WE WISH YOU A SAFE AND HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! ! !

 

Disease-Free Vegetable Transplants

 

The LATE BLIGHT EPIDEMIC of summer 2009 demonstrated the importance of buying locally- grown transplants and knowing your grower and garden center.  That summer will be remembered as the year an epidemic destroyed tomato and potato crops from Maryland to Maine.  Symptoms occur on the foliage as olive-green to dark brown lesions that rapidly enlarge and darken with age.  Under moist conditions, a downy white growth of sporulation may be seen at the lesion's edge.  Symptoms on the stem consist of a brown, expanding canker that may girdle the stem or branch causing collapse of the distal end.  Late Blight is virtually impossible to control after an infection develops, so prevention is the only management strategy and the best prevention is to BUY LOCALLY.  

 

 The Season for Corn is Here!

 

Sweet corn is a warm-season crop and one of the major vegetables grown in New England.  It is an extremely popular crop for farm stands and farmers' markets.  The average ear of corn has 800 kernels arranged in 16 rows.  There is one piece of silk for each kernel.  To select corn, look for bright green, moist husks.  The silk should be stiff, dark and moist.  Between the time of purchase and cooking, keep the corn moist and cool.  Refrigerate it immediately to help the corn stay sweet.  You can add a teaspoon of sugar for each quart of water used to cook corn that has not been used immediately.  Be sure to use corn within 2-3 days.  ENJOY THE SEASON - IT CAN SEEM MUCH TOO SHORT!

Annual Blueberry Pancake Breakfast and Pie Eating Contest at Verrill Farm 

 

Verrill Farm will be hosting their Annual Blueberry Pancake Breakfast and Pie Eating Contest on Saturday, July 23rd from 9am - noon.  This fun-filled event is for all ages and appetites.  There is a fee for breakfast, but no fee for eating pie - rules are simple:  just bring your appetite & the first to finish an 8" pie - no hands allowed - wins!    There will be live music by the Yankee Stompers.  For more information visit Verrill Farm.

New Projects and Partnerships Flourish at Moraine Farm

 

Moraine Farm has been a productive farm for more than a century.  They have recently acquired 29 acres of farmland, and along with their existing acreage, Moraine Farm is now operating their own CSA.  

Moraine Farm is a property of the Trustees of Reservations. In 2011 they will be growing produce for their first CSAon 6 of thier 23-acres of farmland. Join them for their first CSA season! Late summer shares available: 13 weeks, August 1 to end of October.