The Old Millpond Farm
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Autumn at the Old Millpond

10/31/2013

 
For the past few years, Halloween has conjured up some truly SPOOKY events. 

Two years ago, a freak late October snowstorm buried New Jersey in heavy snow. Trees snapped under the weight of the freshly fallen snow. The entire northeast came to a screeching halt and we were without power for a week. Everyone lived by candlelight, wood stove, or generator (if you could find one). 

Last year, Superstorm Sandy hit on exactly the same day as the previous year's blizzard. Entire forests were leveled. We watched trees snap like matchsticks and fly off "Wizard of Oz" style into the dark woods. THe days following the storm were eerily quiet. As if it was all a dream. But the place was a bonafide disaster area. Again, we kicked into survival mode (for more than a week this time) while the state struggled to get basic services up and running. Halloween was cancelled.

Autumn 2013 has been much more relaxing. Our first frost came October 21st. We took the opportunity to pick any tender fruits still clinging to the vine (peppers, pumpkins, lemon grass). The following 3 nights below freezing halted the last growth spurts of the summer crops. 

And like a switch, the urge to prepare for winter creeps into our conscience. The list is long.....

1. Chop wood for the stove
2. Gather fallen leaves and jump in pile
3. Marvel at fall colors
4. Dig bulbs for the cellar and save seeds for the spring
5. Plant garlic, shallots, and fall greens
6. Till rows, incorporate soil amendments and plant winter rye
7. Drain the well and irrigation
8. Carve jack o' lanterns and roast seeds for snacking
9. Dress up and take the kids for neighbor visits and "trick or treat"
10. Breathe in the crisp fall air, reflect on the summer's accomplishments and realize what a nice time of year it is!


Fall Colors!

10/12/2013

 
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Another great surprise on the farm was realizing the bounty of beautiful flowers that bloom well into the cool autumn season. We sort of stumbled onto this during our first year thanks to occasional and random scattering of flower seeds here and there. We cut and regularly mixed in our flowers with wildflowers to offer bouquets and individual flowers at the farm stand.

Since many store-bought flowers are grown in far flung places and treated with a variety of chemicals, it is important to develop a local and sustainable approach to the cut flower industry. Due their many benefits, including attracting pollinators and beneficial insects, we plan to integrate more flower varieties into the crop rotation for next year. 

Ground Cherries- the food with its own wrapper

10/12/2013

 
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You've gotta respect a fruit that comes in its own wrapper! To parallel Michael Pollan's argument, this concept is such a marvel of design between man (who greatly benefits from having his food wrapped) and plants. The banana is one great example. And so is the ground cherry!

These "volunteer" ground cherries came up from our compost and are one of the surprise highlights of our first season on the farm. Some research revealed that they are in the same family as tomatoes and go by multiple names including winter cherries, cape gooseberries and strawberry tomatoes. They are high in pectin and were reportedly eaten by the Pilgrims as part of the autumn harvest. Surprisingly, the taste is more reminiscent of a pineapple that a tomato.

While dining at a "farm to table" restaurant in Santa Cruz, CA this summer, I was surprised when a few of these arrived with the check.  Kudos to the chef for realizing that offering these sweet little treats (so beautifully wrapped) would be a fun and creative play on the traditional offering of mints. 


Pumpkins

10/1/2013

 
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The Old Millpond Pumpkin Patch has a special significance. It brought us our first pumpkins and, more importantly, a new friend. 

In our early dreams of grandeur, Simone and I had envisioned our first pumpkin patch to spawn the new world record holder, include a chicken and goat petting zoo with tractor rides along the Musconetcong River, and hot mulled cider.....dream on! 

As it turns out, with the many farming challenges overcome along the way, we are really happy to have gotten a modest harvest of sustainably-grown beauties. And this wouldn't have been possible without the help of our good friend Bob, who keeps a meticulous 120 acre grain/egg/and cattle farm up the road. Everything Bob does is perfect. 

We first met Bob when he stopped by puzzled over what we were doing with our little farm and the little 2 wheeled Italian blue contraption I called my "tractor". After all the tree planting in the spring, I was desperately behind in planting my summer crops and had all but given up hope of getting them in the ground. Bob assured me that I still had time explaining that many farmers in the county plant pumpkins around July 4. And without the slightest hesitation, he devised a plan for getting our pumpkin patch planted.

Bob is a true "gentleman farmer" and a master of using machinery on the farm. Seeing the work ahead of me, he graciously offered to drive his 50 horsepower John Deere tractor 3 miles down the road to chisel plow and disc our land. He kept his tractor on the field for 2 weeks and came down the hill each day to plow a bit more. Eventually, the hard packed "Gladstone Gravelly Loam" soil coughed up the boulders that would have mangled my "Blue Bomber" tractor and gave way to its  loamy potential. 

And so it was with Bob's help and advice, that we were able to plant our peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, delicious sweet corn and, of course, pumpkins by mid July. The pumpkin patch opened on Oct 1, 2013. 

And for next year? A campaign for the new pumpkin world record? Chicken and goat petting? Hot mulled cider? With neighbors like Bob, anything is possible!



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    Edward and Simone

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Photo used under Creative Commons from Funky Tee