Herb walk, July 27th

Lucia will be leading an herb walk at the farm on the 27th! She knows so much about the plants underfoot and their many uses. It'll be a lovely morning of learning! See you there!

Saturday, July 27th, 9 am-10 am
(rain date to be announced in August)

Join us at Whetstone Ledges Farm at
1000 MacArthur Rd. in Marlboro
with local herbalist Lucia for an informative plant walk.
We will explore some of the local plants and
learn medicinal uses for these plants in oils,
vinegars, salves and more.

-Wear comfortable walking shoes and
bring some drinking water.

And don’t forget, the berries are in! Feel free to stay a bit longer to pick your own delicious berries!
(price of PYO berries is separate from the plant walk)

Suggested donation of $10-$30
but no one is turned away for lack of funds.
Call Lucia at 802-258-0940 with any questions.

Berries & Veggies are here!

Almost mid-July and the bounty is here! Today, July 12th was the first day of PYO raspberries - check the PYO shed for what is open for picking and where. Blueberries will be open this week-end - still early, but we are hoping to keep them well picked to aid in the control of the new invasive insect Spotted Winged Drosophila. (See below for more info.)

This past week we had lots of greens, the first carrots and beets of the season, garlic scapes and scallions, gorgeous red tomatoes and baskets of cherry tomatoes, peas both snap and shell, broccoli and raspberries. Also Lauren's delicious cookies on Wednesdays and Fridays, local author Suzie Crowther's new book The No Recipe Cookbook, three kinds of granola from Back Roads Granola of Halifax including gluten free, Bonavue Farms chicken and beef, Lauren's herbal concoctions of creams, soaps, lip balms and more, jams and preserves and Robin and Ty's famous Sunday sermon alternative of coffee and scones.

Spotted Winged Drosophila

The Spotted Winged Drosophila is a new invasive fruit fly which first appeared in Vermont in the days following Tropical Storm Irene. It affects all soft fruit causing them to rapidly soften and turn to mush. Unfortunately it is here to stay, so we need to deal with it as best  we can. It does no harm to people, just fruit. You can freeze infected fruit,  eat it, cook with it.

What we will be doing:

We have traps hung about in the bushes which will provide some control

We will be spraying two different organic insecticides; Entrust, which is a form of spinosad, and Pyganic, which is an organic pyrethrum. 

We are participating in a study to see if a new type of net can exclude the drosophila. You will see it in some rows of newer blueberries .

What you can do:

When picking, pick thoroughly to not leave ripe fruit on the vine or bush

Refrigerate berries when you get them home - cold will delay the development of any infected fruit.

Picking berries which are slightly underripe will help. although flavor is sacrificed a bit

Read and follow the instructions at the farm stand as to which area is open to picking. Some areas may be closed for a day after spraying.