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Homegrown News Blog

SINCE 1685

Thank you.

12/31/2020

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2020 Year in Review

12/22/2020

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I know we say this every year, but 2020 certainly was "the year" to remember in so many ways. It had its challenges for sure, but so many great things as well. Here are some of our favorite moments!
Spoke at several farming engagements!
The start to our new greenhouse this year!
MaterMacc going to work!
My father built us this awesome greenhouse bench!
First spinach harvest of 2020!
Our Online Farm Store pickup porch kicked into high gear early spring!
First tomato sprouts in the new greenhouse!
First flowers on the stand!
As COVID19 ramped up Paula provided the crew masks!
First asparagus customers of 2020!
Heirloom tomatoes in high tunnel 2!
First early spring winter greens harvesting in high tunnel 1!
Renovating space to have our first manned farm stand!
Extreme no-till field corn into rye cover crop!
New cooler up and running and filled with fresh veggies this spring!
Our new installed irrigation pump to supply water for the greenhouses!
Thank you to my father for the many hours and time into constructing our new irrigation pump and storage building for the farm!
Thank you to the Grinspoon Foundation for the Local Farm Award and the opportunity to purchase our Paperpot Transplanter
Trialing microgreens!
The new tent arrives to begin our expansion!
​​Our awesome 2020 field crew getting it done in the rainy kale field!
The tent expansion becomes a reality!
Trialing winter greens!
When the Heirloom tomatoes start rolling in this summer! Our largest harvest was over 600lbs in one day!
​​Ohhh the lovely smell of fresh sweetcorn in the middle of July!
CSA crew 2020!
Many thanks came in for keeping our customers safe!
Beautiful skies in late summer as we were getting our fall seeded crops in the ground!
Probably one of the best years for tomato production! What a crazy season! 2000lb hauls almost every other week!
Brought our first cow to market!
Our Farmstand was a huge success and thank you to everyone who was able to be a part of it, hope to see you all next year!
An amazing thank you, to all of our essential farm workers!
When the farmstand crew comes out to play in the pumpkins and get a taste of the field life!
Construction of our new pump-house and toolshed well underway in time for winter!
Awesome 2020 garlic harvest!
The feeling of FINALLY having fresh carrots on the farm after a grueling summer of drought!
High Tunnel 1 filled with winter greens for peoples plates all winter long! First time going year-round!
Farm stand setup during Pumpkin Days!
Our first ever labels came in this year to begin advertising our products!
Garlic planting 2020, first crops in the ground for the 2021 season!
First snow on the fall/winter spinach!
So proud to bring our raw honey to market!
Our new addition to the family, overwintering onions! Coming to the farm stand early summer 2021!
Our first winter Saturday Walk-In Mini-Market!
The start to our winter season! Online ordering and mini markets with fresh goodies all winter long!
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2019 Projects Year in Review

12/28/2019

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We decided to make a seperate blog about all of the projects that were completed and continue to go on here at the farm. I really can't believe all of the work we have done. A BIG thank you to my father, friends and others who have made these improvements possible.

We arranged all of pictures below in chronological order from the start of the season to the present.

​Scroll down to see how far we have come! 
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Installing electrical conduit in HT1
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Organizing pipes for HT2 and finishing ground leveling
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Ground has been leveled and piping and bows starting to get installed for HT2 and GH1
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Starting end wall construction on HT2 and digging the roadway for all the greenhouses
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More road construction and getting ready to put fill in
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Digging trenches for water pipes for all greenhouse 5' down
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Materials for HT2 and GH1, endwall and plastic
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The endwalls are underway
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Digging test well points for our irrigation system to ensure good water flow
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HT2 is ready for plastic, an exciting moment in August
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Installing electrical conduit for all 3 structures
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The main lead for electricity to all structures
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Three well points going in for 3 greenhouses
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These are precast hictical pears that we are putting in for the "Tool Shed" for the irrigation pump and electrical panel
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Mixing and poring concrete for new foundations under the back barns
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Plastic going on HT2, thank you to the crew who came to help! Today would also be the storm of the season...we are lucky the plastic was still intact!
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More digging? Yes! This is a drainage system for the back of the farm so things stay a little drier!
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New catch basin to keep water flowing in the right direction
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Terminating our first cover crop and now are seeding in some new crops to continue building the soil heath
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Spencer and Collin my wonderful brothers helping digging out old foundations on the barn
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Mix mix mix, new foundations for the barn, she shouldn't go anywhere now!
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Concrete board going in to keep barn protected from erosion
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Finally that time, bows for GH1 are under way
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More layout for barn additions and improvements!
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Building our new tool shed space
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Malanowski Farm dropping fill for the new addition
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Greenhouse construction continues! Cross bows going up!
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The new road, looks great!
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We took a speedy turn to finish the metal structure of the GH, next-up frame work for the endwalls
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Polycarbonate goes on GH1, so close now
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One side complete, on to the next!
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My father and I contemplating the next step on the roof vent for GH1
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We finally have plastic coverings on all greenhouse structures
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Digging trenches for the GH propane heating system

​To be continued...
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2019 Year in Review

12/17/2019

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It has been a year to remember! 

As we settle down after a very long and eventful season we took a moment to reflect on all the fun and good times we had. 

Here are some of our favorite moments of 2019!

March

March started with a decent snow cover and our high tunnel was all about growth. We focused on getting seeds organized to begin planting and we filled the high tunnel with early starts. We also received new tools like harvest crates and bins. Senator Jo Comerford stopped by for a short visit and discuss farm issues we were facing and how she may be able to help. We hope to see her more next season! 
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April

April was a wet one! We were still recovering from last year and we were well underway with high tunnel crops and even had plows in the soil. We were busy burning the asparagus field and getting the first seeded crops in. We also played with our custom built germination chamber and the farmstand opened early with flowers!
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May

May was a busy month! The harvest began while we were in full planting mode! In between the madness we were busy cultivating the first plantings of brassicas and laying plastic for long season crops. The soil was finally workable after the wet spring we had and we were bustling now. We really started to get our feet wet with our new MaterMacc planter as well!
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June

We participated in our first event of the year, the Asparagus Fest in Hadley! This was also the first month of the CSA farm share 2019 program. We continued planting away by hand and testing the new no-till planter. We had plenty of field work staking tomatoes and pulling garlic scapes.
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July

July was garlic month! Harvest, cure, harvest, cure! Our high tunnel tomatoes were growing as tall as Navi and we were super busy trellising. We had the first field tomatoes in the area and the winter squash was looking fantastic. We had a fun farm visit with the Hatfield Recreation Camp too!
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August

August sure threw us a curveball, we started the month with the biggest storm of the season. Heavy rains, wind, and hail destroyed acres of tobacco, leafy greens and other crops. It was also one of the busiest harvest months of the year. Sweetcorn, cucumbers and tomatoes were abundant! We said goodbye to our amazing summer crew as they prepared for a new school year. We tried new exciting things like cover crop no-till drilling, planting our first round of spinach and having our first ever tomato tasting. There were many late nights in the moonlight washing tomatoes and some of the crew went "tomato blind", long story :) 
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September 

September sure felt like fall! The overwintering onions started to pop in the high tunnel and our first setting of spinach looked absolutely amazing. The stand was packed to the gills and the new greenhouse frame started to emerge. We were still full steam ahead harvesting tomatoes and squash by the truckloads. The month flew by, with lots to do! 14 hours a day, 7 days a week! 
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October

October blessed us with more pumpkins than we could imagine! The harvest was in full swing and we kept the stand stocked and overflowing. We introduced many fall greens that people had been looking forward to. We had a visit from the second grade class and preschoolers from the Hatfield Elementary School. They learned lots about farming, planting seeds, and the value of a dollar. We finished our last week of CSA farm share and it felt bittersweet. Navi and I attended the CISA fall gathering to have some fun with local farmers and celebrate the amazing season we had. The Malanowski boys helped us donate and decorate Smith Academy for Homecoming.
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November 

November was another busy month, when we are usually slowing down, we were full steam ahead! We started the month off with planting the overwintering onions along with the 2020 garlic crop. We had the largest spinach harvest of the season right before the cold snap. We helped out Malanowski Farm with their tobacco and in return they helped us install plastic on the new greenhouse. We rounded out the month with a mini vacation to celebrate the incredible season we had!
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We want to thank you for another amazing season, we feel blessed with the support you show us year after year. Without you, it wouldn't have been possible.

Season 2020 will be bigger and better than the last, stay tuned for all things Bardwell Farm :)

From myself and the crew, Happy Holidays!
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Climate Change's Impact On Local Farmers

11/12/2019

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Many thanks to Jacob Wycoff and Western Mass News for giving our farm a voice!
Video Western Mass News | Ryan Trowbridge, Jacob Wycoff

HATFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- The global population is expected to hit 10 billion people by 2050 and securing enough food to feed that number is a growing concern for policymakers... read more
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Future Farmers

7/13/2019

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We were honored to host Field Day for the kiddos of the Summer Hatfield Rec Program!​​ They toured our farm, asked questions, and we showed them how to plant sunflower seeds :)
We made a furrow for the kids to plan their seeds into
We demonstrated how we plant seeds in the soil and the kids got hands-on
A little one-on-one teaching with one of the kids who was late after getting sunscreen in her eye, but she's a trooper and stuck with it!
This little guy is planting sunflower seeds!
All hands on deck, class begins!
A little one on one teaching with one of the kids who was late after getting sunscreen in her eye, but she's a trooper and stuck with it!
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Valley Bounty: Swiss Chard

6/20/2019

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By Noah Baustin - Daily Hampshire Gazette - June 14, 2019

The Swiss Chard harvest recently began on Bardwell Farm in Hatfield. It was nearly three weeks later than usual. “Last year, we had a nice warm start to the season where crops were on-time or early. This season, we’re coming in with conditions that have been colder and wetter,” said Harrison Bardwell, who owns the farm.
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“Being a beginning farmer, I’m still learning a lot of the aspects of how to deal with different weather conditions year to year,” Bardwell explained... read more
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Rosemary Parmesan Popcorn

6/17/2019

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When we grow herbs sometimes we have so much we just can't use it all. You're all ready using rosemary in your soups and roasted potatoes, why not enjoy it in your popcorn too!
INGREDIENTS

1 cup popcorn kernels
1 cup and 2 tbsp of good olive oil, divided
5 sprigs of fresh rosemary sprigs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Sea salt to taste
DIRECTIONS

Combine the oil and rosemary in a small, heavy saucepan. Cook the oil over a low heat for five minutes, and then remove the pan from the heat. Allow the oil to cool for at least fifteen minutes.

Add the popcorn kernels and remaining oil to a large, heavy pot with a lid. Cook until the kernels begin to pop, then shake the pot in thirty second intervals to prevent any burning. Once the kernels have stopped popping, add parmesan, sea salt and rosemary oil to the pot. Shake or stir to combine, and season more, if needed.

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Week In Pictures: High Tunnel 2

5/14/2019

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Bows are assembled and up, things are starting to come together
Next we added the purlins to tie the bows into each other and give regidity
The master carpenter hard at work, building end walls
After purlins are installed the cross bracing and cross ties are assembled, these are the final steps for metal farming portion of the structure
Base boards and hip boards have been installed and fastened down
We simplified our end walls this year, making the process much faster, we are so close to adding the polycarbonate
We subsoiled the high tunnel after all the grading and leveling the ground, time to get a cover crop in
Were we are marking and drilling the channel for the wiggle wire going in for the plastic cover
The Bardwell team hard at work
The Bardwell team hard at work
Digging holes for the posts for end walls
Thank you for everything dad
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Week In Pictures: Planting

4/30/2019

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Greentower Romaine lettuce ready for the ground
Prepped beds for our first succession of transplants
Red Ace and Kesteral Beets
Looking out over the field on our first day of planting
Calvin stretching row line, it helps keep everything uniform
​​Marking our beds for planting
Calvin and I planting Swiss Chard
Radish just popping through the soil
Turnip popping out of the ground
Felt good to be out in the field
Planting away, one tray at a time
Touchstone Gold Beet transplants
Planting Swiss Chard in rows, 12” between plants
Cabbage transplants
Back in the soil after a long winter
Working as quickly as we can to try and beat the rain
Prepping the bed to plant another row
Calvin planting away
Swiss Chard
2 more flats going in
Laying and spacing the transplants
Pushing up soil and compressing the plants into the ground so they can take root
Kale is going in
First setting planted successfully, now to give them little food and let Mother Nature do her part
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