The News from Windflower Farm
What’s in the share?
- Lettuce
- Arugula
- Sweet peppers
- Assorted tomatoes
- Basil
- Yellow onions
- Yellow potatoes
- Winter squash (sweet dumpling)
- Summer squash
Your fruit share will consist of our own organically-grown cantaloupe
The pumpkins I thought we’d send this week are holding up well, so we are instead sending Sweet Dumplings this week. Next week, we’ll send tomatoes and peppers,the stalwarts of summer, along with greens, winter squashes, shallots, and carrots. Very soon, the fruit share will transition to apples and pears, but I’m hoping to send peaches or plums a little longer.
What’s new on the farm?
When we purchased our farm 25 years ago, the land had been let to rent to a large neighboring dairy farm and was used to grow field corn. Dairy farming remains the largest agricultural activity (or economic activity of any kind) in the county. But dairy farming was not in our plans. Does a farm require livestock, we wondered? Apart from a good-sized egg laying flock in our first years, which has been reduced to a small family flock, we’ve not had livestock on the farm. We’re plant growers, starting off as cut flower producers, then transitioning to vegetable farming, and we don’t expect that to change any time soon.
But Jan and Nate have new hobbies: Jan’s is felting (with wool, of course) and Nate’s is raising Icelandic sheep, a breed known for its good felting wool. Because of Jan’s felting, Nate, who is a vegetarian, has at last found a way to raise sheep without anyone having to eat them. Yesterday, a flock of three tiny Icelandic sheep moved into a sheep shed that Nate built for them in the middle of a grassy field next to our barn, and today, we have all been getting to know each other. And now, while I wrap up evening chores, I glance in the direction of the pen to find a sliver of moon overhead, the glow from string lights in the shed, and the silhouettes of three small horned sheep and their new shepherd.
I have been remiss: I have not shared Daniel’s news. Daniel is the young man who makes deliveries to NYC on Thursdays with Don. In the winter, Daniel became a UScitizen, and in July, he got married. His new wife, Lizet, began working with us in May under an H-2A Visa. Our hope is that by this time next year she’ll be a permanent resident, and holder of a green card. Daniel’s grandfather, Ezequiel, who is retired and living in his hometown in Guanajuato, Mexico, was one of our very first hires. Daniel’s parents have worked with us for 16 or 17 years. We’re very happy for them.
Warm wishes, Ted
Central Brooklyn CSA 