How long do seeds last?

Chicory Greens : Grumolo

I can't say enough about these greens - cooked or raw - greens and beans, salads, sautéed like spinach - they are ever-loving good!

The bonus to these seeds - I purchase from seeds of italy - growitalian - or Baker Creek - rareseeds - is they are PERENNIAL!  all of the plants came back this spring.  Our frosty winters are -20 below so anything that comes back each year is HARDY...


If you dig below the surface you will find long taproots similar to dandelion - as chicory is the larger  plant category.  These greens are highly nutritious.  good source of fiber, potassium, and vitamins C and B9...

Patisson Strie Melange Squash

these have such a long shelf life as an ornamental!
but the real star of the show is how they taste - picked young - they are summer squash with a density great for frying or grilling - better than zucchini for tempera or antipasto!  Last year was the first year I grew these - seeds from Baker Creek - here is link
http://www.rareseeds.com/patisson-strie-melange-squash/

Ambrosia Farms...Flavor and Sustenance, Heirloom Veggies, Grown For You

Ambrosia Farms has been farming naturally since 1988, with complete focus on open pollinated, heirloom vegetables.  Our pride in conserving open spaces, maintaining natural ecosystems, preserving cultural traditions, supporting the arts, and adopting wild horses, and hound dogs is our way of giving back to the Earth and Our Community.

We get our seeds from Baker Creek, Seeds of Italy, and save our own seeds, when time permits.  Our favorite varieties include tomatoes (Pantano Romanesco), winter squash/Pumpkins (Marina di Chioggia, Kabocha, Kuri, and Banana), Kale (Tuscan and Curly), Lettuce (Grumolo Chicory), Basil (Lettuce Leaf)...We grow varieties to suit your specific needs!

if you need a crop custom grown for you, please call our cell phone 315-749-8942

FARM FRESH DELIVERIES

Our farm will mail freshly picked produce to your door - just email us for more information!
ambrosiafarmsnyatyahoodotcom

Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin

pretty pumpkin- not thick enough texture -prefer cheese pumpkin and marina di chioggia

PUMPKIN PIE

2 1/2 cups pumpkin puree - if you use the canned - 16 ounce is 2 cups
2 eggs - I've used just yolks, but prefer whole eggs for a lighter custard
3/4 condensed milk
2 tbl molasses
1/2 cup bwn sugar

salt, ground cinnamon, fresh nutmeg, ground cloves
Bake at 350 got 50 min
I use the pasta frolla pie crust and pre bake it

Arugula: upick lettuce - early spring and late fall seasons!

Arugula is amazingly hardy to frost - already it has come back numerous times - subjected to below freezing temperatures.

http://www.growitalian.com/arugula/

I get my seeds from "seeds of italy", "baker creek", and page seeds in bulk - when available.

Garlic Planting 2015-2016

Garlic is planted in fall and overwinters to be harvested in July - in our Zone 4 - UpState NY.

we planted 15 rows for a total of 650 garlic bulbs to be harvested next summer!  We are trying to rebuild our seed stock.  Lots of people love our garlic - it is an heirloom italian hard neck variety.  Each year we replant the largest cloves from each garlic bulb.

...we sift horse manure - composted over 180 days - mixed with peat moss.  This is used in the rows ..the soil should be light and easy for the bulbs to expand as they grow.  We use the peat moss on a limited basis - directly where the plants/seeds are placed.  It is expensive and environmentally controversial due to the impact on peat bogs.  We have "muck" soil that needs to be "lifted".  I use a mix of dried leaves, compost, grass clippings, and peat.

Italian Lettuce

I am a big fan of crisp dark lettuce types - this one is called catalogna - I believe it is in the chicory family - as is dandelion and escarole.  Here is photo of the lettuce - called

This lettuce is called Radichetta Barba Dei Frati

Progress is being made on Field One - seeking lots of greens and lettuce for great summer salads!!!

Earth Day & 25 years of Farming Sustainably on Ambrosia Farms

  while others compromise, we plant only by giving back each year to enrich the soil with composted horse manure, peat moss (very sparingly & only spot on) and all natural enrichment.  This year should be our best ever to celebrate 25 years of growing organically - nope - plastic not included.  We simply mulch around our plantings which is a further input to enrich the soil as it quickly composts - hay, grass clippings, etc.

Here is a list of 2013 plantings as we go

April
peas - monmouth sugar snap peas - trellis made by thehaystore - one side only - 18 ft
   2 rows approx 45 sds per row - rareseeds

garlic - planted last October - var rocambole type - uncovered mulch

fava beans - seeds of italy

herbs - dill, parsley,

edible flowers - nasturtium

lettuce - escarole

lettuce -


potatoes -

summer squash -

April hours and inputs

hours per day
4/22   4
4/23  5
4/24  5

jobs per hour
escavated composted manure from field
cut through grass and weed border of field
planted peas
planted favas
planted herbs
transplanted oregano near mint
weed mint
transplanted tiger lilies to clay pots
transplanted tiger lilies to field driveway
racked ditch in front of field and seeded with cottontails in ditch

2013 Plants (850) from Heirloom Seeds

I am not sure how many people realize they can bring seed to their local greenhouses and ask for custom plants.  Most would prefer a quantity order for the extra labeling and specifications.  Our nursery man labels each tray with my name, the items planted and correlates my planting schedule with the desired size of plant etc... grows organically on request - and seems really attentive each year we bring them seed.  Imagine my delight when I first approached them almost 7 years ago!

Today I took the following seeds where they will be grown to a good planting size for our Northeast climate, picked up around 3rd week of May, hardened off, and planted in the fields on our farm.

I am planting ALOT less this year as I focus on our 20c kitchen - up and running - and all the other details that go  into bringing a successful product to market!

Here is the list of seeds dropped off (we get most if not all seeds from Bakers Creek Heirloom Seeds):

Tomato Plants - 600 (down from 2,500 in prior years)

BLACK CHERRY
BONNIE BEST
PANTANO ROMANESCO
DELICIOUS
PEARLY PINK
GERMAN RED STRAWBERRY
GERMAN LUNCHBOX
PRINCIPE BORGHESE
BREAD AND SALT
PLACERO

COUR DI BUE
PANTANO ROMANESCO
CHEROKEE PURPLE
STRIPED ROMAN
THESSANLAKI
MARMANDE

Pepper Plants (50)

Hot- CORNE DE CHEVRE
Sweet - QUADRATO D ASTI ROSSO

Gooseberry (50)

GIANT CAPE

Savoy Cabbage (100)

PERFECTION DRUMHEAD

Celery (50)

TENDERCRISP

Planting Tomatoes with my Dad

When I was growing up we had a kitchen garden in the backyard - my father came from a farming family - they grew tomatoes for Campbell's Soup Co in the early days.  I learned at an early age how to grow tomatoes.

Tomatoes at the ready for jarring tomato sauce at harvest time - we enjoyed them many ways - most notably as a tomato salad - and 2nd to none in my opinion - in a sandwich with mayo.

My Dad came up with putting plastic down and growing organically long before anyone else thought of it - although I do not use plastic anywhere on the farm - thinking that it must leach into the soil - instead I mulch with straw & grass clippings  - plastic would be so much easier!

Fond memories of working with my Dad in the garden and of my mother watering every night.

Postscript
In UpState NY I water in the early morning - but in Jersey - the perfect climate for tomatoes outside of Italy - it was preferable to water at night.

Why?  The cooler zones hold moisture overnight due to the drop in temperature - and that can harm the plant  - while warmer nights down South is perfect to absorb the water.  If you were to water during the day in these warmer zones you could burn the plant.

F.A.B.: Heirloom Tomato Puree

our tomatoes are cooked and passed through a mill to puree for many uses including pasta sauce, soups, stews, and many other dishes such as eggplant parm

Sold Out  2012 

TOMATO HARVEST ON THE HUDSON

2011 Heirloom Tomato Varieties Custom Grown

Our tomato plants are ready to be planted this week! CSA members will benefit from lots of great red and purple types - mouthwatering sunbursts of flavor in no time! Each member can pick ripe tomatoes beginning around July - harvest is limited to a smaller basket (but still generous) once per week.

We are also selling some of our custom grown tomato plants until June 7th.
The price per plant is .65 - Each order is 16 plants - while supplies last.
Offer open until June 7. Pick up in Utica NH area - email your order.

maximum from this group = 5 of any variety
cuor di bue
pantano romanesco
san marzano
striped roman
cherokee purple

maximum from this group = 1 of any variety
delicious
hazelfield
moneymaker
beauty queem
rei dos
morado
mama leone
black early
black oxheart
black giant
black pear
igneli gigante
illini star
orange purple smudge
vorlon

Heirloom Seeds

Ordering Seeds

Our crops are all heirloom, which are actually cheaper than the hybrid patented variety sold by most seed companies.
http://rareseeds.com/seeds/


Seed Starting

We are lucky - several greenhouses start custom plants for us - seeds of our choice - that means heirloom plants! I think this is more economical and labor saving - we utilize the existing community resources without duplicating products and services.
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/seed-starting?lnc=4ef2dc5bfca40110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=showarchive_tv_show-archive

Harvest

We are "Natural Nutrient" driven - a balanced diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables!!! Our focus is heritage and heirloom, organic, local, & authentic - Sustainable Agriculture! Our harvest is a great bonanza of nutritious heirloom tomatoes, soybeans, aqua duce fava beans, chiogga beets, nero di toscano cabbage, purple of Sicily cauliflower, golden batham corn, lemon cucumbers, blue de solaise leeks, long island cheese and marina di chioggia pumpkin, zucchino rampicante, cocozella di napoli, navet des vertus mart turnips, and more...

heirloom vegetables & heritage breeds

Browse these catalogs and websites !
Heirloom Seeds
open-pollinated seeds: pure, natural and non-GMO!
Heirloom seeds from the US and world have ancestral origins, preservve horticultural traditions, and celebrate cultural foods and original recipes - where the true melting pot began!

Heritage Breeds
we all know endangered species, well farm animals too are becoming extinct because of the reduction in farm families, the single minded commercialism of large farms, and the practice of breeding to optimize shipping and handling, production, etc. Caring for heritage breeds on our farms ensures their existance into the future.

Heirloom Seeds

Many longevity studies show that people that live off the land have the highest and longest life spans overall.