Old School Farm Blog: Fun Times at the Farm

Our apologies for not having posted since May, but sometimes life simply has you going in too many directions at once. Running a farm doesn't help either, as often this time of year we don't even get around to having dinner until 10 pm :)

The long, lazy days of summer are now upon us and Old School Farm is settling in to focus on growing vegetables for selling at the farmers market we attend each Wednesday from 4 - 6 pm. The market is located at the Cooperage - right on Main Street in Honesdale. It's a great place to find local purveyors of fresh and delicious food.

Dave selling early season produce - asparagus, rhubarb and ramps (wild leeks)

Now that it's July, we've also been able to turn our attention to a couple of big projects that got put on the back burner during the hectic spring planting season.

The biggest project we are working on right now is clearing for a fence line that will surround three or four acres of pasture we are developing in the central portion of the property. The idea is to move the sheep to this location during summer for two reasons:

Mary gets a better view by standing on her mom's back

1) Rotating their grazing area provides fresh grass and greatly reduces parasite load by not keeping the animals in the same location for months on end.

2) Keeping the sheep on higher ground during the summertime when flooding can occur is wise. Having lost five animals last year during a high water event along our river bottom area is not something we want to repeat.

The other projects that are ongoing are the hooking up of power to the springhouse so we can pump water up hill to the new pasture for the sheep. This takes a lot of doing and requires the coordinating of a plumber and electrician. Dave will also be getting some deer fencing around the new vegetable plot we have established in the main field adjacent to the Dyberry.

The newly certified commercial kitchen in the barn

Another milestone has been our recent approval as a certified bakery. This will enable us to bake wood fired artisan breads in our earthen oven. We plan on selling these at the farmer's market and hopefully eventually to be open once a week for on farm sales. We are also looking into hosting a seasonal wood-fired pizza night once a week in the future.

Old School Farm has two interns this summer and we have been very pleased with their efforts on the farm. Devon and Rip are staying in our barn and utilizing our new commercial kitchen space. They've been doing a great job of planting and taking care of our vegetable crop and we really appreciate all they are doing to help our farm move to the next level. Right now they are assisting Dave in clearing and setting up the fence for the new pasture area.

We hope your summer is going well and we hope you enjoy all the photos this time around - we had a lot to catch you up on and share.

Devon & Rip

Your Friends at Old School Farm

Sue & Dave Benner take a break to sit on a pile of living edge hemlock
that will soon become siding for the new seasonal interns cabin

Our neighbor Jim Sanders demonstrates his pizza twirl skills

The Seligsohns and Benners making their pizzas

Uncle Jeff and his perfect pie..yes that is Old School tomato sauce and spinach!

Owen about to sample one of Pat's rhubarb squares (they didn't last long)

Shhh....be very, very quiet - I am trying to catch "Momma G." (bullfrog)

Yes, Aunt Lisa you have now officially made the blog!! ;)

Relaxing after the pizza event

Lisa Seligsohn captures barn swallows on the electric fence

Family Farm Tour

Mom relaxing with her charges

Addison Benner overcame her fear of chickens to become an expert egg gatherer

The "Old Gizzard" hits the Dyberry

Uncle Rob and his nephews pick asparagus...

... green and white (white are growing under the mulch - no light)

spring dinner from the creek, pond, and vegetable garden

The Woodpecker alarm....actually a turkey "killing cone" ,
this was wrapped on at 5 am every 2 minutes by a downy
woodpecker who was staking his claim to our backyard!
It was hanging on a tree - We took it down and put it in the barn

Fresh watercress from our spring. We had placed a few
clumps into the water last year and had a very large patch
this season to harvest from. We sold bunches at the
Farmer's Market.