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New to Little Pond? Start here
Who we are: We are Cole and Ellen Turner, husband and wife team, and owners of Little Pond Farm in Bushnell, Florida. Established in 2013, the farm is USDA Certified Organic which means we grow our crops without the usage of any synthetic chemicals or inputs, with soil-health as a focus and an emphasis onContinue…
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Study on farmers market affordability
Check this out: We’re excited to share an interesting study conducted by one of our farmer’s market shoppers, Sara. Sara took the time to conduct research on the cost of vegetables at the farmer’s market versus vegetables from her local grocery store. She was surprised by the results – the farmers market won in almost every category. CheckContinue…
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4-week Simple Recipe Series
We’re dropping a new resource to start off 2023: a four-week Simple Recipe Series. For four weeks, we will send you one recipe per week (sent on Thursday, ahead of the weekend). The recipes we will be sharing are for meals we have prepared in our own kitchen with our veggies for years. We come backContinue…
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CSA Week – What is CSA?
This week (week of February 20th) is National CSA Week – a week where CSA farms across the country have agreed to promote the values of CSA. But first – what is CSA? CSA is Community Supported Agriculture. Our farm utilizes this approach. Allow us to explain: CSA is a model where a farm acceptsContinue…
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What’s abundant this spring
Balmy, springtime weather is here. The warmth of spring brings new crops like cucumbers, squash, basil, and sunflowers. Plus, an abundance of everything else. Following the spring equinox, all of the crops we’ve been growing all winter grow faster and faster and yield a plentiful harvest. Right now we are harvesting lots of: peppers, tomatoes,Continue…
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CSA Week – What is CSA?
This week (week of February 20th) is National CSA Week – a week where CSA farms across the country have agreed to promote the values of CSA. But first – what is CSA? CSA is Community Supported Agriculture. Our farm utilizes this approach. Allow us to explain: CSA is a model where a farm acceptsContinue…
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False Spring
It’s here… false spring. It happens every year at some point in February. It always warms up a bit between each winter cold front in Florida, but after the turn of the new year, there is something different. You can see it. You can feel it. With the lengthening days, the sun glows for a bit longerContinue…
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The sweetest carrots of the year
We made it through another cold spell this past weekend with temps dipping into the upper 20’s again. This comes just three weeks after the deep freezes we experienced over Christmas weekend ( read about that here if you missed it ). We’re happy to report again this time that the crops made it through the weatherContinue…
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Private Facebook Group – Little Pond Veggie Success!
Are you a member of our private Facebook Group for newsletter subscribers? If not, we encourage you to check it out. We have almost 500 group members sharing their veggie successes. Once you are accepted into the group, try out the “search” feature. Here are some examples of the posts you can find in theContinue…
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Veggie Storage Guide
Keep your veggies fresh longer with our Little Pond Farm Veggie Storage Guide. This is a one page printable guide that you can keep on your refrigerator as a reference. It will outline proper storage techniques for each of the vegetables we grow. With this resource, we hope to help you get the most lifeContinue…
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4-week Simple Recipe Series
We’re dropping a new resource to start off 2023: a four-week Simple Recipe Series. For four weeks, we will send you one recipe per week (sent on Thursday, ahead of the weekend). The recipes we will be sharing are for meals we have prepared in our own kitchen with our veggies for years. We come backContinue…
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All the veggies we grow (work in progress)
This page is a work in progress. We’re working on uploading our library of veggie images and descriptions.
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On the other side of the cold
We hope this message finds you well following the holiday weekend. This morning, we are on the other side of the cold. We made it through four nights of freezing temperatures on the farm, with two of those nights being deep freezes with temps in the mid-twenties. We worked all of last week getting theContinue…
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Turmeric
This golden root grows from a tropical broad leaf plant that looks a little like banana leaf and grows 4-6′ tall. Turmeric is in the ginger family and native to southeast Asia, which means our climate and similar altitude is perfect for this tropical beauty, which we plant in May and harvest beginning in October.Continue…
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Open for the holidays!
We are OPEN: We will be at Saturday Morning Market this weekend (24th – Christmas Eve), and next weekend (31st – New Years Eve). We hope to see you at the farmers market these last two weeks of the year. Bundle up this week, it’s going to be REALLY cold! We have an abundant harvest,Continue…
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New things ripening
Heirloom tomatoes are here, in a big way. Usually, the heirloom tomatoes slowly begin to ripen, a few pounds here and there for about a month until the harvest begins to roll in strong. That was not the case this year. Last week, we harvested the first tomato, and then…. we harvested hundreds of pounds.Continue…
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Farmers market holiday gift ideas
We are feeling the gift-giving spirit and have been stocking up on special things for our family from the farmers market. There are so many one-of-a-kind foods, plants, and artisanal goods available at Saturday Morning Market. Here are some local food related gift you can find at the market: Saturday Morning Market Gift Certificate St.Continue…
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Winter crops beginning to thrive
We hope you are well as we enter December. The weather has been cool and foggy on the farm for multiple weeks now. We are mowing down things like cucumbers and squash as we head into cooler weather. We are planting many bulb crops for springtime, including: ranunculus, onions, tulips, and garlic. These veggies andContinue…
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Study on farmers market affordability
Check this out: We’re excited to share an interesting study conducted by one of our farmer’s market shoppers, Sara. Sara took the time to conduct research on the cost of vegetables at the farmer’s market versus vegetables from her local grocery store. She was surprised by the results – the farmers market won in almost every category. CheckContinue…
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Meet us at the market
Have we met? We are Ellen and Cole, husband and wife team behind Little Pond Farm. We just wanted to introduce ourselves. We are the owners and farmers of Little Pond Farm, and the voices behind the posts here on the blog. You may have seen us around the farmers market – we attend eachContinue…
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Plenty for a feast.
If you’re planning to have a local, organic thanksgiving this year, we thought it might be helpful to quickly let you know everything we will have in abundance this weekend at the market. This market is your chance to get everything you need to celebrate in the coming week. Holiday staples: green beans, butternut squash, sweetContinue…
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Organic veggies and flowers return for the new season
It is the time of the year we have all been waiting for. The weather has cooled down, our supply of preserved veggies has dwindled, and it is time now to harvest again. We have worked for many months to prepare to bring this first harvest to the market. We are excited to harvest theContinue…
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New to Little Pond? Start here
Who we are: We are Cole and Ellen Turner, husband and wife team, and owners of Little Pond Farm in Bushnell, Florida. Established in 2013, the farm is USDA Certified Organic which means we grow our crops without the usage of any synthetic chemicals or inputs, with soil-health as a focus and an emphasis onContinue…
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First signs of fall
Walking the fields on Monday checking the crops, we discovered a harbinger of fall – a sure sign that vegetable harvest is approaching. Pictured above, the first Roselle hibiscus flowers unfurled over the weekend. The flowering of Roselle hibsicus is triggered by the shortening daylight hours this time of year. First, the flowers bloom. WhenContinue…
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Growing…
First – we got rain! If you read last week’s newsletter, you may remember it has been one month on the farm without any measurable rain. This is unseasonably dry weather. The lack of rain has made it more difficult for us to establish the first plantings of the season. It has been a challenge preparing theContinue…
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Planting
This week we began planting into the field. We are filling up rows of crops an acre at a time, and anticipating a sea of green in a matter of weeks. We have had no measurable rain over the last month. This has made it very challenging to get the fields ready for planting. WithoutContinue…
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The promise of seeds
The farm, soon, will be full of green. Seeds are beginning to sprout and grow into baby plants in the greenhouse. Soon, these baby plants will be ready to transplant into the fields. After that, it will only be a short time until harvest begins. In just 8 weeks, if all goes as planned, weContinue…
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Summer is over…
Our summer is ending. That may sound odd, but our “summer break” from growing ends at the beginning of August. Now, all of our careful plans for an abundant season will begin to take shape. We will begin sowing seeds in the greenhouse, getting ground prepped, and beginning the next growing cycle. We have beenContinue…
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Onward, with gratitude
The harvest season is now over! The fields are all turned under and no crops remain. Our focus is shifting now to our summer work. We intend to continue sending newsletter updates throughout the summer. We want to thank all of our farm friends – whether you visit us occasionally, each week, or are justContinue…
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Final days
The final days of the harvest season are here. We just have one final harvest before we shut things down for the summer. On the farm, we are mowing down the fields and getting crops turned under. We will get our cover-crop seeds sown over the next week or so. The green cover-crops will growContinue…
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Throwback!
Who remembers the beginning days of Little Pond Farm at the Saturday Morning Market? There we are in February of 2015 at the market. We are feeling reminiscent as we wrap up our 9th harvest season and begin plans for our 10th season of Little Pond Farm. When you shop with us, whether you’re trying toContinue…
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Fields of flowers!
We try to spread health, happiness and beauty into the world with our work. In addition to all of our organic vegetables, we know that flowers are promoters of health, being scientifically proven to be natural mood boosters. Flowers have an immediate impact on joy. And so we keep growing more… acres of them to beContinue…
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Make the harvest last
The time to soak up the organic seasonal abundance is NOW. We do not harvest any veggies from the farm from June through September. So the time to preserve veggies for the off-season is when crops are abundant in the springtime! We all share the longing for fresh local vegetables from the farm during the summer. We witnessContinue…
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Hi, it’s been a while
Time flies. Our 35 week harvest season is just about two-thirds of the way through. The time is flying by – we have been busier than ever on the farm and raising a toddler. We have been quiet over email nearly the whole season! We’d like to share some of the best of what’s been happening at the farmContinue…
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Roasted Veggie Sheet Pan Soup:
This recipe is a “template recipe” – it is so easy and adaptable. You can even clean out your fridge and use up what you have on hand, or just use a few veggies you were inspired to bring home from the market. The idea is – roast two sheet pans of mixed veggies, whateverContinue…
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Little Pond Cherry Tomato Pasta:
This recipe came from an old friend working at a conservation research station in New York. It was a family recipe of hers and we’ve been making it for a decade now with our Little Pond cherry tomatoes! This is a super fast recipe for dinner in a pinch. All it requires is having a fewContinue…
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Farmers Market Farro and Kale recipe:
This meal only uses one pan, and only two fresh ingredients from the farmers market. Super easy staple food that is delicious, cost-effective, and healthful! Make enough for leftovers and you can enjoy it twice in one week. Prep Time: 5 | Cook Time: 30 | Serves: 4-5 Ellen picked up this recipe in NewContinue…
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Seasonal Rainbow Buddha Bowl Template:
Stay with us for this one – there is a lot of information here. What we are providing here is more of an adaptable template, and less of an exact recipe. The possibilities are endless, and we will outline several different approaches. The preparation takes a bit longer, but we use this as a make-aheadContinue…
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Here we go!
In our break from writing a weekly newsletter, three months have now gone by on the farm. Though our harvest period is seasonal, the work does not stop on the farm when we aren’t at the market. During the summer, without crops to harvest, farming is a little different. We spend a great deal ofContinue…
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This is it!
The final week of our harvest season is here. With 34 weeks of abundant harvests behind us, we are ready to gather all that remains for one final week of veggie boxes and farmers market! For some, it is hard to believe that the end of the season is here, when crops are still so prolific,Continue…
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Two weeks
Lows in the 60’s and highs in the 80’s all week?! We’ll take it! That’s great farming weather, and it shows in the crops. Lettuce, in particular, is looking mighty fine for this time of year. We will enjoy this brief reprieve before super hot temps arrive next week. We are thankful for what will beContinue…
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Three weeks
We made it through Mother’s Day! Mother’s Day week is always the busiest harvest week of the season at the farm – not only do we harvest the abundance of heavy springtime veggies, but add onto it twice as many flowers as a normal week on the farm. This year Mother’s Day week also coincided withContinue…
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Sunflower fields forever
Just like that – now it is May. Our final month of harvesting for the year. With the warmth of springtime leading into summertime, this month we will experience a final bountiful harvest of vegetables as the plants in the fields continue to spring forth in abundance. A final exhale after a long season seemsContinue…
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Farm update, April 28th, 2021
This week is our 31st week of bountiful harvests this season! With May just days away, we know the HOT and rainy weather of summertime is right ahead of us. We will enjoy these final 5 weeks of harvesting and eating fresh, vibrant food from the farm. We have already begun making tomato sauce andContinue…
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Farm Update, April 14th 2021
Everyone’s favorite basils are back – we have Italian basil, Thai basil, and tulsi basil now! Our Italian basil is a perfect compliment to the prolific tomatoes we are harvesting now – pair them together in sandwiches, salads, or sauce. If you haven’t tried Thai basil before, pick some up from the market and tryContinue…
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Farm Update, April 7th, 2021
How many times this season have we said “it’s the most wonderful time of the year?” Peak harvest on our farm is from December through May. During those months – there are some periods where the gettin’ is really good. Now is one of those times. The cool nights are growing fewer, and soon weContinue…
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Cukes, zukes, garlic
Last week we reported the first arrival of springtime crops like cucumbers and squash – and this week we can report that bountiful harvests of those items are here! We expect to harvest over half a ton of cucumbers and squash this week! Veggie box folks – you’ll be getting cucumbers and squash in your boxContinue…
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Farm update, March 24, 2021
High season on the farm continues. Flowers are blooming, fruits are fruiting (strawberries, cucumbers, beans, tomatoes, squashes, eggplants), root crops are still abundant, and the leafy green crops are large, and still very tender. This week we are harvesting the first of the springtime squashes and cucumbers. It’s nice to have these new flavors and texturesContinue…
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A week in photos, March 2021
Here are a few moments from this week on the farm. Hopefully, this brightens up your inbox this morning.
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Will this be the year?
Each year at the end of February, the weather begins warming, days are getting longer, and the crops start growing faster and faster. Then March comes and we expect to have one final disrupting frost (or freeze) for the season. We labor over all of our new spring-planted crops getting them covered for this final blow ofContinue…
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Blooming
Flowers are bursting into bloom across the farm – in greenhouses, in the fields, in the strawberry patch, little weeds in the pasture, and in the wild places on the farm. Carolina jessamine vine lines the fence leading down the driveway to the farm, and its prolific yellow February flowers cast a heavenly scent in the air. AllContinue…
