Hard to believe as it may be but here we are in the early days of August looking back and saying where did July go. As if the month flew by in a blur of prepping, planting, sweating, weeding and harvesting and in fact it truly did. But no matter where July has left you or how the greatest month of the year has left you feeling, it is August and we’ve crossed the peak of the Summer season. In terms of growing that means thinking and acting all things Fall and Winter, while all the time keeping a foot in the Summer. One thing that August’s arrival signals is the urgent call to get some of those storage crops out of the ground and properly cured. For us here at SLG since we have fished the 2026 Great Garlic Harvest, we have moved on to the onions and with a considerable urgency considering the wet weather of late. This year we planted nearly 2,000 row feet of onions more than ever before. If you happened to see the red long of Tropea onions at the markets last month than you may have an idea of just how nice the onions are looking this year. Currently there is only one 150 foot bed left in the ground as Joel worked tirelessly into the night getting 30 or so more crates harvested before the rain today.
Of course we are not all just onions, garlic, tomatoes and dirt round here at SLG. We do in fact have a soft side, especially when it comes to our four legged friends. Turn the corner around any bend on the farm and you could be greeted by one of several farm cats, a couple of pups and it’s never hard to hear the loud bah of the sheep grazing on one of their pastures. There was just one problem concerning the sheep, we felt that the flock just was not big enough. Quickly Jen’s mind got to work and it wasn’t long before by utilizing her connections with Beaver Brook farm that we were able to reserve a couple of lambs. Still a bit young at the time we would have to demonstrate patience until they were big enough to come to their new home. Finally the day came two weeks ago and after the Chester Sunday market, Joel drove the farm truck home and Jen headed to Beaver Brook to pick up the babies. Once home they were quite restless which was normal, however we were confident in how secure their enclosure was and were sure they would settle soon. Of course as new animals often do these spry little lambs quickly exploited a hole so small we could not imagine them squeezing through. From there they were into the main sheep pasture but still fenced in and secure, right? Wrong, on the Southern edge of the field a branch had fallen on the fence and the current flock was simply content to stay put so J and J never noticed the breach.
The new lambs however found this in no time and quickly were making their way toward the neighbors, perhaps wanting to befriend their horses and sheep. Luckily those little sheep were making quite a bit of noise as they made there way and Joel knew from the commotion something was amiss. Compared to our full grown sheep a tame lamb is easy enough to scoop up and deposit on the other side of a fence and the new sheep’s journey quickly came to an end. They also did a great job of showing us the weaknesses in their fences and since have been behaved. After a week of separation from the main flock we have now opened the gates and though they are still integrating before long they’ll be one bigger flock. So if your Good Food Journey this week happens to bring you to the farm shop in Middlefield maybe you’ll meet the new lambs, Bunny and Rose.`
Have a Great Week