 We are a small farm in south-central PA. We grow most of our produce and fruit. We do our best to use sustainable practices on our land. We have two high tunnels and one greenhouse for propagation. Berries and tree fruits are main crops and we have four garden patches dedicated to vegetables, greens, root crops, melons, squash, tomatoes, peppers, brassicas, alliums, and flowers. We love growing the unique items and we strive for excellence.The Gardens The gardens are waiting for the ground to thaw. We do have a good bit of mulch to lay which we are working on. Considering that we just had 6 more inches of snow, we will probably not be working the ground soon. The High Tunnels We planted four 100 foot rows of early red and purple potatoes last week in tunnel two. Gregg is watering them faithfully and we are waiting for a sprout. Since we have not had many sunny days lately, although last Saturday was beautiful, they are not shooting up any green yet. In tunnel one we are constructing trellises for cucumbers. The side walls will be done the first week of March. The Greenhouse Gregg has begun to plant seeds in the greenhouse. He seeded herbs: oregano, thyme, rosemary, lavender, sage, parsley and lemongrass. We also have violas for sales as well as blanket flowers, echinacea and snapdragons seeded for cut flowers. The kale and the first red beets are seeded in plugs. The kale will be going into the field in April and the red beets will go into tunnel one in March. We have not turned on the gas yet for the greenhouse. We will do that on March 1 or sooner if it gets sunny for a couple days in a row. The sunny days will heat up the greenhouse so that the heat will not need to go on as much in the night times. All the precious herbs and flowers are seeded in trays and domed with plastic and sitting in our one bathroom where it is warm and humid until we start up the gas in the greenhouse. Fruit and Berries We are still working on the old plum trees. We had a great bonfire to burn a lot of the old diseased trees. We have over half finished with them and once the snow is gone we should be able to finish soon. Gregg has built the posts and the 4x4s for the new yellow raspberries. We are pruning the old fruited canes out of the black raspberries and shortening the new canes now. Farm Stands and Markets Dates to Remember! East Columbia Library Farm Stand begins on Thursday, May 7 Fairfax Community Market begins on Saturday, May 9 Get ready! We are planning to have lots of greens, asparagus, rhubarb, red beets, spring onions, and great flower plants and bedding plants for your garden! We are anticipating May with great hopes! CSA We are excited about the CSA for 2026. Thanks to all of you who have already signed up to participate. We are now accepting subscribers for 2026. We have added 4 more weeks of produce and fruit to the season giving us a full 28 weeks of good vegetables and fruits. See our website for details on this change – www.handtilledfarming.com May 15 – November 21 You can sign up for the full season from now until April 1 for the special price of $900 for 28 weeks. Note: This price is only good until March 31 – so sigh up NOW! May 14- August 15 or August 20 – November 21 You can sign up for 14 weeks for $490. Add $84 for one dozen eggs/week or $48 for one-half dozen eggs/week Check out the website for information. You can send us an email and drop a check in the mail. Please let us know if you would like to set up a payment plan. Baking, Grilling, Preserving, Canning, and Outdoor Gardening We have cleaned out our freezers and we have vowed not to buy anything until the freezers are cleaned out. So what are we eating? Well, delicious corn, kielbasa, sausage patties, chicken, Turkey, Lima beans, banana bread. I have occasionally used some canned vegetables as well – green beans, tomato sauce, pickles, and applesauce. It is a challenge to make good dishes with odd things. We are eating fresh apples – well, not too fresh. They are Golden Delicious from last October, but they are very sweet and a bit soft. Gregg used a lot of them to make apple schnitz during February for the first markets in May. We are eating warm buttermilk biscuits which helps everything taste better. I always have a cookie jar on the counter with oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. You never know when a grandchild will come or just a little snack is needed as a picker-upper. The twigs of Red Twig Dogwood are very lovely right now as they sit on top of the piano. They are beginning to bud into green leaves. I am watching for roots to form. We are really anticipating the spring and the cycle of seeding, growing, weeding, pruning and harvesting to begin. We hope you are looking forward to the markets and the CSA as much as we are. If you have any questions about the gardens, the CSA or the newsletter, please send an email. We would love to hear from you. View email in browser Contact Information: Gregg & Louise Keckler 1-717-486-4653 kecklers@handtilledfarming.com http://www.handtilledfarming.com Hand-tilled Farming · 1410 Goodyear Rd · Gardners, PA 17324-9028 · USA update your preferences or unsubscribe |
Leave a Reply