Peter is flaming a field to eliminate early weeds.

Lots of planting and setting up irrigation this week.

Pray for rain, it is really dry out there.

We are still taking CSA sign-ups. Look on our web-site for information.

Also be checking our web-site for the menu for our

up-and-coming Farm-To-Table dinner, Saturday, June 18th

 

Welcome 2016 season!

You are still able to sign up for our CSA program. Go to our web-site for details.

Our farm stand will be opening in June. The days and hours are: Thursday 9-7:00, Friday 9:00-6:00 and Saturday 9:00-3:00.

We will be holding farm-to-table dinners every third Saturday evening.

Our first farm-to-table dinner will be June 18th!
Pete will be making his amazing Paella with saffron rice.
You can go to our web-site to sign up. 



On April 5th Pete and I needed to go and cover the strawberries and hope for the best. The warm winter advanced the growth on the strawberry plants making them much more susceptible to being damaged by the very cold temperatures. Time will tell how they fared.

We look forward to seeing you all soon!

 

 

Farm-To-Table Dinner

Place-Taliaferro Farms

Date- Saturday September 26th, 2015

Time- 6:30-10:00

Price-$75.00/person 

Itinerary: A glass of champagne and a walking tour of the farm with our farmer. 

4 courses  - ½  bottle of wine per person

First course-Local pheasant sausage with fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, and basil.

Second course- Farm Fresh Garden Salad

Third course

·        Hudson Valley Herb Stuffed Loin of Pork

·        Vegetarian Alternative-Spanish Quinoa Stuffed Red Peppers

·        Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

·        Herb Roasted Vegetables

·      Local Artesian Bread

Forth course

·        Taliaferro Farm Apple Pie with fresh whipped cream and coffee or tea 

v  Please bring your own to-go container

v  We do not offer menu alternatives

Go To our website to sign up! www.taliaferrofarms.com

Farm-To-Table Dinner

On the Farm

 

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Come to our exclusive 25 guest Farm-To-Table Dinner.  Our farm is a five minute drive from the Main Street of New Paltz New York.  The farm overlooks the Shawangunk Mountain Ridge, home of Mohonk Mountain House and the tower. Pete, the farmer and I love to cook. Our next dinner is  Saturday, August 22nd. Everything served comes directly from our organic farm or is sourced from a local Hudson Valley Farm.  It is an experience that adds to the deep appreciation that so many people have for our farm and for all who farm and produce local food.  It will also help support the continuation of Taliaferro farms.  Should you want to stay, go to airbnb. There are many awesome places to stay at right here on Plains Road.

Farm-To-Table Dinner

Place-Taliaferro Farms

Date- Saturday August 22, 2015

Time- 6:30-10:00

Price-$75.00/person

Farm Walking Tour with the farmer and a glass of sparkling wine

Menu: 4 courses       ½  bottle of wine per person

Agenda:

·      A glass of champagne and a walking tour of the farm with our farmer.  

First course-Local smoked Italian pheasant sausage with fresh tomatoes, fresh local mozzarella, olive oil, and basil

Second course- Farm Garden Salad

Third course

o  Hudson Valley Stuffed Loin of Pork

o  Vegetarian alternative

·      Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

·      French Beans

·      Local Artesian Bread

Forth course

·      Hudson Valley Peach Crisp with fresh whipped Local Cream and coffee or tea

vPlease bring your own to-go container

vPlease call and tell us if you would like the vegetarian alternative

v  We do not offer menu alternatives

Go To: Taliaferrofarms.com

To Sign Up!

Farm-To-Table-Dinner

Come to our exclusive 25 guest Farm-To-Table Dinner.  Our farm is a five minute drive from the Main Street of New Paltz New York.  The farm overlooks the Shawangunk Mountain Ridge, home of Mohonk Mountain House and the tower. Pete, the farmer and I love to cook. Our next dinner is  Saturday, August 8^th. Everything served comes directly from our organic farm or is sourced from a local Hudson Valley Farm.  It is an experience that adds to the deep appreciation that so many people have for our farm and for all who farm and produce local food.  It will also help support the continuation of Taliaferro farms.  Should you want to stay, go to airbnb. There are many awesome places to stay at right here on Plains Road.

Farm-To-Table Dinner

Place-Taliaferro Farms
Date- Saturday August 8, 2015
Time- 6:30-10:00
Price-$75.00/person

Farm Walking Tour with the farmer and a glass of sparkling wine

Menu: 4 courses       ½  bottle of wine per person

Agenda: A glass of champagne and a walking tour of the farm with our farmer.  

First course-Local pheasant sausage with fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, and basil

Second course- Kale Salad with Pecans, Parmesan and Cranberries

Third course -Hudson Valley Braised Brisket in Red Wine Gravy

                       o  Vegetarian alternative- Cabbage Gratin

                       ·      Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

                 ·      French Beans

                 ·      Homemade Bread

Forth course-Hudson Valley Peach Pecan Crisp with fresh whipped cream and coffee or tea

vPlease bring your own to-go container

  v  We do not offer menu alternatives

  Call 845-214-4401 to make reservations.

Our first Farm-To-Table Dinner was Saturday night. The people, food, and farm made it absolutely wonderful!

 

 

Our next Farm-To-Table dinner will be July 25th. Go to our website for all the information. I will have the menu up hopefully tomorrow (Wednesday).

 

It has been really hot in the fields. All the rain that we were getting, has come to a screeching halt. We are short on help, so getting to all the irrigating is going to be difficult. The good news is that Pete says that the apple crop looks to be a good one this year. Say a prayer.

 



 

Farm-To-Table-Dinner on the farm

It is June 31st and we have had enough rain. Hopefully we get a stretch of warm dry days.

Over the years, Pete has worked to come up with something new to help bring in more revenue so that the farm can continue. We have added markets, we have tried new configurations of shares, farm pick-ups and days. We have added new products, we have added new vegetables. This year we are going to do some Farm-To-Table Dinners, right here on the farm.

Our goal is to do 2 dinners in July and 2 dinners in August. If they go well, we will try some more in September and October. We want to host the first dinner ourselves. So to that end our first Farm-To-Table dinner will be on Saturday July 11th from 6:30-10:00.  The evening will start with a glass of sparkling wine and a tour of the farm with Pete, and then a 4 course dinner will follow located on our back porch.

Go to the Taliaferro Farm web-site for all the particulars. The information will be posted on the web in the next couple of days

Dakota planting seeds one-at-a-time in the green house on a rainy day.

Members Picnic

Today was the special day -- the day when I know summer is just around the corner -- the day of the Taliaferro Farms member's picnic. It's the day when CSA members flock to the farm to meet each other, see the farm, and eat a great spring bounty provided by Robin, Pete and their big family.

The weather was a bit damp, but it didn't stop anyone from enjoying their farm time. Pete tried to rally a crowd to ride the Kubota tractor for a hay ride, but I think it was still a bit chilly for most.

That didn't stop anyone from riding their bike

or from having hot hamburgers or steak slices from Full Moon Farms.

Full Moon farms has been providing these wonderful meats for all the meat eaters out there for many years now.

First Pickup Coming Soon

Opening day is Thursday June 11th at 9am. The opening times are on the right hand side of this blog so you can refer to it any time you want.

I saw these beautiful strawberry plants today. I hope we can get some strawberries on June 11th...

Not a member yet? 
As far as I know, you can still join the CSA. You can also come to the Farm stand on the open times and purchase directly, but becoming a member has extra benefits such as free flower picking, extra produce items each week, this spring picnic, and the Thanksgiving share (when you sign up for the following season). So come and join us today and enjoy the fruits of Community Supported Agriculture.

Don't forget the Chickens

See you on June 11th!

The Last Week!

It's the last regular pick up week for the Farm. Be sure to come this week on Friday 9a-6p or Saturday 9a-3p. Laura may be there, or Stephanie, or Robin. Laura was out today, but Stephanie was working hard.

I didn't make a list of all the items available. You will surely find something you like which is fresh from the field! Don't forget to stock up on vendor items as well.

Robin asked me to pass along a sincere thanks from the Taliaferros for all the support from you wonderful members. She reminds me that they cannot do it without you!

When you come to the farm stand this week you might notice that the tarp awning is missing. Apparently it blew away last week with the high winds. It looks a like the stand is closed without the awning, but it isn't closed just yet.

Not closed. Just missing the tarp.

Two more announcements:

• Turkey Signups: If you wish to purchase a turkey in time for Thanksgiving, the deadline is Friday November 8th.
• Next Season: It is time to sign up for next season. If you sign up by Nov 15th and pay the deposit, you can come back on Tuesday Nov 25th and pick up a bonus Thanksgiving share. I have always been so happy to get that extra fresh organic produce in time to cook for the big meal.

Now I will leave you with some fun photos I took today. The first set is of Ian lubricating a John Deere 7410 tractor. He borrowed it from Paul Colucci of Full Moon Farms.

You can see the cutting blades better now.

I commented to Ian about the size of this tractor. He laughed and told me that it's actually not that big as far as tractors go. It's hard for me to to believe because it seems so much larger than other tractors around the farm.

John Deere 7410

 You can see the size of the tractor in more perspective now as Ian stands next to the front tire!

Pete told me that Ian is using the tractor to prepare the land down by the river for new apple trees. If you've been a member for a while you may recall that the farm used to have it's own apple orchard, but the trees outlived their useful lives and Pete removed them. For the last few seasons Pete has been able to rent orchard space in local small orchards. However, this is not very practical because organic apples require a lot of maintenance to keep the pests at bay. 

Since pesticides and systemic chemicals are not used, it is difficult to keep the apple trees at their peak. Normally, non-toxic surface coatings such a kaolin clay are applied to discourage pests. The disadvantage of this is that these surface coatings have to be re-applied often. When the orchards are far away, Pete has to use a lot of fuel and time to transport people and equipment to the orchards to apply the coatings. Let's not mention how difficult and dangerous it is for everyone when slow-moving farm equipment is on the same road as speedy cars. This season the crop was so small that it was not cost-effective to keep up the treatments and the decision was made to let the crop go. Consequently there is no apple harvest this year at the Taliaferros. 

Pete is a motivated farmer and is thinking of re-planting an orchard on his own local property. So we hope that there will be an apple crop if the new trees are planted and mature. It could be a while since apple trees take some nurturing before they give apples. I do not know if Pete plans to rent more orchard space while his trees are maturing. I guess this is a question to ask Pete next season.

Puppies

The farm has acquired two new puppies. Monty and Huxley are brothers.

Huxley (left) and Monty (right)

Monty (left) and Huxley (right)

Monty is the blonde/brown one and Huxley has the blacker fur markings. They both have the interesting blue eyes. They are already being trained to chase deer...and play with people. I'm sure we'll have fun with them next season too.

It's been a great season! 

Every member has been appreciated by the Taliaferros -- the family that farms. Come back next season! And don't forget to sign up in time to get this year's Thanksgiving share. 

Bock Bock! Eat more Turkey.

Looking to the Future!

(Hrs: Th 8a-7p, Fri 9a-6p, Sat 9a-3p)

Last Pickup is Saturday November 8th

It's true: this season is coming to an end. I'm so sad as I think about missing the fresh greens, beautiful colorful beets, peppers, salad, tomatoes and so many other things I've enjoyed this year.

So, to make myself feel better, I remember to sign up for next season!

Sign up for the 2015 Season Now and receive a bag of Thanksgiving goodies on Tuesday 11/25/2014. Act quickly and sign up by November 14th (or 15th -- I'm not sure of the exact date now, so we'll say the 14th) and also pay in full (half shares) or a deposit (full shares) or membership and deposit (card members) in order to get this Thanksgiving share.

I've been a member for several years and I've gotten the Thanksgiving share every year. I've never been disappointed! My friends marvel at the beautiful fresh organic fare that I show off before I cook. If you wait until Spring, you miss out on this free Thanksgiving share and will not receive the extra item (half-item) each week. Plus, waiting makes it very difficult for Pete to plan.

Speaking of Thanksgiving...let's talk about Turkeys.

Attempted to get a photo of turkeys in my yard!

I was entranced by the gang of a half-dozen turkeys that made their way through my yard two days ago. (I don't advocate eating those particular turkeys though.) The deadline to sign up for an Old Ford Farm full-flavor, pasture-raised, medicine-free, GMO-free, and hormone-free turkey is Saturday November 8th. The price is $6/lb. and you can request a size that will feed your brood.

Produce

Radishes -- you can eat all parts

Kale

Even though it's getting cold outside, there were some amazingly beautiful produce items at the Farm Stand. Here's what I saw today:

• Squash: Spaghetti, Sugar Pumpkins, and Butternut Squash
• Radishes
• Peppers: Green, Poblano, Jalapeno, Cayenne
• Cranberry Beans
• Eggplant
• Leeks
• Beets (a non-bleeding type...can't wait to try them)
  
• Celery Root
• Salad: Arugula, Asian Salad Mix
• Greens: Summer Spinach, Broccoli Raab, Pac Choi, Tender Greens, Lacinato Kale
• Onions & Garlic
• Potatoes: Butter Ball, Sweet 

Vendor Items

Please check out the many items in the refrigerator and freezer cases. There is cheese, milk, goat cheese, yougurt, pickles, mushrooms, meats, and incredible fudge brownies. There is even some honey still available and applesauce from last season's apples.

Laura with Mushrooms

If you like to bake, check out the Wild Hive Farm local grains:

• Multi Grain Flour
• Soft White Pastry Flour
• All Purpose Flour
• Whole Wheat All Purpose Flour
• Whole Grain Rye Flour (I've never even seen this before!)
• Stone Ground Corn Flour
• Hard Wheat Berries (yes, actual complete wheat grain)
• Scottish Oats

Laura & Ruby and many other Workers make it happen!

I leave you today with the reminder to sign up for next year. We'll miss you if you don't. And you'll miss the great food that Pete and all the farm helpers grow.

Here are some of the workers deep in the midst of clearing the spent tomato plants and readying the field for the winter:

Preparing the fields for next year

Here's Ruby having fun hanging out!

Ruby

Summer? Where have you gone?

(Hours: Th 8a-7p, Fri 9a-6p, Sat 9a-3p)

Sign Up for Next Spring

I know it's hard to believe that it is time to start thinking of next Spring. When I first got involved with the farm, it was a surprise to learn that I needed to sign up now in order to receive a share for the Spring. The deadline is November 15th. You can sign up late if there are memberships left, but it really helps the Taliaferro's plan for the Spring planting by knowing how many Community Supported Agriculture members they can expect. Plus, by signing up by November 15th you'll receive a Thanksgiving Share this year. And when the season starts in the spring of 2015 you'll be an Early Bird member eligible for extra produce items during the season.

Rain, snow, and cold do not stop the workings of the farm. Winter is the time when money and daylight both become short. Having deposits from committed members allow Pete and Robin to order supplies that they will need to begin seedlings, prepare the land, repair equipment, and continue to pay workers who perform hours of labor in all kinds of weather to prepare the soil and equipment for next season.

Rain doesn't stop the work

When the farm stand closes for the season Pete does not take off on vacation to Florida! It takes a lot of preparation and planning to get things ready to start growing again. There's work that must be done many months before anything is ever placed in the wonderful blue bins at the farm stand.

Your membership helps everything work smoothly. So, please renew your membership now for next season. If your friend has enjoyed the extra produce you've gifted them, or you know someone new to the area, let them know that now is the right time to sign up. I look forward to seeing you at next year's spring picnic!

New Items

Even though it's been rainy and cool there were several new items at the farm stand today! I was very excited to see Cranberry Beans!

I'm a huge bean fan so I can't wait to shell and cook these. As far as I know, you cannot eat the beans without shelling them. You'll need to remove the beans from the pod and then cook them. The shells should be discarded. You can also dry these beans for later. You can actually let them dry right in the shell. Many days (weeks?) from now, when they are completely dry, you can easily remove them from the shells and store them. I usually put my beans into the freezer for 72 hours before I store them just to be sure any strange living things (such as bacteria or bean viruses) are killed. However, I don't actually know if this is required! They'll probably be fine even if you skip this step.

Here is the full list of items I saw today:

• Peppers -- Poblano, Red Bell, Jalapeno, and Cayenne
• Salad/Greens -- Asian Salad Mix, Arugula
• Greens -- Tender Greens, Summer Spinach, Brocolli Raab, Lacinato Kale
• Squash -- Spaghetti, Butternut, Acorn
• Potatoes -- Butter Ball, Sweet Potatoes
• Leeks and Garlic
• Cranberry Beans
• Beets -- Red Beets & Golden Beets
• Celery Root

Beautiful Golden Beets

The lowly Celery Root. You may think it looks like a crazy piece of ... dirty ... indescribable ... food, ehrrr, something?? Well, don't let the outside deceive you. You firmly cut away the outside skin and you'll be left with a wonderful white flesh.

Celery Root

This flesh smells of celery and can be cut into chunks for soup. I believe it would probably taste very good mixed into mashed potatoes or mashed turnips. I think it would also be awesome cut into slices or bite sized pieces, sauteed until tender and served with butter.

I never tried it before I became a farm member --- nay, I don't think I had ever even seen such a root before, but now it's something I look forward to every year. I definitely recommend it.

Don't forget the Spaghetti Squash

People at the Farm

Laura is under the weather today but Stephanie is at your service this week.

That's all for now. See you next week. Don't forget to fill out the renewal paperwork this week. There are paper copies of the sign up sheet at the farm stand or you can sign up online.

Generous Greens

(Hours: Th 8-7, F 9-6, S 9-3)

Hi! We've got rain! Now, of course, it's not exactly the ideal time. Pete tells me that most of the fall crops don't need any more moisture. In the warmth of the summer, when moisture evaporates, crops do need moisture, but the fall crops can get what they need from the air and soil already.

Now don't get me wrong -- we do need the water for other reasons. In terms of ground water and the water table, we are still in low or drought conditions. So the water is a blessing for that purpose.

The other thing you may have noticed at the farm stand are flies. Perhaps it's indelicate to even mention them, but I'm not one to beat around the bush -- there are a lot of flies buzzing around the farm stand. Laura was doing her best to kill some of them today. She has also used some essential oils to repel them. However, the farm animals on the lands nearby, combined with the warm humid weather, has made it a nice day for flies. They will meet their doom soon enough!

Today at the farm stand there many options for greens lovers, such as myself.

Tender Greens

Chard!

Broccoli Raab

New this week:

• Tender Greens (a mild mustard-type green that you can cook or even try in a salad)
• Broccoli Raab
• Butter Ball Potatoes
• Acorn Squash

Acorn Squash

Items I saw today:

• Beets
• Green Cabbage
• Garlic
• Potatoes -- butter ball & sweet potatoes
• Greens --Tender Greens, Red Russian Kale, Spinach, Red Chard, Broccoli Raab 
• Peppers -- Poblano, Red bell, Yellow bell, cayenne, jalapeno
• Winter Squash -- Acorn squash, Butternut squash, Spaghetti squash
• Mtn Fresh Tomatoes
• Japanese Eggplant
• Asian Salad Mix 
• Arugula aka 'Rocket'
• 2nd of various items such as tomatoes and beets (Borscht time anyone?)

There were some Leeks while I was there, then the leeks ran out. But Laura believes that more were on the way -- they are being diligently harvested and they'll be as fresh as fresh can get.

Sign up for 2015 Season

It's that time again -- if you've enjoyed having this super-fresh organic produce each week, if you've enjoyed being part of the farming community, if you've enjoyed picking bouquets of flowers and herbs, sign up for next year! You'll be so glad you did. If you have a friend you think would enjoy the farm, point them in our direction so they can sign up now and become an Early Bird signup.

The sign-up sheets are now available at the farm stand. Or, you can grab one off the main website. If you want to know more about how membership works, you can ask Robin or Laura at the farm stand.

Laura hard at work