We would like to send a warm “Hello!” and “How are you doing?” to you all! Things are doing well here on the farm but we have to admit this is the strangest Summer we have had to date! No beach, no summer vacation, no grill out with friends… it can be a huge downer! That’s why we try not to focus on all the things we are missing out on. Instead, we are focusing on all we do have and what we can do. Check out all we have been doing over the last few months to keep our minds busy and chase away the lonely blues!

Farming

That’s kind of a “duh” thing; of course we are farming! We have been kicking it up a notch in fact. This is the time of year we begin planting for the FallmCSA, Kith & Kin. It begins the end of September but there is no time like the present to prepare! We have pulled most of our zucchini, squash and cucumbers already. Not to worry, we have more ready to set out any day now. Along with our already established okra, eggplant, tomatoes & various herbs we are also hoping to get a more melons before the warm season is done. In addition, we are supplementing our snap beans with two varieties of long beans! Fall going to be “mm-mm-good”! If you are intrested in signing up, we are running our early bird special through July 15th. You can sign up here.

All this planting is very laborious! We are so fortunate to have some youthful vigor on the farm. Like so many, COVID-19 has made it difficult for our college graduate to find a job. However, he recently used his newly acquired skills to help repair duct-work on our home. Little sis, as always, refused to be left behind so she accompanied him UNDER THE HOUSE!

Here they are after repairing the duct… just hanging out! I hear she got a HVAC lesson too! Hey – with COVID-19 I guess you gotta get a bit creative to have fun! He has also prepped 3 planting areas for melons, cucumbers, pumpkins and zucchini. Now I all have to do is plan & plant!

There is still quite sometime before the first frost and you know we are going to use it wisely. Aside from the huge mosquitoes and stifling humidity the fact that you can grow for so long is such a cool thing about living here in South Alabama! If you are twiddling your thumbs going CRAZY looking for something to do then look no further! GROW SOME FOOD!

We are offering our Clean Starts the end of July for Summer/Fall gardens. These are grown from the same organic and heirloom seeds we use here on our farm. Below is a follow up photo from some who got our Spring Clean Starts. This is the Crystal Apple Cucumber. WARNING – only plant if you want prolific cucumbers!

In addition to growing food, we have found so much joy this Spring growing flowers. We have them everywhere this year!!! Of course the bees love them but we have also been privileged to be visited by hummingbirds and a beautiful Swallowtail butterfly!

A few of these flowers will also be made available for the public to grow as a part of our Clean Starts Flowers. If growing is hands down just NOT your thing, our Farm Fresh Flower Bouquets allow you to still enjoy the beauty of nature without breaking a sweat.

Food Storage

Remember the Summer days of shelling peas on grandma’s porch? I finally understand why? Although “organic” wasn’t a term I heard when I was a kid, “homemade” was. Homemade this and frozen that. It actually makes more sense today than ever before. We can save ourselves from so many unneeded chemicals & preservatives commonly found in processed food today by just doing it ourselves. The flavor is always superb homemade! I can just taste mama’s fig preserves now! Most of us don’t dabble in food preservation because we do not have the time. Others of us have come to understand it requires loads of work! Still others are concerned about doing it safely – all of which held me back for years. For a while now I’ve been polling some old timers and experienced food preservers, hoping to gain whatever information I can about food preservation, food safety and how to lighten

the load. They know all the neat tricks! One of these that we found was fairly new to us but not so much to everyone else – a food mill. You can see us using it here to separate watermelon meat and seeds from the juice. This liquid gold is the main ingredient in this Summer’s Watermelon Jelly. Did you notice what light work the mill made of the watermelon seeds?! It can also be used for tomatoes, apples and even removing strings from sweet potatoes for the smoothest sweet potato pie ever! It’s like one experienced caner told me “The right tools makes life easier, don’t it?”

Video Fun

Since gathering with friends is out of the question for now video has been invaluable! We recently had a family game night with friends of ours, some local and some not, via webcam video. We played Jeopardy, Pictionary & more! It takes a little doing to work out the details but it’s so worth it. We all felt very refreshed afterwards. Of course it isn’t the same as breaking bread with friends in person but as officials are realizing things may have been opened up too quickly, we are going to be happy with this until it is more than abundantly clear that it is safe to resume normal ADLs (activities of daily living). So we will be sticking with our contact-less delivery methods for the foreseeable future.

So that’s what we have been doing. What have you been into these early days of Summer?

Certified Naturally Grown

We wanted to give a quick shout out to CNG. As many of you know, we are proud members of the CNG community. As the months roll by we are continually impressed with this group and are even more excited to be in the family. We really appreciate the accountability, transparency and how they support their farmers. Any farm that falls under their seal is yearly inspected to maintain that certification as further proof of their dedication to growing sustainably and naturally. It is the farms way of saying “We are serious about our practices and here is the proof!” If you want to see what farms are CNG throughout the US, that information can be found here on the CNG website. You may notice a new farm on the list, our friends and partners Hawkins Homestead Farm! We are excited to welcome them to the CNG family! We have always trusted their practices and feel that like us, they have found their home with CNG.

This Week’s Listings

Before we go we would like to let you know what home grown goodness is available to you and your family.

• Seasonal Farm Box is back & packed with fresh produce delivered to your door! If you are wondering just what a farm box is, this video is for you!
• Okra is picked fresh daily from our green and red varieties.
• Sweet Pepper Basket is a mix of sweet peppers currently being harvested.

Things are really ramping up here at BHG. Early morning risings and late evenings makes for one tired farm girl; but there is so much more to share! Check back next month for more goings ons at Bain Home Gardens!