Living and writing in a circa 1840 New England Farmhouse with three generations of my family
West Indian Burr Gherkin Cucumis anguria Planting Depth: 1″ below the soil’s surface Plant Spacing: 12 inch hills containing 6-8 seeds each Row Spacing: 18-24 inches Days to Maturity: 60-65 The West Indian Burr Gherkin is a native of Africa. It is believed that Read More
Tennis Ball Lettuce was found in the United States as early as the eighteenth century. It was a favorite of Thomas Jefferson. He grew it in the famed garden at Monticello beginning in 1809. When describing Tennis Ball, he wrote, “it does not require so Read More
Here at 1840 Farm, we eagerly await radish season each spring. Radishes are the first vegetable crop harvested from our garden and announce the happy arrival of the growing season. They also enable us to enjoy eating a spring menu favorite: Sliced Radish Tartine. French Read More
Black Seeded Simpson Heirloom Lettuce is a staple in our 1840 Farm garden every year. I first tasted Black Seeded Simpson four years ago when I reached down on a sunny day to pull a fresh leaf from the lettuce bed. One bite of a Read More
Throughout the year, we produce as much food for our family table as possible. Through the years that we have lived here at 1840 Farm, we have covered the calendar year from maple syrup to summer’s garden produce to fall and winter’s fresh eggs from Read More
The Sunset Runner Bean is beloved for its ability to bring beauty and a nutritious crop to your garden plot. The beautiful salmon pink colored blooms are unique to the sunset variety of runner bean. The vines can grow to be six feet tall and Read More
Biting into a perfectly ripe ear of sweet corn is a summer rite of passage. There’s just something about the sweet, juicy flavor of sweet corn that instantly transports me back to my childhood. When I watch my children enjoying an ear of corn grown Read More
There are few images more synonymous with autumn than that of a ribbed, round pumpkin. Each fall, the Long Island Cheese Heirloom Squash grown in our garden move inside the house. They decorate the farmhouse during the season and through our Thanksgiving holiday. Once fall Read More
The Hidatsa Heirloom Sunflower is named for the Hidatsa Tribes who made their home in the Northern Plains along the Mississippi River’s floodplain. Their style of companion planting with corn, maize, and squash varied slightly from the Wampanoag’s traditional Three Sisters Garden. The Hidatsa added Read More
Purple Calabash Heirloom Tomatoes have been in the 1840 Farm vegetable gardens since our first summer living here in 2006. Every year, we look forward to that first slice of Purple Calabash still warm from the sunshine. If I had to choose just one tomato Read More
This tomato comes with a story the likes of which legends are made. It all starts with a man named M.C. Byles who friends affectionately called Charlie in West Virginia. He ran his own radiator repair business and was struggling to make it through the Read More
2006 was the first summer we lived at 1840 Farm. That year, we planted a small garden with a handful of heirloom tomato varieties. We were new to heirloom gardening and selected the varieties for that year’s garden in a very non-scientific manner. We simply Read More