03 Jan Sun 2010
Westminster Farmers' Market Report for 01-01-10
Westminster Farmers’ Market Report from Maple Heights Farm</span /></font />
Time to Start Planning your 2010 Vegetable Garden…</font /></span />
Mass Local Food is still taking orders and will be until January 4th. </span />Take a look at all the </font />new products</font /> </span />which include yogurt, locally grown whole grains, Smith’s Country Cheese, organic fair trade coffee, and a wide variety of meats. </span /></font /></span />
I’m sorry Mr. G...</font /></span />
Time for a change: January 1st is here and you may want to consider resolving to support our local economy in any way you can. </span />This is something I will be doing more of as the year progresses and I was reminded of WHY it is so important last week. </span />I needed some balloon animal type of balloons this week because our daughter only got about 150 for Christmas and due to a little boredom and a lot of creativity, they were used up in short order. </span />I felt a little sad because I knew that I could have gone to Mr. G’s party center and purchased high quality, fresh (yes, they must not be old) balloons for our balloon twisting attempts. </span />But.. </span />I helped put them out of business a few years ago. </span />They moved to a slightly less convenient location, and then iParty moved in a quarter of a mile closer to the highway making iParty slightly more convenient. </span />I don’t have a lot of party needs but sometimes I needed special items: cheap magic tricks for favors for a magic party, the occasional junky specialty items, great food coloring to make a John Deere tractor birthday cake, and really good, fresh balloons. </span />A few times I went to iParty instead. </span />Now Mr. G’s is no more! </span />I miss the store. </span />I liked it better than iParty. </span />The employees could always help me find what I needed and they were always very helpful. </span />And they were local. </span />I could have been spending my money to benefit our local economy (granted a very small amount of money, but some nonetheless). </span />For the upcoming year, I will scrutinize my purchases a bit more and seek out items from local merchants, first in town and then in our region. </span />And I will try to do my part to help keep our local businesses viable.</font /></span />
Time to start a few seeds…</font /></span />
Seed catalogs are filling my mailbox and I am trying to control my plans for the upcoming year. </span />This is hard for me to do because I everything looks so easy in January – in May and June, I find that this is not entirely the case. </span />Anyways, I have ordered plenty of new seeds to add to my existing collection from last year. </span />As soon as they arrive (hopefully next week), I will be starting globe artichokes and geraniums. </span />I start many of my own seeds in a cool room, supplemented by two florescent grow lights (four long bulbs). </span />I use wood ash to head off damping off, and I use a small amount of kelp and eggshells for fertilizer. </span />This year I plan to do more and may hang two more lights beneath the existing table. </span />I’ll put these on chains that I can raise as the plants grow. </span />That will double my seed starting space. </span />I have never tried artichokes or geraniums before. </span />I’m trying the artichokes because I like to try something new every year (last year – okra) and geraniums because I like them and want about 20 for my porch and garden and I *think* I can grow them. </span />I’m waiting for my seeds to arrive and I see that my credit card has been charged so I hope they are on the way! </span />I have discovered overall that </font />Fedco</font /> is a great place to shop for seeds. </span />I was able to purchase much more than I could from any other place for my budget of $40. </span />They did not have EVERYTHING that I wanted, but their seeds are cheap enough that I can even try starting some wave petunias (something else I have never grown). </span />Many of their seed packets are less than half the price of the more commonly known seed houses. </span />Falstaff Brussels Sprouts range from $2.75 to $3.75 per packet at the popular seed houses, but at Fedco, $1.10. </span />These kinds of prices allow me to start several varieties of certain vegetables and save the remaining seeds for next year.</font /></span />
Gardening Books: </span />I just ordered from the library…</font /></span />
·</span /> </span />The well-tended perennial garden</span /></font />
·</span /> </span />Gaia’s garden: a guide to home-scale permaculture</span /></font />
·</span /> </span />Garden Way’s joy of gardening</span /></font />
·</span /> </span />The garden primer</span /></font />
·</span /> </span />Monticello</span /></font />
·</span /> </span />Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello</span /></font />
·</span /> </span />Meet Thomas Jefferson</span /></font />
·</span /> </span />Thomas Jefferson’s Garden Book</span /></font />
Two of the Jefferson Books are children’s books, one a picture book and one from a children’s biography series (which I find to be very interesting, informative, and fun to read). </span />One is a coffee-table type picture book. </span /></font /></span />
In addition to these, I was given the new edition of “The Square Foot Gardener” for Christmas. </span />This is an excellent book and should be read by everyone, especially those of you that think growing a few vegetables is too much work! </span />In addition to “The Square Foot Gardener”, Bob Thomson’s “The New Victory Garden” is a must read! </span />I read it every year and then again month by month through the gardening season! </span />I’ll keep you up to date on any other “must read” books that I come across!</font /></span />
I’m wondering if you can provide some information to me…</font /></span />
Vegetable gardening:</font /></span />
What are you planning for a vegetable garden this year?</font /></span />
Are you interested in information on vegetable gardening in your backyard? </span />Perhaps demonstrations and/or presentations?</font /></span />
What kind of information do you need about vegetable gardening? </span /></font /></span />
Farmers’ Market:</font /></span />
Have you ever wondered about selling food items at the farmers’ market? </span />It really is fun and we try to make it as easy as possible (we have wonderful support from our Board of Health, Board of Selectmen, and our farmers’ market). </span />We (the Agricultural Commission) will be holding several “seminars” over the winter for vendors. </span />Do you have any areas of interest? </span />We will be discussing “collecting sales tax”, “board of health issues” and other such things. </span />Is there anything else you are interested in learning?</font /></span />
Do you have any great gardening books that you can recommend to me?</font /></span />
Maple Heights Farm:</font /></span />
At Maple Heights Farm, we are well stocked with meat. </span />Our products are available either through </font />Mass Local Food</font /> or by pre-ordering by </font />email</font />. </span />You can see our complete inventory on our website.</font /></span />
We still have some calendars available that will get you started on vegetable gardening in 2010! </span /></font />Email</font /> for more information or to order…</font /></span />
Kerrie Hertel </span /></font /></span />
mapleHeightsFarm@verizon.net</font /></span />
www.mapleheightsfarm.com [Read More]