Quail Hill Farm: Field Report Week 3
June 11, 2026
By Madison Aldrich
Tales from the Field: Quail Hill Farm is a CSA — community supported agriculture — and, as such, farm members share both the joy and the risk with the farmers.
A good (alas, bad) example of this occurred following last week’s windy cold snap. The crew had just planted cucumbers in Birch Hill (BH) 7 and 90% of the crop failed — a tough thing to see. Fortunately, the cucumber planting on Town Lane South could be transplanted, offsetting half the loss. The crew seeded a second round and, while it will mature later on, its harvesting might coincide with the second round of dill, perfect timing for those farm members who make pickles. To complete the bed, Chesa's saved seed for winter melon and sour gherkins was also planted.
Last season’s farm survey revealed that farm members want lettuce all summer long. To meet that need, another round of lettuce was planted in BH 11 to succeed that now being harvested in BH 2. However, a groundhog has taken up residence along the back fence and has been nibbling the young leaves. To thwart his devouring the crop, we’ve installed hoops and netting — hopefully effective, but a huge drain on farmers’ time.
The good news is that the potatoes in BH 8 and 9 are the best we’ve ever seen. Take a walk and look! Cornell Cooperative Extension alerted us to a new organic spray. We’ve yet to use it, although we may need to do so later on. So far, hand picking the Colorado potato beetles — a perennial scourge — has kept the plants healthy. The first potatoes should be ready to dig in early July.
A lot of what QH members take home is not grown on Birch Hill. It appears as if by magic on its farm stand. These crops are planted in the Town Lane fields. Garlic is one such crop. Their scapes are now on the farmstand; the bulbs will be ready in July. Also, melons and sweet potatoes — these plants require ample spreading room. Among the many melons the farm grows is a seedless watermelon — an experiment as the plants need to grow next to traditional melons in order bear fruit. Finally, we can look forward to orange, white and purple sweet potatoes. We’re also experimenting with yams. Requiring a slightly longer based maturity, they may be smaller than expected, but they’ll be really yummy.
Joys. Risks. It’s all worth it.
Madison Aldrich
Senior Farm Manager, Quail Hill Farm
MAldrich@PeconicLandTrust.org