Upinngil CSA – 2013

Upinngil CSA shares for the 2013 growing season are now available. Details and the sign-up form are on our website.  We have 50 shares available.

New calf!

Daughter of Nike, grand-daughter of Georgia, great-grand-daughter of Redwing, our very first cow. Name ideas?

Some Like It Raw

Great video about raw milk done by a Hampshire College student. Clifford is one of it’s “characters”. Very funny!

Look at all those potatoes!

The farm is busy sorting a bumper crop of Fall 2012 potatoes.

Another load of Upinngil potatoes to sort!

These will keep until April in a good cold cellar (40-50F). We use only certified organic fertilizer and one organic insecticide to control the colorado potato beetle.

Nicolas have a smooth skin and a buttery flesh.  A real favorite in the farm kitchen.

Red Golds have red skin with gold flesh.  They are great roasted.  No need to peel.

Chieftains are low starch, and therefore the best ones for boiling or potato salad.

Russets are the classic scrumptious, high starch baking potato.

Adirondack Blues are a medium starch potato with an amazing color.

Keukas are a classic golden mashing potato.

The Many Potatoes of Upinngil

Many of our favorite potato recipes (including Leek and Potato Soup) come from the incredible Victory Garden Cookbook.  Highly recommended!

See our photostream for more pictures.

Strawberries!

Pick-your-own strawberry season has started. We’re hoping for more sunshine. This weekend should be busy.

Mother & ducklings

Hatched yesterday!! 15 ducklings out of 15 eggs.

Morning Calving

Woke up this morning and looked out the window to see a new born calf toddling around between Jane’s legs. She’s a wonderful cow. This is the 5th healthy calf she’s born for us, 6th in her lifetime. She’ll be 10 years old on August 20th (which just so happens is my birthday as well). She definitely has a special place in my heart. This calf is a bull, as was her last, but she bore three heifers before that, all without fuss. And she always produces a tremendous amount of milk, also with no difficulties. She is unflappable in the barn during milking, obstinate at the feeder in the winter, and thoroughly appreciates a good scratch. She’s a little heedless of electric fences (which makes her less popular with my father) and not the prettiest animal from the face, but from the rear, wow, what an udder! On a farm we grow accustomed to saying good bye to our animals but it will be a sad day when we lose Jane.

On going out to examine Jane’s calf I look out across the pasture to see Bold stand up and begin licking a white blob on the ground. And I just saw movement so it’s alive. Yesterday Jenna calved too, a heifer. Her’s had to be pulled out after 8 hours of labor, but it came out alive and well.

It’s unusual for us to have this many calving at once. This will bring us up to 11 cows in the milking string. We usually try to space out the breedings better but it’s really up to the ladies. Nine months ago was a good day to conceive and today is a good day to calve. So be it.