Hidden Acres in Full Swing

Other than the constant rain (pray for sun, please), things are going well at the farm. The crops all look wonderful and we've had great harvests for both our CSA members and the markets. Our lettuces are still going strong since they like the chilly and cold weather. We've made quite a few improvements and additions to the farm this summer. We've planted some beautiful flowers underneath our sign to which we've added a "picked to order" sign. We'll have the picked to order sign up to let people know that they can come on down to have us pick any vegetables that they would like right then. We also have a new self-serve farm stand up that will start to fill once we have things like cucumbers, tomatoes, summer squash, etc. ready. We've also been continually adding rich compost to build up our soil. Enjoy the pictures and pray for dry, sunny weather to dry out the farm and slow down the weeds!

Our resident toad escaping the rain under some radicchio. 

Garlic scapes

More garlic scapes.

One of our beautiful cabbages. 

These pretty flowers are popping up all over the farm from the hay we mulched with last year.

Tomatoes in their infancy.

Our new farm stand awaiting warm weather vegetables. 

Cosmetic improvements to our sign inviting people to pay us a visit. 

The Season Has Begun!

It's finally here. The weather has been wonderful and we've started putting things in the ground: broccoli, peas, lettuce, kale, radishes, carrots, parsnips, onions, strawberries, etc. We've also made some large editions to the farm, namely the barn, which will house both of our goats and our tools. Our beautiful hand-painted sign is also at the end of our driveway now to let people know where we are. In the next week or so we should be putting our new farm stand up.

Our new sign!

Barn from the front.

Inside of the barn.

Goat door.

Frog in our pond.

Weekly Farm Reel April 14th

Despite the recent snow, farming season really is about to start. We've transplanted almost 70 tomato seedling already. Now we just have to make it to June and get them into the ground. In the meantime, enjoy our weekly farm reel.

Tomatoes are ready to be transplanted. Celery is in the bottom of the frame.

We still have veggies left over from last season in the freezer. 

Dried beans left over from last season. They're great in soups and chili.

Tom Turkey showing off.

Bird parade led by Mumsy Turkey.

Weekly Farm Reel March 24th

Pictures from the farm this week.

Parsley, Leeks, Broccoli

Tomatoes

Chickens and Tom Turkey

Flowers and Avoiding Monsanto Like the Plague...No Offence to the Plague

If you're really into the organic farming and gardening scene, the name "Monsanto," is your "Voldemort." It's a company so unethical and corrupt that the mere name makes you cringe (i.e. suing neighboring farmers if the wind carries pollen from plants grown with Monsanto seeds onto their farms...you know, because farmers totally control the wind. Did I mention buying members of congress to pass a bill allowing their seeds to be planted before there is enough scientific research on the effects of GMO products on people and the environment?). Click here to read a MOFGA article on Monsanto. Because we care about maintaining a safe food supply, free from genetic modification, Hidden Acres does all that we can to avoid supporting Monsanto in any way. We're always looking to buy seeds from companies that have signed the Safe Seed Pledge, or that can at least validate that they do not sell genetically modified seeds. Renee's Garden is one of these companies, which is why we ordered some of our flower seeds from them. Johnny' Selected Seeds of Maine and High Mowing Organic Seeds of Vermont are another two.

Flower Seeds from Renee's Garden- GMO free!

More Seedlings and Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes

Tomatoes, Leeks, Peppers, etc.

Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage.

After meeting with an apiarist (beekeeper) to put hives on the farm, we spent another Saturday starting seedlings. We planted quite a few leeks, several types of sweet peppers, one type of jalapeno pepper, two types of cabbage (Napa and Red), radicchio, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and a ton of tomatoes. Assuming all goes well in the realm of tomatoes, we should have Moskovich (heirloom), Beefsteak, Amish Paste (heirloom), Sweeties, Sun Cherries, and Red and Yellow Jelly Bean (click on the links for tomatoes you may not have heard of). Of course there is always time to go through the various seed catalogs and "accidentally" order more types of tomatoes, so who knows what else we'll have. We also started a few early tomato seedlings a couple weeks ago as you can see below. Sign up for our CSA or visit us at the Bridgton, Lovell, and Bridgton Paris Farmer's Union farmers' markets to pick up our basil and tomatoes this summer. Add in some local mozzarella and you've got a delicious, fresh, and local Caprese Salad.

Early tomato seedlings.

Weekly Farm Reel March 12th

We're going to be doing a Weekly Farm Reel, with pictures from the farm for that week. This week we'll be featuring the chickens (the turkeys make an appearance or two). These birds provide the farm with fresh eggs, amusement, and a never-ending supply of manure. Enjoy!

One of our hens in the laying box.