May

Good, happy Cinco de Junio!

We have been like busy bees and busy beavers here at North Branch Farm, but my camera is not up-to-date on the happenings so there may be a shortage of visual evidence to back up my claims; judge for yourself if they are true...

Plowing the vegetable field, one luscious furrow at a time.

We prepped what we estimate to be one and three-quarters acres of vegetable ground this year, and it's slightly less than half full at the moment.  Yet to go in the ground are squash, carrot, beet, rutabaga, parsnip, root parsley, popcorn, sweet corn, and dry bean seeds, as well as potatoes, the leafy greens for fall and winter and some late storage cabbages.  Already planted in the field are more cabbages, pac choi, Brussels sprouts, onions, leeks, shallots, celeriac, kohlrabi, parsley, basil, rosemary, tomatoes, and hot peppers!

Cabbage seedlings in the greenhouse.

Fiddleheads!

 

Nine third-graders from the local Waldorf school spent two nights here on the farm with us in May, and we had a great time with them...playing, working, cooking, eating fiddleheads, and more.

The fullest full moon we'll see for a while.

Cabbages on the move!

The cow update is that of eight mama cows, seven of whom we plan to milk, five have calved and are doing great.  Tyler and crew are racing to get the milkroom licensed so that we can start selling our delicious milk to the Fuzzy Udder Creamery.  Every animal is out on pasture except one pig, busy rooting up barn stalls, the newborn calves, and two adult male sheep who would cause problems and pregnancies if they were out with their kin.  We can hardly believe it's really June, because we've had chilly, wood-stove-wanting weather and 3+ inches of rain this week.  The visiting season has commenced, so if you're coming to Maine, call us up and pay us a visit.

Sales plug of the day: High bush blueberry plants are $15/each, potted and ready to plant.  CSA shares are $365 for 18 weeks of abundant vegetables.