Welcome to Mary Margaret's Blog

Hi!  It's Mary Margaret here.  I'm so excited to bring you this special guest post by Ripley Farm's Assistant Farmer Hannah Johnson! 

She's our "garden anywhere" girl, and she's about to show you how easy it is to grow the fresh organic veggies and flowers of your dreams even if you don't have garden space.  Read on and let her personal experience, tips, and success growing in containers guide you to your own...

Have …

Update: We have a winner!  Susan H. won out of 155 entries!  Congratulations!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner... 

And this year, I'm ready for it.  In fact, eating healthy while relaxing with family is on my mind.  And yours, too, I bet!

We can help with that!

Enter to win our farm fresh Thanksgiving Veggie Basket PLUS 6 recipes to go with it and you’ll be well on your way to simple, easy holiday …

What do I do with leeks?

That is a question I get often.

And I'm not surprised.  I didn't grow up with leeks.  Why not just use onions, right?

Well..... first off, not to get off topic, but don’t they look amazingly appetizing?

The long, slender, sleek look is in, right?

And their attractive blue-green and white contrast and palm-like fans at the top make leeks unarguably one of the most gorgeous specimens of the …

You're so busy especially when the fall school routine rolls around, right?

I'm homeschooling my daughter, and with fall harvests and wanting to be outside as much as possible, I'm always looking for ways to keep the kitchen time to a minimum. If that's you, too, I'm here to help!

There is a prep hack that has been a game changer for me in terms of saving time, so I want to share it with …

It's harvest season on the farm! And there's a reason that from time immemorial, we humans have celebrated the harvests!

A pile of harvested veggies like carrots, beets, onions, squash, and more represents health and comfort for the winter, right?  To me, it just feels good to see it there.

We may go to the grocery store for most of our food nowadays, but we haven't forgotten our roots as humans who rely on the …

Fall is harvest time on the farm and most importantly fresh garlic time!  

I know I'm excited and so are many customers, too.

But to be honest, garlic is a love-hate relationship for me. 

The taste is amazing, especially roasted, but...

Last year I wrote a blog post on the ways that helped me overcome my biggest barrier to using garlic in the kitchen. Dealing with PEELing the darn things!!!

(If that resonates with …

Another trendy kitchen gadget?  ::eye roll::

If you're like me, you probably have the opposite problem!

And you're looking to get rid of a few things, simplify a la Marie Kondo, right?

A spiralizer is not just a fancy kitchen gadget that you’ll use once and then give away. If you’re honestly looking for ways to eat more vegetables, especially in gluten-free recipes, you’ll use this ALL the time.

That's true for me and for many …

We all know a picky eater, right?

The telltale signs are frequent “No!” sounds and whining sounds combined with avoidance behavior, right?

Heck, maybe we used to be one! I know I was!

Because age is not necessarily a risk factor!

And many of you know my story, but if you don't, I confess, I used to be a picky eater.

But, you're an organic veggie farmer!?

I won't …

It's hot and you want to be out swimming and enjoying the short summer in Maine, right?

Now that my daughter is 5, she is begging to go swimming down at the pond 2 miles down the road practically every day!

So I need to come up with dinners that don't have me inside preparing all afternoon. I'm guessing you might feel the same way!

Here's a great way that has endless variations to get …

Late spring verging onto summer on the farm (or in your garden) is a busy time of year.

That is an understatement, right??
Do you find yourself making a list for the week that would literally take a month to do?? I totally do that all the time in the summer!

That's why it's important to have some really fun easy recipes on hand so that you're not cooking all day long while you want …