It’s Harvest Time and We’re on Fire!
The dawn of autumn is the time when our farm comes full circle. That’s because it’s potato time! Our farm crew who work year-round doing everything “potato” kick into full gear, ready and excited to see what our carefully-tended crop yields. It’s so exciting to think about the bounty just under the surface of our fields that stretch across the Saco River valley of Fryeburg, Maine and Conway, New Hampshire. Everybody here gets excited, from our potato-growers to our seasonal employees who man the trucks that move alongside our harvesters, to the warehouse crew, to the salespeople, to those of...
Read MoreThese Are So Beautiful, You’ll Want to Eat Them!
I can’t help it. I love potatoes. A high-school friend from Aroostook County, Maine, once told me she didn’t like potatoes. She admitted that it was peculiar that a County girl didn’t like potatoes. I had to agree. That’s mighty peculiar. Even crazy, if you ask me. As a kid, I used to rub freshly-dug potatoes on my jeans until I got all the dirt off and ate them raw. That’s true potato love! Our special Green Thumb Farms potato packs are, however, much better than straight out of the field. Have You Tried Our Steamables? We use our most beautiful petite potatoes to produce a consistently...
Read MoreThen and Now, 50 Years of Growth- Planting
As a fairly new member of the Thibodeau Family and Green Thumb Farms I haven’t had the privilege of seeing this farm’s progression over the years. This summer marks my 3rd anniversary at the farm and the 50th Anniversary for the company. This led me to dig into the farm’s history a little to see how much it has changed over the years. Since we are wrapping up our planting season and undergoing Fertigation, which is just about the final step, I thought it would be appropriate to start with the planting operation. When Green Thumb Farms began farming in 1965 we started with around 75 acres,...
Read MoreIt is a GREAT day to be on the farm!
Not only is this day’s beauty one for the record books but we also decided to make it the start to our 2010 potato harvest! Everyone was all smiles as we put the windrower and harvester to work. This time of year we usually start by digging small sections for specific orders. It allows us to work out the kinks in the equipment and break the warehouse packaging crew in slowly. Ahead of our harvester a windrower digs 4 rows of potatoes and deposits them among the 4 rows that the harvester is set up to dig. This allows the harvester to pick up the a total 8 rows with each pass...
Read MorePrecision in the Potato Fields
A new land purchase has allowed Green Thumb Farms to add more acreage to our crop land. The previous owner farmed hay for his cattle herd, we are in the process of turning the green hay into the ground in preparation for corn planting. This is done with a process called disking. A tractor tows an apparatus behind it that has several disks that will chop up the grass and turn it back down into the loose soil. The disk will travel over the land several times to make the surface smooth enough to plant. After disking if needed a light cultivation may help to fluff up the top soil. The...
Read More