Welcome to Mary Margaret's Blog

Gardening is fun and relaxing… that’s why so many of us do it, right?!

It's the same reason we love farming!

But let’s face the facts, like most things, if a little thoughtful planning goes into it, it usually goes much better!

That’s certainly been true for us over the past 14 years of running our own farm.

Here are our top tips and tricks that we’ve learned along our way of organic gardening that can help …

The end of winter is here, and, no beating around the bush, you're ready for it to be over!

And, of course, it's not quite time for lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers fresh from the garden... yet!

I bet that I love that kind of classic salad as much as you do, especially when it's all garden fresh.

But why grumble about what's not here yet, when you can celebrate the glory of the hearty early spring …

It's finally winter and we can all take a sigh of relief after the hard work of the summer and fall growing veggies, right!?

With the solstice and other holiday festivities right around the corner I know for sure we are looking forward to days of rest, reflection, and renewal with family and friends.

We are also thinking ahead of next season, remembering what we want to improve upon or try new in the coming …

It’s only November and doesn’t it feel like winter has finally come? Eeek!

What with temps down into the 20's this week, howling wind-chills that freeze-dried our poor White Russian Kale (RIP), and a snow/sleet/rain storm that impacted our CSA pickup to add insult to injury, I’m ready for some bonafide warming comfort food!  How about you?

And a bowl of hot soup hits the spot, right? Definitely for me!

And, to be honest, I would …

Fall and holidays are classic times of year for serving mashed veggies.

Mashed potatoes and/or sweet potatoes anyone?

I know my family is always as eager to dig into those as they are the other fixings at holidays and family meals.

Because that's the point, right? Eat those veggies, too! (Not just the bread and/or meat.)

But, hang on, why stop at the well known mashes?

Mashed veggies can be made with many kinds of …

“What do I do with this big squash?”

A common question that we get from CSA members after a few weeks of fall squash distribution.

And I understand. Sometimes I can look at a pile of uncooked/unprocessed veggies… like squash… and feel at a loss, too.

Ugh! I only have so much time and creativity!

So one thing that helps me a ton is to just get the stuff cooked and into the fridge.

What?…

It’s September and your garden is cranking out harvests that taste so delicious that you want to hang onto everything as long as possible.

Or maybe your CSA farm has peppers ripening like crazy this time of year. We certainly have them by the bucketful here on our farm!

They taste soooo good and sweet that maybe you’re like me and looking for an easy way to preserve that amazing pepper flavor for …

Pesto used to be an intimidating word to me.

I didn’t grow up hearing it often, except occasionally at an Italian restaurant. And even then I had no idea what it meant. Just that it sounded fancy.

This week I had some leftover turnip greens, carrot tops, and basil in my fridge that were, well... needing to be used up. And not wanting to waste anything…

I dove in and made my first batch of pesto …

The busy summer can have you constantly running from this to that, right? 

And it is hard to find time to slow down and do something spontaneous.

I understand. I’m a farmer and full-time mama.

But, who doesn’t love slowing down to enjoy the beauty of nature and picking some gorgeous flowers along the way?

I know that I always find joy in picking flowers. Even just a small handful. Something about being outside …

Do you ever have a fridge full of veggies and no idea what to do with all of them?

Well, that happens to me at least a couple of times a week!

I'm incredibly blessed to live on a farm that produces year round organic veggies and because of that there are always veggies (mostly seconds that can't be sold) flowing into my fridge.

It's my job to make something that everyone will eat out …