New Field Farm – Temple, New Hampshire

Cucumbers and rain

Greetings,

We got over an inch of rain yesterday which was desperately needed. We can stop irrigating for a week!

Meanwhile, the cucumbers in the hoop house are coming in well and the Sakura cherry tomatoes have begun, though in modest quantity so far. The basil *in the greenhouse is abundant and the first planting of *scallions have started to size up so we can offer those.

If you have a problem ordering or a question about the CSA don’t hesitate to call or email.

Wildlife are active these days. A while ago a fox grabbed one of our chickens. I yelled at it and the fox let her go. The hen was in shock for some time, but recovered. It was the second time it had happened to her! And one morning we watched a bobcat walk along the top of the stone wall that runs by our house.
Then there’s a flock of young turkeys and their mother hen often passing through the field. I give them wide birth, having seen what a hen will do to protect her chicks. It’s intimidating, as are the barn swallows who swoop down on us now to protect their young who are leaving the nest. They stand around on the barn floor looking kind of befuddled before they figure out how to fly.

In the past week we had a young deer appear on the farm, it’s budding antlers covered in velvet. One day it stood and watched me mow round and round on the tractor which was unusual. I waved hello. Then the night after we removed the posts strung with twine and mylar around some of the crops which is meant to deter deer the buck helped himself to a lot of chard and some lettuce. He reappeared in the chard the next day and was indifferent to Madeleine running towards him waving her arms until finally deciding to avoid the crazy person. The next time he was grazing on some weeds and I got within about 50 feet, explaining that he really needed to go somewhere else. I tossed a rock at his feet and he dutifully went into the woods. After appearing a couple of more times and being discouraged by us, he hasn’t been seen now for a few days. Maybe he got the point or maybe he was ill which was the cause of the curious behavior.

Thank you for your orders.

Enjoy,
Tim