Hamlet Organic Garden

October 28, 2008 Share 22
Whats Happening At the Farm
The last share of the year. They really do go by faster and faster! We hope you all enjoyed being part of our farm this year. There has been lots of positive feedback and kind words from members. Thanks to all of you for making it possible and thanks to everyone who helped make this season extra memorable by coming to our farm events, helping in the field, and sharing the joys and struggles of sustaining this unruly animal we call the HOG! For me this was one of the most exciting summers of my life.
When Jill and I moved back to Long Island in 2005, we didn’t know what to expect from this farm. Over the past four years, we have expanded membership from 90 to 240 families. From 5 acres of cultivated fields we have grown onto 6 additional acres. By organizing fundraising events we raised the money to fence in the farm, build a pole barn, and purchase a cultivating tractor that we converted to run on electric power. Pursuing grants has resulted in an efficient and durable irrigation system, and a farmer training program with four graduates these past two summers.
Our farm board is motivated and we will be taking a hard look at where we want the farm to go over the next 2, 5, even 10 years. In the immediate future we have the potential issue of water contamination from the Brookhaven Landfill. I I am confident we can prevent this problem from threatening the farm through the hard work and continued support of our membership.
We already have over 80 current members renewing their shares for the 2009 season. That is a record for us, and very reassuring in these economically tumultuous times. We will continue to be accepting applications exclusively from renewing members for the next month or so, so be sure to get that in before we open it up to our waiting list of over 100 people!
Stay tuned for updates over the winter, we will be sending out the 2008 Member Survey soon so we can get your detailed feedback. Continue to make positive and creative food choices! Buy local, organic; waste nothing, and taste everything!-
Farmer Sean for Jill, Bryan, Steve, Bryan, and Ian
In Season Now
Because this is the last week, you might not see everything on this list available at your pick-up, but there will be a choice of a variety of items

Kale or Chard
Spinach
Bok Choy
Napa Cabbage
Carrots
Beets
Rutabaga
Celeriac
Peppers
Potatoes
Onions

Pick Your Own
Pick your own items are available for you to harvest at any time, as long as it’s not raining. Look for the signs marking the beds!
Chives
Sage
Rosemary
Mint
Oregano
Thyme
Parsley

HOG Farm Calendar

HOGtoberfest!!!!
Thursday October 30th at Porter’s

Board meetings are at 9am the third Saturday of every month at the Red Barn in the summer

October 20, 2008 Share 21
Whats Happening At the Farm
Almost a month now with no rain. This time of year, with shorter days, less intense sunlight and cooler temperatures, plants don’t need as much water to grow and stay healthy. But it has been dry long enough that the soil is too dry to supply adequate moisture to germinating seeds. Seeds are smart, they won’t germinate unless they sense that the conditions are right. Temperature, light exposure, and moisture must meet the individual criteria for germination of different seeds. Right now I am eagerly awaiting the germination and growth of the cover crop seed that I have been spreading over the empty fields in preparation for winter.  Rye and oats are grasses and vetch and peas are legumes.  The trick is to plant them early enough that they can get a good start of growth before the real cold sets in and wind rain and snow start eroding away our precious topsoil. Plant roots do a great job of holding the soil together. The roots themselves do so, as well as mucilaginous substances exuded by the roots. The millions of soil bacteria fungi, and other organisms that thrive in soil nourished by living plant roots also do their part in creating stable soil aggregation.
Luckily we humans don’t have to exude mucilage in order to keep our farm together. We all support the farm in myriad ways, through buying shares, coming to fundraisers, volunteering in the field, sharing recipes and stories. For the sake of our cover crops, let’s all pray for rain!
In Season Now
Broccoli or Cauliflower
Napa Cabbage
Arugula
Carrots
Rutabagas-mashed like potatoes are so sweet and good for you too!
Peppers
Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Onions

Pick Your Own
Pick your own items are available for you to harvest at any time, as long as it’s not raining. Look for the signs marking the beds!
Hot Peppers-1 pint
Cherry Tomatoes– the whole bed is now open to PYO, 1 pint per share
Basil—no limit, pinch the tops off to pick please! Have mercy on the first plants in the bed and walk further down the bed to the less picked-on plants please. Pick a lot and freeze some pesto!
Chives-no limit
Mint-no limit
Oregano-no limit
Thyme-no limit
Parsley-10 stalk limit, only pick 1-2 stalks per plant please!

HOG Farm Calendar

HOGtoberfest!!!!
Thursday October 30th at Porter’s

Board meetings are at 9am the third Saturday of every month at the Red Barn in the summer

October 13, 2008 Share 20
Whats Happening At the Farm
Despite the unseasonably warm weather we are winding things down at the farm. There will be no more tomatoes or flowers since we need to begin preparing the ground for cover crops. We have another bumper crop of sweet potatoes this year if you hadn’t noticed. There are more coming but don’t feel any rush to eat them, they will last all winter, well into next spring if stored in a cool dark place like your pantry. Beets, carrots, and turnips can be stored in the fridge in plastic bags for months. But what to do with those enormous Daikon radishes?
The Daikon radish is very special. In Japan, they grow more Daikon than any other vegetable! Jill and I learned this as we ate Daikon with almost every meal we were served; breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Japanese cuisine incorporates many cleansing foods, partly in response to the radiation poisoning from the atomic bombs dropped during WWII. As we are all bombarded with pollution in the air, water, and food we eat, we can all benefit from a little daikon. Daikon is much milder than the radishes we are used to here in the U.S. The easiest way I have found to ‘prepare’ daikon is to cut it into half moons, pack it into a quart jar, and fill the jar with rice vinegar.
Another end of the season acitivity we are preparing for is HOGtoberfest. This year it will be at Porter’s instead of Painter’s. Join us on Thursday October 30 at 7:00 for drinks and a gourmet meal all prepared with veggies from the H.O.G! Tickets are $100.00 and can be purchased at pick up or you can mail in a check to the P.O. Box. Proceeds will go to the H.O.G. capital improvement fund, to pay for solar panels and other worthwhile and innovative improvements to our farm infrastructure!

In Season Now

Daikon
Broccoli or Cauliflower
Lettuce
Salad Mix
Arugula
Raddicchio
Carrots
Turnips
Peppers
Sweet Potatoes
On The Way
Rutabagas

Pick Your Own
Pick your own items are available for you to harvest at any time, as long as it’s not raining. Look for the signs marking the beds!
Hot Peppers-1 pint
Cherry Tomatoes– the whole bed is now open to PYO, 1 pint per share
Basil—no limit, pinch the tops off to pick please! Have mercy on the first plants in the bed and walk further down the bed to the less picked-on plants please. Pick a lot and freeze some pesto!
Chives-no limit
Mint-no limit
Oregano-no limit
Thyme-no limit
Parsley-10 stalk limit, only pick 1-2 stalks per plant please!

October 7, 2008 Share 19
Whats Happening At the Farm
Perhaps some of you have heard about the Beaver Dam Creek Water Quality Report. Robert ‘Mac’ Waters of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services Bureau of Marine Resources has been collecting and analyzing water samples from the Beaver Dam Creek which flows south to the bay west of the farm, and Little Neck Run, a tributary of Carmans River which also runs into the bay, east of the farm.
Over the past six years, his study shows that the leachate plume from the Brookhaven Landfill has begun contaminating these two streams.
The landfill plume has contaminated the groundwater in an area extending southeast into the heart of Brookhaven Hamlet. No one knows the exact area affected by the plume, the depth or concentration of contamination, because the Town has failed to maintain its monitoring wells. Now that the report is out, there is no denying that something must be done.
When I first caught wind of this report last winter, I immediately contacted the town and after several harrowing weeks of bureaucratic telephone trees met Mac Waters in person. He agreed to test our well water to determine if it was being contaminated by this plume. The results from the spring tests indicate that our south well, which we use for watering the seedlings and washing the produce is perfectly clean. The north well, which we use for field irrigation does contain trace amounts of the contaminants coming from the landfill plume. These contaminants are present for now at levels of a few micrograms per litre (a microgram is a millionth of a gram). The north well still meets drinking water standards in reference to these contaminants. The HOG board of directors has met regarding this issue and is ready to develop a plan of action over the next few months.
A second round of samples were taken last Wednesday and are being analyzed right now. We will compare the results and see if the levels are increasing, decreasing, or staying the same. Brookhaven Town Supervisor Brian Foley assured me at a meeting this summer that the town would assist the farm in whatever measures were necessary to provide a clean water supply. One possibility is drilling a deeper well that taps into the clean water below the plume.
We will keep you all informed about our water quality status and any action that may be necessary. We drink more of this water and eat more of the vegetables than the rest of you so you can rest assured the fruits of our fields are safe!
In Season Now
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Lettuce
Arugula
Beets
Carrots
Peppers
Onions
Garlic
Sweet Potato

On The Way
Rutabagas

Pick Your Own
Pick your own items are available for you to harvest at any time, as long as it’s not raining. Look for the signs marking the beds!
Tomatoes- o.k. to pick green unripe tomatoes. 10 tomatoes per share
Hot Peppers-1 pint
Cherry Tomatoes– the whole bed is now open to PYO, 2 pints per share
Basil—no limit, pinch the tops off to pick please! Have mercy on the first plants in the bed and walk further down the bed to the less picked-on plants please. Pick a lot and freeze some pesto!
Chives-no limit
Mint-no limit
Oregano-no limit
Thyme-no limit
Parsley-no limit
Flowers-10 stem limit