This is by far the busiest time of the year on the farm as we're simultaneously planting, seeding, irrigating, harvesting, working farmers' markets, packing and distributing CSA shares, repairing and improving equipment, and doing our best to keep up with the incredibly fast growth of weeds. The weather throughout May and early June is so variable and unpredictable which makes our work even more challenging. 

Overall our crops are growing well this season. Danielle is especially proud of our cabbage patch, with 10 different varieties of cabbages, broccoli, collards, and kale planted side by side. Last year we planted a very successful cover crop of clover and rye in this field. We were able to build our soil fertility and organic matter and the brassicas are really looking great right now. 

Rhya has been doing a great job at our farm stand at the Norwich Farmers' Market every Saturday. Our table has been full with fresh greens, carrots, sauerkraut, and a mountain of gorgeous radishes and turnips. We hope you'll stop by one of our weekly market locations:
Tuesdays 3-5pm, VA Hospital Farm Stand, gazebo in front of hospital
Fridays 3-6pm, Fairlee Farm Stand, in front of Chapman's Store
Saturdays 9am-1pm, Norwich Farmers' Market, two red tents

Micah is carrying an armload of Hakurei Salad Turnips. Have you tried these delicious roots yet? For more information about this unique variety, check out our culinary tips and recipe pages.  

Ben Blais harvesting scallions for our CSA shares this week. We've grown our best scallions ever this spring- big, tall, and dark green. They seem to be happy growing alongside our trellised cucumbers in the high tunnel.

Our June 3rd CSA harvest was a colorful mix of bok choy, green butterhead lettuce, broccoli rabe, storage carrots, cherriette radishes, fresh dill, and asparagus. We're on our fourth week of CSA shares, and it's not too late to sign up for your own delicious share of the harvest. 

Ben Dana hoeing garlic, which is starting to size up nicely. In the field behind him, we have a healthy cover crop of rye and vetch growing 5 feet tall. 

This was a beautiful foggy morning harvesting salad greens after the big rain last night. 

Asparagus, radishes, salad turnips, bok choy, spring herbs, and salad greens are now filling our farmers' market tables. We also have plenty of fresh eggs, black beans, and our very own sauerkraut to round out a delicious meal. 

This week we begin our full market schedule, we hope you'll stop by:
Tuesdays 3-5pm VA Hospital Farm Stand, in front of the main hospital at the gazebo
Fridays 3-6pm Fairlee Farm Stand, in front of Chapmans Store
Saturdays 9am-1pm Norwich Farmers' Market, look for our two red tents at the entrance

Our CSA shares are off to a great start this week with a beautiful mix of salad greens, spinach, radishes, asparagus, bok choy, gold potatoes, and chives. It's salad season! This time of year, we eat greens with breakfast too! Check out the recipe section of our website for some ideas on how to make your own homemade salad dressings. It's a simple way to pull together a delicious salad in a variety of flavors for any meal of the day. 

We're glad this isn't snow! This white sea of remay covers our early cabbages, kale, broccoli, and cauliflower. We use row cover to protect all of our brassicas from flea beetle damage.

In our high tunnels, scallions and basil are interplanted with trellised cucumbers. In the background, bok choy and spinach are ready to harvest for CSA shares. Vegetables galore!

Our patchwork of fields is changing every day as we prepare the soil, plant more crops, and cover crops of rye and clover grow taller every minute. We finished planting our onions and leeks last week. Radishes, turnips, and spring successions of salad greens and brassicas are all starting to size up in the field. This week on the list to plant we have potatoes, parsley, radicchio, and the first of our field tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and zucchinis will go under row cover to protect them from possible frost.   

Ben has been working hard and looking super stylish in his fire-proof snail pattern welding hat. He's been designing and building a new cultivation system that's appropriate for the scale of our small farm. We're really excited to finally have this basket weeder set up on our Tuff-bilt cultivating tractor. 

With his new set up, Ben whizzed through the garlic weeding at high speed! The rear mounted engine of the Tuff-bilt allows for excellent visibility of the crop below. This little machine will be a big time saver for us. 

The weather shifted at warp speed from frosty spring to hot, dry summer last week and all of our hoophouse greens doubled in size! Just in time- CSA Shares begin next week! We'll start the season with tender asparagus, crisp radishes, fresh herbs and salad greens, gold potatoes, sweet carrots, and heirloom black turtle beans. We still have a few CSA shares available so if you're not already a member, don't delay, sign up today! Learn more about our CSA options and sign up online for your weekly CSA delivery.

This week we'd like to highlight our partnerships with Niko Horster at Shire Farm, and Jake Torrey at Honey Locust Farm. We've collaborated to bring you the highest quality local grass-fed beef, pastured poultry, and heritage breed pork conveniently delivered at a savings over retail. 

We've chosen to work with Niko and Jake because of the incredible knowledge and care they have for their animals, and the attention to detail that goes into raising their cows, chickens, and pigs on pasture. Their products have the highest level of nutrition and superior flavor. 

Did you know we've improved our delivery system for CSA Meat Shares for the upcoming season? Members will receive two bulk distributions during the summer season to have a better selection when planning weekly meals. Learn more about our Meat Shares and sign up online today! If you've already signed up for a Vegetable CSA share, you can simply log-in to your account and select from our add-on share options. You can get the highest quality local foods delivered at no extra distribution charge. We pass all the savings directly on to our CSA members. 

This sudden hot, dry weather has us working overtime to keep up with irrigation as we plant out our fields. We were able to pause for a moment yesterday to check out the magical dew lined up on the edge of the bok choy. Amazing!

This Friday, May 1st, marks the halfway point between spring equinox and the summer solstice. May Day, also known as Beltane, is an ancient spring festival celebrated by many cultures in the Northern Hemisphere. Here in central Vermont, Beltane marks the beginning of "summer", but perhaps more distinctly for us, it's the real beginning of our field planting season. 

Every table in our greenhouse is full and every bed is planted in our two hoop houses, every indoor growing space is bursting at the seams. We've been working hard to prepare the soil for planting and we have thousands of seedlings that are ready to head out to the fields. We're eagerly awaiting warmer, sunnier weather to kickstart new growth. 

This Saturday May 2nd, 9am-1pm
Norwich Farmers' Market 
(outdoors on Route 5!) 
We hope you'll join us on Saturday to celebrate our first outdoor farmer's market of the season! We'll be offering the first tender spring greens and radishes, plus our sweet overwintered carrots, our handmade sauerkraut, fresh eggs, and the first hardy plants to get started in your own garden. There will be over 50 vendors and live entertainment! Don't miss it!

At Flavors, we'll offer tastings of our sauerkraut varieties next to Adam's Family Farm handmade bratwurst. We'll also have kraut, carrots, eggs, and fresh spring greens for sale. There will be over 60 farm and food-related vendors. You can enjoy a taste of fresh produce, artisan bread, award-winning cheeses, tasty jams, local pulled pork, berry pie, hand-crafted chocolates, and many other delicious local goods. It's a wonderful opportunity to meet many of your local producers, visit with neighbors, and buy some delicious products to take home.

At Root 5 Farm we've been busy getting ready for warmer weather, planting greens and herbs in our high tunnels, managing our seeding schedule in the greenhouse, potting up peppers and eggplants, painting new signs, and ordering all of our supplies so we're ready for the season. 

Our CSA memberships are filling up quickly this season! Don't delay if you plan to sign up for a share of the harvest. There are only 6 more weeks until CSA deliveries start on May 19th! 

See what's in a CSA Share from Root 5 Farm