Sprout Farm Newsletter -August 29, 2026 sproutfarm.net open 9-5 daily (except Labor Day)

 

Hello Everyone,

Labor Day is late this year and the school buses are already rumbling down the roads. Toddlers are waving good-by to older brothers and sister and wondering if they are really coming home, ever. Future, it's such a slippery word when you're three years old and sometimes you need comforting from big people you trust. For children, the world gets wider; for older folks, sometimes the world gets more narrow. Our world here at the farm is about to get very narrow indeed.

Jay has announced to the family and staff that we will be retiring the farm at the end of this season. This has come as a surprise but as he says, “It's time.” We are both seventy-six and this operation has tested our abilities to the maximum and it is time to step back and see what else life has in store for us. We are not selling anything, just putting up our feet to read a good book or two or maybe doing some traveling at a time of year when the snow isn't flying. We have a lot of catching up to do with family and friends and that takes the time that we've sacrificed for the last few decades.

We realize that we've become part of your life and you have become part of ours and we can't begin to express our gratitude for your friendship over the years. I think we have one of the biggest extended families in Mashpee. I know life will be very different without the hustle and bustle of the spring but I won't miss the high wire act of keeping this business going without a successor plan in place. We are still here as usual and we still have to find a source of butternut squash for September. It's always something. Jay says that our chemicals and fertilizers along the wall in the farm stand will be 50% off until supplies run out.

The corn is still coming along with no signs of interruption in supply. The kale is curly, the carrots are sweet, the tomatoes are plentiful and for once we have our own peppers and eggplant. This is truly a bountiful year. We are still planting, weeding and harvesting lettuce. Now that the hottest part of the year is past, we hope to see the lettuce slow down in growth but get bigger in the cool temps it loves.

We still have perennials for sale in the greenhouse to the left of the main farm stand. That is what we call the seeding house. Last week the swamp milkweed plants had three striped caterpillars. This week I counted over a dozen and they are growing fast as they chomp down the plants. I called on a friend who raises Monarch butterfly caterpillars as a hobby and when she came over to check them out she declared them, “Beautiful.” I agree. She said they were close to a size when they would soon start to spin a cocoon and we should look out for them starting to form a 'J' shape. This is all new to us. We have failed every time we have brought in plugs to try and grow milkweed. This year Jay started them from seed and not only grew the plants without a problem, but attracted the one insect we wanted to invite to dine on them. So now we have the prospect of munched plants and butterflies that will leave and head for Mexico, leaving us with empty pots. Some how that seems fitting.

We finally achieved success in the tomato house. Every year that house with the tall tomatoes has been hit with disease so bad that we've chopped down the plants in the middle of summer. This year they have survived without disease and the usual infestation of tomato horn worms. This is important as this is the only heated greenhouse where we grow tomatoes. Unfortunately we will close our doors before the first really hard frost.

The kitten report. The kittens are seven weeks old today and as fearless and curious as we could hope. They want to check out everything and our snacks have attracted their attention to the point that we round them out and put them in the sun room while we eat. Goldie is very loving and climbs up to my face and licks my nose. His whiskers tickle. You can see how this would be a problem if I am reading on my tablet and he starts stepping on the screen right at the place where you change the page. Yes, he does that, especially with YouTube. He can change the page five times in a matter of seconds. Thank goodness for 'History' or I would be lost.

That's all for now. Stop by and see what we have growing for you,

Jay and Phyllis Sprout