Holiday Hibernation... sorta

Oh gosh. Yesterday we had our first snow of the season, our last day of retail for the year, and our last workshop (gnomes!) for the year as well. So we finished up the flurry of holiday busy-ness with a one last very busy day!

Now we get to rest…or like, sort of? No retail hours means we can really get into planting seeds, which of course is a WHOLE THING. And we’ve got loads of popcorn that’s dried and husked and ready to go through the shelling machine, so we’ve got some time for that now. And we’ve got a number of doors, windows, hinges, etc. that need to be repaired and such as the winter takes hold. So it’s a season off from some things and very on for others!

A fun project we’re working on is a little free library we’re setting up by the greenhouse entrance. We want to get it ready by the time we open for the spring so we can share our other favorite thing besides plants when we open again.

We’re also thinking about what workshops to do after the new year. Definitely succulents! We’;; do that in January or February-ish. Or maybe both? And we might do Lucky Leprechaun door hangers again, because that was super fun. Maria has some other cool ideas that she’s mulling over, so hopefully we’ll have some exciting stuff to tell you about soon. The strawberry gardening workshop in early spring will most likely be back, so keep an eye out for that if you’re interested in starting a strawberry patch in your yard. You know you want to. Stawberry patch is way cooler than a lawn. Lawns are the freakin’ worst.

Anyway that’s what’s going on now. It was a great holiday workshop season and it was really fun to work with people who’ve been making gnomes or decorating wreaths for us for a bunch of years and people who were discovering the farm for the very first time. I like to think this special place brings a little extra magic to everyone who finds their way here.

Okay! I have to go put gnome and wreath decorations away now! Happy Hanukkah and Merry ten-days-before-Christmas and a jolly new year etc.

We are in the weeds but that's like par for the course.

Greetings, Farm Friends!

Spring is bustling here on the farm. The greenhouse has been open on weekends (Fri 1-4, Sat 10-4, Sun 1-4, closed Mon-Thurs) and we’ve sent so many terrific plants—from snazzy annuals and essential natives to dependable perennials and outrageously gorgeous tomato plants, to name a few—out into the world. We’ve still got a ton more good stuff in the greenhouse, so if you haven’t been by yet, or you just need a second (or third!) look-see, come on down! We’ll continue to be open for weekend hours until June 14th,when you can come visit us at the Downtown Milford Farmers’ Market. (And we’ll continue to have the greenhouse open on Sundays from1-4pm after that.)

During the rest of the week, when we’re not catching up with all of our favorite customers in the greenhouse, we’re currently planting, weeding, and chorin’ like nobody’s business. Farmer Andy has been on the tractor prepping fields for planting at all hours of the day, and Maria has put approximately a trillion pea shoots into the ground (and god help any deer that eat her hard work). Our first rounds of lettuces and cabbages are in the ground, the garlic and onions are thriving (and hopefully will continue to do so as long as we keep them weeded, which is a challenge as the ample rain makes the weeds extremely happy!), ginger and turmeric are planted in the high tunnel, and our flower field is almost fully planted. We’re trying to get some baby blue spruces in when we’ve got the time, too. So things are really in full swing. Who knows what summer may bring, but we're throwing ourselves into it with all the blind faith a farmer can muster.

Farmer Auggie helping to wheel hoe in the garlic field.

Reduce, Reuse, NO NEW PLASTIC!

You may have noticed a big reduction on our plastic usage in the greenhouse this year. We’ve been making a concerted effort over the past few years to limit our plastic, and this year we purchased NO NEW PLASTIC for our spring planting! We’re reusing plastic we already have (some that we’ve had for years and years) and finding alternatives like Cow Pots, EcoGrow pots, wood plant labels, etc. Some of these solutions are a little less efficient, a little messier, or a bit more costly, but if you can be one thing, be adaptable, and we definitely think it’s worth it! We’ll continue to seek out new ways to be even more environmentally friendly.

Upcoming events we’re hoping to see you at:

• Sat, June 6th & Sun, June 7th – MTMUMC Fair on the Green
  Maria will be at the plant table and there will be tons of craft vendors and tasty food. It's the longest-running arts and crafts fair in Milford (this is year 52!) and not to be missed.

• Sat, June 14th – Downtown Milford Farmers’ Market!

Vote for Us for Best of Milford!

Nominations for The Best of the Milford Region 2025 are currently open. Best of Milford is sponsored by the Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce to shine a spotlight on local businesses, organizations, and individuals that make our region special. Please take a moment to nominate us for Best Garden Store/Nursery! You can vote every hour (that seems a little excessive, but if you've got the time, do as you will!) until 6/1. After that the final round of voting will begin for the businesses with the most nominations.

Click Here to vote!
category: Shopping
sub-category: Best Garden Store/Nursery

HERE COMES SPRING!

Happy Almost Spring, Farm Friends!

We're in high gear, planting, transplanting, and planting some more, and we’re almost ready to welcome you into our inner sanctum (that's the greenhouse) to see what we’ve been up to. Which leads us to our first exciting announcement...

The greenhouse will open for the season beginning the first weekend in April! We’ll be kicking it off with pansies, perennials, and native plants, plus succulents and our unbeatable popping corn (now available in refillable jars!), and pussy willow branches. As always, we’ll have more and more plants as the season progresses; we’re growing so much good stuff we can’t wait to share!
Opening weekend hours:
Saturday, April 5, 10-4pm
Sunday, April 6, 1-4pm

And we’ve got another great workshop available in early April:

Learn How to Grow Strawberries!

Start your backyard farm with a strawberry patch this spring and eat the best strawberries you’ve ever had this summer! Learn about siting and preparing your strawberry bed, methods for improving your soil, and tips on protecting your plants from local wildlife.

Workshop fee includes approx. 10 bare root Honeyoe strawberry plants (to be picked up from the farm in mid-April).

Friday, April 4
5:00-6:00 pm
$30 per person.

CLICK HERE to visit our Events page to sign up!

And since spring is almost upon us, get into the spirit and search for some of the signs of the impending season of life! Here's a fun article from the Farmer’s Almanac to get you started! Five Signs of Spring.

And now we’ve got to get back to planting and plotting! We’re so excited for the spring and all the good stuff it will bring.

Peace, Love, & Spring Peepers,
The River Crest Farmers

Midsommar Updates from the Farm

Greetings farm friends!

It’s been a merciless summer so far, hasn’t it? We’re still harvesting, watering things, weeding (how do the weeds flourish with no rain?!), watering things, and petting the cats (and then moving around some more soaker hoses to water things). The deer are really wreaking havoc lately. They usually leave the tomatoes pretty much alone, but this year they went into the field and chomped the tops off of the plants and ate every green tomato there was. We’re hoping the plants can recover, and Maria has been camping out by the tomato field in an effort to scare the deer away a bit. Wish us luck, and wish for some rain, too, please!

Despite some struggles, many things are growing nicely. If we haven’t seen you at the Downtown Milford Farmers’ Market, our weekly farmstand on the farm, or in our pick-your-own flower field, we hope to see you at one of them soon! Details on times and days you can come visit us are below.

Downtown Milford Farmers’ Market
Saturdays through 10/8
8:30am to 12:30pm
Wasson Field parking lot (102 W Main St, Milford, CT 06460)

Our Farmstand
Thursdays from 2pm to 6pm
Freshly picked veggies, plants, and pick-your-own flowers!
River Crest Farm (534 Oronoque Rd, Milford CT)

Pick-Your-Own Flowers
Saturdays & Sundays 9-5pm
•$5 per bouquet (exact change or Venmo only)
•We recommend bringing your own scissors/clippers and a container of water to keep your flowers fresh!
•The greenhouses are not currently open during flower-picking hours.

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No More Pots, Please!

Thanks for bringing us so many plant pots so we can reuse them and keep them out of landfills and the ocean and other places they don’t belong! We currently have as many pots as we can use and sort, so we are putting a pause on accepting more for now.

If you have pots that you’d like to have reused/recycled, please check out the links to the programs at Lowe’s and Home Depot below:

Lowe's Pot Recycling Program
Home Depot's Pot Recycling Program

Happy Earth Day, Friends!

The greenhouse is open! Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 1pm to 4pm. The plants are growing and we’re still planting seeds and transplanting seedlings like crazy. But remember, cool-weather crops like lettuce, kale, spinach, etc. can be planted now, but a cold night could really knock out your less hardy crops. We won’t be letting any tomatoes, peppers, eggplants or other warm-weather veg out the door for a week or two, and we strongly advise that you don’t plant them outside until AFTER MOTHER’S DAY! That’s news you can use.

You can also peruse our growing number of annual and perennial offerings, herbs, houseplants, hanging baskets, terrific native plants, hummingbird plants, and more! New things are moving out of our Seed House and into the benches for you every day.

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Calling All Egg Cartons!

If you have egg cartons in clean, usable condition, please bring them to us to be reused! You can drop them off with us in the greenhouse any day.

And don’t forget that we’ll take your pots and reuse them, too! Plastic, clay, ceramic—as long as they’re not broken. Place them in the bin in front of the greenhouse anytime!

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Need Eggs?

You need eggs and we have eggs. Come on over for the freshest eggs around. Chicken and duck eggs available. Happy eggs from happy birds taste the best! Chicken eggs $6/doz, Duck eggs $8/doz

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Upcoming Event: Land Trust Trivia Fundraiser!

This should be a ton of fun! The Milford Land Conservation Trust is hosting a night of nature-themed trivia to raise funds for their organization on Thursday, April 29th, at 7pm. You can win fabulous prizes, including art prints and gift certificates to Milford businesses like Sundae House and River Crest Farm! We’re planning to be there to test our knowledge and learn a thing or two!

There is a suggested $20 donation to play. You can click on the link below to register. Once you do you'll receive an email with a link to donate. Invite your nature-loving friends! See you on the 29th!

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That’s about it for now. Hope your spring is off to a good start and we’ll see you in the greenhouse!

Andromeda & the River Crest Crew

We're Planting EVERYTHING!

Hello Farm Friends, Neighbors, and CSA Members!

We’ve been open the last few Sundays and it’s been lovely to see some of you! Starting on Friday, March 26th, we’ll be open Friday, Saturday, & Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Hooray! We’ll have pansies and violas ready, plus houseplants, succulents, and popping corn. As the season progresses we’ll have tons more annuals, perennials, and vegetable plants!

In egg news, the days are getting longer and the ducks are stepping up their laying! Chef Beaker McDuck wonders if you need some duck eggs? Come and get ‘em. We’re open this Sunday from 1-4pm. $8 per dozen. Freshest egg game around. Quack quack.

We’ve been busy bees in the greenhouse, planting seeds, transplanting seedlings, and propagating cuttings. Now that the days are longer, things are really starting to grow! We’ve got some exciting native plants coming up if you want to make your garden more welcoming to pollinators and birds this summer--Sweet Joe Pye plant, native columbine, and more will be ready in a few more weeks! Maria has been planting hundreds (thousands, probably!) of seeds, Perry has been transplanting tons of marigold seedlings this past week. Andromeda is working on sprouting some ginger and turmeric, which will hopefully pay off in the fall.

Last week we released some beneficial insects--ladybugs and lacewings--in the greenhouse to gobble up any errant aphids and mealybugs. Praying mantises have also been hatching all over the greenhouse, so they’re hunting, too. Take that, pests. Using biological controls like beneficial insects helps us to never have to use any chemical pesticides.

We got a new propane furnace installed in Marsupial House (the glass greenhouse in the back—left side). The old oil furnace in there gave up the ghost. That’s pretty exciting and gives us more space to put all the plants that are sprouting!

Fun Springtime Project: Edible Flower Ice Cubes!

Violas and pansies are pretty AND edible! Here are our best tips for making them into magical ice cubes:

• Boil water and let it cool for nice clear ice.

• Use fresh flowers free from chemicals and pesticides. (We don’t use any, so if you use our flowers, you’re good!)

• Freeze the cubes in layers: first freeze a layer of water, then place the flower on the ice and carefully pour a layer of water over it to hold it down. Freeze again. Finally, pour in one last layer of water and once it’s frozen you’re ready to use your cubes!

• Try larger ice cube trays (add more layers/flowers!) or round ice cube trays.

• Try other edible flowers or herbs! (Mint, lavender, or basil ice cubes!)

Only seven days until Spring! Don’t forget to try to stand an egg on its end on the Vernal Equinox. (If you use one of our eggs, please send a photo to rivercrestfarm@gmail.com!)

See you soon!

Andromeda & the River Crest Crew

42 Days Until Spring.

In case you haven’t heard, the greenhouse will be closed tomorrow (Sunday, Feb 7th) due to the incoming snow storm. (Boooo. That’s enough snow!) So the greenhouse will now be open on Sundays (1-4pm) in February starting on February 14th. We need to make space for all the new plants growing for spring, so come visit us for all your Valentine’s succulents and houseplants, plus trays of pea shoots, kale by the bunch, chicken eggs, popping corn, and more stuff. 

The pansies are coming up nicely and should be ready around Easter. Perennials--from flashy Hibiscus to pollinator-friendly natives like Aquilegia canadensis--are sprouting, along with loads of lovely annuals. We’re keeping busy planting seeds!

All this snow had stalled hoophouse progress, and we’re impatient to get it finished and get planting in there. The sooner we can start planting and harvesting vegetables, the better!

In farm fail news, we were very excited about drilling a new well for improved summer irrigation, however, several hundred feet down and several thousand dollars later, insufficient water was found and the well plan is kaput for now. At least Oscar enjoyed seeing the giant truck with the humongous well drilling apparatus.

And where, you may be asking, did we get this fabulous T. Rex sculpture? Why Maria created it, of course! It’s made from farm-grown hardy kiwi vines and corn cobs and husks. Oscar provided some reference sketches, since he is a T. Rex expert and budding paleontologist.

Stay safe and warm! Spring is coming!

Andromeda & the River Crest Crew

Winter Update: January on the Farm

Hello friends of the farm, neighbors, and CSA members! We hope winter is treating you well and you have some time to dream about your garden plans for 2021.

Here on the farm, Andy is working on a brand-new high tunnel. We’ll be using it to start growing cucumbers earlier in the season this year, and growing more cucumbers than ever, we hope! We’re pretty jazzed about extending the growing season. We’ve also begun planting loads of seeds in the greenhouse, getting ready for the spring!

Our CSA is filling up rapidly--we have about sixty returning CSA members so far and our CSA mailing list is snapping up the remaining spots. It looks like it’ll be the biggest summer ever for the River Crest Farm CSA. We’re feeling up to the task! Good thing we have Young Oscar (he just turned three!) on the picking crew now.

And when can you come see us in the greenhouse again? Like we said, we’re planting away! We’re planning to open just before Easter with pansies to start. We may have some special days with open hours for succulents and such in February. (Because succulents or a dangerous cactus are the best way to show your love, and we need to make some space for all the new plants that are growing!) Days and hours to be determined. We’ll let you know when we decide, and you can always keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram.

Molly the newest farmcat is doing great. Baby Auggie has been learning the ropes around the farm. Ralph is up all night tending to the woodstove to keep the greenhouse warm. Fudge and Smoochy and the rest of the animals are fed and thriving thanks to Perry. We’re about to start planting onions at any moment. So many onions. It’s going to be an exciting year.

BONUS FARMER LORE

January is a great time for Wassailing! The traditional day to celebrate this ritual is on “Old Twelvey” or the 17th January. It’s an ancient custom that began in cider-producing regions of England. People would recite incantations and sing to the trees to awaken them and scare away evil spirits and thusly promote a good harvest for the coming year.

If you have some trees you want to encourage to bear fruit, you can find all sorts of traditional wassailing info on the internet, but here is a quick list of elements to include in your wassail!

• A Wassail Drink. This may consist of some warmed ale, wine, or cider that’s blended with spices, honey, and perhaps an egg or two. Sounds interesting. Hot chocolate would also probably be good.

• Singing/chanting. There are many traditional rhymes, but I think you can sing anything that trees will like.

• Toast. Toast that has been soaked in your wassail drink of choice is placed in the tree boughs as a gift to the tree spirits.

• Make some more noise. Keep singing and add shouting and banging drums, pots, and pans. Make a final ruckus!

Let us know if you wassail your trees this year. We might try to wassail the Christmas trees to get them to grow faster.

Until next time, wear your mask and wash your hands!

--Andromeda & the River Crest Crew