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The sun continues to rise even though my heart feels as decimated as my bed of pumpkin plants. I'm sharing some pics of plants that are thriving in the tunnel. Click individual pics for larger images and more info. I am so grateful the tunnel held up through the devastating hail storm that obliterated my outside beds. Yesterday and today I've been hiding out inside of it, soothing myself by nurturing and photographing some of the healthy plants inside. Yes, I know that some of the plants outside will recover and eventually produce *if* we don't get hit a FOURTH time; but at the moment, it's demoralizing to be out there. I'm doing the best I can and I know every day will get better.
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In the early morning light of July 13, 2025, the day after our 3rd severe hailstorm this year7/14/2025 In the morning light... If you look closely you can see the ripped shade cloths, piles of hail that still remain nearly 12+ hours later and my decimated pumpkins bed in the front of the picture. Yesterday I had beautiful vines that were 4 feet long+. Shade cloth had been removed from the pumpkins bed due to sunflowers that had outgrown it. Plus, we'd already been hit twice this year with bad hail, certainly we wouldn't get a direct hit again this year, right? WRONG. Lots of the chunks of hail we received this time were 1 to 2 inches in diameter. It came down so hard and so fast. The picture showing the walk way between the cattle panel arches and our high tunnel was taken some 15 hours later around 9ish in the morning of July 13. Despite overnight temps being well over 50 degrees and the morning sun shining down for hours, piles of hail remained. A couple before and after pics of my daisies and rudbeckia for perspective of the power of this hailstorm. A few blooms on the farm this morning, Sunday, 7/6/2025. 🦋🌻❤️ I'm sending you love, smiles & wishes for a sensational week ahead. Here are my top 3 tips for growing terrific tomatoes in the East Mountains (east of Albuquerque, NM):
Pics of a few varieties growing in our tunnel right now - click image to see the variety name. Dropped off this morning -- Saturday, 6-28-25 -- at Polk's Folly Farm market in Cedar Crest. Quantities are limited and people were already buying before I left. TODAY IS OUR FINAL DAY to offer summer season plants.
Dropped off this morning -- Friday, 6-27-25 -- at Polk's Folly Farm market in Cedar Crest. Quantities are limited. Today and tomorrow are our final days to offer summer season plants.
This is our LAST 3 DAYS to sell our remaining summer garden plants at Polks in Cedar Crest. Plants are ON SALE FOR OVER 30% OFF our regular price. Check our SowThankful Farm Blog page on Friday and Saturday morning after 11AM for updates on what plants will be available those days--or just be there when Polks opens at 10am to get best selection. Quantities are LIMITED. Pay inside at Polks. Here's what we dropped off this morning, Thursday, 6/26/25: First a few important notes:
 click image to enlarge Below is a mostly complete list of what we are bringing as of right now. As always, it's subject to the final cut before loading tomorrow morning. Quantities are very limited. Shop early for best selection. We are winding up summer garden plant start sales over the next couple weeks and expect our last pop up to be 6/28/25. The peppers are mostly gone - what is listed below is all that remains. Beginning next Saturday I expect to have more flower starts available.
*Below is a MOSTLY complete list of plants we are bringing, subject to my approval upon loading in the morning. Sometimes things happen and one or two things may not make the final cut/load out.
🌱🪴🌱This weekend--weather permitting--we will be at Polks in Cedar Crest on Saturday; and at From The Ashes Comes Amore on Sunday. Click flyer images for specific details. I will try to have a list together of what we are bringing to Polks by 6pm on Friday. Sorry, no advance "specific" list available for the pop-up on Sunday except to say we will have tomato, pepper and probably eggplant, herb and flower starts.
Late additions to the list below:
Following is a mostly complete list of what we will be bringing tomorrow.I am doing a final check this evening and will add more if I can find space to bring it. Basil: Dwarf Greek, Purple Opal, Cinnamon, Lemon Eggplants: Angela (F1), Black Beauty, Antigua Flowers: Nasturtiums, African Blue Disc Daisy, Lion's Tail, French Marigolds Peppers: Cayenne, Serrano, Buena Mulatta, Poblano, Maria Elena Chile, Leutschauer Paprika, Santa Fe Grande, Hungarian Sweet Wax, Serrano, Sugar Rush Peach Tomatoes (Slicers): Zebra Rita, Ananas Noir, Lucid Gem, Blue Beauty, Ivan, Pantano Romanesco, Banded Amazon Tomatoes (Dwarf): Sleeping Lady, Czech Bush Tomatoes (Paste): Inciardi Paste, Jersey Devil Paste Other:
Small - $4.00 | Medium - $5.00 | Large - $8.00 | X-Large - $15 6 pks - $6.00 per pack or 2 for $10.00 mix/match  Perennial Egyptian Walking Onions getting ready to "walk". We will have some of the starts with us. Following is a list of plants that we are bringing to the Pop Up at Polks Folly Market in Cedar Crest tomorrow. The list is MOSTLY inclusive but there may be a few other things. Quantities of each plant type/variety are extremely limited so shop early for best selection. Each week we select the best plants of those that are ready.
Tomatoes:
Flowers: African Blue Disc Daisy, French Marigold Herbs: Dwarf Greek, Cinnamon, Genovese, Purple Opal OTHER: Cucamelons, Egyptian Walking Onions We are very close to being past the last frost date(s) for our area and being able to plant outside. Keep in mind that the last frost date(s) are based on averages and are not guarantees. Here in the East Mountains, growers must always have an eye on the weather and be prepared to cover and/or protect plants from freak frosts, hail, wind, extreme UV sunlight. We must always remain mindful that the weather does not obey the calendar. On Fridays I will do my best to share a list of most of the plants we will be bringing to Polks that week.  Who I am and what I do:
For as long as I am able. I hope to farm for many more years. There is nothing more magical in this world than observing life spring forth from a tiny seed which in time will produce food to eat, preserve, share and sell, AND potentially save the seed and repeat the process for years to come. A simple life, seeking peace.  Weather permitting, we will continue having plant sale pop-ups on Saturdays as we proceed into the growing season. If the wind is bad (say over 15mph sustained) or if it is storming (snow, rain, hail), we WILL NOT be popping up.
Around Mother's Day weekend we will begin making other plant starts available. I will provide more info on what will be available as we get closer. Our times at each location may vary from week to week, so be sure to check here to verify each week's time/location. ALSO, remember, it's NOT yet time to plant sensitive crops outside. The Old Farmers Almanac has May 21st listed as Edgewood's last frost date -- and even then, that is NOT a guarantee we won't get frost or even snow (it *HAS* happened!). Growing in the East Mountains has special challenges and weather is at the top of the list. As gardeners living with said challenges, we must prepare and plant accordingly -- and always be watching the weather with readiness cover and protect sensitive crops. EDITED TO FOLLOW UP -- 🙏A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CAME TO SEE US🙏 We love our East Mountains Community so much. Thank you for your support. We will have more plants, including: tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, herbs, flowers & more as we continue into the growing season. Watch our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SowThankfulFarm/ or here on our farm blog page at: https://sowthankful.com/farm-blog.html for announcements. _____________________________________ Are YOU ready to plant tomatoes? No, it's not quite time yet, UNLESS you have heat controlled/protected facilities. For the folks who do have said facilities, we're having another early tomato plant sale at 2 locations this coming Saturday, 4/26/25 (Weather Permitting): -From 10am - 11am we will be at From The Ashes Comes Amoré LLC in Edgewood. -From Noon - 1pm we will be at Polks Folly Farm Market in Cedar Crest. Click flyer image for full details re times & locations.   Perpetual Spinach Chard was a new crop for us in 2024. The plant shown here (pic taken 4/16/25) was planted last Spring-2024.
We harvested from it all season last year, and continued to harvest from it clear through the winter-- and we still are harvesting from it. These are, in my opinion, outstanding, incredibly delicious greens. To be clear, this is NOT spinach. It is chard. BUT the flavor is much more similar to spinach than it is to traditional Swiss or Rainbow Chard. ALSO, Spinach Chard is WAY more bolt resistant than traditional Swiss or Rainbow Chard. The young and baby leaves are so tender and succulent, they are lovely in fresh salads. All the leaves, young or mature are excellent sauteed as one would prepare spinach, in stir fry or in soups & stews. I love to saute it with onions and have with my morning egg. I have watched videos of folks blanching spinach chard then draining and freezing it and they claim it is still delicious when added to dishes through the winter. However, since ours didn't bolt and kept producing (in our poly tunnel) through the winter, we were super thankful and blessed to have the fresh greens year round. I will note that in the winter, the plant has a much lower to the ground growing profile and the extra cold temps seem to make the leaves extra sweet and succulent. As it warms up, the plant forms a more up-right and stretched habit. The leaves are still delicious but best when harvested in the cool of the morning. If you've ever struggled with growing spinach here in the EM or you'd like to have greens year round, I highly recommend giving Perpetual Spinach Chard a try. You can find seeds online lots of places. A few of my favorite places to buy seeds are: True Leaf Market, MI Gardener and Baker Creek.  click image to enlarge We'll be at From The Ashes Comes Amoré on Saturday, 4/11/25 from 10am - 11am.
What PRODUCE we will be offering:
Every Thursday morning we've been delivering our freshly harvested lettuce & microgreens to Polks Folly Market in Cedar Crest. We're trying something NEW this week and brought a couple bulk bags of Sunflower Microgreens. The bulk bag is perfect for folks who juice or just love lots of sunflower microgreens for salads and so much more throughout the week. 😎NO synthetic chemicals. Grown right here in the East Mountains. 😎Polks is located at 12128 N14 in Cedar Crest. 😎See last photo in the line-up for days and hours. 🌱Quite a few bags of Red Crisp Lettuce and Green Crisp Lettuce, a few bags of our Baby Greens Mix: SpinChard with Baby Jagged Jack & Baby Tuscan Kale ***AND*** our delicious, nutritious selections of microgreens were delivered to Polks Folly Farm Market in Cedar Crest this morning. Get 'em while they last. NO synthetic chemicals. Grown right here HERE in the East Mountains. 🌱What is SpinChard? It's a wonderful variety of chard that has a spinach like flavor. These baby leaves are succulent and delightful. We love to eat it sauteed with onions & garlic, but it's great in egg dishes such as quiche and also delicious in pastas, salads and more. 😍All pictures showing inside Polks Folly Farm Market store were taken this morning, 3/27/25. 😍See Polks' Market Hours Sign (last picture in the line-up) for specifics. 😎Polks is located at 12128 N14 in Cedar Crest. |
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July 2025
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