Well, way past time to update!! It is now almost July. We have been selling on Saturday at the Newport Farmers Market since the beginning of June, and this Thursday will be the second week of the Toledo Farmers Market.  The green houses are feeling jam packed and are requiring lots of TLC! So far, we have been reaping harvests of red and white kale, radishes, a variety of lettuces, and creating salad bags using the lettuces, arugula, endive, beet , radish , and brocolli rabb greens and pac choi.  The cauliflower are producing nice medium heads, the sugar snap peas are proliferating, and the red and green cabbage are shaping up.  And- TOMATOES! We have 14 varieties including heirloom and hybrid, all are setting, many are loaded already! We should be having ripe tomatoes in several weeks, it's exciting to have them earlier this year! And my oh my do we have a lot of plants! One lesson we learned this year- remove all rotten tomatoes and other seeded produce entirely from the green house.  I have been faced with a moral decision as a gardener as I go about my weeding- to pull or not to pull.  'It was not planted there on purpose, and I'm not really sure what variety it is, so do I pull it or leave it?' So many plants........

Another season under way....

The snowy time of year has passed.... we hope! It is now mid February again, and the seed catalogs have been pouring in like crazy.  As I flip through the pages, I practically drool over all the wonderful looking pictures of the zillion types of veggies- if only we had more room! So, we make our lists, send in our money and wait.  Then, we feel like it's Christmas time as we receive the package's containing our seeds- resembling gold in our hands. Next comes gathering together enough trays and pots and mixing the 'super soil' to be the growth media for our little seeds.

Both the greenhouse's received several loads of crab shells this year to improve the calcium in the soil, tomatoes seem to need a lot of it! Boy, did that smell good! I'm sure the neighbors weren't too happy when the winds blew their way.... Now the smell has passed, the ground has been tilled and seems to be ready! A variety of lettuce, carrots and radishes have already found their way into the ground, in hopes of an early harvest.
The 'grow room' (small sun room), is getting full! There is a large amount of potted Iris (yellow, pink, maroon, navy and purple), daffodils, tulips, grape hyacinth, scilla and pink bells that were intended to be sold off at the fall/winter markets- but, life has other intentions and we have been unable to attend any of them.  So, if anyone is interested, give us a call!! The grow room is super crowded now, with all the spare pots and now new starts.
This weekend, the focus was on the tomatoes and peppers since they have a long growth season.  Last year, when they were all bearing their heaviest, the summer market had finished. Alas, we canned much ourselves (enough tomato this-and-that to last several years!), but also were able to do private sales by word of mouth.
The list of started seeds includes: Basil's-cinnamon, lemon, Italian large leaf;  Peppers- 4 types sweet and jalapenos; Brandywine tomatoes- red, yellow and black; other large tomatoes- Golden Jubilee, Mortgage Lifter, Box Car Willy, Opalka (longer than a Roma), Garden Peach (yellow and fuzzy!), and a free packet of an "Heirloom mix" (so, surprises!); Cherry tomatoes- Sun Sugar (a sweet yellow favorite!), Juliet (roma shaped and great for drying); Tomatillos- Pineapple and Toma Verde; Marigolds (mainly to ward off bugs) and Sweet William (a supposedly wonderful flower, with a sweet aroma).
So many more seeds to start, can't wait to have full greenhouses again! Longing for the smell of warm, happy plants.....

Topping off

150 cabbage plants, 50 cauliflower plants, 50 broccoli plants and 21 pineapple tomato plants got added to the 'outside' garden yesterday.  Come on warm weather!  Almost every inch of garden area is filled with plants; time for them to start producing so we can start harvesting!
We will be at the Toledo farmers market this Thursday, June 30th, starting at 11am to test the waters.  Come see us and say HI!

Hanging in the hothouses

Things are growing well, its amazing how warm it gets in the greenhouses.  The tomato plants are beginning to flower, brocolli is heading, and the green and purple cabbage look great though all they are doing is producing very large leaves. It looks like we have enough going to start selling at the Toledo farmers market this coming Thursday; the hours are 11-6pm.
I have started the backbreaking process of scrubbing all the pots in bleach water to get rid of excess grim and to kill any fungus/disease before putting them all in storage for next season. Let me tell you, bending over a wheelbarrow of water is pretty back breaking.!
Come check us out Thursdays at the Toledo farmers market!  We soon hope to add farm hours, so customers can stop by the farm for even fresher produce.

Huge cabbage leaves

Cleaner pots drying in the sun

The greenhouses

Behind door #1....

Behind door #2

Things are on their way!

Here we are soon to be starting the month of June.  The first two greenhouses are finally up and are beginning to burst with life! Tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, lettuce, radishes and more.  Out side the raspberries, strawberries, more broccoli and cauliflower are fairing well.  Corn and beans have been planted and lots more seedlings are needing to be sewn into the ground.  A watering system is developing, and is looking like it needs to grow larger already. 
We here at Neal Farms are itching with excitement to be on our way to a plentiful harvest, if only the weather would start to cooperate!

In the begining...

Well, here we are at the end of February.  The first of the commercial greenhouses is going up, the first of the seeds are started in peat pots- 11 types of tomatoes.  Most are heirloom, a few are hybrid.  Many are large tomatoes, and a few are the yummy cherry tomatoe size. The anticipation is building and so is the list of wants and needs.  Soon to blosssom, 'Neal Farm', full of fresh vegetables, berries, fruits and some day honey.  Already on the menu, limited amounts of Dexter cross beef and seasonal pork.  We are really looking forward to bringing the community high-quality, fresh, pesticide-free produce and humanely raised meats!  See you this summer!