1
11, 2019
7
07, 2019
Summer Bouquets are here!
From now until October when our temperatures again descend to freezing, we’ll have beautiful bountiful summer bouquets. Our annual cut flower garden grew three times in size this year, offering us more space to plant everything that we love. These annuals like zinnias, ageratum, marigolds, cosmos amaranth and nicotiana are just beginning to bloom. It’s heartbreaking work, but necessary to cut the first few flowers and leave them for compost in order to encourage the plant to put more energy into growing larger, taller and stronger before they really being to crank out flowers. Sometimes this means cut 1/3 to [...]
28
06, 2019
Harvest Time
As summer rolls into the fields, the trees and plants are popping into flower, almost a new blossom every week. This week we harvested linden flowers from a few trees that are bordering our driveway. Linden flowers have an amazing smell, last week they were in full bloom in Pittsburgh and every street smelled so sweet I could almost see the relief that people were feeling. Linden is cooling, demulcent and soothing to frazzled nerves. Sometime our thoughts get in the way, becoming circular, repeating our to do list, not letting us get to sleep. All this pressure can make [...]
19
04, 2019
Sign up for Cutting Root Farm’s Herbal CSA!
Woooooo!!!! It's here!Sign up for our 8 week 2019 CSA. 8 pounds of herbs for medicine making (drying, tincturing, cooking with) /or/ 8 weeks of BEEEutiful flower bouquets <3(Pick up at Bloomfield Market or Polish Hill preferred.) For the Herb CSA, we'll send you a list of herbs we have available so you are able to choose what medicines you receive.If you'd like to get a longer season, feel free to sign up for two CSA shares. 8 weeks of herbs:8 pounds of herbs to cook with - nettle pesto- hibiscus icing8 pound of herbs to dry for tea- make [...]
24
03, 2019
Cherry Bark
Here, in the so called Allegheny Plateau or Valley or Ridge or Mountains – basically this area of western PA, Maryland, little parts of West Virginia, here is where wild cherry trees (and maples) dominate the forest. Here in this little forest, that is absolutely true. I love their black bark, almost purple. I love the large ones, really only medium sized trees here. And I love the spindly little ones that are reaching up for the sunlight, but not quite making it. Right now, I have a cough. So I’ve been chewing on the cherry twigs. These twigs [...]
24
03, 2019
Planting Elders
A few weeks ago, I walked through the low field that swoops up to meet the edge of the forest past our little stream, Crooked Run. This field changes throughout the year, filling with goldenrod in fall, abloom with elder in the spring. Right now, I’m looking for those little elder bushes that push their way through this soggy ground. Elders are special. Their name implies that. Their umbrellas of huge leaves and overloaded flowers, heavy with pollinators shows us that. The little deer beds that show up underneath my elders, the empty umbels that once were full [...]