. . . May Flowers & Peppers and Pork and . . .

Planting in the greenhouse this week I was presented with an amazing reality; the incredible diversity of life we have manipulated through agriculture.  This past week we planted over 40 varieties of annual flowers and a dozen different types of hot peppers.  This, of course, was just a small fraction of the possibilities available to us through our local seed companies.  One testament to the resurgence of locally based and sustainably sized agriculture is the regrowth of regionally adapted varieties, both plant and animal, that are bred for our scale and markets. 

Today we got our first beef cows of the season, sturdy Herefords, which we will keep on the green pastures of Scott Farm in Dummerston.  We are excited about our new relationship with the Landmark Trust, which owns the Scott Farm.  We are leasing pastures amongst the Scott Farm's orchards to graze, hoping to improve the pastures with intensive rotations and minimize the farm's fuel use by eliminating their need to mow.  Stop by the Scott Farm on Kipling Road to say hello to the cows! 

The farm met a milestone this week, selling out of summer vegetable CSA shares.  It's a good feeling to know that we've only got the growing to do now!  There are still plenty of milk shares and animals for reservation and Fair Winds eggs, which have gotten much more expensive at the coop lately (more on that later) are still the same old $5 at the farmstand.