Star Light Gardens

This time of year days off are few and far between. In fact when it comes to the sort of intensive small scale market gardening we do here at SLG days off can be akin to some sort of mythical creature, talked about but never truly seen. Rightly so considering that this Good Food Community we are all a part of does in fact require a certain degree of relentlessness. Yet, at the same time in the midst of all the sweat and Summer heat if you don’t take at least a sliver of time to step back, let go and gift yourself a little time for you, than heck what is the point.

Maybe you are an avid SLG fan or perhaps you’re just getting to know us. Surely either way you can safely assume here at Star Light we fully embrace being children of Summer. And as much as we love to spend time with our feet in the dirt, there are certain traditions which must be up held. So today for at least the later half we’ll be celebrating our July birthdays, crossing state lines and relaxing with our feet in the sand. So forgive us if this week’s letter is short, even for the Summer months.

That being said we couldn’t leave you without a few teasers of what’s going on inland. The flock grows, alongside melons and tomatoes. Days grow shorter, as hard as it is to believe and we must look forward to the season of falling leaves. Next week’s tale may likely be of Stella Blue and when someone one asks you where you got that Good Food? Go right ahead and tell them who.

Have a Great Week

With the Sirius star hanging over the night sky above us we all can rest assured that the hottest days of Summer have arrived. One quick glance at the forecast for this week confirms such astrological ideas and you can bet your bottom dollar we’ll be out there working like the dogs of Summer, all in pursuit of Good Food. Even though July and arguably Summer is just getting kicked off there are a lot of “season’s lasts” happening when it comes to the hot weather and truth be told our minds are shifting to Fall and Winter. As we phase out the heat loving cultivators in favor of cold weather favorites, things like Siberian kale, overwintered onions, claytonia and spinach begin to take the forefront in our seeding schedule. Funny how it goes always thinking one or two seasons ahead in this type of work, at least hopefully keeping our minds on the cooler seasons ahead will help us cope with the heat to come.

Now if you are as big of a fan of us here at Star Light Gardens as we think you are then you know that we take July very seriously and for more reasons than just J and J s birthdays. For one July is the month when the Great Garlic Harvest commences and this year’s is of particular importance. This past Fall we planted around 400 pounds of garlic the most we have ever planted here at SLG. However in addition to planting more than ever before this is the first year that 100 percent of the seed garlic planted was saved from our own stock. Over the years we have been planting and saving more and more garlic, supplementing our saved seed with seed from an excellent organic farm. This year though we were able to save enough to plant all 400 pounds of just our own stock. Not to say that we might not grow more than that in the future and rely again on our trustee grower friends to supplement any increased need for seed. First reports in from the fields indicate this year’s crop is looking as good as ever and will be showing up at markets and online before you know it.

July of course also means tomatoes and believe us when we say it that we are as eager for the tomato waterfall as the rest of you. Our first plantings of cherry tomatoes have been trickling into the markets over the past few weeks and the flow is getting steadier each day. Heirlooms too are looking good and the encouraging sign of a few ripe ones here and there has us hopeful that the plants loaded up with green fruit now. Will soon be a sea of green leaves spotted with the yellow, pink, red, and purple color spectrum that only ripe tomatoes can create. Besides a smaller outside planting all of the plants in our tunnels have been expertly grafted by the Tomato Goddess herself Jen. Though the process of grafting does set back the plants a few weeks, it will be made up in production and longevity as the plants continue to produce after non grafted plants will have succumb to the pressures of the season. Well worth the effort and wait.

Have a Great Week

If you happen to be taking the time today to scroll through our website checking out what veg is available this week you may notice one item is missing. Spinach which is arguably a staple for us here at SLG has seen the end of it’s early 2026 run. Usually the disappearance of Spinach for the Summer is something that we mourn but this year it may be something to celebrate. You see this is the first year for us that we have been able to produce a large amount of tender spinach into the warmer months including the first week of July. Usually Spinach into June can be a challenge for a myriad of reasons, so to think we would have Spinach on the 4th of July seemed unreal. However, this is an excellent learning opportunity for both growing and for life. Sure there are many factors which allowed us to have spinach so late into the season, the weather, the hard work from the crew and of course choosing the right variety. However, all of this would mean nothing if we hadn’t decided to push past the limitations or what we thought were the limitations of our beloved spinach. In the early days of the farm many of the things we do now seemed at the time not worth trying. Despite this if it was something we wanted to try David always had one answer, “there’s only one way to find out”. It’s this attitude and open mindedness that has allowed SLG to blossom into what we are today and it is this philosophy that will continue to carry us forward. And of course when it comes to spinach don’t fret too much because as we always like to say ” if we’re worth our wait in dirt we’ll have spinach again come September.” Sure September seems far off, especially with the heat like we had this previous week but it will be here before we know it.

September aside there is still plenty of Summer left and love it or hate it that means a lot of hot weather too. It’s safe to say that both crops and growers were struggling this past week with the heat and humidity as high as it was. Of course in a constant show of solidarity all of you Good Food People were out in full force at the markets this weekend in spite of the oppressive heat. We can’t thank all of you enough for supporting us and other growers out there, without the love and support of all of you this Good Food thing just isn’t possible. We also want to give an extra special shout out to all the vendors and customers that were at the Madison Farmers’ Market this past Friday. We had the odds stacked against us with the market location changed for the day, extreme heat and a holiday weekend. And beyond the simple challenge of how much business will there be, we had to smoothly set up at a unfamiliar location all in that heat. However all the vendors were patient and understanding making the market setup as smooth as any other Friday afternoon. As 3pm approached the parking lots began to fill and many familiar faces appeared eager to get their Friday afternoon market tradition going. The good news is this week things are back to normal in Madison and for the remainder of the season we will be on the Green.

Have a Great Week

With July meres days away things on the farm are going to be heating up both figuratively and literally this week. In Middlefield our nursery is overflowing with transplants that desperately need to get into the ground. Unfortunately temps in the 90’s and even hitting 100 does present significant challenges to successfully transplanting. Familiar territory for us as it may be, weighing out the downfalls and benefits of acting now to get things in the ground or waiting out the weather so conditions are more favorable. The reality is we will more than likely develop a mixed approach to this dilemma. A few sections of transplants will go in, but not all of them. Enough so we can manage them properly using overhead irrigation to keep temps tolerable and ensure survival. We certainly won’t plant everything for one because its a bit of an all your eggs in one basket scenario but also simply because it’s too much to manage properly and patience and restraint must be practiced.

Of course transplanting is really the only farm work which will be significantly effected by the heat. Unfortunately for us with boots on the ground the never ending list of farm tasks ominously waits no matter what the temps are. At least for some tasks like weeding and cultivating the strong sun and hot temps help ensure the weeds dry out quickly and die after we’ve worked a bed. And of course as one could imagine this late in June after a few days of precipitation there is no shortage of weeding to be done. But of course every task will be that much more laborious in the sweet Summer heat of July. Let’s just say we will be keeping our water bottles close and our sun hats closer.

Another thing that doesn’t stop no matter what the weather, is the need for Good Food. And that’s a big part of why we do what we do and will be out there this week cultivating, sowing seeds and bringing in the harvest. Oh and that harvest, you of course can find it this weekend on farm and at all of the markets. Even with the 4th of July holiday all markets and the farm shop will be operating on schedule and business as usual July 3rd 4th and 5th. The one exception to this being this Friday in Madison. The town of Madison is holding in a concert on the green this Friday so we are temporarily moving the market to Academy field which is just on the other side of the playground next to town hall. It is difficult to know what parking around the green where the market usually is will be like with the concert, however there will be parking in the Academy field lot as well, as other lots on Bradley road. The market will run as scheduled from 3-6 however some vendors will be remaining a few more hours while the concert goes on. Activities around the concert begin at 6pm so in addition to the market a fun night a celebrating could be in store. Whether you are just coming to the market to shop or considering enjoying all the town’s festivities that night we hope to see you there.

Have a Great Week

The arrival of the Summer Solstice means a lot of things for many people, but for growers all around it signals a bit of a do or die scenario for many crops. This time of year feeling overwhelmingly behind on things is relatively par for the course. With so much going on at once this is to be expected but the reality is that if certain crops aren’t in the ground yet it is probably your last chance to do so within the next week or two. It seems sort of strange with the Summer just beginning but the truth is a lot of up front growth is required for the Summer’s bounty that we all know and love and that means planting in the Spring. Now believe us when we say that we have been there so behind that we are planting eggplant and potatoes in July. Of course no matter how on point one may be with their plantings that ominous feeling of Summer’s overwhelming to do list never really goes away in the heat of Summer when the grass and weeds grow faster than your quickest crops.

Of course not everyone around the farm is feeling overwhelmed there is in fact a cast of cool characters that can often be found lounging in the Sun, the farm cats. Today we are going to be featuring one of the less seen but none the less big personality farm cats, our sweet little Mizuna. Named after the Asian green that we use the most here on the farm J and J got Mizuna and her brother Paul early on in their of days living on the farm in Durham. Originally city cats that were rescued because their neighborhood starting targeting strays, the idea was they didn’t like humans and would simply be barn cats. Now this may have been true for Mizuna but for her brother this was not the case. At first we barely saw this little cat named Mizuna. She was so small and sickly that we assumed she was Paul’s daughter and in fact the way he cleaned and cared for her it seemed as such. Until their first visit to the vet where it was confirmed she was no kitten but a few years old. The first few months we had her there was a drastic improvement in her health and appearance as she finally had a stable environment. Slowly she began to show herself and we began to gain her trust and as the Summer rolled on and the cool Fall nights began J and J knew soon these “barn cats” must become Farm cats.

Luckily, over the course of a few months Mizuna and her brother began to realize that J and J were in fact not disappearing everyday but rather, going inside the little red barn they called home. Waking up in the morning we started to find the cats outside the house waiting for their humans to come out for the day. Though beginning to trust and let us pet her Mizuna was still skittish and we did fear that trying to bring her inside may send her running away. So it was decided, get her by the front door and quickly swoop her up and into her new home. And it was inside where the cat we called Mizuna transformed fully embracing house life, sleeping all day like a Queen, glancing outside occasionally as if to remember what was. Unfortunately, her rough up bringing had left her dental health in a dismal state, quite smelly and drooling in fact. But so grateful to be inside and to be loved, any attempt to sit down resulted in a full on assault of love from this cute but stinky little cat. Her relentless pursuit of love and pets combined with her less than lovely smell/discharge gained her the nick name Zombie Cat. Flash forward a few years and she is just as insistent on getting love and pets but without the Zombie like smell since the oral surgery she received some years ago, none the less the name Zombie Cat had stuck. And though the majority of the time she can be found lounging in a window sill or eagerly awaiting dinner she does regularly go outside to patrol the house and inspect the deck railings for comfort level.

Have a Great Week

It may not quite be Summer yet but the way things heated up this past week, everyone here on the farm certainly got a taste of what is to come. Luckily, this coming week though warm will surely be a relief from the temps we had. Despite the hot weather we kept on moving along in expert fashion, starting the week off with the often exciting sometimes frightening task of recovering a high tunnel. Though we did promise pics, the fear we would jinx ourselves by recording the process won the day and you will have to settle for an written account. As one can imagine we start the process with removing the old plastic, easy enough, next you take positions. The new plastic is placed on a large metal bar and positioned on one of the end wall or shorter sides of the tunnels, supported so it can be unrolled. Two people grab the sides of the plastic to pull it the length of the house, one person(usually Joel) is on a ladder at the peak to push the plastic over the top as it is pulled, two more help to unroll the plastic smoothly and one more person to walk through the tunnel and using a long tool keep the plastic from getting caught as it crosses the peak of each hoop. Sounds simply enough and it can in fact be. But a few things like how actually heavy the plastic is and potentially strong gusts of wind can turn and easy task into a gut wrenching affair. On this particular day things did in fact go quite smoothly and we were able to pull the plastic over the span of the tunnel easily. A few adjustments to make sure the plastic was square and it was time to begin wiggle wiring the plastic to the structure. Then came the wind and quite a few large gusts at that. So just imagine, six people, two on ladders holding onto a 100 by 40 foot piece of heavy plastic draped over a high tunnel and the wind begins to blow. At that point there isn’t much else you can do but hold on and hope. And you better believe that is what we did. As a fierce wind blew for probably minutes that seemed like hours we desperately clung to our individual portions of the plastic, dreading that any second the whole thing would go flying and the day would be lost. Alas it was not and we stood strong, the wind calmed down, we were able to secure the plastic and not even one piece of patch tape was needed. We’ll mark this down as an exciting and successful day.

Speaking of exciting and successful yesterday was the opening day for our last market of the season to begin, the Chester Sunday Market. This is the newest market for us here at SLG and we are in fact one of the newest vendors there. Over the past few years we have been getting to know the Good Food People of this market and we are proud to say they have been getting to know us and our food too. This was very apparent about 20 minutes before the opening of the market as fans of food and flowers began to line up at our tent just waiting for J and J to be all set up and begin to sell. From the moment we opened it was a whirlwind of bouquets, fresh produce and friendly faces for the first couple hours, so busy in fact that Joel wasn’t able to get a coffee until sometime after 12:00 something nearly unheard of. Despite the lack of caffeine it was a tremendous day and we felt welcomed back with open arms and hearts.

If you know SLG gardens chances are it is from a market and chances are you know how much we love doing them. Don’t get us wrong it is a lot especially at the end of a long week. We load, unload, set up and repeat 3 days in a row, but it is also a unique opportunity to connect with people and communities over the power of Good Food. With Market Season now in full swing you have 3 days a week where you can find Star Light at a Market. Fridays you can come see us on the farm in Middlefield or at the Madison Farmer’s Market from 3-6pm. Saturdays(12 months a year) we are in New Haven every morning from 9-1. And now we are back at the Chester Sunday Market from 10-1 every Sunday running through early October. If you hadn’t had a chance to get out to one of these markets with the Summer about to officially start there isn’t a better time than now and the coming months. Heck maybe even make it a point to explore each market and discover the unique Good Food happenings each one has to offer.

Have a Great Week

It may or may not come as a surprise to you that we here at SLG are a relatively small market garden operation. Yes, we do produce a lot and sometimes when we actually think about how little acreage we are cultivating compared to production there is nothing to do but say wow. Now even though both farm properties are not huge, each one has inclines. And though the distance may be short, one gets tired quickly of hauling everything back in forth with a cart and only human power. So as many of you could imagine we have been going back and forth trying to figure out just what is the best solution to this problem. There is an older saying around the farm that goes something to the effect of ” the solution to one’s problem is often much closer than you think”.

And when it came to deciding just what sort of machine we should get to help us lighten the load so to speak, we had to look no further than our next door neighbors and another group of great farmers. Both of whom had made the purchase of a mini truck and were quite pleased with the result. You yourselves have probably seen them out there in the wild a small little white pick up with the steering wheel on the right hand side. So the decision was made and the search began for SLG’s very own mini truck. Finally the day came and we found what seemed like the perfect one for us a Daihatsu Hijet. Needless to say since we have had the truck it is proving itself invaluable hauling everything from transplants, pups, harvests and firewood with ease. And if the lush and epic condition of things around the farm are any indication, this little truck will be working as hard as the farmers this season.

Confident in our ability to haul stuff around we are moving forward into the week and have our eyes on a few key tasks. First and foremost will be recovering the high tunnel named Shiloh in Durham. You may remember the story this Winter of Joel meticulously taping a rip that formed in that tunnel. Well he must have done a good job because the tape job is still holding, however we would be fools to think this will last. So new plastic for Shiloh, stay tuned for pics and a full account to come.

Nearly all of the main season plantings are done and as crazy as it may sound with Summer only weeks away it’s time to think Fall. So as the farm faces head on all the beauty and chaos that can be the Summer, J and J must keep one foot in the here and now and one in the season to come. Broccoli, cauliflower, kales, collards, overwintered onions and Winter carrots are just a few things which will be started prepped for and planted in the next month or two to ensure a plentiful harvest in the cooler months. But for now let’s just stick with Summer because after all the tomatoes begin to trickle in, cukes and squash are showing up and before we know it the first ripe melon will be found, more than likely leading us there with it’s sweet aroma.

Have a Great Week

Just a little over one year ago while on what could be described as the Sid’s favorite activity(a walk) Jenny, Sid and Annie discovered what would become the newest member of our and SLG’s family. Mere inches away from a sewer grate with holes big enough that a little kitten could have easily fallen through was the cutest little fluff ball we have ever seen. One quick phone call to Joel confirmed what Jen and the dogs were thinking” let’s take this little kitten home and let her join the fam.

This week we are again highlighting one of the SLG farm animals our sweet little Melon Cat. Originally, name Petite Gris for the heirloom french melon we love to grow her true name Melon Cat or Mel for short took hold in no time. Finding a kitten alone that was so young(just 3 weeks) had us feeling a little overwhelmed. We ran to buy cat formula that she could nurse on, unsure if she would eat the food we had on hand. How well would she get along with our other cats was also a concern as some of them were perhaps a little jealous at how much attention Melon was getting. Then there were the dogs, one may think an 80 pound pit mix and a terrier, chihuahua mix weren’t the best choice to have around a little kitten but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. As if they knew and were proud of the fact that they found this little kitten, Sid and Annie let this cute little Melon Cat jump all over them and play with them as if they were her size. Oh and you want to talk cute just imagine these two dogs curled up on the couch with the cutest little kitten, words just don’t do it justice.

Now a little over a year old our sweet Melon is probably 7 pounds and growing still. Like parents giving a teenager the keys we have nervously begun to let her outside and all we can say is she is certainly embracing her wild nature. Of course despite the fact that we mostly talk about all the animals on the farm constantly, there is more going on here than just a bunch of cats and dogs running around.

We continue to plug away at the main season plantings and are nearly completed with that portion of the season. Last week saw over 300 pounds of seed potatoes getting in the ground, an all time high for us here at SLG. We hope to use a little more mechanization on the spuds this year to balance out the labor intensive potato work. Let’s just hope Joel’s mechanical skills are up the the task of repairing the potato digger that mysteriously broke last year. Tomorrow we should be getting 1000 purple sweet potato slips delivered, which will really put the pressure on getting the areas prepped for them. These slips are live plants and will need to get into the ground as soon as we can manage. Beyond the spuds both sweet and not a few main season plantings are also still on the forefront. This coming week we should be planting the ginger and turmeric that have patiently been sprouting since we started them in March. Then there is of course the Winter Squash which itself is just sprouting in the germ chambers. Winter Squash is something we wait to plant a bit later than most farms and not simply because we are behind schedule. As another attempt to make things more challenging for common cubrit pests, we wait until July 1st to plant out our Winter Squash and avoid the main flight of the pesky squash vine borers. There’s alot going on to say the least and alot of moving parts as the Tomato Scientist says.

Have a Great Week

Despite the fact that many weekend plans were disturbed with the rainy weather between the long gentle rain and warm weather of late things are really taking off all around us. We brought the first cucumbers and snap peas to the market Saturday and later that afternoon Jen was found in possession of this year’s first sungolds. We are coming to the point where nearly half of the season’s main plantings are in the ground. As more and more tunnels fill up with Summer fruit and veg and table space in the nursery expands we know it will not be long before the early season work of planting will be replaced with the hot weather harvesting we wait all year for. Speaking of planting and waiting all year for things this year’s Garden Start Plant Sale has gone really well and for those of you who are procrastinators there is still time. However, be warned we are in the final stretch of the sale with only a few more weeks remaining. There does come a certain point every year around this time when we must switch our focus from caring for plants that we will be selling, to caring for and planting veg to keep the Good Food rolling in all season.

This past week the final addition to the 2026 farm crew started, bringing the total on farm crew up to 8 and if you count market help it brings the crew total up to 10, an all time high for SLG. We’ve come a long way from the earliest days of one or two farm crew members and at times it can seem a bit overwhelming. However, the fact of the matter is a solid crew is essential and without them we just couldn’t provide even close to all of the nutritious organic food we currently do or tend to the land with the care that is required. The work is certainly rewarding and just the same it certainly is not easy. Long hours, dedication and a level of grower professionalism is a requirement and we are really impressed with just how well this year’s crew is stepping up. So if you see any of those SLG farmers out there in the wild whether it be at the markets or elsewhere let them know just how much you appreciate what they do.

Now don’t get us wrong like most other things involving community, appreciation is a two way street and we would be certainly be remissed not show our appreciation for all of you the Good Food People. The unwavering support and love for growers like ourselves and what we do is as essential as the soil, seeds and farmers themselves. Without all of you, all of the great local farms and farm crews couldn’t be engaged in what many of us describe as super fulfilling and super important work. This resilient Good Food Community which continues to grow and reverberate throughout the land is arguably one of the most important things anyone out there can be involved in. It can start as simply as a visit to the market or a farm and a conversation with a grower. And from there who knows just what it can blossom into.

Have a Great Week

After such a cold start to the season you can bet your bottom dollar that growers across the region are mostly jumping with joy at the warm up to come. Sure there will probably be a point over the next few days where we’ll be thinking “careful what you wish for” when the thermometer hit’s the 90’s and the sweat has soaked our clothes. But in the here and now we are welcoming the heat, after all Memorial Day is basically the unofficial kick off of Summer and what better way to get ready for Summer than with a mini heatwave.

Around the farms things are definitely looking good, with more in production than ever before and some systems in place to keep things running smooth. Despite the heat there are plenty of things to cross off the to do list and only so much time to them all done. With that being said we will be taking the heat into consideration and giving the crew the option to work a few shorter days as we acclimate to Summer like temps. Big action items for this week include both finishing the inside pepper planting as well an outdoor planting of hot and sweet peppers. Same goes for tomatoes as we hope to get the last grafted heirlooms in a tunnel in addition to an outdoor planting of some tasty heirloom varieties that we usually don’t grow. There’s also the first planting of green beans to get in not to mention a few hundred more cukes and squash to round out the initial plantings.

It is this early season work that set’s the foundation for an excellent season to come. Yes, there is always a rhythm on the farm of prep, seed, plant and harvest. Although early on it does actually look more like plant, prep, plant, prep, seed, prep, plant. However, with any luck soon enough it will be more like harvest, harvest, seed, prep, plant, harvest, harvest. Oh and those harvests we’re talking about will be all the sweet jewels of Summer we have dreamt about for months that are just right around the bend.

Have a Great Week