last Sunday's flood. Please share them with us so we can reshare them, too.
It's sort of a surreal thing to type the words "last Sunday's flood." This world can feel so heavy sometimes, and seeing such extreme weather patterns over the last few years is scary and disheartening. Somehow the world still continues to turn and we must all carry on. Randy always says he'd rather farm in a drought year than a wet year as you can irrigate but you can't do anything to dry up the fields and prevent the spread of disease that rain brings. We're doing well despite all of these challenges, and we press on every day. Randy is getting closer to the end of his planting season - September 15th-ish - so he'll breathe a sigh of relief when that date comes. As for me, I feel that I'm just getting started. Fall is a crazy busy time here on the farm for sales. Much as I am a summer girl, I enjoy the positive energy that autumn brings, the beautiful colors, delicious crops, and hustle and bustle of shoppers visiting the farm. We look forward to the rest of the season with as much positivity as possible.
This week we said goodbye to 3 staff members - Audrey, Tobi, and Thomas - as they head off to school. Victoria will also be leaving us at the end of next week, so be sure to say your goodbyes when you see her in the afternoons next week. I barely took any photos this week, but we had a staff lunch to celebrate these crew members, and it was nice to bond and see them off.
Flowers are still plugging along, and Laina arranged a few mini bouquets with leftover blooms from the weekend. We'll continue to make these discounted arrangements as inventory and interest allows - $7 each. You can find them in the store on Mondays.
It was a crazy busy week for me personally, between the staff lunch and the sales front - always a blessing! We sent produce off to two caterers for weddings, two pizza places, and our typical weekly wholesale accounts. We've also been working behind the scenes on a sort of "top secret" project and we can't wait to share it with you.
On Tuesday afternoon we sorted, cleaned, inspected, and packed 1,000 lbs. of tomatoes to be delivered to New Haven on Wednesday morning. Soon we'll pick up the handmade result, and you'll find out what it is the week after Labor Day.
What does 1,000 lbs. of tomatoes look like? I'm glad you asked! 40 crates of tomatoes!
And speaking of other special projects, our girls are laying eggs pretty regularly now, so you might be able to snag a dozen from the dairy display cooler. Cartons look like this:
WHAT'S COMING UP?
Fall produce is ready in September: lettuce, radishes,
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!
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.
Build-a-Bouquet will take place again on Saturday (9-4). The fields are producing much smaller amounts of flowers thanks to the major storm we had a few weeks ago. If enough inventory allows, we'll hold it again on Sunday from 10 to 3, but we recommend checking our social media to confirm.
Though there aren't many sunflowers anymore, the dahlias are popping!
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.
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 in abundance now! We recommend purchasing yours by August 25th to ensure you get one this season. 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.
Thank you for all of the box donations! We can still use more! As we head into bulk tomato box season, we are actually in need of medium-sized boxes. Think wine boxes, diaper boxes, etc. We don't need anything smaller than this, but we'll always take boxes larger than this, too. No need to break them down - just rip off your address label first.
MEET THE FLEET
Meet the Fleet will be back on Saturday, August 24th and Sunday, August 25th. This weekend, we're featuring "232" - our Massey Ferguson 1045! We'll explain how it lovingly got the name "232," how we use it, and its manufacturing history. Feel free to take a photo, and yes, your kids can sit on it!
WHAT'S IN STORE
Here is the fresh produce we plan to have in stock while supplies last (through Friday, 8/30):
Beets (final quantities until mid-September)
Bell peppers
Cabbage (limited quantities)
Cantaloupe
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 (not available every day, but they are in season and we pick them up every few days)
Kale
Lunchbox peppers (limited quantities)
Onions
Peaches (limited quantities - harvested about once a week for the weekend)
Potatoes (red and gold)
Scallions
Shishito peppers
Tomatillos
Tomatoes
Yellow squash
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 12 OF 20
(Tuesday, August 27th through Saturday, August 31st)
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 watermelon or husk cherries (you choose!)
1 bunch of mint or basil (you choose!)
2 lbs. of tomatoes
1 eggplant
1 lb. of sweet peppers
1 lb. of beans
Small:
1 watermelon or husk cherries (you choose!)
1 bunch of mint or basil (you choose!)
1 lb. of tomatoes
1 eggplant
1/2 lb. of sweet peppers
1/2 lb. of beans
Caring For Your Share (All of this information, plus long-term storage info, can also be found in our Vegetable Library of Resources).
Store on your counter, out of direct sunlight, where your melon will get airflow. We harvest them when they are ripe and ready to eat, so cut and eat ASAP.
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.
Wrap mint in a paper towel and store in a plastic bag in the fridge.
Trim the bottoms of the basil and place the stems in a glass of cold water, like a bouquet. Keep it out of the fridge, as basil leaves can turn black when exposed to cold temperatures. Use within a few days.
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 eggplant at room temperature, like out on your counter, but keep it away from other fruits and vegetables that will emit ethylene gas, as this will cause it to rot faster (tomatoes, melons, bananas, etc.)
Store beans in a plastic bag in the fridge. Wash and blot dry when ready to use.
Keep husk cherries in a bowl on your counter, where they will get plenty of air flow. Husk cherries will last for weeks and will continue to ripen; the husk will turn brown and dry out while the cherry will turn a deeper golden yellow. Peel the husk and wash when ready to eat.
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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