(for the January TWATL) What better way to start off 2012 than to start growing more of the food you serve at home! There is nothing to compare to eating a tomato fresh off the vine….or green beans picked that morning … or lettuce so fresh it tastes sweet. Better tasting and healthier too… things the folks who grow their veggies and fruit in their own plot at Skidaway Farms know firsthand. Now you too can join the Farm by renting a plot for the 2012 season which begins February 1st. Becoming a Farmer is easy with our new online […]
Yearly Archives: 2011
77 posts
(for the TLA January Journal) Growing vegetables and flowers is a skill…much like learning how to swim or ride a bike….once you get it under your belt, it becomes a life skill you will use more often than you plan on. And learning about where your food comes from and how its health can keep you healthy is a valuable lesson for all our children. From the White House to Skidaway Island…kids in the garden are breaking ground and having a ball doing it! The Children’s Program at Skidaway Farms is now taking registrations for the Spring 2012 season. Come […]
(for the TWATl December 2011) Open the south gate and step one foot into Skidaway Farm and you will tread on the pathway named for Dr. Charley Caldwell…Doc Charley Lane. Yes, he was father to Skidaway Farms’ organizer, Blake Caldwell…and husband to one of the Farms largest benefactors, Nancy Dancu. He was a Harvard educated surgeon who cherished the hours he got to spend cultivating his orchards and tending the vegetables on the family farm in Danville, Kentucky. Doc Charley passed on in January 1999 but his memory is now marked at the Farm by the wide boulevard that leads […]
(for the TLA December Journal by Kathy Hardigan) Becoming a Farmer may just be that New Year’s resolution you have been looking for! What better way to improve what you eat than to grow your own fruits and vegetables…your own cornucopia of healthy things to serve your family for dinner! After a very successful first year, Skidaway Farms is preparing for 2012 by offering a new online registration system. Starting December 1st, you can sign up for a plot or a raised bed by following the step-by-step instructions at www.skidawayfarms.net where you can pay with a credit card or PayPal […]
The Governance Committee is pleased to announce that Landings resident, Jane Kollmann has been selected to become our Children’s Program Coordinator. Attracted by the weather and the longer growing season, Jane and her husband, Tom moved to the Landings from Minnesota a year ago. They tend to their two plots at the Farm as well as the Flower Garden in Section D. Jane has been prepping the four plots that make up the Children’s garden, building a brick perimeter and covering the space with hay to winter over the soil. She is busy preparing the curriculum that will […]
The Farm is now the owner of eight humungous bales of hay! Organized by the Governance Committee, the delivery came from an organic farm in upstate Georgia where it had been baled and then stored for the past two years. It will make great mulch for your plot and will help retain moisture for your plants. This hay has been aged and appears to be weed-free. Hay bales are tipped and rolled off the trailer If you’d like to purchase some of this hay, the cost is by the wagon-full: Specifically the green metal-mesh pull-wagon. use this pull wagon […]
The Farm had been working on getting a permanent bulletin board inside the fence for quite a while now. And just yesterday it went up! Right in the middle of the Farm…in Valley Crest Square! Built strong and beautiful by Bethesda Barn Builders… it is GORGEOUS! And it belongs to all of us Farmers…so feel free to use it to post a note to the Farm in general…or send a message to your plot neighbor…or comment on growing tomatoes this time of year. Whatever message you want to post—please do! (Inside the framework there are notepads and push pins and […]
“There’s a FARM??!!! On SKIDAWAY?!! And your hybrid can run on …THOSE!!??” The Farm caused quite a stir at a local tire repair shop recently. Seems one of our Farmers was shucking her harvest of peas while waiting for new tires to be put on her car. Seated nearby, a kindly gentleman couldn’t help but be entranced by what she was doing and inquired where she had bought such gorgeous green peas. “Not bought. Grown. In my plot at Skidaway Farms”, she answered proudly. Amazed by this news he couldn’t contain his surprise and blurted out, “There’s a FARM!? On […]
It was chilly and a bit wet in the morning….but the staunchest of us Farmers were out and about among the plots! Weeding and mulching and pruning our plants…and of course…chewing the fat with each other about how things are growing. Adding a new drip system in her plots… …it’s easier than it looks! Beating back those pesky weeds on the gravel paths… …back-breaking work that it is! Pruning the plants while enjoying a friendly chat! A harvest of radishes to start the day… It was a great day at the Farm!(10/29/11)
Seems though every time we get together, good things happen! First there was our fabulous May Supper in the Farm…then the two successful Farmers’ Gatherings…followed by that scrumptious Wine Pairing at Delegal last month! So the Governance Committee thought we should gather everyone together one more time before the end of our first year…add a BYOB or two…then listen to what y’all are thinking about the future of the Farm. The Date: Today, Sunday December 4th at 3:00 pm The Place: Delegal Marina’s Sunset Room Bring:BYOB’s are welcomed…and munchies to share if you want! Sunset at Delegal Marina… Many of […]
Many kudos to Cathy Adler, Maddie Harwood, Pat Morris and Lynne Schwartz for the perfect Wine Pairing event held last night at Delegal Harbor’s Sunset Room. It was a feast to behold…Smoked Turkey Canapes mated with a delicious white varietal wine, Alamos Torrontes – from Argentina…Re-Stuffed New potatoes married with a Carpineto Cabernet Sauvignon from Tuscany…the most-popular Crab Salad Canapes matched with a French Cotes du Rhone Blanc….and last – but most-assuredly not least – amazing Lollipop Lamb Chops topped with an old southern recipe for mint jelly which blended seamlessly with Australia’s McWilliams Shiraz. All this was followed by […]
Open the south gate and step one foot into Skidaway Farms and you will tread on the pathway named for Dr. Charley Caldwell. Yes, he was Blake’s father…and Skidaway Farms benefactor, Nancy Dancu’s husband…a surgeon trained at Harvard who cherished the hours he got to spend cultivating his orchards and tending the vegetables on the family farm in Danville, Kentucky. Doc Charley passed on in January 1999 but his memory is now marked at the Farm by the wide boulevard that leads to Valley Crest Square. The Caldwell men had been farmers as far back as anyone could remember…planting nut […]
Organic doyenne, Janet Waldie is an endless supply of guidance and plant facts and info on all those BUGS! While she’s at the Farm working her plots she gets asked “what to plant and when?” so often she figured it was a good idea to POST that information for the (very few) times she isn’t there! Feel free to open the “pages” of her library that are hanging on the fence opposite her plots in Section H. Each is an alphabetized list of plants and their suggested growing season stats. You should find what you’d like to know there…but if […]
Eggplant, peppers and okra absolutely rule the heat waves of Savannah! Those of us Farmers who moved here from other locales have a thing or two to learn about this Savannah climate! One thing for sure…we’ll all be planting more peppers and eggplant next spring…AND more indeterminate tomato plants. Seems these plants withstand the heat and humidity so well that come October they are laden with new produce! Indeterminate Tomatoes on the vine One Farmer just trimmed her tomato plants back a bit in June….and now look at them! Fresh arugula… one of […]
an update from Skidaway Farms by Kathy Hardigan (for the TLA Journal November 2011) Delegal Harbor’s Sunset Room was transformed into a magnificent venue to celebrate great wine, tasty foods and an evening of fun on a Wednesday evening in October! This sold-out event was organized by Skidaway Audubon to support Skidaway Farms and to help the Farm pay down its initial construction costs. The Farm is indeed thankful to Skidaway Audubon, the many volunteers that staffed the event and in particular, Cathy Adler for her leadership in coordinating everything! Organizers Maddie Harwood, Pat Morris and Lynne Schwartz […]
The newly-named “Compost Square” in Section A is the most popular spot in the Farm these days! Almost full to the brim, these four fenced-in plots can be the final resting place for any NATURAL refuse from your plot – weeds…plant stalks…over-ripe produce -but not paper or plastic or bags or the like! Given how full Compost Square already is, PLEASE toss your offerings in the more open area behind the tall inner fence.…especially stay away from the area just inside the gate next to the gravel path. Follow the signs posted on the fence for guidance! At some point, […]
A few Farmers left their indeterminate tomato plants in the ground throughout the summer. Not much happened as the plants weathered the heat and humidity that a squelching-hot Savannah summer can throw at growing things….BUT now you should see how they are doing! A quick walk-around the Farm bears witness to these plants bearing cherry tomatoes and even some larger ones! Simply amazing….these plants prove that tenacity is alive and well at Skidaway Farms! (10/5/11)