Pumpkin Carving (and seed eating)

We all know that when choosing pumpkins to carve, the face is the most important thing! Some people like tall faces, others like perfectly round ones. People that like to carve really scary pumpkins often will chose those that have bumps or scars on their skin (as long as the scars are healed over) to add to the creepy appearance. Some folks think that you can only make jack-o-lanterns out of the larger pumpkins, but I have seem some of the cutest ones made from little sugar pumpkins. The trick there is to make the candle hole in the bottom of the pumpkin and not take off the top. I actually prefer to make cut a bottom hole in all of my jack-o-lanterns, and just place it over the candle or light. Then, I never have to worry about the top caving in.

Pumpkins for carving do not have to be perfect. You can often get a discount on a pumpkin that has a bad spot and work that part in to your design. Speaking of design, there are a variety of patterns available in kits or on-line that allow you to create amazing designs. If you prefer to “free-style”, pick up a pumpkin carving knife. They are small and flexible, and have great teeth for cutting the pumpkin, but not the carver! Don’t forget to save the seeds from your pumpkin!! One of the best things about carving a pumpkin is baking the seeds! Check out the recipe below.

Hickory Dell Farm is holding a pumpkin decorating contest on Sunday, October 19 from 1 - 3. Click here for more info http://www.hickorydell.com/seasonalspecials_specialevents.html

Baked Pumpkin Seeds
Cooking spray, olive oil, or butter
The seeds from your pumpkin
Optional: Salt, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, or other seasoning of choice
PREPARATION:
Rinse pumpkin seeds. Use your fingers to remove all the pulp. Drain seeds and discard pulp. Spread out on paper towels on a cookie sheet to dry overnight. Preheat oven to 250 F.
Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil. Toss seeds in olive oil, butter, or spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, cayenne pepper, or your choice of seasonings. Toss to coat. Bake about 1 hour, tossing every 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Cool pumpkin seeds before eating. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 months or refrigerate up to 1 year.

Llamas and Pumpkins and Gourds, Oh My!

The air has been crisping recently, though, thankfully, we have not yet had a killing frost. We are entering one of our top three favorite months here at the farm. October is the month for llama photos, for pumpkin decorating, and for glorious color. Sunny, warm days and cool, clear nights. Leaves turning red, gold and every shade in between. And Halloween! We love it all.

We will save most of the Halloween photos for later, but for now, enjoy the current bounty.

Mums are huge and colorful this year.

This is a Long Island Cheese Squash. Looks like the pumpkin Cinderella's fairy godmother turned in to a coach, but it is more of a tan color. These not only look great, but make a delicious pie when your seasonal decor turns to things more wintry.

The best decorations include pumpkins of many colors and sizes, and gourds in amazingly crazy and fun shapes and colors.

If you want to do something really creative, arrange your flowers in a carved-out pumpkin. We line the inside with some tin foil to keep the pumpkin fresh longer. For best results, change the water daily. The arrangements above were made during an afternoon workshop at our farm last fall.

Our scary Halloween decorations will be coming out shortly. I know they have been in the stores since July, but we will hold out for at least another week. In the meantime, some of our cute decorations are on display, like these very cool painted rocks by Westhampton artist Kate Fontaine.

Check out our website to learn more about our llama photo day, and pumpkin decorating contest.http://www.hickorydell.com/seasonalspecials_specialevents.html

Flower Bunches

John and I pour over seed catalogs beginning in September, to identify the absolutely most wonderful plants to grow for the next year's flower bunches. After his hanging baskets, flower bunches are John's most exiting product. He loves to make them colorful and unique, and he almost always adds herbs to the bunches so that they smell as well as look wonderful.

This year John hired a wonderful young woman (Stephanie) to help with the greenhouses and garden. Steph was a real weeder, and took excellent care of our cutting garden until she had to leave for college. Here are some pics:

In addition to the cutting garden, we grow glads, dahlias and sunflowers in a field setting near the pond and brook on the property. Each year it seems that one variety does much better than the others and one variety does much worse. This year, the sunflowers were strong, but the dahlias bloomed late due to a cool and wet June/July. The glads were a huge disappointment. Many turned brown before opening and it seemed only the orange and red were able to overcome the weather conditions. Of the more than 1200 bulbs John planted, only 10% were salable.

As long as the frost holds off, we will have beautiful flower bunches for sale. We have done table centerpieces for weddings and anniversary parties, and provided gorgeous, colorful arrangements for birthdays and anniversaries, to brighten a hospital or nursing home room, as well as for sellers holding open houses. Our bunches have also given to clients by our real estate agent and friend, Amy, and placed at the cemetary in honor of loved ones. We sell them in our store daily and at the farmers markets we attend in Springfield.

More HAY!

With the possible exception of the week we so luckily spent at Lake Winnepesaukee, it seemed every day in July included some period of heavy rain. It got so bad that it made the news. Here is a clip of John talking about how it affected farmers in the area.
http://www.cbs3springfield.com/news/local/26429154.html?video=pop&t=a

The rain continued in to August but now, instead of overbearing heat and humidity, we are starting to experience that September feeling. Blankets at night instead of a sheet and two fans blowing. And, no rain for three days in a row, which made it possible to start second cutting. Then a thunder storm, then another few days of sun. So now we have 2 large fields of second cut hay complete and one more to go.

This was not a good year, volume-wise for hay and right now we have barely enough to feed our own animals over the winter. The customers that usually count on us for second cut for their horses have been told they will have to look elsewhere. This is disappointing to us as well as to them. And, the hay will not be easy to find. We are hoping the weather stays warm long enough this year for us to do a third cutting, but that is a very rare occurrence, and it is much harder to dry the hay when the days get shorter and the nights so much cooler. Keep your fingers crossed!

Hay!

Our farm includes about 40 acres of hay fields, a necessary crop for providing food for our llama herd. But, hay is also a cash crop for us. The 21 llamas require less than 1500 bales/year. In a good year, we may harvest 3000 bales between first and second cutting.
Our ‘hay crew’ consists of John’s 90 year old dad, John himself (who by the way is in need of a knee replacement, and probably, a new hip as well), me, when I am not at a farmer’s market or having to watch the store, and Maxx, if he is not working at Stop and Shop and we beg him hard enough! From time to time, a neighbor might take pity on John and pitch in for a while. I actually love being out on the wagon, but it really is quite strenuous work, particularly in the hot and sunny weather required for a successful hay harvest.
We sell our excess hay to horse owners, other animal owners, for mulch, and for Fall decorating. The mulch and decorative hay is usually the result of poor drying conditions, like when it rains after the hay has been cut and partially dried. Hay is probably one off the most weather-dependent crops in existence. You need rain in the spring and during the summer to make the hay grow, but you also need 2.5 - 3 days of sunshine, preferably with a nice breeze in order to cut, dry and bale the hay. First cutting usually starts in mid-June and, with perfect conditions, we can finish before July 4th. This allows sufficient re-growth for a second cutting in mid-to-late August. The second cutting is called Rowan, and is more tender and tasty than the first-cut hay.
This year has been a tough one for making hay in western Mass. The farmers that raise cows have done a green-chop which they essentially roll in plastic or put in a silo to make haylage (which is like the silage made from corn) which they will feed to the animals over the winter. People that depend on hay to feed their animals are stressing, though, because no one has hay to sell. We got a good start in early June and had about 3 wagon loads of hay available. That was gone within a week, though, and the constant threat of thunder storms and showers prohibited us from cutting more. Finally, on June 30th, John took a risk and cut a marginal field, thinking that if it got rained on, the hay could be fed to the less-picky llamas, or sold for Halloween décor. Things looked good, but late in the afternoon of July 1, it rained on that hay. John pushed forward and continued drying that batch and in the evening cut a front field, hoping for a couple of days of sunshine. The rain held off and we started baling at about 1:30 on July 3. Racing the clock, we were able to get a few hundred bales on the wagons. The sky opened just as John was putting the last of 4 wagons in the barn. So now we have hay to put in the barn for the llamas, as well as some to sell to those desperate animal owners. We have 2-3 more sections to hay before we can leave on our summer escape to Lake Winnepesaukee, NH (courtesty of John’s brother, Bob) and the forecast is still calling for scattered showers. We have high hopes, though, that ‘Mother Nature’ will appreciate our need to take this break!

To learn more about haying and its history, click on this link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hay#Early_methods

Fireworks!!!

I recently saw my cousin, Faye, (yes same name and spelling) at a lovely family wedding and she asked me why I hadn't been adding to my blog lately. The answer is simple. June is a month where we work 15 hours/day, 7 days/week. Planting, weeding, watering, desigining, displaying, and hopefully, selling our garden and gift products. For the months of June through September, I attend 3 farmers markets/week. Tuesday at the X in Springfield (http://www.farmersmarketatthex.com/), on Wednesday at Tower Square in Springfield, and on Friday morning at the Jewish Community Center in Springfield/Longmeadow. I have a couple of hours ot do 'off-farm' things on Thursday but otherwise am at the farm/store. This leaves little time to get on-line, particularly since we do not have internet access at the store.



So, what does all of this have to do with fireworks, you might ask. Well, not a thing! But, at the end of June I always look forward to the fireworks and celebration held in Easthampton by the Kiwanis Club. Growing up in Beverly Farms, the 4th was probably our most exciting time of the year. A holiday to be celebrated at least as gleefully as Christmas. We had the 'night-before dance' and the Hastings House, the Horribles Parade early in the morning (with many of the participants still inebriated from the all-night effort of putting the float together), the afternoon races at the beach for kids as well as adults, and wonderful cook-outs, and of course, the 'best fireworks in the world'! We would lay on the beach and watch them explode over our heads. Sometimes, if the wind was right, the ashes would land among us. We were never too old or too cool to love all the festivities, and when I married John, he knew that the Fourth in the Farms would always be part of the plan. And it was for quite a while. But, once we opened the store it was difficult for us to get away for the holiday, so we started a new tradition of openening our pool to friends and family on the 4th and closing the store early to enjoy the afternoon. The fireworks in Easthampton made it all bearable. This year they were cancelled because of foul weather forecasting. I am having trouble recovering from my disappointment. It just doesn't seem like the summer without those fireworks. My friend, Di, promises to find another venue to feed my barrage additction (that IS the part I love the best), so I am still holding out hope.....

Orange

I recently realized that this year, I am in to Orange, (as my high school classmate, Sheri Leighton, would say) "IN A BIG WAY".

Orange is a sunny color, a summer color, a rich color. It is also excellent as an accent, but not to be used in large doses (unless freshly squeezed in a glass with a generous dose of vodka and perhaps a spash of cranberry).



Here are some ways I like to use orange.

I recently made planter boxes for our local office furniture and supply store, Whalens (http://www.whalens.com/) in Northampton. Just FYI, you won't find beautiful flowers in front of the Staples that opened in the Big Y strip mall this year. The plants in the boxes need to be able to handle some sun and some shade, and are placed on either side of the front door. This year I used a tall red coleus, the Kiwi coleus in the center (crazy/wonderful leaf shape) and orange New Guinea Impatiens. You need to visit the store to get the full effect (as well as a great deal on office supplies and furniture - tent sale this weekend), but these colors are outstanding against the tan block background, if I do say so myself.

I love tea, and searched high and low for 'killer' pots to brew our locally blended Teas (http://www.teaguys.com/) and mugs for sipping. In the meantime, I also found gorgeous plates for the sweet snacks we love to enjoy with our tea and even a poppy trivet for hot stuff or simple beauty. Orange goes with a lot of other colors, so as I said, you don't have to go crazy with the color.

Having a party or need a hostess gift? A former neighbor, Jill, stopped tonight on her way to visit a friend's home. She needed an under $1o hostess gift. I showed her the Vance Kittra candles and she chose a pear and a pair - in orange of course! The summery color!

We have a number of other items in orange, so if you are like me and digging citrus these days, stop by and see what else Hickory Dell has to offer.

The Gift Shop

For the last couple of years, we have had people stop at the farm and come in to the store and say, "I have been driving by here for years and I never knew you had such great stuff in addition to the beautiful plants in the yard". Part of the problem, we know, is the sign. It is pretty, but we had it made years ago when we were just about to open the store, and had a bit of a different vision of what we would be. Last year, we had our friend, Ed Radding, of Radding Associates(http://www.raddingassociates.com)/ design a new sign for us. Ed makes great signs, for any situation. Check him out. We love the sign that Ed designed for us, but we wanted to get the landscaping finished and the new retail greenhouse built before we put up the new sign. We are putting off the retail greenhouse for another year but hope to have our new sign up in 2008. This is a mock-up of what the sign will look like. And, we will have the option to let folks know what we are selling.

Many of the people who read this blog are not able to visit Northampton very often. I have been asked many times to post photos of the interior of the store. Our inventory and the look of the store changes with the seasons. We always have local milk, eggs, cheese, honey, maple syrup, dressings, tea blends, coffee, salsa and nuts. Our gift items are carefully selected and we make every effort to have something wonderful for anyone on your list. If you want to see what is in the store this month, click on this link

http://www.photoworks.com/photo-sharing/shareSignin.jsp?shareCode=A4BAAA2C6B2&cp=ems_shr_alb_pml&cb=PW

I am inserting a 'teaser' photo here, in case you don't have time to look at all.

This is a view of the store from back to front. We love having an open, airy feel - almost like a gallery, as opposed to the cluttered, too-much-to-look-at feel of many gift shops.

American Idol

My friend, Di, has been watching this show since Day One. She has tried to get me involved for a number of years, but I have resisted for the most part. I have to admit that I am a Kelly Clarkson fan, and that my goddaughter and sister took me to her concert at Great Woods a couple of years ago for my birthday, and I loved it. And, in Season 5, I thought Bo Bice sang the last song the best, but I have come to be a huge Carrie Underwood fan since then. Di loved the 2006 winner, but I was a Daughtry supporter. 2007 was almost a non-event, as far as I can tell. The winner was a sweet girl with a nice voice but not, in any way, an 'idol'. Her win may have hurt this year's 17 year old David.
From the first time I saw him, I said that the "little bon-jovi guy" was the best. This is not meant in disrespect to David Cook, but simply to indicate that I recognized his talent even before I heard his story. All I learned in the ensuring weeks, only supported my initial opinion. And the songs he sang and the growth he grew only supported my intuition.
So, I am becoming hooked to this show in the same way as I stopped everything to watch "Star Search", and, in my infancy, The Ted Mack Amateur Hour. Hope to see many of you performing somewhere. If it is live, please let me know so I can be there!

First Farmers Market of the Season

In case you didn’t notice, I have been silent for a while. All of a sudden, Spring Sprang, and I found myself up to my eyeballs in things to do in the greenhouses and around the farm. I did take pictures of my wonderful bleeding heart and bergenia plants and thought I would write about those but never got to it. But, today I do want to share the excitement of the first farmers market of the season. May 6th was the opening day at the “Farmers Market at the X” on Sumner Avenue in Springfield (http://thefarmersmarketatthex.com/). It was a beautiful day with sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70s. Below is our market manager, Belle-Rita. We call her the Mayor of the Market. She talks to all the customers, tells them how the market works, and also that they can’t leave without spending money!! Everyone loves BR!

After working for months to decide what to grow, select the best seeds and plugs we can find and then grow the plants, there is nothing like having all your ‘old’ customers back and happy to see you again. It is really fun, too, to catch up with the other farmers, most of whom we have not seen all winter.

This is Sue from “A New Leaf” in Longmeadow.

This is one of John’s amazing basket creations. Lush and beautiful, it went quickly, along with the others I brought that day. People really love color any time but early in the season they have a huge appetite for anything in bloom. The other things I find we can never have too much of are lavender, rosemary and basil.

So the market was really great, until the end when the truck would not start. Belle-Rita tried to jump me with her car. Then my friend, Sue, from Chiccoine Family Farm tried to jump me with her van, but we couldn’t get the hood open. So, I finally asked the Kettle Corn guys (this is wicked good corn, by the way – we call it Kettle Crack at the market. Check out Eric's Blog at http://wickeddelicious.com/blog/index.php) to try with their big truck. No luck.


I finally had to call John who came down with my Hyundai Santa Fe and got me started in a minute. Seems the trick was to rev the engine to a certain RPM in order to get the truck battery to charge. We finally got home at 8:30 that night. And that is the story of farming. The good always seems to be balanced by the not-so-good. But then the reverse is also true.

Sun, Bugs and Buds

What incredible weather we have had this week! As I told my friend, Michele, when we were walking the other morning, days like this are why we live in New England and are willing to put up with so many of those other types of days. Simply glorious! And of course, this brings out the garden lovers as well as a flying pest or two. The carpenter bees are back at work, so I have called Ron at “Rest in Peace Pest Control” in East Longmeadow (413-525-4227) to take care of them again. Carpenter bees drill holes in wood to create nest sites. The first time I noticed the holes, I thought John had gone crazy with his drill. They are perfectly round and about the size of your finger. The bees don’t eat the wood, though. They feed on pollen and nectar, and pollinate flowers and trees. Normally, we would just let them ‘board’ with us, but if you just let one generation after another drill their holes in your wood, it can cause a lot of structural damage. Plus, these bees are quite huge, about an inch long with big black heads, and, they are noisy. They scare our customers when they dive-bomb and fly around them. For the most part, the diving bees are males and have no stinger, but that doesn’t make them any less fearsome. So, (sigh) bye, bye bees.
And now, back to the plants. The abundance of sun has really pushed our growing plants to a new level of lush in the greenhouse. The photo above is from a few days ago but shows some of my favorite annuals. We like to grow the Proven Winner varieties because they perform so well and are almost always awesome. You can click on the photo to get a better look, or, come by the greenhouse and see for yourself.

Best Local Farm

Yesteday was a great one. The Valley Advocate "Best Of Readers Poll" was published. And, guess who was in it??? Check out the whole story here!!!

http://www.valleyadvocate.com/best/detail_08.cfm?pid=5586

Flower Power Truck

We bought a U-Haul Truck from our friend, John Novinsky at Cahillane Downtown Auto in Northampton in the fall of 2005, thinking it would be wonderful to travel to the farmers markets without having to take the seats out of the caravan. Plus, we would be able to bring a lot more inventory to sell.
We were able to entice John's old and dear friend, William Falkenburg, an amazingly talented artist and musician to transform our used U-Haul to a work of art (still in progress). Bill did some of the painting at the farmers markets, much to the entertainment of those who lingered for a few minutes or more to watch and talk and sometimes, take up the brush. This year, he promises to finish the front and the side doors. When we drive down the road, you can bet we attract attention. Bill is gaining quite the reputation in Long Island, where he lives with his lovely and very tolerant wife, Jackie. I was very proud to read this article in "the Hamptons" about Bill, and hope you will check it out as well.
http://www.hamptons.com/detail.ihtml?id=3488&apid=7160&sid=3&cid=52&hm=0&iv=0&townflag=

For your information, when Jackie shops with us, her special favorites are Romanian Art Glass and the Bolga Baskets, made in Ghana.
If you'd like to see examples of either, go to http://www.inspiraglass.com/ for the glass and to
http://www.krugersbaskets.com/home.html for the baskets.

Loving Lavender & Rosemary, too

I was in the greenhouse today just to hang out with a couple of my favorite plants, Lavender, with its beautiful gray-green foliage and aromatic flowers, and Rosemary, darker green and a bit more prickly. We can sell as many of these plants as we can grow, and every year, I tell John, “we need to grow more”. Last year I started a Rosemary Topiary, shaped with a ball at the top. I kept putting a ‘not for sale’ sign on it, but people kept trying to buy it anyway. I finally had to take it out of the greenhouse so our customers would not be upset. I think I will start some more this year. It is pretty easy. Papa Genos has some handy instructions for making your own topiary, http://www.papagenos.com/blog/template_permalink.asp?id=140 and you can come by our greenhouse and get a plant to start with.
Lavender and Rosemary are easy to grow as long as they have good drainage and full sun. In most places, you will need to add sand or gravel to your soil as well as a small amount of organic compost. This is to match the Mediterranean conditions. Sage and Thyme are in the same category and are also amazing culinary herbs. I actually love spending time in the garden with this collection as they all smell so amazing. I often pick them fresh and throw in to my salad with the regular greens.These plants also grow well in containers and if you live in the Northeast like us, you can ensure they make it through the winter by bringing them inside. We often plant Lavender and Rosemary in a terra cotta (unglazed) pot and put that in the ground. The pot keeps the plant moist over the summer. When the weather gets colder, just pull the pot out of the ground and bring the plant in to the house or a protected porch. And, there is nothing like running your hand across the top of one of these plants to release their wonderful fragrance in your home in the dead of winter. I tend to do it at least once a day!

Farming and Selling

Farming is not for the faint of heart, because, in its essence it depends on one thing that is totally out of our control – the weather. We need the proper amount of sun and heat, and rain and cool to succeed in this venture. Too much or too little of any one of these can wipe out months of hard work and effort. But, farming is in the blood….for the farmers I know, it is a passion, and something they wouldn’t consider giving up. I call it an addiction, and laugh when I tell people I do consulting and other work to support my farming habit.
I do like the growing side of things. And there is nothing better than walking from the cold outside in to the greenhouse in March. The color and the fragrance, the warmth and humidity, the earthy smell of wet soil soothe and awaken my spirit. But, to be completely honest, it is the retail side of our business that really excites me. I grew up in retail. My dad & his friend owned a pharmacy. When I was a young kid, the drug store had a soda fountain, and I was a 2nd grade soda jerk. Had so much fun hanging with the teenagers who were the real soda jerks. Hot fudge sundae, anyone? Later dad bought another store in a different town. No soda fountain there, but we were the place to go for special occasion gifts. Back then, people gave chocolates or cigars or perfume or dusting powder to grown ups, and candy and puzzles or games to kids. I absolutely loved helping someone find just the right perfume or candy or cigar variety, and then wrapping the gift with special care. So, over 30 years after leaving the family retail business I found myself back in business. I still thrill in helping a customer find a gift they will feel great about giving to a friend or loved one.

Farmer John

Here is a picture of John in his greenhouse. This is the place he most likes to be, other than the golf course!

Omasta History

In my first posting I promised to provide more info on John, his family and the farm, and so here it (finally) is.
The farm (Hickory Dell) has been in the Omasta family for three generations and is one of very few working farms remaining in Northampton, MA. In the 1930s, Paul Omasta, who emigrated from Slovakia earlier in the century, purchased the land as a homestead for his growing family. Along with vegetables and livestock, he raised broad-leaf tobacco, a popular crop at the time, used for cigar wrappers.
Over the next 50 years, Paul and his three sons and their families continued to work the land, growing a variety of crops and raising beef cattle.
My husband, John studied forestry and agriculture at the universities of Maine and Massachusetts, and assumed ownership and management of the farm in 1981. Until 1996, he worked full time at the University of Massachusetts, while raising beef, producing/harvesting hay on the family farm and two additional hay fields, and growing and selling bedding plants, vegetable starts and cut flower bunches from a roadside wagon. In 1998, we built a farm stand, put up a large hoop house to supplement the two small houses already on the property, and purchased a tractor for field crops. In May of 1999, the 20 by 40 foot Hickory Dell Farm Stand officially opened. In 2000, we added a 12 by 20 foot addition including a rest room, sink area, and cooler. We began to stock more gift items in addition to our selection of garden pots and decorations and Peruvian imports (we began raising llamas in 1996, as a replacement for the beef cattle). The farm was open 4- 5 days a week from April through October for the first few years, and then, in 2002, when I left my corporate job, we increased our store hours to 7 days/week and extended our season through Christmas. Over the years we have tweaked and adjusted what we grow and what we sell, and in 2006 decided to focus on growing ornamentals. We specialize in new and unusual, and specialty annuals and perennials.

Getting Started

People have been telling me for well over a year that I should write a blog about our life on the farm and the trials, tribulations and total joy involved in trying to make a living from the land.
I am not even sure yet how this all works so if you happen to 'bump in' to this space, please be forgiving of mistakes.

I came to live on this farm through marriage, though I am the grandaughter of an Italian immigrant who supported his family by taking care of the amazing gardens on the estate of a wealthy WASP family on the Massachusetts coast.

I will share more of my history as well as that of my husband and his family farm on my next post. I hope this will be the beginning of a long and entertaining story!