Hello, June! The Latest News from Farm & Larder and Bella Luna Farms

From the baby birds leaving their nests to the abundance of beautiful blooms, it sure feels like summer is near—and the recent weather suggests it will be another warm one, too.

Here are the farm, the arrival of June means the gardens are all nearly planted, with the cucumbers, lettuces and sorrel greens all thriving in addition to the pea vines inching up their trellises and the fragrant herbs growing in abundance in the Walled Garden. We did have do some re-fencing in the gardens recently though as the wild rabbits ate our pea and bean plants not once, but twice!

Warm weather plants such as the tomatoes and peppers are ready to go in the hoop house, with the eggplant and summer squash starts to follow. We’ve begun checking the raspberries to see if any are ripening, but we will have to be patient as those look to still be a few weeks out. In the meantime, we will continue to enjoy the peonies just finishing their vibrant season as well as the second flush of English roses in bloom. Around the rest of the farm, the animals are enjoying a ‘spa day’ to brush out the last of their thick winter undercoats, while Dave and Beth Richards of JohnnyAppleBeez came to retrieve their OMB houses from the orchards, which were filled with the cocoons of baby bees; the Richards will help these bees become next year’s crop pollinators.

We also recently added a new stone path to the wood-fired oven near the Grape House, which has been the site of several recent farm dinners. These dinners—one of which we donated to the fantastic local nonprofit Farestart—make the most of this lovely season as guests dine on fresh, seasonal fare seated underneath the Grape House’s beautiful hanging grapevines. We would love to host you and your loved ones for a gathering to share the farm’s bounty; contact us for details.

Enjoy this most sunny start to June and we hope to see you here at the farm soon!