Mountain View Farm

25/08/2024

The Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.). Some call them sunchokes. They are in the sunflower family, and are a native plant in the United States. They are a herbaceous perennial. We have one available at the stand. Also posting a photo of what our Jerusalem Artichokes look like today in our garden.

Jerusalem artichokes are produced throughout the United States primarily for their edible swollen tubers (swollen underground stems). These tubers look like a cross between white potatoes and ginger root.
Freshly harvested Jerusalem artichokes are comparable to water chestnuts and can be used in salads. Tubers can be cooked like potatoes. Jerusalem artichokes can also be used for pickling, animal feed, etc.
Plant 2 to 4 inches deep, in rows 30 to 42 inches wide with 15 to 24 inches between plants. To prevent the artichokes from spreading and becoming a potential w**d problem, plant the artichoke tubers in contained beds.
Tubers begin to form in August and may become 4 inches long and 2 to 3 inches in diameter.
The crop should not be harvested until after frost (October – December).

24/08/2024

Small bouquet #2.

24/08/2024

At the stand today. Plus Tomato Tasting Bar, Cucumbers, and house plants.

23/08/2024

We have some propagated house plants available for purchase. These are in quart containers and larger than the plants we currently have at the stand. I’m hesitant to put these at the stand for fear the afternoon sun may get too hot for them. Please message us if you’re interested.
We have 2 spider plants, a Christmas Cactus, 2 golden pathos, a snake plant, a cylindrical snake plant, and a jade plant.

21/08/2024

My favorite gardening tool. 🔥🔥🔥

21/08/2024

Opening up bouquet orders for this coming weekend. Please message us by Friday at 6pm to order a formal bouquet created for Saturday or Sunday pick up. Thank you!

19/08/2024

Happy Monday! Stop on out today! We have lots of tomatoes and cucumbers (check the two coolers), house plants and bouquets.

18/08/2024

Two bouquets, free tomato tasting bar, house plants, and a beautiful Jerusalem Artichoke (PA Native) are available at the stand. Stop by the stand today before the rain gets here!

17/08/2024

Thanks to everyone who came out to see us today! Loved the familiar and many new faces. We have 3 bouquets left over. If you’re interested, please message us.

17/08/2024

All set up and already a lot of foot traffic. Stop by and check us out! We’re here until 4-ish.

17/08/2024

It’s Millersburg Farmers Market Day!! Who is coming to see us? We will have LOTS of houseplants, fresh cut bouquets, eggs, and free produce and seeds!! Come take plants with us!!

15/08/2024

The stand will be closed this Friday and Saturday, August 16 & 17. We will be at the Millersburg Farmers Market on Saturday, August 17 from 1-4pm. Come out and see us and support small businesses throughout our community!

14/08/2024

Harvested some taters last night. “Look, Pap! I’m using an egg basket just like you did!”

12/08/2024

Come see us in person at the Millersburg Community Farmers Market on Saturday, August 17 from 1-4 pm located in Veterans Park (across from the square and gazebo). We will have our Tomato Tasting Bar, Free Produce to Share, Fresh Cut Bouquets, Farm Fresh Eggs, House Plants, and Free Seeds to the Community!

Mark your calendars for the Millersburg Community Farmers Market! 🗓️

Join us on August 17th from 1-4 PM at Veterans Park for a day of fresh, local produce, handmade goods and community fun! ☀️
We're still looking for vendors to join us! If you're interested in showcasing your products, please call or text 223-231-4402. Vendors must pre-register!
Let's support local businesses and enjoy the rest of summer together!

11/08/2024

Happy Sunday! We still have a few bouquets remaining and we added more tomatoes and cucumbers fresh picked yesterday. Also have some cute houseplants. Remember: Tomatoes and Cucumbers are free to our beautiful community!!

10/08/2024

Fresh cut bouquets at the stand!

10/08/2024

Stand is restocked! All three coolers are full. We have lots of slicers, cherry and grape variety tomatoes, and more cucumbers. New variety of cherry tomato: Black Cherry!! Hoping to put some bouquets together when things dry off a little. If you have a flower order to submit, please message us.

05/08/2024

Mr. MVF is very happy that Peppergate is over. Remember last season how we received mislabeled Italian Pepperoncini seeds? This year we had better luck (and a different seed supplier for these). Currently searching for a good pickling recipe.

04/08/2024

Another dream/idea that has become a reality. Fresh Cut Bouquet flower order for today. Eight bouquets of flowers cut yesterday and early this morning. Love getting to be creative. And to think it all started as a bare 12’ x 24’ bed

04/08/2024

Chicken Olympics

02/08/2024

Make your own bouquets and lots of tomatoes available at the stand today!! Tomatoes are in the coolers.

01/08/2024

The Tomato Tasting Bar is fully stocked!!! Come grab these beauties today before they are gone! All tomatoes are FREE!! You’re missing out if you’re not snagging a few of these for tonight’s salad or sandwich!!

31/07/2024

Spot on!

31/07/2024

Cucumbers have been claimed.
We still have tomatoes!

29/07/2024

7/29/24 - Cucumbers available at the stand! 🥒🥒🥒Mini White, pickling cucumbers, and lemon cucumbers (we love these for salads, snacking, and flavoring our water). Restocked the Tomato Tasting Bar along with some new slicers! New to us? We offer our fresh-picked produce to our wonderful community for free! Donations are greatly appreciated, but not mandatory.
We also offer a variety of houseplants and native plants for sale that we propagate ourselves. We make and sell cedar planters/flower boxes as well. Stop by and check us out. Our stand is self serve.

27/07/2024

Tomato Growing Tips 🍅🍅🍅🍅
Here are some basic, general tips for growing tomatoes. We try to follow these as closely as possible; however, life, pests, and weather also come into play. These tips don’t address specific issues that you may encounter while growing your tomatoes. A general rule of thumb is to closely monitor your tomato plants so you can determine what your plant needs. Let’s dive in!
🍅Location🍅
Plant tomatoes in full sun where they will receive 6 hours or more of sunlight a day. Tomatoes like it warm, but not super hot. They will sometimes drop their blossoms and fail to set fruit when it reaches temperatures over 86 degrees Fahrenheit.
🍅Mulching🍅
One of the first things we do after planting our tomatoes is mulching around the plants. We apply a thick layer of straw as our mulch, but some may prefer to use leaves, or natural wood chips (not dyed mulch). Mulching helps keep moisture in the soil. It also helps to protect the leaves of the plant from microbes in the soil that may get splashed on the foliage while watering your garden. These microbes could lead to disease on your plant. When watering your tomato plants, direct the water at the roots. Do not water the leaves and try to keep the leaves as dry as possible.
🍅Support🍅
When we plant our tomatoes, we install supports or trellises. Determinate variety tomatoes are bush-like and require tomato cages to help support the massive amounts of fruit. Indeterminate varieties require trellises. This variety will continue to vine and grow, so a support system is needed to keep fruit off the ground. We use twine and clips to train the branches to climb the trellis.
🍅Pruning🍅
We are big believers in pruning our tomato plants. Some folks don’t like to prune and that’s fine, but we have seen benefits to pruning. We generally ONLY prune our indeterminate tomatoes. Determinate tomatoes should not be pruned, but we sometimes prune the bottom leaves that are too close to the ground. We prune leaves and branches from the bottom for air circulation, and we also want to avoid fruit close to the ground. We prune suckers from the plant because we want to direct the plant’s energy along the main stem and branches. We pinch suckers by hand. If using pruners, it’s best to clean your pruners in between each plant (aka good hygiene).
🍅Monitor🍅
We often check for evidence of pests such as the tomato hornworm. We’ll find leaves missing off of branches and know we have a hornworm. They’re tricky to spot and found on the underside of a leaf. We remove immediately (and feed to our chickens). We manually remove any bugs found on our plants and inter-plant marigolds, Basil and nasturtium to help attract beneficial bugs and deter pests.
🍅Watering🍅
Watering is key. Tomatoes generally require an inch of water per week, or two inches if it’s very hot. If you don’t have a drip irrigation system, you need to water frequently and consistently. This is important for the plants' health, but equally important to avoid issues with blossom end rot. We try to water daily and it’s even recommended to water twice daily when it’s very hot. We personally do not have time to do that.
🍅Feeding🍅
Tomatoes are heavy feeders. We generally amend our beds with nutrient-rich compost before planting. We personally do not use fertilizers so we can’t really speak on that topic. We will occasionally add calcium if we run into issues, but that’s only to help speed up the repair along with watering consistently.
🍅Breaker Stage🍅
We harvest at the breaker stage when there is a kiss of color on the fruit. We do it to protect the fruit from splitting and cracking. Also, birds love ripe fruit just as much as we do, and this technique gets the fruit off of the plant before our feathered friends get the chance.
We’re not experts, and we’re not fancy, but we know a thing or two and can offer guidance to those who are new to growing. Do we always have a perfect growing season? No! I honestly don’t know anyone who does. Life, weather, and pests happen. The journey looks different for everyone. The point is to never give up, keep learning, and keep growing!

27/07/2024

Free Tomatoes at the Tasting Bar!! Lots of cherry, plum and grape varieties (orange Paruche/Sungold, Barry’s Crazy Cherry, Brad’s Atomic Grape, Prairie Fire, Napa Chardonnay, Raspberry Drop, Early Cherry, Chocolate Sprinkles). Also have a few slicers available (Dr Wyches and Classic Beefsteak).
Fresh Cut Bouquets available (please don’t take jars). And if you see my little frog friend, please let him be. 😉

26/07/2024

Tomato Tasting Bar restocked! All produce is free.
Stay tuned for Tomato Growing Tips this weekend.

22/07/2024

Tomatoes are in the coolers today. All tomatoes are free to our Community! We also added some newly propagated house plants! 🪴

21/07/2024

Whoa baby! That’s a beaut!!!