Newsletter Archives

April Newsletter:

Here’s the April news from the farm (I never got around to the March news, so there’s lots of new stuff to tell you!):

Greenhouse Update

Wow, the greenhouse is bursting with life right now. Half of it is full of lettuce, greens and spinach. The tomatoes and cucumbers are 1-2 feet tall in one of the beds (there are even some little bitty tomatoes and cukes), and the rest is full of flower, herb and vegetable starts. We had started some swiss chard and beets back in January to grow as early greenhouse crops, but some mice decided that the little plants were quite tasty. We moved one of the barn cats into the greenhouse and that took care of that problem! A note on how our salad production works: the first bed of salad mix was planted in October, and harvested January through March (it grows very slowly in the dark winter months). We are currently cutting from the second and third plantings and the fourth crop was planted outside. By May the greenhouse will get too hot to grow lettuce, but by then we’ll be cutting the outdoor crop.

Garden Update

We have been fortunate to have enough dry spells this spring to get our outdoor garden started early this year. We already have peas, spinach, lettuce, turnips and beets peeking out of the ground, and the kale and broccoli transplants are looking good. We put fabric row covers over these early crops to protect them from the cold and the wind and give them a good start. The potatoes, cabbage, and lettuce plants were planted this week and the onions will go in tomorrow.

Other Farm News

We have a new flock of laying hens! About 20 of them are already laying, and another 30 will be laying in about 4 months. So yes, we now have farm fresh eggs for sale! Our meat birds will be arriving soon, so you can look forward to fresh chicken in a couple months.

Our new and improved website is up and running. I haven’t finished the artistic design and still need to put up some more photos, but the general info is there. I just added a downloadable document that lists all the herb and flower varieties we sell plus growing, harvesting and use information about each one. Just go to www.terrapinhillfarm.com, look under Our Products, then Plants, then Plant Info. (Tomato and pepper information will be added to the list soon.)

Products Available Now!

We still have plenty of our gourmet Salad Mix (several varieties of baby lettuce, mustard, kale, tatsoi and arugula) and our Spinach at the Nutrition Center in Danville, Richmond and Somerset, and also at the Good Foods Market in Lexington. It is picked the day before or the day of delivery, and washed and packaged in 1/2 pound bags. Both are also available directly from our farm with just a phone call to set up a time to pick it up. We are also willing to deliver to locations in Harrodsburg . The cost directly from us is $3 per bag, slightly more from the retail outlets.

Eggs are $2 per dozen, at this time available only here at the farm.

Got your garden ready yet? Our Plant Starts are ready when you are! Our widest variety ever of veggies, herbs, and flowers. Come see our greenhouse and pick out the plants you want to bring home. Prices vary, see list on our website. Also available at the Good Foods Market in Lexington.

2006 Summer Events Preview: (more info at www.terrapinfestival.com)

July 1: Terrapin Family Reunion. We scaled down our orginal vision of a mini-festival to just a single night of local music, local food, good people, and a fireworks show that is not to be missed (last year many folks claimed it was better than Lexington’s show!)

Sept 22-24: Terrapin Hill Harvest Festival. Three full days of music, arts, local food, community activism, camping, and lots of other activities

Please keep us in mind if you know of anyone looking for a country place to hold weddings, picnics, reunions, retreats... we’re starting to book dates for this summer already.

‘Til next time,

Brenda and Pete Cashel

859-734-7207

p.s. If you’d like to be removed from our elist, or know someone who would like to be added, just let us know.

February Newsletter:

It’s only early February, but believe it or not our growing season has already begun. We’d like to fill you in on what’s been going on here at the farm...

Greenhouse Update

We have 3 beds in the greenhouse full of lettuce, greens and spinach. We’ve started some swiss chard, beets, tomatoes and cucumbers for our early greenhouse crops. The perennial herb and lettuce seeds have been sown, and the annual herbs and other vegetables will be started soon. We’re expanding our line of transplants this year to include edible flowers and other heirloom bedding plants, plus new varieties of herbs and vegetables. We’ll let you know when the plants are ready for sale.

Produce Available Now!

We wanted to let you know that we are currently selling our gourmet salad mix (several varieties of baby lettuce, mustard, kale, tatsoi and arugula) at the Nutrition Center in Danville and Richmond, and also at the Good Foods Market in Lexington. It is picked the day before or the day of delivery, and washed and packaged in 1/2 pound bags. The Nutrition Center also carries our Baby Spinach in 1/2 pound bags. Both are also available directly from our farm with just a phone call to set up a time to pick it up. We could deliver to Harrodsburg if there is interest and if anyone knows of a place willing to be a drop-off point (a fridge is a necessity).

2005 in Review

Last summer was very busy—after receiving our Agri-Tourism grant we started tearing apart and building. We renovated the farmhouse, built a 40x60 pavilion and a showerhouse, and put new decking on one of the stages. As part of these projects we brought a new city water line to the farmhouse and to the back field. The improvements were enjoyed by all (particularly the showers!) at the festival last September, which was another huge success with great music and art and fun activities for kids of all ages. We also hosted two weddings, a business retreat, several school tours, and some boy scout events. Please keep us in mind if you know of anyone looking for a place to hold any of these types of events... we’re starting to book dates for this summer already.

This winter we’re working on our marketing materials, creating a new brochure and redoing our website. These feel like never-ending projects, probably because I’m too much of a perfectionist when it comes to these things, but when I finally get them done I’ll let you know. Pete’s been building new animal pens for the meat birds, laying hens and pigs. There’s always something going on around here!

2006 Summer Events Preview:

June 30- July 1: Turtle Days at Terrapin Hill, a smaller version of the festival, featuring local food and music, farm tours, and fun for the whole family

Sept 22-24: Terrapin Hill Harvest Festival, three full days of music, arts, local food, community activism, camping, and lots of other activities

We plan to hold workshops this summer on subjects such as organic gardening, sustainable agriculture, local food economies, and food preparation. Please let us know if you have any other ideas for things you’d like to learn about or if you know someone who’d like to teach something!

‘Til next time,

Brenda and Pete Cashel

859-734-7207

ps If you’d like to be removed from our elist, or know someone who would like to be added, just let us know.