Much is changing, but some of your favorites will remain.

The partnership that owns the farmland and has operated the farm for the last 10 years has decided to get out of the farming and farmstand business. Instead we will concentrate on renting the land at The South 47 Farm to other farmers and farming organizations. The partnership feels this is the most sustainable way to keep the land in farming.

Carol & I have decided to take on and continue some of our favorite projects as our own family farm, Dr. Maze’s Farm. We will continue the familiar fall harvest farm activities and the teas and the essential oil distillations, and we plan to add even more excitement. Other farmers will be growing vegetables and fruit.

In September and October visit Dr. Maze’s Corn Maze & Pumpkin Farm for harvest time fun! Explore our fabulous mazes, pick a pumpkin from the field, greet the goats and alpacas, shop at the farmstand, take a hayride, and enjoy refreshments. Discover our three dozen varieties of pumpkins and winter squash, as well as gourds, cornstalks & other fall decorative objects.

Visit Dr. Maze’s Botanicals where we create herbal teas, essential oils, mists, and other botanicals from lavender, rosemary, mints, chamomile, and other plants grown right here at the farm. We plan to expand the herb plantings and start production of a variety of new items in addition to our essential oils and hydrosols (herbal mists). We are planning to start with foaming hand soaps, lotion bars, and bath salts. Stop by to see our two hand-made copper stills and check out our selection.

Keep in touch with our website, blog, & twitter to see the new developments.

Anise Hyssop blossoms

Anise hyssop is a mint with a distinct licorice flavor. A tall plant, anise hyssop grows rapidly without requiring more than basic care. You can establish a bed of anise hyssop in your garden that will return year after year. Bees and other polinators love to visit the flowers. I like making a simple syrup with anise hyssop, using both the leaves and flowers. The licorice-flavored syrup is refreshing over shaved ice or mixed with fizzy water.

Thyme blossoms

A bee’s-eye view of thyme flowers.  Thyme plants are small and compact. A little fresh thyme goes a long way. Anyone who enjoys both gardening and cooking should consider dedicating some room in the garden for thyme.

We are planning for another great year at the farm. The first big round of planning is complete and we have mostly decided on our crops for this year. I’ve spent a lot of time this week with the seed catalogs. Yesterday and today I ordered most of the seed for this year. We use a number of different suppliers. I look for favorite varieties, organic seed, and price. This year we ordered mostly from Fedco, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Osborne, and Seed Saver’s Exchange. I buy seed potatoes from Milk Ranch and onion starts from Dixondale Farms. I also check out Territorial Seed, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed, Harris Seed, NE Seed, and High Mowing Seed. Check out their websites. I enjoy the paper catalogs more. I take out a pen with green ink and draw big circles around all my old favorites and anything else that catches my eye.

You do have to wonder how the catalog writers manage to come up with glowing descriptions for each and every variety. Amy Goldman has a new book out: “The Heirloom Tomato From Garden to Table”, which follows the same format as her books on squash and melons. I highly recommend all three books. I’ve been pouring over her tomato descriptions this week. Unlike the seed catalogs, in her book not every tomato gets high rankings.

This year we will be growing twenty-eight different pumpkins and winter squash from seven different suppliers. I first learned about some of our favorite squashes in Amy Goldman’s squash book.

I’m still thinking on the varieties of tomatoes we will offer as plants in the spring. We sold a few leftover plants in 2008. This year we plan to sell veg and herb starts, mostly varieties we grow here at the farm. There is every indication that lots of new gardeners will be growing some of their own veggies this year.

New crops this year? Kohlrabi, collards, bunching onions, a small butternut squash, and some wild new pumpkins are a few of the new things you will see in the farmstand in 2009.

And this year the wait for opening won’t be as long. We will open the farm a month earlier, on Wed. May 13. See you down on the farm.