Join us at Sunset Farm this Saturday from 9:30am - 11am for Trowel & Tea Garden Talk - an enjoyable morning with complementary tea and pastries as we talk all things gardening! In old Victorian fashion, we will discuss topics like soil fertility, plant health, and growing veggies in small spaces. Our farmers will also be prepared to answer any personal questions you may have about your backyard garden! Be sure to sign up soon to reserve your spot in this fun Spring event!

There's much more than meets the eye in farming, especially when it comes to soil! As our field recovers from a week of heavy rainfall, we are taking advantage of dry days to prepare our beds for summer crops by incorporating compost and fertilizer into the native clay soil. This Saturday at the Garden Talk, we will dive deeper into the soil amendments we use and how they encourage the growth of beneficial soil microbes and veggie roots! Come learn how our small-scale farming techniques can be replicated at your home garden with a few hand tools and local resources!

The farm is beaming with blooms and is a great spot to enjoy an evening walk or explore the great outdoors with kids! We currently have an abundance of cherry tomatoes and a new crop of Asian eggplant available in our Grab-n-Go cooler! Feel free to shop at your convenience and check-out at our self-pay iPad next to the veggie cooler. Our Saturday Farm Stand is also a great way to stock up on your weekly produce needs. Farmer Meghan is always excited to answer questions and show off our colorful and fragrant vegetable varieties!

In Season : Cherry Tomatoes, Asian Eggplant, Banana Peppers, Yellow Squash, Zucchini, Chard, Collards, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Parsley, Green Onion, and Fennel

This week our time and energy spent farming was truly rewarded when one of our loyal customers shared that their children would only eat vegetables grown at Sunset Farm! Their weekly ritual of purchasing produce from the Grab-n-Go cooler not only provides healthier food for their family, but also creates an opportunity of joy to encounter nature and agriculture up close. Food is much more than simple fuel for the body when it is rooted in connection and relationship. As Spring approaches, we are inspired to continue providing nutritious vegetables to the neighborhood and cultivate a space for more memories to be made!

Following suit of our up-potted tomato plants, this week we are transferring all pepper varieties to larger growing cells. This also allows them to increase in size and stature before planting them in the field and high tunnel. With these Spring plants in mind, we have started preparing our soil to welcome new crops. After terminating the cover crop which added plant matter back into the soil, we will add a thick layer of compost and a sprinkle of fertilizer. This should create a fertile space for plant roots and soil microbes to flourish throughout the Spring season!

In just a glimpse of this moment in time on the farm, our vegetables are telling a story of love from seed to plate. So if your family is craving something meaningful, make it a part of your week to stop by Sunset Farm to fuel body and soul! Farmer Sarah will be hosting a Farm Stand this Saturday from 9am - 12pm, and if you can’t make it the Grab-n-Go cooler is always open!

In Season: Carrots, Celery, Fennel, Green Onions, Green Cabbage, Parsley, Collard Greens, Curly Kale, Cilantro, and Dill

We’ve been harvesting some beautiful Asian eggplants for the Farm Stand! They’re planted in our high tunnel and are producing these gorgeous, dark purple eggplants. Asian eggplants have a long, slender shape compared to the more rounded Italian varieties. They also have a thinner skin and lack the bitter flavor that is present in other varieties. They are perfect in stir-fries, soups, and curries and can also be roasted or grilled. We recommend trying them in this easy eggplant stir-fry with garlic sauce or this miso glazed eggplant. Though our coolers were recently out of operation due to power outages, they are back online and packed with Asian eggplants as well as plenty of other summer crops for you so feel free to stop by! 

We amend the soil before we initially plant our crops but they also benefit from regular applications of organic fertilizers throughout the growing season to ensure they have the essential nutrients they need. Rather than do this by hand, we’re able to do this through our drip irrigation system! This process is called “fertigation” and involves adding diluted liquid fertilizer to the injector for our irrigation system, which then pumps the fertilizer into the drip lines that run right next to our crops. The drip lines efficiently deliver the fertilizer to the root zone where they are absorbed by our plants. 

In Season at the Farm Stand: Okra, Eggplant, Zucchini, Lunchbox Peppers, Jalapenos, Bell Peppers, Shishito Peppers, Poblano Peppers, Lemon Balm, Basil (Italian, Lemon, Thai, and Tulsi), Baby Butternuts, and Flower Bouquets and Stems

While spring doesn’t officially start until the 20th of this month, it sure feels like it has arrived on the farm! Always a sign of the return of spring, our tomatoes are being planted this week with zucchinis and cucumbers to follow suit. If you’d like to experience this spring transition on the farm, make sure to come to our next Farm Tour on Saturday, March 11th at 10:30am! Our Farm Tours are free of charge and open to the public but we ask that children be accompanied by an adult. We can’t wait to see you there!

When we shared that we had planted seeds for sweet and mild peppers in the greenhouse, we had a few inquiries about hot varieties. We’re happy to report that we planted seeds for our hot peppers last week! We focused on our three most popular hot peppers from last year: jalapenos, serranos, and habaneros. We’ll make sure to keep you updated on their progress so that you can plan your salsa and hot sauce crafting accordingly.

The beds in the high tunnel are nearly ready for spring planting! You can see in the photo below that we’ve added a layer of compost onto each empty bed. Compost is essentially decomposed organic materials (food scraps, leaves, etc.). Every time we prepare a bed for planting, we add a layer of compost in order to incorporate organic matter back into our soil. This helps to improve the soil structure, making it easier for roots, nutrients, and water to penetrate our clay-heavy soil.

In Season at the Farm Stand: Icicle Radishes, Broccoli Rabe, Kohlrabi, Celery, Spring Onions, Sugar Snap Peas, Salad Radishes, Turnips, Kale, Collards, Cabbage, and Cilantro.