Clagett Farm Notes

What about the weblog changes?

A while ago I wrote that "very soon" the look of this weblog will change because it will be moved to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation system. Well, changes have been made but the process is not yet complete. It may take a few days or it may take a few weeks.

Our farm family just became a little smaller

One of our dear and long-time CSA members, Marissa Irwin, just passed away.  She and her husband, Hans Verolme, have been members since they moved to the area eight years ago, and have become the type of old friends offering deep support and encouragement that makes our jobs so much more fulfilling.  With Marissa gone, and Kolya leaving, who will convince us to grow so much arugula?

Marissa died of ovarian cancer at the young age of forty.  She was a conservation biologist, and an activist and supporter for other women with cancer.  We're so glad to have known her. 

Party!

Just a reminder to all of you that next Saturday, July 8th, the farm is holding a party and you're invited!

Back in July of 2002 Kolya found  us on the farm and asked for a job, hoping he could learn enough to start his own farm someday.  Well four years later he's ready to make his dream a reality!  We're so indebted to him for having transformed us into a stronger and jollier farm, that we'd like to throw a party in his honor.  We'll start the grill around 3pm, and celebrate into the evening.  It's a pot-luck, so if you're up to it, bring some food or a beverage.  If you happen to bring your own dishes, it will save us some paper products.  See you then! 

Weblog changes

Very soon there will changes in this weblog. Clagett Farm Notes will become one of the blogs of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF). I don't know whether the name will stay the same, but the look of the weblog will be quite different. It will have a slicker and more professional design than the one created by us, amateurs. At this point our main concern is with those of you who keep up with our weblog via feeds or email updates. I hope that everything will go smoothly, but if after the switch you stop receiving  our posts, please check the weblog itself for any new information that we may have on the subject.   

Cabbages under the rain

Yesterday a hard working group of volunteers from Massachusetts harvested over 1,400 lbs of cabbages. Despite the rain and the mud the Young Neighbors in Action volunteers worked hard weeding, harvesting and twining tomatoes. And today they were back at the farm for more of the same!

Pulling garlic

Today we harvested about 40 percent of our garlic. We started pulling garlic from the ground about two weeks earlier than last year. From every harvest there is always some garlic that does not make the grade, but this year the proportion may be somewhat higher. The garlic that did pass muster, though, looks quite good. Red Rocambole and Killerney are two of the varieties we pulled out today. For the curious, we only grow hard neck varieties.

It seems that this year there is a higher proportion of small bulbs (blame it on the dry spring). Do not despair: there is plenty of garlic for everyone and you will definitely get a number of good-sized bulbs.

Today's garlic is now curing in the loft of one of our barns. The timing was perfect: a very welcome rainstorm, with enough lightning and thunder to terrify the dogs, hit us just as we were getting ready to leave the field.

As old shareholders know, first we will be giving you fresh garlic and a few weeks later you will start receiving cured garlic.

We didn't have a camera today, but you can see pictures of last year's garlic harvest by clicking here.

Harvesting peas

It's time for sugar snap and snow peas. What you see below are a few sugar snap peas right before harvesting.
 
If you see fresh peas at a farmers market you will notice that they are not cheap. If you harvest them you will realize why. It is a labor intensive endeavor and it takes a while to accumulate a significant amount of peas.

The scene above is from yesterday, when we were harvesting sugar snaps for the Tuesday share. And below we see Carrie checking out the condition of recently seeded rows right next to the trellised peas.

Mulching tomatoes

To mulch our two tomato fields was one of the jobs this week. We primarily relied on our bale chopper. Using the chopper is a two person job. One person feeds straw (grown right here at Clagett Farm) to the chopper and the other holds the hose blowing the chopped straw onto the field. Below you can see Dave manning the hose and Joe feeding the chopper. 

A closer view of Joe feeding the chopper:

And of Dave manning the hose:

Yesterday (Friday) we thought we would be able to finish, but around 4:00 PM high winds and a quick moving thunderstorm made us run for cover before the job was done. While running under the rain, I suddenly found myself hat-less: a gust of wind blew it away. This morning I found my dear hat lying wet and lonely in the potato field. Although today was dry and sunny  (the thunderstorm, alas, didn't dump as much water as we had hoped), it was windy: not a good day for the bale chopper. Nevertheless, thanks to the help of several hard working worksharers the tomato fields are now mulched. They finished the job by hand.   

Hiring a part-time summer field worker

Our dear Kolya is currently planning for his transition to living in Vermont.  The planning is keeping him pretty busy, so we need to fill some of his summer hours with a part-time person--preferably someone whose schedule can remain flexible, to match his unpredictable one.  If any of you, current worksharers especially, would like to work on the farm for a few months, drop by sometime this week.  We pay $8/hour to first-year staff. 

Movie screening and panel discussion about an Illinois CSA farmer

The Real Dirt on Farmer John will be screened  on June 6th,  6:30-8:30pm at Charles Sumner School (1201 17th St, NW).  Afterward, Susan and Carrie will be members of a panel inviting questions from the audience.  Come join us, it's free!

"Independent Lens" is a PBS series; the film will air nationally on June 13.

NOTE: To read what Kolya wrote about this film a year ago, click here.