Westminster Farmers’ Market Report from Maple Heights Farm

Super Size Me and My Garden

Come see Super Size Me with me…

This Friday, February 12^th, there will be a showing of Super Size Me at the office of Dr. Linda Smith and Associates. This is an interesting movie about a month long journey of one person eating nothing but food from McDonald’s. This free evening promises to be enjoyable with comfortable seating, a room filled with people that are interested in food, great discussions and refreshments. The movie will be at 2 Narrows Road in Westminster, Suite 101A. I hope to see you there!

My Seed Starting progresses...

While we await the warm weather, spring has started in my sunny window. My geraniums are up, along with about half of my ivy geraniums and half of my artichokes. It is now time to start seeds for onions, celery (and celeriac) and very early tomatoes (I’m going to try a few cherry varieties). Start looking for seeds for leeks as you will want to start them in two weeks. Now, it is not terribly important that you start these seeds now as you will be able to plant onion sets in about another month, you can start regular season tomatoes later – or of course you can buy them already started at a nursery, though I am not certain that you will find celery or celeriac.

I am going to again recommend to you the book Square Foot Gardening. This book was given to me last month and I have re-read it (I think I have read every version) and this new version was well worth re-reading. There is quite a buzz about it among those planning vegetable gardens this year. The simple garden layout is well worth trying. Instead of laboriously digging up your yard, this method uses a raised bed (usually 4x4) filled with high quality soil. Then, you plant in a grid, making the most use of the space for vegetables while minimizing space for weeds. The methods used for building, planting, weeding, and watering will keep you going throughout the season and give you a successful harvest with minimal work.

What about just putting a raised bed over any old soil? I can tell you that this will work perfectly. My vegetable garden is in a location that couldn’t even be rototilled a few years ago (very hard soil). I have a few raised beds that I fill and then I make little rows, been teepees, and hills wherever I find room. I plant my corn in “hills” that I just plunk in my garden wherever I have extra space. Then I mulch heavily and watch my vegetables grow. By the end of the season the soil around these hills is very friable. I can dig down beneath the “hills” and the soil (that was once hard and inhospitable to plants) is loose and filled with earthworms.

Farmers’ Market Vendors…

If you are planning to have a booth at the farmers’ market this year, or if you are just interested in learning more about it, we will be holding seminars on board of health requirements and collecting sales tax. Attending these seminars will get you a discount on the annual market fee if you pay that evening. Look for more information on the Westminster Town Website.

Maple Heights Farm…

At Maple Heights Farm, we are well stocked with meat. Our products are available either through Mass Local Food or by pre-ordering by email. You can see our complete inventory on our website.

We still have some calendars available that will get you started on vegetable gardening in 2010! You can now order online!

Kerrie Hertel