-
Cost of a Share
$390 Spring/Summer -15 weeks
$260 Fall -10 weeks
$650 Full Season -25 weeks
$620 Work -25 weeks -
Payment
$100 deposit with registration to secure your place. The remainder is due at first pickup.
or
Early Bird Special: balance paid in full by February 15th 2024 and you receive a $25 discount. -
Please contact us if you have specific needs regarding a payment plan.
-
Pickup Locations 2024
-
Richmond
Birdhouse Farmers Market
1507 Grayland Avenue
Tuesday 3-6:30pm (Nov. 3-6pm)
Sub Rosa Bakery
620 North 25th sSt.
Tuesdays 3-6pm
Pizza Bones Farm Stand
2314 Jefferson Ave - Pizza Bones
Saturday 9-12 -
At the Farm
50 Dale Dr Green Bay VA 23942 Saturday 9-5pm -
Join Now
Please contact us with any questions and make checks payable to Tomten Farm. *******************************
Tomten Farm 50 Dale Dr. Green Bay, VA 23942
info@tomtenfarmva.com
434.392.1896
Weekly Share September 19th – 25th
This weekend we hopefully wait for the coming storm. For the first time in over a month it looks likely that we will get some rain sometime between tonight and Monday evening. We cannot begin to express how important even the smallest amount of rain would be for our crops and land right now. It has been over a month since we got any precipitation and that was only 1/10th of an inch. Since mid June, we have had around 4 inches of rain total with 3 inches of that in a two-day period in late July. This lack of precipitation coupled with three very hot and sunny months have meant our land is currently very dry. So dry that we can run a hose in one spot for 3 minutes and it never saturates, rather the water disappears. One can imagine that these are not ideal conditions for beginning cool crops for the Fall and Winter season; but that is why adequate irrigation systems are a necessity for an efficient farming system. As we stated last month improving our own irrigation system is now top priority for our Winter projects, so we can more adequately care for our crops as well as minimize our labor in times of heavy irrigation. For us this feels like a drought; but ironically there are many places around the world that deal with these conditions most of the time. Virginia normally has lots of water, not always when we want it, with humid conditions and heavy soil, normally we retain good amounts of soil moisture. We are not used to thinking in terms of water conservation in order to survive drought conditions, a real luxury compared to so many farmers around the world. It has made us realize we must be smarter by implementing an efficient system both in terms of labor and water usage. We must be better prepared, thinking about methods for better soil moisture retention, looking for crop varieties that are tolerant to hot and dry conditions and saving seeds from plants that can withstand this current Summer. As painful as the last six weeks has been for us, struggling to get our Fall and Winter crops started, this is the part of farming that keeps us farmers present, focused, and thoughtful. Normally we struggle with wet or humid and warm Summers, where diseases thrive and so we are anticipating those effects; but the weather turned it all around on us this Summer and gave us a whole new set of conditions to react to. This is why we always look so exhausted and yet it keeps us on our toes and keeps us coming back for more.
Eggplant with Thai Basil
Slice the eggplant into ½ inch rounds and fry them over medium high in a wide skillet with ¼ inch of canola or other frying oil. When things get going, the eggplant slices will absorb the oil and you will gradually see it penetrate through to the top. Make sure that they don’t get too brown on the bottom before this happens. If the eggplant slices absorb all the oil and still don’t look wet, you must add more—but don’t worry, because they will release much of it as they cook. When they look like they have absorbed enough oil and they start to get nice and brown on the bottom, flip them over and brown them on the other side. If the pan is dry at this point, don’t add more oil because the slices have absorbed enough to fry themselves. When they’re done, drain the slices on paper towels
This entry was posted in weekly share. Bookmark the permalink.