We eased into the farm season this year. Our first market appearance was today. We love hanging out at the Meadville Market House on Saturdays, so we were happy to be back. See you next week!
A little weeding...
Last year, the farm was aesthetically pleasing for most of the season. The rows were (mostly) neat and tidy, and we were proud to show it off. This year, it’s quite aesthetically displeasing. Yet, despite the weeds, it’s been a good year so far, so we’re just not going to worry about what it looks like this season.
We did, however, need to clear out one spot, or risk losing our celery, which Jason started from seed in February and tended to for weeks before we transplanted it in June.
This was the sitch on Sunday morning:
Believe it or not, there were four rows of tiny celery in this mess, as well as rosemary.
We pulled a few weeds by lunchtime. Haha!
Getting better. The celery looks droopy because it literally hasn’t experienced full sun in weeks.
Way in the back, there was a section of celery that was a lost cause. Some kind of grass that was nearly impossible to pull had taken hold (and was no joke 4 feet tall!). We salvaged any celery we could from that section and transplanted it. Then, we mowed the grass down. The celery and rosemary are tucked all snug in straw and getting a long watering. On the far left, you see heirloom tomatoes.
Here’s proof that we do crawl out from under the weeds every now and then. Fingernails mostly clean. We had my best friend and her children stay with us last week, and she took Silas and her boys on an adventure day. We declared that we were wrapping up farm work in the morning and doing something fun — just the two of us. We checked out Davenport Fruit Farm Cidery and Winery — what a cool place! It was so nice to relax for a few peaceful hours. And, yes, we spent much of that time talking about… the farm!
And I’ll close things out with a tomato photo because we’re elbows deep in tomatoes right now. Enjoy the rest of your August. Nights are getting cooler. School’s about to start and we’re half way through the CSA season.
~ Stella
Best laid plans
If you know what they say about “best laid plans,” then you’re wiser than we were last year. We thought we had 2022 all figured out, and then it unfolded in a completely unexpected way from the start.
We’re happy to report that the unexpected turn of events this year has been a true gift to our family. Last year, Jason started his own grant writing and project management firm. Basically, he's continuing to use the skills he acquired during his decade in local government, but in the private sector on his own schedule.
This was supposed to be a side gig — just something for added financial security. As soon as he left his full-time county government job in December, his new business took flight — and it hasn’t touched down yet. We even recently completed the steps necessary to make me an employee of the business. We definitely did not see that coming.
To keep ourselves from going crazy with work this year, we’ve scaled back how much we harvest and sell. While the CSA remained unchanged from last year (about 50 families, 18 weeks of produce), we decided to step back from online sales and regular farmers market appearances. We LOVE setting up a stand at the Meadville Market House on Saturday mornings, but we could not maintain that level of time/physical labor every week this season. We skipped the past few Saturdays to catch up on the farm and enjoy family time — and just breathe! FYI: We do expect to be at the farmers market this Saturday (July 30).
We’re learning to set boundaries with the farm, and work in general. This season, our farm priority is the CSA. Beyond that, we’re not doing anything if it stretches us too thin.
We definitely didn’t see this plot twist coming, but we’re glad it did. We’ve been 100 percent self-employed for seven months now. Our new business has given us financial freedom and freedom when it comes to the farming choices we make. We’re still busy making plans for 2023, of course, because we’re planners. But we’re remembering to factor in enjoying life and our family and friends in those plans.
~ Stella
Kale hideaway
PHOTO Stella Ruggiero
Hello, welcome to my kale leaf house.
Two-thirds of the way through our best & perhaps hardest season
“The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color.” - Natalie Babbitt, from Tuck Everlasting
Doesn’t she describe the beginning of August perfectly? I’m behind the times with this passage, but an earlier draft of this post was written in the first week of August, at about the half-way point of the CSA season, but now we’re two-thirds through, and it feels like the Ferris wheel is on the downturn again.
But let’s backtrack a bit to the half-way point because there’s a clear shift in priorities on the farm at that mark. From March through late July, it’s all about seeding, transplanting, and upkeep. That five-month stretch is intense. During this time, Jason works close to 90 hours a week between the farm and his full-time day job. I clock around 55 hours for the farm, not counting time spent on my separate writing life. Let me put it out here honestly: the current system technically works, but it’s not at all our vision for our family and the farm in the long term. The set up of our lives right now is more about surviving the season, rather than thriving in it.
Around Week 9 of the CSA season, there comes a change almost overnight. It’s the half-way point, and time has run out to seed and transplant most things. And although we’ll continue transplanting lettuce and some fall and winter crops, the time has come to harvest. All of those pepper plants and tomato vines are living out their intended purpose.
Given the design of our life at this junction, there is no time or energy for weeding, or a lot of other tasks that aren’t deemed completely necessary. In the weeks ahead, given our current workload, we must use our strength for harvesting. It makes no sense to weed a parsley patch, when there are ripe heirloom tomatoes to gather. We’ll shift back to more upkeep when the season winds down in autumn.
It’s also that time when you realize summer won’t be here much longer. The other day, Silas and I walked down to look at his garden row. It grows beside a patch of sunflowers and zinnias. I knew they were all in bloom, but only because they sort of flashed red and orange and yellow as I drove by in the pickup every day. This was the first time I stood in front of them and really saw them, all full of beating butterfly wings and humming bees.
Now, let me tell you why this season has been our best, and maybe one of our most difficult. (It’s a toss up between this year and season two.) Here’s the cliff notes version of the farm’s history.
In the beginning, it was a little backyard operation. The next year, we relocated the farm to its current location, and did all farm work by hand. I was still working full-time, and the season was hard, especially for Jason, who sustained an injury and then a wicked case of shingles. In season three, I left my full-time job, and we bought the walking tractor. In seasons four and five, we hired a part-time helper. Then, in season 6, the pandemic shut down Jason’s workplace and he worked from home for an entire season. This freed up his commute times and lunch breaks, and frankly, more of his mental and physical energy, and also meant he could care for Silas while I was up at the farm.
This year, he’s back in the office full time, and we opted to forgo help. So it’s been a tough one.
At the same time, it’s been our best season for several reasons. Chief among them, of course, is the deer fence. The stress of that situation, and all the extra work it created in past seasons is over. There’s also the landscape fabric, and the straw, and the ability to draw on seven years of farming and business experience.
There’s another reason why each week of this season feels like another leg of a difficult journey behind us. A seismic life change is coming our way in 2022. I want so badly to tell you about it, but it’s still a little too soon. As Tom Petty sang, “The waiting is the hardest part.” This season has been one of the hardest because we’re waiting for something. A change is coming.
~ Stella
1/2 bushels of tomatoes are ready!
What an exciting day of picking! These are heirloom tomatoes. They’re grown from seed that’s been saved for generations. They grow in beautiful colors and unusual shapes. They’re how a tomato is supposed to look and taste. In our opinion, they make the most delicious sauce.
Hello to our fellow tomato lovers! It’s time to sell tomatoes by the half bushel.
If you’d like to order, email PlotTwistFarm@gmail.com, or message us on Facebook. Let us know how many bushels you’re interested in, and we’ll set up a day for you to pick up at the farm. We’re at 9179 Dingman Road (look for our sign). Dingman Road is located off state Route 27, about half way between Meadville and Titusville.
Here’s what we have. All varieties are delicious for sauce. Like all Plot Twist Farm produce, our tomatoes are grown with absolutely no sprays. Each bushel weighs about 25 pounds.
HEIRLOOM TOMATOES (any combo of brandywine, pineapple, and Cherokee purple): 1/2 bushel for $40
PINEAPPLE HEIRLOOM TOMATOES (these are Stella’s FAVORITE!): 1/2 bushel for $40
RED TOMATOES (a mix of medium-sized to large Mountain Magics and Early Girls): 1/2 bushel for $32
MIXED TOMATOES (any combo of heirlooms and red tomatoes): 1/2 bushel for $35
ROMA TOMATOES (aka “sauce tomatoes”): COMING SOON 1/2 bushel for $35
~ Stella & Jason
Um… those aren't potatoes
On Sunday morning, we were digging up red potatoes when the potato digger unearthed these soft, ping-pong ball-sized eggs. They’re the handiwork of a snapping turtle mama.
We’d unknowingly met the likely mother about two months ago. She was trapped inside the deer fence, and we had to use a shovel and wheelbarrow to gently relocate her to the woods.
Now, you’ve probably heard the saying “meaner than a snake.” Well, it could be meaner than a turtle. She was a fierce lady. When I tried to nudge her on the shovel with a hoe, she grabbed the metal in her curved, beak-like mouth and nearly yanked it from my grasp. And when we flipped her on her shell, to better scoop her up, she flipped herself upright with one powerful flop. She weighed around 20 pounds, and was tougher than a little armored tank.
The tractor wheels and tines of the potato digger had went over the potato row about three times before we discovered the nest. We planted the potatoes in the spring, and she must have slipped in and dug a hole for her babies right under our noses.
From what we read, when relocating snapping turtle eggs, you should move them as little as possible, and try to keep them oriented the way you found them. So don’t turn them. It has to do with how the embryo is positioned.
We transported about 40 eggs to a patch of woods down near the farm pond. We dug a hole, and then put soil and compost over them and tried to hide it with leaves. Hopefully, at least a few of them will get a chance to grow up and be as mean as their mama.
We’re wondering if this was the mother turtle. We relocated her from inside the deer fence about two months ago.
~ Stella
A taste of summer: 5-ingredient pasta pomodoro
For the fresh ingredients, you’ll need: tomatoes, basil, and garlic.
Pasta pomodoro is wonderfully simple, and uses just a few key ingredients. I’ve written before about my preference for easy, delicious foods on repeat. In the summer, this is one of them.
This is how I make pasta pomodoro. You only need pasta and salt, plus five key ingredients. I’ve left most of the quantities “to taste,” because it’s really about your preferences, and what you have on hand. The beauty of the dish is found in its freshness, and that all answers are correct by virtue of your tastes.
INGREDIENTS
Pasta of your choice (We use whole wheat penne or spaghetti.)
Salt, to taste
Olive oil, to taste (I make this dish with a thin sauce, and lots of olive oil, but it’s up to you the ratio of tomatoes to oil.)
Garlic, to taste, minced
Fresh tomatoes, chopped
Fresh basil, a generous handful, cut in ribbons
Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
DIRECTIONS
1.) While making your sauce, cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
2.) Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a small to medium-sized pot. Add minced garlic. Cook and stir, just until garlic begins to turn golden. Add chopped tomatoes to the pot. Cook and stir for just a few minutes. The tomatoes will start to cook down into sauce.
3.) Add basil. Cook and stir for a few more minutes. Add more olive oil and salt, to taste.
4.) Add sauce to a bed of pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Enjoy your summer night!
~ Stella
Oh hiiiiiiii! Want to try pasta pomodoro with fresh ingredients? We can help! Click here to order. Place your order online and pick up Monday, any time after noon.