Farmer Nick believes in natural methods of farming. Our gardens are hand dug. We use companion planting in which plants that help each other grow are planted close together (for example , tall plants can shade shorter plants that don't need full sun, or some plants can repel pests that may hurt other plants). We never spray our vegetables with anything and we only use natural fertilizers. To keep the soil full of nutrients, we do not weed but use a chop and drop method as not to disturb the root system of the plant we are growing and ensures that the produce is packed with nutrients provided by the soil's microorganisms instead of conventional fertilizers.
Farmer Nick inoculates oak logs in early spring. Six months later harvests the shiitake mushrooms which are available at the farm's Country Store periodically throughout the summer. Shiitake mushrooms have many health benefits such as boosting the immune system and support heart health.
Our blueberry orchard consists of 1200 blueberry bushes. Farmer Nick has been working hard to bring back the neglected blueberry orchard. After clearing off the bittersweet vines and pruning the past three winters the blueberries are again flourishing. Our blueberry season for 2018 was excellent.
As with the blueberry orchard, the apple orchard was also neglected requiring the same care and hard work to pull the bittersweet off and prune. This 2018 season we were pleased that we had our first apples. We are working on identifying the apples we have. We have found historical sketch plans on the years the apple trees were planted but not the varieties or where they are located.
We have learned a lot this season and will continue to assess how often we spray and what to spray so that we can bring you the healthiest apples possible.
-Mountain Merit- 8-10 oz., red slicer.
-Dad’s Sunset- The perfect orange tomato. Keeps well, great flavor.
-Raspberry Lyanna- Simply stunning, raspberry-pink fruit is of medium size. Variety from Russia. Firm flesh is very sweet and richly flavored. Get for canning!
-Dark Galaxy Tomato- A delicious Galactic Beauty! With mottled skin resembling a scene from deep space. The taste is a perfect balance of tangy-sweetness-so juicy and refreshing.
-Brad’s Atomic Grape- Elongated, large cherries. Technicolor with lavender and purple stripes turning olive-green, red, and brown/blue stripes when fully ripe!
-Red Ace- Standard red beet. Sweet and tender, even when older.
-Chioggia- A pre-1840 Italian heirloom beet. Light red skin and beautiful rings inside, like red and white candy stripes. The flesh is very tender, mild and sweet.
-Touchstone Gold- Striking golden-fleshed beet. Retain their color when cooked. Excellent, sweet flavor.
-Early Wonder- An old heirloom, pre-1811 variety. Perfect pickled, fresh, cooked, or in borscht.
-Black Nebula- One of the darkest carrots available from skin to core. A delicious raw or cooked carrot. It’s also used as a dye. Makes a stunning, dark purple drink when juiced, and when a squeeze of lemon is added, turns bright pink. Incredibly high in anthocyanins (antioxidants). One of the healthiest foods in the garden.
-Purple Dragon- The purple outside makes a nice contrast with the brilliant orange interior, especially when served as slices on relish trays, platters and more. Flavor is spicy-sweet, wonderful for snacking and kids really seem to love them. The anthocyanin-rich purple coloration is a valuable bonus, and the root contain lots of lycopene as well.
-Muscade- A delicious North African carrot. 7” orange roots that have exceptional flavor, crisp, crunchy texture.
-Amarillo- Lovely, lemon-yellow roots have sweet, bright yellow flesh. Crunchy and full of juice.
-Pusa Anita Black Carrot- Amazing color and flavor, potentially the world’s richest plant-based source of anthocyanin. So rich in the dark pigmented antioxidant that the roots are practically black! Richer and sweeter flavor than a regular orange carrot and the color deepens as carrots mature, even bleeding like a beet when cut. An amazing carrot from India.
-Chinese Red Meat- The colorful “Beauty Heart” radish of historic China has 4” round roots with white-and-green skin, but the magic is in their rose-red center, which is sweet, crisp, and delicious. A good radish to add color to salads and stir fries. Sometimes called the “Watermelon Radish”.
-Purple Plum- Bright purple skin. Sweet, crisp, white flesh which does not get pithy.
-Galine- Very glossy, uniform black to purple firm fruits.
-Ping Tung- A wonderful eggplant from Ping Tung, Taiwan. Fruit is purple and up to 18” long and 2” in diameter. Sweet and tender.
- Pandora Striped Rose- Tear-dropped shape fruit is a lovely lilac-rose color with thin white stripes. Tender and delicious.
-Ailsa Craig- Very well-known globe-shaped heirloom onion that reaches a really huge size- 5lbs is rather common! The skin is pale yellow and the flesh is relatively mild and sweet, so is recommended for fresh use- not a storage type.
-Yellow Sweet Spanish- Flavorful heirloom yellow onion. Good storage quality.
-Corbaci- A sweet pepper, very long 10” fruit is curved and twisted, very slender.This rare heirloom from Turkey has a very rich flavor, perfect for pickling or frying.
-Sweet Bell- Red Knight- King Arthur-type with better disease resistance and a more compact open plant.
-Jimmy Nardello Italian- From southern Italy, this long, thin-skinned frying pepper dries easily. Rich flavor.
-Orange Bell- Super sweet, brilliant orange fruit is blocky and good-sized with which flesh that is flavorful and among the best tasting of all peppers.
-Lemon Spice Jalapeno- A stunning burst of fruity flavor and vibrant sunny lemon yellow color makes this a super exciting new hot pepper.
-Poblano- One of the most popular chilis in Mexico. Heart shaped fruit of gentle heat. Used green, after roasting and peeling, it is the classic pepper for chili relents. Dried, the fruit turns a rich dark red-brown and may be ground into an authentic red chili powder.
- Red Flame- Sweet-hot taste and quick drying.
-Zucchini- Dark Green- Noche- Attractive dark green, spineless, cylindrical zucchinis.
-Yellow Summer- Tempest- Outstanding culinary quality. 4-7” fruits have a rich, nutty flavor and pleasantly firm texture. Versatile in the kitchen, it retains its shape, texture, and color through a multitude of cooking applications.
-Dragon’s Egg- This heirloom originated in Croatia. Beautiful cream-colored fruit is about the size and shape of a large egg. Mild, bitter-free and sweet-tasting.
-Early Fortune- Also called Special Dark Green. Slicing-type fruit grows 7-10” long,2” diameter.
-Marketmore- dark green 8-9” fruit, great slicer. Excellent flavor.
-Goldie- This old-fashioned tomato family member bears 1/2-3/4” sweet golden berries inside papery husks, resembling small, straw-colored Japanese lanterns. Fruits can be eaten raw, dried like raisins, frozen, canned, or made into preserves, cooked pies, and desserts.
-Ground Cherry (Strawberry Husk Tomato)- Tart-sweet berries. This is the common type used by the Pilgrims; excellent for pies, jams, and preserves of all kinds; also delicious fresh. The fruit grows inside a paper-like husk.
-Purple Lady Bok Choy- An incredible variety from China. Baby boy choy, loaded with high levels of antioxidants with anti-aging properties as well as a sweet, rich flavor that is perfect for the wok, grill or in salads. Crunchy, juicy and flavorful, this is an excellent culinary variety.
-Bush Beans- Germinates well in cool soil. Earliest to market.
-Green Magic- Heads are smooth, well domed and uniform in maturity.
-Gypsy- Well domed and uniform.
-Dagan- Produces smooth and attractive, medium-large sprouts on tall plants.
-American Dream- Exceptionally tender and sweet- the finest eating quality in sweet corn.
-Orazio- Crisp and flavorful with a nice anise flavor. Late summer-early fall harvest.
-Lacinato- Black Magic- Dark blue green leaves with beautiful savoy. Also known as “dinosaur” kale.
-Scarlet Kale- A lovely curled “red” kale that produces lots of delicious, frilly leaves. Rich in nutrition and flavor.
-Summer Leek- King Richard- Beautiful full sized leeks.
-Snap- Super Sugar Snap- Disease resistant.
-Bright Lights- Multicolored Swiss chard. Lightly saved green or bronze leaves with stems of gold, pink, orange, purple, red, and white with bright and pastel variations.
-Tomatillo Purple- Beautiful purple fruit, large size. Many are bright violet color throughout their flesh. Much sweeter than the green types, it can be eaten right off the plant.
-Rocky Top Lettuce Salad- Brightly colored and unique lettuces, it makes a flavorful and brilliant salad.
-European Mesclun Salad- Flavors range from sweet-mild to sour-hot-tangy, and colors come in red, purple, yellow, and green.
-Basil-Italian Large Leaf-Newton- Consistently produces a classic basil flavor (without strong notes of anise typically found in basil of this type).
-Cilantro-Cruiser- Bolt-resistant variety with uniform plants. Large leaves and sturdy stems.
-Parsley-Flat Leaf-Giant of Italy-The preferred culinary variety. Huge dark green leaves with great flavor.
All photos and descriptions of the fruits and vegetables above have been taken from the Johnny's Selected Seeds 2019 catalog or from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds 2019 Pure Seed Book. It is through these two calalogs that Farmer Nick ordered his seeds for the 2019 growing season.