Last week we planted a new patch of asparagus, our second big asparagus planting since we started farming here! While asparagus is a perennial, it does eventually decrease in productivity, and we have found that the total annual harvests from the oldest patch on the farm (planted before we arrived) have tapered off significantly in the past couple of years. We won’t get a harvest out of the new planting this this year, and next year we will only have a limited harvest next year of 7-10 days (it takes about 3 years for new asparagus patches to reach full productivity), so this is a longer term investment in the property! Fortunately, this week we are starting to see an uptick in the daily harvest from our current two asparagus fields, our planting from 2016 as well as the patch we believe was planted in 2009 by Patrick McGrath, so we are hoping to have the farm stand open for self-serve walk-up sales by the end of this week or early next week. In the meantime, we will be taking online pre-orders. Ordering will open today, Monday May 9th at noon (closing Tuesday at 6am) for pick-up Tuesday May 10th 2pm - 4pm and 4pm - 6pm. We’ll have asparagus bunches, mushrooms, herb and tomato seedlings, tulips and daffodils available.
To order visit: https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop
Available for pre-orders (starting at Noon Monday May 10th) for pick-up Tuesday May 10th:
Asparagus: Limit 2 bunches per customer please!
Mushrooms from Fat Moon: Farmer’s Mix, 8 oz bags. Certified organic, grown in Chelmsford, MA. This is separate from the Mushroom CSA!
Tulips: Varieties include Menton (rose pink with apricot-pink edges, single blooming type) , Avignon (iridescent red and orange flushed with raspberry-pink and shaded orange towards the edge. Single blooming type), and Blue Spectacle (deep purple, double blooming with tall stems).
Daffodils: a few bunches for tomorrow, but more will be available at the end of the week!
Herb seedlings: Sage, Parsley, Thyme, Oregano, Basil. All suitable for container or garden planting.
Tomato seedlings: Chefs Choice (orange slicer) and Striped German (a favorite heirloom tomato, yellow with pink streaks). Keep indoors or covered until the chance of frost has passed.
Spring Mushroom CSA Week 3: It is week 3 of our 10-week spring Mushroom CSA from Fat Moon Farm! Each 1lb bag of mushrooms this week is an oyster mix including a couple of the following: blue oyster, king trumpet, yellow oyster, and black pearl. Mushroom CSA pick up is Tuesday 11am-6pm. If members order additional items from the online store then their entire pick-up will be ready at the time selected for online pick-up on Tuesday (2pm-4pm or 4pm-6pm). Any uncollected orders will be put away at 6pm on Tuesday evening and put out again Wednesday morning at 7am. Please email Melissa if you would like to arrange a different pick up day or time.
Online ordering tips and reminders:
Orders are open to everyone! You do not need to be a member to purchase.
You do not need to create an account to place an order.
Be sure to choose your pick-up time (there is a red drop-down menu in the upper right-hand of the screen). If you don’t choose a time, you won’t be able to see the items in the shop.
Once an item is sold out for the day, it disappears from the online shop.
Payments are made by credit card unless you are a Barrett’s Bucks member. Barrett’s Bucks members may select the “Bucks” payment option. (it says “free” in parentheses behind both payment options - this just means that it is free to use that payment option, not that the product is free!).