Strawberries Going, Going….

It’s been a terrific strawberry season at Harlow Farm, and we’ve enjoyed seeing all of you. We hope all the jam and strawberry shortcakes have been worth bending over in the heat.

But all good things must come to an end, and one of them is strawberry season. So come on out to the farm while we have them. We are open 9-6, and the berries are $3.25 per pound. Please drive around to the back of the farmstand to park and save the front spaces for our inside customers. And bring your own containers, if you can.

Next up: blueberry season!

 

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The Magical Cover Crop

You might have seen the beautiful cover crop growing on the field beside the farmstand. The combination of oats, peas, crimson clover, and turnip was planted last fall. It protected the soil through the winter and spring, preventing erosion, and adding organic matter and nitrogen to the soil.

We’ll turn the cover crop under soon and plant a fall crop of red cabbage.
Cover cropping is supported by a longstanding Natural Resource Conservation Service program. We plant about 125 acres of Harlow Farm to cover crops each year.

We also participate in the NRCS’ Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. Through CREP, we’ve planted a variety of native trees and shrubs to stabilize erosion-prone banks of the Connecticut River.

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A Cake for the Stay-at-Home Crowd

Lemon verbenaMaybe, like many homebound Vermonters, you’re doing a lot more home cooking these days. Andrew shares this yummy recipe for Lemon Verbena Cake, in case you’re wondering what to do with your organic lemon verbena and lemon geranium leaves. Andrew’s family made this cake often, and here’s how they got the recipe. Andrew had designed a garden for his parents, a garden so gorgeous it was featured in Horticulture, Better Homes and Gardens and the New York Times. The writer included the recipe  for this fantastic cake. We have both lemon verbena and lemon geranium plants – stop by, see them and  smell them. Even better: make the cake and let Andrew know how it turns out!

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