End of Randy's Star Hollow posts

Hi anyone,

I've been posting our farm news here for about a year, but haven't seen any activity whatsoever for six months or so, until the Facebook page started this week.

I'm sorry if I'm letting anyone down, but I'm ready to stop taking 10 minutes each Wednesday morning to post here if no one is reading.

No sour grapes; just ready to stop. If anyone else wishes to keep things flowing, I'm perfectly fine with that.

And many thanks to Michelle for setting this up last year. Seemed like a good thing then!

Sayonara,
Farmer Randy

Join Star Hollow Farm's Facebook Page!

Hello everyone!

I'm creating a Facebook fan page for Star Hollow Farm along with fellow CSA member Annie. We thought that creating a Facebook group would be a great way to share information, recipes, and anything else Star Hollow Farm related. I realize that this was the original idea behind this blog, but a Facebook group just seems like such an easier way to connect!

We're just beginning the process of building the page, so if you have suggestions or would like to help out, please let one of us know.

Click here to join!

Farm Message for Saturday, April 24, 2010

Star Hollow Farm News

For the week preceding Saturday, April 24, 2010

Hi folks,

I have a little over an acre of ground all worked up and ready for planting our new crop of potatoes, one of the earliest times in the season that has happened. Many years I can't even drive a tractor into the fields until May. Most of our fields are down by the creek, thus low-lying, and tend to stay wet longer than upper ground. That's one of the reasons we're planning on bringing our one upper fields into production later this year. The soil isn't as good, it's rocky and on a slope, but it does dry out sooner. We want to reconfigure that field so that the patches for vegetables are laid out on the contour and are narrower than usual, so that there is minimal runoff. Once plowed, we'll need to call in a state conservationist who will mark the contours (level) for us so that we can lay things out right.

Produce, in general: Spring is definitely upon us, and it feels to me like the first week's offering that really shows it. The chives, asparagus and rhubarb of last week probably were the start, but now with ramps, radishes and the hothouse cukes and tomatoes, I feel like we're there. While I can – and happily do – eat potatoes year round, I don't really need any more turnips or rutabagas for awhile.

This is certainly an early season for us. Many of the trees have blossomed early, and certain perennials are early coming. Usually plants are smarter than we are when it comes to knowing if it's really time or not, but even they get surprised sometimes. Our local apple blossom festival is scheduled for May 1 and 2, but the trees are already past full blossom now! The orchards have been holding their breath that there's not a hard freeze while the blossoms are on the trees. So far I think they're okay.

Our asparagus is another story. We have a new patch – planted two years ago and left to establish itself until now – that includes our first attempt at purple asparagus. It's ready to start picking, and almost everything that's tried to come up over the last week has been ruined by frost. The spears are very tender, of course, when they first come up. If they have enough moisture and it's a sunny day, they will shoot up 3 or four inches in a day. We harvested several pounds worth of frozen spears and Chris cooked them right away, but each day that goes by we're losing asparagus to sell. Fortunately it's a perennial and as long as it doesn't continue freezing into June, the crop will recover. Once again, I'm thankful that some of our farmer friends over the mountain have not had the frosts that we're still getting and that we can fill in some of our shortages with produce from others.

This week, in addition to our own produce and that from Tuscarora Co-op, we have free-range eggs from the Horsts, greens and hothouse tomatoes from the Martins, asparagus and scallions from the Macks, spinach from the Hostetters, and ramps from the Derstines.

The list, in particular: (New or back-on-the-list items in red.)

*

Greens: arugula, beet greens, chard, dandelion, lambsquarters, microgreens, lettuce (bibb, red leaf, Simpson, Romaine), pea shoots, salad mix, spinach, stinging nettles, stir fry mix.
*

Veggies: asparagus, beets, yellow carrots, English cucumbers, bunched green garlic, Jerusalem artichokes (END), onions, parsnips, potatoes, radishes, ramps!!!, rutabagas (END), scallions, shallots, hothouse tomatoes, turnips.
*

Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, sorrel, spearmint, tarragon, thyme.
*

Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, shiitake, white.
*

Other items: eggs, butter, cheeses and preserves.

CSA-Specific Information

CSA volunteers: Many thanks to Katie, Andy and Alison for their help at the truck last week! We have a calendar at the truck for folks to sign up for a shift handing out CSA boxes. Please consider it if you haven't signed up already.

Planned CSA produce for this week:

This week: ramps, asparagus, spinach, lettuce, crimini mushrooms, onion, seconds potatoes.


Thanks for your support!

Randy, Chris and all at Star Hollow Farm

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Farm Message for Saturday, April 17, 2010

Star Hollow Farm News

For the week preceding Saturday, April 17, 2010

Hi folks,

We're having a different kind of spring. The weather has been amazing: the earliest dry ground and warm temperatures I can remember. The asparagus is up two weeks early. It should be okay, although if it freezes hard at night, everything sticking up will be ruined.

We could be off to a record early start, but we're not. My mother, who is 90 and lives with us here on the farm, broke her foot in a fall here 3 weeks ago. She had surgery and then went to a rehab / nursing home until she would be ready to come back home. Unfortunately it's located an hour's drive from here, so we're spending a lot of time on the road between here and there. She's been progressing, then yesterday had a gall bladder attack and had to go to the hospital for surgery to have it removed. She's doing well so far, but many days the farm is more in the back of my mind than in the front. Fortunately many of the other farms we get produce from are having a very early start, so you likely will see things early anyway, even if they're not all from us. I'm glad we have that leeway!

Produce in general: As we have noted the last several weeks, we are right at the end of the winter storage crop season. We have sorted as well as we can, but still ask you to be a little more lenient than usual.

The list: (New or back-on-the-list items in red.)

*

Greens: arugula, beet greens, chard, collard greens, dandelion, lambsquarters, microgreens, lettuce (bibb, red leaf, Romaine), pea shoots, salad mix, spinach, stir fry mix.
*

Veggies: asparagus, beets, yellow and seconds carrots (END), bunched garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, parsnips, potatoes, oyster root (END), scallions, Yellow shallots, turnips, butternut squash (END).
*

Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sorrel, spearmint, tarragon, thyme.
*

Mushrooms: crimini, oyster, portabella, shiitake, white.
*

Fruit: rhubarb, Fuji apples (END).
*

Other items: eggs, butter, cheeses and preserves. Ash and demi-sec goat cheeses are back!
*

On sale: Butterball potatoes-$5.00



CSA-Specific Information

CSA volunteers: Thanks to Shannon, Carla and Adria for their help at the truck last week! We have a calendar at the truck for folks to sign up for a shift handing out CSA boxes. Please consider it if you haven't signed up already.

Planned CSA produce for this week:

This week: Asparagus, a large bag of spinach, a head of Black Simpson lettuce, some arugula, onions, and a root medley.


Thanks for your support!

Randy, Chris and all at Star Hollow Farm

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Farm Message for Saturday, April 10, 2010

Star Hollow Farm News

For the week preceding Saturday, April 10, 2010

Hi folks,

What beautiful weather we've been having! It makes working outside a pleasure. We're working hard to get up to speed here after a pretty tough winter. I spent about 4 hours this afternoon grading our ¾ mile dirt road in from the mailbox, which had become seriously pot-holed and washed out in a few places from the last flood. Having a smoother road also means your orders won't bounce around so much in the back of the truck Saturday morning!

Schedule: We're in our main season now. You can pick up your orders between 9 AM and 1 PM.

Missed orders: We had had a run of lots of missed orders at the end of March. Please note that if you don't come for your box, you can still get it the following week, but it is not automatic! It would be nice if you contacted us and indicated what you want us to do with your order. Else we have to contact you. In the latter case, we need to hear back from you; we don't just bring it back the next week.

Produce in general: As we noted last week, we are right at the end of the winter storage crop season. We have sorted as well as we can, but still ask you to be a little more lenient than usual, as the produce is just not that perfect anymore!

Apples are just about done, but we did sort one last time and came up with a pretty good selection. Several points of interest regarding apples at this time of year. First, the Traceys were telling me several weeks ago that apple trees tend to have a bi-annual (every other year) fluctuation between heavier fruit set and lighter. Last year (2009) was the smaller year, thus apples are winding up earlier than the year before. Another thing about apples at this time of the year had to do with Granny Smiths, in particular. Somebody pointed out that they had apparently been waxed. I asked the Traceys about that, as they have always told me they don't wax their apples. They said that this late in the season, Granny Smiths do seem to “exude” whatever natural waxiness they have, and get practically sticky. It's nothing that the growers have done. Just the apples themselves!

The list: (New or Back on the list items in red.)

*

Greens: arugula, Asian greens mix, beet greens, stir fry mix, cabbage, chard, dandelion, salad mix, microgreens, lettuce (bibb, red leaf, Romaine), pea shoots, spinach.
*

Veggies: beets (red and specialty), mixed carrots, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, parsnips, dried cayenne peppers, potatoes, oyster root, scallions, Yellow shallots, turnips, butternut squash.
*

Herbs: basil, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, sorrel, spearmint, tarragon, thyme.
*

Mushrooms: crimini, oyster, portabella, shiitake, white.
*

Apples: Fuji, Golden, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Red Delicious.
*

Other items: eggs, butter, cheeses and preserves. Ash and demi-sec goat cheeses are back!
*

On Sale: Canned cherries-$5.00



CSA-Specific Information

CSA volunteer sign-ups beginning: We will have a calendar at the truck from now on for folks to sign up for a two hour shift handing out CSA boxes at the truck. Please consider it if you haven't signed up already.

Planned CSA produce for this week:

This week: two heads of lettuce, mixed carrots and potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, parsley, fuji apples.


Thanks for your support!

Randy, Chris and all at Star Hollow Farm

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Farm Message for Saturday, April 3, 2010

Star Hollow Farm News

For the week preceding Saturday, April 3, 2010

Hi folks,

First of all, I think I should thank all of you for helping us get through another winter. As for the every-other-week schedule, I don't think I could have taken many more stressful driving trips to and from DC due to weather. Most of you eventually got onto track with the schedule, and it certainly gave us a little break from the routine. Thank you!

We do have some new CSA members joining us, folks that ordered online as COD members during the winter. Welcome to you all! (But please remember, no COD orders now except for long-standing customers in that category!) We will have our hands full with the farmers market, and don't want to add complications.

Schedule: We're starting a new season this week, with our outdoor farmers market opening in Adams Morgan at 9 AM this Saturday. That means several things will change at the truck in Adams Morgan. First, you will be able to pick up your orders beginning at 9 AM instead of the 10 AM that it is during winter. Second is that CSA volunteers will be handing out the CSA boxes at the truck instead of me! This is your chance to meet other people in the CSA and have a reason to hang out at 18th and Columbia for awhile (in the daylight!). Please consider volunteering for a two hour shift. A calendar for sign-ups is at the truck-- ask a volunteer!

Produce in general: We are right on that cusp between the end of the winter storage crop season and the start of a new year. Before you get all excited and think strawberries will be in the store, realize that it's still very early in the season, and the things that are making their annual return are either the very first perennials or items that have been wintered over in the greenhouse. Nothing is planted outside yet, and zucchini and corn are still a good while off. That said, it's a pretty nice list for the beginning of April. Ten years ago, before the emphasis on storage crops and greenhouse production began, we wouldn't have even felt it was possible to do a market at this time of year!

Apples are just about all done. There were only a small number in the store to begin with, so don't be surprised if you come in later and the page is blank!

The list: (New or Back on the list items in red.)

*

Greens: arugula, Asian greens mix, braising greens mix, cabbage, chard, claytonia, catalogna dandelion, mesclun, microgreens, lettuce (bibb, green leaf, red leaf, Romaine), pea shoots, spinach.
*

Veggies: beets (red and mixed), mixed carrots, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, parsnips, dried cayenne peppers, potatoes, oyster root, scallions, Yellow shallots, turnips, butternut squash.
*

Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, dill, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme.
*

Mushrooms: crimini, oyster, portabella, shiitake, white.
*

Apples: Fuji, Pink Lady, Red Delicious.
*

Other items: eggs (no free range this week), butter, cheeses and preserves. Back on the list are pickles and chow chow.



CSA-Specific Information

CSA volunteer sign-ups beginning: We will have a calendar at the truck from now on for folks to sign up for a two hour shift handing out CSA boxes at the truck. The shifts are 9 to 11 and 11 to 1. All CSA members are asked to do one shift per year: some happily sign up for several shifts and a some act like they have never heard of such a thing. Please consider it! Bring your own calendar so you can figure out a date that will work for you.

Planned CSA produce for this week:

This week's box includes an Asian greens mix, miners lettuce (Claytonia), heads of bibb and Romaine lettuce, mixed carrots, parsnips and onions, fingerling potatoes, and three apples (Golden, Granny and a small Honey Crisp).


Thanks for your support!

Randy, Chris and all at Star Hollow Farm

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Farm Message for Saturday, March 27, 2010

Star Hollow Farm News

For the week preceding Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Hi folks,

I'm running a bit late this morning, and want to be sure to get the store open and email out by 7, so I'll try to be brief here. Basically, it's spring and our pace is noticeably quickening, my list of “to-do” items is growing rapidly, particularly as regards seed-starting in the greenhouse, prepping the henhouse for our new flock, and it's time to get out the market paraphernalia and clean it up for the beginning of markets again in April. No more sleeping 'til noon for me! (That was a joke... I don't think I could anymore even if I tried!)

Schedule: We are down to our last “winter” market week (even though the calendar says it is now spring, and it sometimes feels like summer). We simply defined our winter as January, February and March, the months our outdoor market is closed. All that the change from winter to “main season” really means to you – with regards to us and your orders – is that pickup at Adams Morgan is extended to 9 to 1 instead of the 10 to 1 that it is for winter (and one more week). What it means for me is No More Saturdays Off until Thanksgiving, and the return of 2 and 3 AM alarms on Saturdays. Sob.

Produce: We are at that time of the year where storage crops are finishing up, one by one, and there are fewer and fewer to choose from. Fortunately, at the same time, some of the first spring crops have started to appear, albeit from the greenhouse where the heat of those warm days has been concentrated. So each week for the next month the storage crops will disappear from our list while more new items appear. The first field crops to appear are the perennials: asparagus, rhubarb, chives, mint, sorrel, to be followed by the fastest growing of the spring-planted crops: radishes, scallions, new potatoes, zucchini, but I'm getting ahead of myself. It is still March, in spite of feeling at times like late June. The forsythia hasn't even bloomed yet. (Trees and plants are pretty smart, most of the time, and don't get fooled too often by weather anomalies.)

The list: (New or Back on the list items in red.)

*

Greens: arugula, cabbage, chard, claytonia, mesclun, microgreens, lettuce (bibb, red leaf, Romaine), pea shoots, spinach.
*

Veggies: beets, carrots, celeriac, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, parsnips, potatoes, salsify (oyster root), scallions, shallots, turnips, butternut squash.
*

Herbs: basil, cilantro, dill, parsley, rosemary, thyme.
*

Mushrooms: crimini, oyster, portabella, shiitake, white.
*

Apples: Fuji, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady, Red Delicious.
*

Other items: the usual eggs, butter, cheeses and preserves. Back on the list are goat cheese (chevre) and maple syrup.
*

On sale: All of our potatoes.



CSA-Specific Information

CSA volunteer sign-ups beginning: We will have a calendar at the truck this Saturday for folks to start signing up for a two hour “stint” handing out CSA boxes at the truck. The shifts are 9 to 11 and 11 to 1. All CSA members are asked to do one shift per year: some happily sign up for several shifts and a some act like they have never heard of such a thing. Please consider it!

Planned CSA produce for this week:

Two-week box includes Lolla Bionda and Cherokee red leaf lettuce, a small head of cabbage, onions and garlic, a 3 lb. potato mix, turnips, parsley, apple sauce and assorted apples.


Thanks for your support!

Randy, Chris and all at Star Hollow Farm

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