Sunday, December 18, 2016

READY FOR SLEIGH RIDES!

We're hoping this winter is going to bring snow and clear sunny days for sleigh rides.  Rocket and Jaguar are fit and ready to go.  Check details under the "wagon and sleigh rides" heading for details.  Hope to see you this season!

Cathy

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

We're now Certified Organic!

I'm delighted to announce that Unity Farm's greens, flowers and hay field are now officially certified organic by Vermont Organic Farmers (VOF).  We are proud to carry the logo on our products and look forward to having new labels that say we are certified organic.  That is one of many good things that came out of being in the hospital - I actually sat down and filled out all the paperwork required for the certified organic application!

The heart transplant happened very quickly and I was home by Good Friday.  In fact, I got a heart 4 1/2 hours after being listed, which is the fastest in Mass General's history.  The recovery has been going smoothly and I'm about 3 weeks ahead of the usual recovery schedule.  Must be all the great energy from the farm, right?!  Looks like we'll be heading to Boston for the stem cell transplant around June 27th, and then I'll be in the hospital for 3-4 weeks after that.  By the end of July the majority of health issues will be over and we can start looking forward to rebuilding for a whopper of a year in 2017.  In the meantime, we've been planting windbreaks of edible shrubs like elderberry, currant and hazelnut, planting more perennials, planting cover crops, mowing and working the horses. Starting to feel like summer already and so glad to be out enjoying the outdoors.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Message from Cathy - March 6, 2016

Dear friends and customers,

I am sad to let you know that our greens and flowers will not be available this year.  I've had to take the year off for some medical reasons - actually, right now I'm in the hospital at Mass General having just had a heart transplant! That is part one, because in a couple of months I have to return for a stem cell transplant that will take the rest of the year to recover from.  The good news is that the farm is going to be used growing delicious greens and herbs, just not by me.  And, the horses are still working and would love to do wagon rides - you can always contact me, I'm right here on my computer and phone.

I hope you will remember how beautiful our flowers are and how good our greens taste - we'll be back and better than new in 2017!

My best wishes and gratitude to all,
Cathy

Thursday, February 18, 2016

February and the days are getting longer!


This funny roller coaster weather drives us nuts.  Even if it's partly sunny the hoophouse can get up to 65 degrees even though it's freezing outside.  When the sun sets the temps inside the house go rapidly down.  Our challenge is to keep the temperatures as even as possible.  The spinach is starting to grow rapidly and our Salanova lettuces are holding up very well.  Some of the bulbs we planted are starting to break ground.  We've direct seeded more lettuce, asian greens and spinach in between kale and chard.  It's going to take off soon!

Friday, January 29, 2016

Spinach going strong

It's the third week of January and our spinach is still growing, in spite of the short days. We like our spinach leaves to be big and crunchy, so that when you cook with them they keep their shape and green deliciousness.  Asian greens and Salanova lettuce are still holding their own, waiting for another couple of weeks before leaping into February!

Monday, January 11, 2016

Week of January 11, 2016

The weather has still been amazing, but everything is starting to show the effects of some heavy harvesting. We still have salad mix (lettuce and asian greens), and the spinach keeps growing, but definitely at a slower pace. Last week we were able to send out spinach, kale, chard and salad mix.  This week just salad mix, then we'll have to take a break for a couple of weeks and let things have a chance to grow back.  Here are some pictures of our hoophouses covered up with remay, which helps keep temperatures warmer for the plants, then the plants still looking green and healthy underneath.  Today it was 28 degrees outside, with 13 mph winds.  With the sun out, it was almost 60 degrees inside with the solar gain!