harvest week ten!!!

Hello Folks,

Been a wild and wooly one here on the farm,seesawing from cloud cover and high 60's, to blast furnace.This past week, we tilled under all the spring greens and cabbage, sowing summer oats to hold the soil down and to add some organic matter later on. Full, brazen summer is here, tomatoes blush, not out of modesty though, melons turn red on the inside and the beans are starting their annual pain parade, from back to belly and other B words you can imagine. Squash and cukes keep up the fusillade,accruing by the 100lbs. in the walk in. Winter squash inflate irrepressably on the vine and at the end of every day I open my eyes under the cool of the river and thank the Big One for my life, my hand glued to a cold beer.

As always though, there was something a little bit special about the week. Namely that I caught a bee swarm .Have'nt done that in maybe eight years. I wondered as I was improvising pants out of Nicole's raincoat, whether I still had the magic. My philosophy in farming is to leave parts of the day free in my mind, for those random occurances that make what we do worthwhile. Catching an early morning swarm was one such occurance. Maybe 20 thousand bees,clustered on a flower stalk, as I donned the veil and gloves, warning Nick and Grace to a safe distance. I wondered if it would be a teachable moment, or a disaster with me running for my life. Back in my cowboy years, when it seemed I was untouchable I used to handle bees half naked and barefoot all the time. Many stings later, I like the veil just fine. After a half our of wetting their wings and slowly scooping and shaking, those beautiful winged geniuses were ensconced in a closed hive body. As I was marvelling at the sound of thousands of beating wings, I realized that all the fruits you enjoy every week are due to our friends the bees.So thank a farmer, but treasure our bees.

Your bounty for the week.
 squash

cukes

beets

carrots

eggplant

cabbage

garlic

beans

cherry tomatoes

Man ,that's some happy bellies!Enjoy!!!!!!!

peace

gaelan

Nicole DelCogliano
Gaelan Corozine
Green Toe Ground Farm, Celo, NC
www.greentoegroundnc.com
www.greentoeground.blogspot.com

harvest week nine

Hi All!!!

Whoee!!It's been hot, wet, in short, summer is hitting us with its best shot. I can tell how hard I work, by how early my eyelids rebel against gravity or obey it. Afternoons are a series of sweat soaked hours,cooled by frequent riverine submersions.Yesterday I cut open the first watermelon, one I had been keeping an eye on. It was'nt all the way ripe, but I could of sworn I was transported to some farmers nirvana, as the sweet juice rolled down my chin and under my shirt, soaking my shorts.And it wasn't even ripe yet!!!

The beans are beginning their green cascade, I  got a good case of Bean Belly yesterday, as we picked the first 60 lbs. Sweet taters are spreading out, battling the creeping winter squash, which if current trends hold, will bury us in delicate butternuts and zesty delicata's.My mind is like a calculator stuck on the multiplication button, constantly reviewing , planning and fretting as the farm is threatening to bury me with its bounty .We've had moments of panic recently when packing the truck for market. Stuff literally will not all  fit! It's like a geometric jigsaw puzzle. Last Wednesday when I left for market and looked out the window en route, my table was hanging out the window! Luckily we fixed it before it fell out.

 Last week we got rained on so much I was freaking out over the possibility of late blight on the tomatoes.So far so good though, as they remain startlingly green and the fruit set looks superb.The sheep love the cooler wet weather, not greeting me with a cacophony of baaing when I see them, but contentedly munching on the lush grass.Gerda our cow is producing enough milk for an army,a full three gallons a day.Such a great way to start your day, leaning against her warm flank, listening to the milk streams hiss into the bucket, getting whipped in the face with her wet poopy tail....

.Hope you all are enjoying this years bounty, we feel it has been a great one so far. On that note.

lettuce

cukes

squash

eggplant

cabbage

beans

carrots

Enjoy this while it lasts, fall will be here before you know it!With a bit of melon and tomato thrown in isoon enough .Happy eating!

peace

gaelan and nicole

harvest week seven: garlic harvest

Hey all!

Not sure if Nicole already let you in on this weeks secrets, but if so, here's a double dose.If not,hallelujah!Pulled the garlic out of the ground yesterday,thinking about it's central asian origins,connecting ourselves through the millenia with farmers the globe over.Sometimes that happens to me, when pulling carrots,staring into the mists of history,when the carrot was an unknown root born in Afghanistan.Maybe Alexander the Great, munched on one as he drove his Macedonians over the Hindu Kush and here we are in Appalachia,enjoying a similar treat.Mindblowing!The bulbs of garlic were covered in beneficial micro fungi, a testament to the health and vitality of that particular field, which we have been struggling with these last years.So great to pull the roots from the ground and then in no time to see them hanging jauntily in the barn.Carmella loved it, meticulously cleaning the fat bulbs.Now, garlic will once again cloak us in its smells and tastes,its health giving qualities and its culinary prowess.We have officially reached the mad dash stage, where weeds and plants grow tremendously.Harvesting, weeding,planting are all a blur and the only thing keeping you on your feet is the need to do just ONE more thing before collapsing in to the swift river water.I'm gonna keep this a short epistle,since Nicole is headed up to NY and we must pack for market.Here's the hoodlums!

cukes

squash

greens

lettuce

onions

broccoli

cabbage

fennel

maybe taters if I feel generous.

Anywho, enjoy the onslaught.Keep your bellies happy!

peace

gaelan

Harvest week eight:squash deluge

Hello All!

Another week of farm madness has passed, leaving us all feeling giddily chastened.In the fields, we are currently dodging the deluge of squash and cukes thundering into our harvest boxes,while looking at the beans and tomatoes. Bean Back and Bean Belly  are almost here and guess what? I really want to share the pain!I have been trying to harvest the squash at smaller and smaller size, thusly cutting down on the bulk of the larger fruit. As with all things though, good ideas are great on paper,but out there on the front rows, it's pick or be picked.We had our annual 4 of July party, a day for us to celebrate all that we are thankful for. Food, music , poetry, good friends , beer and of course pyrotechnics.Our good friend Nathan Allen again roasted one of our swine over a nice fire,as the party revellers worked up an appetite competing in the farm olympics.For me, this celebration represents my goals, bringing people together around farming and food.Looking at each other across the fire and sharing tales of daring doo.Nick and Grace constructed a giant papier mache eagle ,which was the grand finale of the fireworks show, bursting into flight while Jimi Hendrix sang about kissing the sky.

We are doing other things than partying here, watching the green tomatoes emerge from their flower buds, clustering in abundance on the vine.We have head sized watermelon and cantaloupe out there, fattening like a suckling pig, sweeter and fat free though. Somehow, our soil is doing something as yet unseen, showing its intense vitality through the color of green the plants are.I am amazed and thrilled. Must be doing something right. Hope you al are enjoying the summer, until next week, if I don't drown in the squash ocean!

Here's the hit list.

carrots

beets

cukes

squash

lettuce

broccoli

greens

fennel

cabbage

Hope you can eat it all.If not, there are numerous freezing and canning options,very simple.Have a fabulous week.

peace

gaelan