Category Archives: News

Some announcements!

Congratulations to Sister Alice McCoy of Our Lady of Sorrows, who celebrated 50 years in religious life.  Sister Alice operates the emergency food pantry, where the leftover shares get donated each week.  Many of you have met Sister at the pick up site at closing time.  All the best!

A reminder of the last in a series of work days at the farm that can help John recover from the effects of Irene.  Weather looks like it will be warmer this weekend and nice for an outdoor day.  We heard from members who helped pick beans the last few weekends and they enjoyed their visits – thank you!

The volunteer work day is Sunday, October 9 to help with bean picking and with the winter squash harvest. It will begin at 10 am at 141 Brighton Rd. Andover.

Thank you to those who have sent messages to Farmer John, telling him how much you enjoy the produce – we forward them all to him.   I’m sure that it is very encouraging in this particularly difficult year. Now get cookin’!

Week 17 – News from the farm

Hi Folks, the share for this week will be: Carrots, potatoes, garlic, spinach, radishes, arugula or broccoli raab, spaghetti squash, green or Napa cabbage, and choice of dill or cilantro.
Now, I guess I spoke too soon last week about dodging a bullet, as the scattered storms of the week brought us another 5 inches of rain. The creek did once again rise and form a lake in the field with the brassicas, drowning a few more plants on the edges of the previous inundation. Continue reading

Week 16 – News from the farm

The share for this week will be:  Romaine lettuce, string beans, salad turnips, mustard greens, potatoes, shallots or cippolini onions, and butternut squash.

On to the update – We seem to have dodged a bullet this weekend as the heavy rains predicted did not materialize. We received only about a half an inch of precipitation as opposed to the 3-5 inches forecast as possible. We’re not completely out of the woods yet, as there are still a few days of scattered storms and showers ahead. Nevertheless we are grateful for the reprieve. Continue reading

Week 15 – News from the farm

This week will be one of the leanest of the season, but I expect gradual improvement in the size of the shares in the coming weeks. I will list only those items which I am fairly certain we will have; we will add other items to the shares as availability allows.

The share for this week will be:   Green leaf lettuce, carrots, onions, potatoes, and mustard greens. Continue reading

Week 14 – News from the farm

The share for this week will be: Leeks, radishes, garlic, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and broccoli, or Swiss chard.

The prolonged wet and overcast conditions have also taken their toll on other crops; accelerating the demise of the tomatoes, slowing the production of the peppers, and promoting fungal diseases in a late planting of zucchini and cucumbers. Harvesting has been difficult as my workers sink in the muddy furrows in between the beds and we are unable to machine dig potatoes.  I have been delayed in continuing my fall planting of direct seeded crops such as spinach, mustards, and turnips. Continue reading

Week 13 – News from the farm

The share for this week will be: Romaine lettuce, carrots, beans, tomatoes, white onions, potatoes, peppers, eggplant and ground cherries.

Now I know you are all anxious to know how the farm fared with Hurricane Irene. I have not been able to write until now because we were without power until Saturday.  While we sustained some damage it could have been much worse, and in deed it was worse for many farms in NJ and especially for New England farmers. Continue reading

Week 12 – Hurricane Irene!

We WILL have a delivery this week! Farmer John called to let us know that he is still without power and water, so he as not been able to send a regular update.    One of his fields flooded, and is now receding, and he is still assessing the impact of the storm on the farm. So we’re not sure what the share will be, but there will be veggies!

Farm Volunteer Day!

There is a volunteer work day this Sunday, 10 AM, at the farm in Andover for anyone who is willing and able to come out and lend a hand. That is if Hurricane Irene doesn’t ruin those plans…

Starbrite Farms
141 Brighton Rd.
Andover, NJ

Week 11 – News from the farm

The share for this week is green leaf lettuce, carrots, celery, cucumbers, summer squash, beans, yellow onions, white potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, melons or watermelon, and choice of an herb.

As for the update, the rainy week is behind us and fortunately it was not as bad as it looked on the weather sites. We received another inch and a half of rain during the week in addition to the 3 inches mentioned in the last update. Last night’s storms which were predicted to possibly bring hail and damaging winds brought neither and only a quarter of an inch of precipitation. The week ahead looks good with sunshine and mild temperatures, as we keep a wary eye on Hurricane Irene. Continue reading

Week 10 – News from the farm

The share for this week will be:  Red or green Romaine lettuce, string beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, cukes, red potatoes, white onions, savoy or green cabbage, beets, and melons or watermelons.

It was a week of glorious weather; plenty of sunshine and moderate temperatures. Now it seems we have slipped back into the rainy weather pattern that prevailed in the spring. The rains that began on Saturday evening have dropped 3 inches on us thus far, with more forecast for Monday and Tuesday.   Continue reading