Shearing Sheep

These sheep are waiting their turn to be shorn. A lot more sheep fit in the same size space once their fleeces are removed!

The sheep shearer works hard for his pay!

The sheep are more comfortable after they're shorn, but they're apprehensive of the process. Frank and Keith are keeping this girl from escaping.

The wool will get joined with wool from another herd and compressed into a 600 lb bale before it gets sent to the processor.

Removing a sheep’s coat seems and odd thing to do in February, given that usually we have some serious cold weather coming up still….but these sheep are hardy even so. And the newborn lambs can cuddle up to their moms and get warm if there isn’t a big heavy fleece in the way.

Surprisingly, raw wool isn’t worth a lot of money. The price fetched by the fleece just about covers the cost of labor to shear them.

Strawberries going to bed

soaking up the last bit of sun before winter, these strawberries are hunkering down for dormancy

Most people don’t think about strawberry plants past June, but here at the farm we pay attention to them all year round. This newly weeded field is hunkering down for winter. Strawberries are evergreen–while some outer leaves die back, the center leaves remain green, flat to the ground and hopefully under a blanket of snow. By Christmas we’ll have this field mulched with straw to protect the delicate plants from the brunt of the cold.

Blackberries don’t know winter is coming

Yummy!

These blackberries are growing in the tunnel (unheated greenhouse), they don’t seem to realize winter is coming. Or else they’re just giving it their all right up until the end. Maybe we should write the parable of the blackberries….

Harvest Weekend October 8-9

The weather is finally cooperating, so we will have our harvest weekend this weekend, October 8-9,  Saturday-Sunday, 1-4:00 pm each day.

We’ll be digging potatoes and picking the last succulent sweet corn, and at the stand (already picked) we’ll have winter squash, apples, tomatoes, cabbages, cauliflower, and broccoli.

Come enjoy some nice fall weather, and come dressed to get your hands (and feet) in the dirt.

Any questions, call the stand at 607-687-2874.

Harvest Weekend–delayed until October 1-2

Our annual Harvest Weekend is coming right up, Saturday and Sunday, October 1-2 (originally scheduled for Sept 24-25, but delayed due to wet weather) The farm is open 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm each day. We were fortunate in the last big flood to not loose many crops in the waters, and we haven’t had to irrigate in weeks!

The following crops we have specially available for our harvest weekend (both you-pick):
Potatoes—red, yellow, white, and baking potatoes, $15/bushel
Sweet Corn—yellow and bicolor, $0.25/ear

Also available you—pick are:
Raspberries—in the tunnel, perfect picking conditions whatever the weather!
Tomatoes—romas, slicing tomatoes, and grape tomatoes
Green beans and shell beans

When you arrive, come first to the farm stand (3965 Waverly Rd, Owego) to get directions.
The road to the potato field is only accessible by truck, but if you don’t have one, we’ll be providing hay rides down and back.

Bring your own harvest containers, wear good shoes for loose soil and wear warm clothing.
Looking forward to seeing you out in the fields!

Flood of Sept 2011

The flood waters came up and went back down, leaving a skim of grime 4-5 feet high.

We got 9 inches (or more) of rain between Monday and Wednesday last week, and Thursday morning the flood waters rose….fast. Creeks and the Susquehanna River overflowed and devastated Owego and many other towns along the water. We escaped with little damage compared to some–a submerged tractor and a washed out road, plus no customers for a week because of closed roads. All the people, the sheep, and Buffy are safe, so we’re thankful.

Flashy red beet stems

Flashy beet stems are so pretty!

We don’t normally plant beets in plastic, but this plastic was already in place for strawberries and we thought we’d reuse it. Aren’t these beets gorgeous!

Cabbage decked out in diamond jewelry

These blue-green leaves are strikingly pretty, and the dew drops bead on them like smooth diamonds

Cabbage leaves repel water, so the dew drops bead up into tight little balls, like liquid diamonds. Fall brings many foggy mornings here at Our Green Acres, so the cabbage has regular occasions to get decked out in the finest jewelry.

“Baby” giant pumpkins

This is a giant pumpkin-to-be, it's this big and it's only a baby.

This bee found a cozy place to rest--in the belly of this giant pumpkin flower!

This yellow pumpkin is actually a baby, it’ll keep ballooning in size and turn into one of those impressive giant pumpkins we park at our farm stand in the fall.

You-pick yellow beans

Yellow beans are in their prime--and easier to spot among the green leaves than regular green beans!

These pretty purple flowers will transform into yellow beans.

We have you-pick beans! They’re in prime condition right now. You-pick price is $0.75/lb and at the stand you can buy them for $1.75/lb. OR, if you have more time than money, you can pick two pounds of beans, bring one to us to sell at the stand, and keep the other one for free.