Autumn at Gardenworks Farm 2015

The pumpkin field has our attention as we harvest tons of big orange pumpkins for fall decorating.  The winter squash crop looks great and we are dreaming of creamy squash bisque and  delicious roasted squash.

Fall raspberries taste so good too!  The season started early and the beautiful red, sweet berries rank as our favorite.  We pick and freeze the berries, deciding to make pies and jam when there is more time. It feels so good to keep harvesting for winter treats…smoothies, berry sauce & tarts! Our Raspberry Rewards program will begin October 1. For every pound of raspberries you pick for us in October, you take home a free pound for you. Call for more info & picking conditions, 518-854-3250.

The Gardenworks barn is bursting with bushels of bright dried flowers, gourds and mini pumpkins along with many autumn candles and decorations. Check our calendar for fall workshops and food samplings! 

Many local artisans are bringing their handcrafts to add to the interesting pottery, braided seat chairs and wooden drying racks. Notice the tempting collection of fall scarves, hats and gloves along with new jewelry. The food market place offers hearty soup mixes, meats from Oscars Smokehouse and delicious dips for football season.

The Cheese + Café will be open indoors starting Saturday and Sunday, November 7 & 8 through December 20 for the holiday season. Rob will feature delicious hearty soups, paninis and more in a cozy corner of the barn. Think delicious chili, cheddar ale soup and amazing mac’n cheese!

Join the fall harvest at Gardenworks! It tastes so good!

Summer on The Farm

Layla, our year old golden retriever, loves a daily swim in summer. Rob hopes to see tomatoes turning red and I like to see the blueberry fields filled with excited people picking berries!  Summer days are long and there are so many directions to run!

At Gardenworks, we celebrate the berry harvest with sweet blueberries and raspberries. At the same time, Rob & Jose are pruning the Christmas trees and mowing.  Of course, we are always chasing a few insects and weeds too! 

Bridget is frequently ordering more Oscar’s bacon, cheese spreads and meats to grill. The supply of chocolate chip cookies & coffee cakes has to be replenished often and we find the aroma of a warm berry pie sells it!

Our Farm to Table Dinners and the new Cheese + Café have Rob focused on recipes and foods. He is discovering the popularity of a 3-cheese panini and the appreciation of a cheese board featuring local cheeses and garnishes of local pickles & charcuterie; or a chilled glass of “Cute Little Blonde” craft beer from Argyle Brewing!

For me, summer offers amazing growth on pumpkin vines, the vibrant colors of  zinnias and the joy of sunflowers!  Summer weddings allow me to work with nature & create beautiful bouquets and designs. I only wish the days were longer! What about you?

FARM NEWS and Spring Chores

We welcome spring after a winter of amazing skiing, shoveling and cold weather.  At Gardenworks, we lost the OPEN flag in a roadside snowbank and were able to shovel snow from a barn roof just by walking up a frozen pile of snow that was as high as the roof line!  All this makes spring just that much sweeter!

We’re ready for the warmth of the greenhouse and the excitement of a new season.  We’ll fill the benches with robust plugs of bright colored annuals, herbs & perennials.  The Gardenworks Barn is stocked with many new floral wreaths and spring temptations from candles to scarves & jewelry.  We have great garden gear and excellent hand lotion for gardeners along with gloves & pruners.

The food market place offers fresh spring flavors from salsas to maple syrup and local honey. The array of artisan cheeses and crackers is amazing!   The taste of rhubarb, ramps and the first garden spinach says spring!

Get your boots on and come for a farm visit. See the newly shorn sheep, Pumpernickel, the amazing  cat, and hug Layla, our almost 1 year golden retriever. Tour the greenhouse and walk through the renovated barn brimming with ideas and creative designs. Greet the growing season with gusto!

CHRISTMAS SEASON at GARDENWORKS FARM 2014

The chilly air and occasional snowflake remind us that the Holiday Season is here!  The sights and fragrances of full, fresh evergreen wreaths along with the forest of Fraser Fir trees add excitement to the array of jolly snowmen, santas and sparkling angels filling every corner of the renovated dairy barn.  

Visit Gardenworks to catch the spirit of a wonderful season of giving and anticipation.  Enjoy warm spiced cider, see the array of handcrafted birdhouses, wooden drying racks, homemade potholders and pottery.  Look at the many collections of beautiful ornaments from sparkling silver to rustic burlap. Find almost real reindeer, moose and cows all mingling in the same barn!

Celebrate this special season with us in a traditional way…my dad grew up with an orange in his Christmas stocking and you may find the joy of simply  giving local honey or maple syrup or very good cheese.  Of course, we offer delicious treats from Oscar’s Smokehouse, chocolate indulgences from Saratoga’s Best, fruity jams & chutneys from Stonewall Kitchen too.  Specialty food gift baskets make great gifts also.

We promise warm friendly service in a relaxed shopping experience for you.  Come to the farm to connect with an old fashioned season of giving and good cheer. You’ll embrace the beautiful sights and inhale the amazing fragrances of our fresh evergreens as well as you’ll leave with the warmth of the season.

We look forward to your holiday visit.  Check our calendar for holiday events.  We will be open until 2 p.m. on December 24 and then will re-open for a 2-day 50% off SALE on December 26 & 27, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Our Winter Market starts Friday & Saturday, January  9 &10, 2015! The Winter Market will continue January through March every Friday & Saturday, 9 a.m.- 3 p.m.

From our farm to your house, we wish you the joys of this special season.

Autumn at Gardenworks Farm

The apples are as crisp as the fall air. Autumn boasts amazing bounty with bushels of squash and bunches of newly dug carrots and onions.  The hillsides surprise us with bright colors. As difficult as it is to leave summer behind, autumn is a beautiful harvest season.

We are thankful for a great fall raspberry yield and good squash crop (the woodchucks and deer sampled some). We are eager to test new recipes for hearty soups and side dishes. Apples, cheese, warm bread and creamy chowder create a tasty menu for chilly days.  We enjoy sharing squash and apple recipes so visit Columbus Day Weekend for our free sampling of the fall flavors during our harvestfest of great tastes and fall sales.

Decorating for the autumn offers bountiful dried flowers, Indian corn, gourds and a myriad of ornamental squashes and pumpkins.  We hope you’ll stop for ideas and supplies!

Our family is celebrating the arrival of Walker Southerland in September in College Station, TX.  He is off to a great start and is already cheering for the Texas A&M football team. His cousin Charlotte (1 1/2 yrs) is ready to carve a jack-o-lantern and dress up for Halloween!

Greetings from our farm to your house for a great fall season! We hope to see you at Gardenworks!

Delicious Summer

Summer at Gardenworks means fields are planted and berries are ripening!  Spring was a great season with a colorful world of annuals (mostly Proven Winners) and perennials for local gardens.  We think there are more vegetable gardens than ever this season as the demand for transplants was strong and most conversations revolved around favorite tomato choices and how to seed lettuce.  What a great way to eat locally!

Arlene and Bridget are keeping the marketplace stocked with all good Oscar’s meats, cheeses as well as cheese spreads. The shelves are brimming with tempting jams, salsas, pasta sauces and mustards.  We have a great array of grill sauces and fresh vegetables for summer meals.

Rob has the cheese cooler filled with cheddars, mild to sharp, Sweet Spring Farm chevres and White Lily along with great choices from Consider Bardwell, Taylor Farm and Old Chatham.

The field work has gone well with a strong team including Grace, Biz and Jose to plant the 4,000 squashes and pumpkins. Now we are double checking the irrigation and chasing weeds. 

The blueberries are swelling and it looks like a great crop. Even though we pruned hard, the bushes are loaded with huge clusters of berries.  The raspberries are growing well with the warm temperatures and we are always talking about berries for smoothies, desserts and jams.

The calendar of summer Farm to Table Theater Dinners is exciting with Annette Nielsen, former caterer & cookbook editor, travelling from D.C. to be the featured chef on Saturday, July 12.  Her menu is amazing and it will be the time for corn, summer squash and early tomatoes and of course, blueberries! There will be farm to table theater dinners on August 2 and 16 also.

Our fingernails are ragged and our jeans always look “farmy” but we are excited about a great summer season ahead!  We invite you to join us on the farm for berry season. Tour the Farm Life Art Exhibition which features the work of 8 local artists and artisans in Harold’s Barn Loft.  Come to the farm!

Peaceful Winter

Winter is a perfect season for us to review the past year and its peaks and valleys and look ahead to new ideas for 2014.  We totally enjoy a slower pace and look forward to inventory, paperwork & re-view to assess successful crops, projects and events while we sort out those things that didn’t reach our expectations. 

It doesn’t take long for us to be eager to order new seeds, plants and greenhouse supplies.  We like attending conferences and gift shows for new ideas and ways to make improvements.

Winter for us is a quieter season when we work behind the scenes in an effort to make next year outstanding!  The Winter Market on Fridays & Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. early January through early April gives us a perfect chance to supply local organic vegetables and specialty groceries.  We are always glad to have a visit!

Holiday Season

The excitement of a new season invades every corner of the Gardenworks Barn!  The aroma of evergreens and the sound of laughter fill the “parlor” where Nicole and her merry wreath-makers are creating full, fragrant Frasier Fir wreaths.  We cut the greens on the farm and we like decorating them with berries, cones and velvety ribbons!

In the big barn, Bridget& Nicole have created displays of gingerbread men, sparkling snowmen and jolly old santas.  The decorations range from rustic country with burlap bows to glittery snowflakes and garlands.  No matter what your taste, you will find a range of ornaments, wreaths and holiday wall hangings to make you smile. 

As you sip warm cider, you will admire the many handmade items including wooden drying racks, slate roofed birdhouses, alpaca mittens & socks, pottery and art. Each artisan has practiced a craft and created wonderful gifts…from useful to artistic! Shopping is easy and rewarding when you support a local person. 

Arlene will be busy in the kitchen baking pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  She also shares tempting recipes for soups, appetizers and recommends the Grandma Miller coffee cakes and lemon pound cake for special events.  The Nuns of New Skete Cheesecakes also make dessert into a celebration! Of course, we continue to offer healthy Slack Hollow Farm organic greens, carrots and bushels of our own squash. Rob has the cheese cooler filled with great cheeses for entertaining and the best ever cheddars for mac & cheese!

We elves are busy decorating wreaths, fresh centerpieces and hosting wreath-making classes.  Santa will surprise us with a visit on December 7 & 8 and make us smile! He loves getting lost in our forest of fresh cut balsam and Fraser Fir trees.  Mrs. Claus is fascinated with the jewelry, handmade soaps, and buttery oatcakes which she takes back to The North Pole for the long winter ahead.

Join us for Shopping Night, December 12, to enjoy free chili and cornbread with friends and neighbors.  Tim Shea, jeweler & metalsmith, will be at Gardenworks along with other artisans making shopping very easy!  If we find a piano player in the crowd, we may even sing caroles! 

As Christmas approaches, ask us to create gift baskets and centerpieces for you.  We get excited helping you with ideas that are just right for the people on your shopping list.  Share the joys of the season and an old fashioned Christmas with us. 

Gardenworks will be open for a BIG after Christmas Sale on Thursday & Friday, December 26 & 27 from 9a.m.-5 p.m. 

Then the Winter Market will open Friday & Saturday, January 3 & 4 in a cozy corner of the Barn surrounded by jams, honey, cheeses as well as fresh organic vegetables available all winter from Slack Hollow Farm. 

Join our winter market mailing list by e-mailing us to receive a weekly update on specials and available vegetables!  We always share free hot soup and coffee at the winter market too! 

Winter tastes GOOD in the North!