Living and writing in a circa 1840 New England Farmhouse with three generations of my family
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
Of all the tomatoes we grow here at 1840 Farm, the Green Zebra is perhaps the most striking. When fully ripe, each tomato is a fabulous bright green color with beautiful bright stripes. In a garden full of red, pink, purple, orange, and yellow, the Read More
If you’re looking for a tomato to thrive in the summer heat, look no further. The Costoluto Genovese variety hails from the Mediterranean. For centuries, gardeners living along the Mediterranean found that this tomato loved the intense summer heat and sunshine. The gardeners loved the Read More
We love cherry tomatoes here. It just wouldn’t be summer, or tomato season as we like to call it, without enjoying the experience of strolling through the raised bed garden and plucking a warm cherry tomato directly from the vine before popping it into your Read More
It’s common for me to be sharing photos of 1840 Farm. It’s far less common for HGTV Gardens to contact me and ask if they can use one of those photos to show their readers the best of Fabulous Fall Foliage. I didn’t hesitate to Read More
The Blondkopfchen Heirloom Cherry Tomato originated in Germany. In German, the word “blondkopfchen” translates to “little blonde girl”. My daughter was a little blond girl when we first began growing this tomato here at 1840 Farm. In fact, she was the reason that I first Read More
When it comes to simple summer dinners, this heirloom tomato bruschetta pasta is as good as it gets. It’s as beautiful as it is delicious.
During the height of heirloom tomato season, we harvest several pounds of cherry tomatoes every day. It’s intentional: we plant two dozen cherry tomato plants every summer in our garden. We have found that they store amazingly well in the freezer, allowing us to make Read More