I started drinking coffee around age 9. In my parents’ defense, they brew coffee so weak you can see through it. But ever since, I have loved – no, worshipped – coffee. My first solo outing as a kid was actually to a coffee shop. We were visiting my grandparents in Ohio, and there was […]

From my pillow, the woods behind the house is visible. In winter, my gaze threads the spaces between branches, able to dart a short distance until the lattice of limbs becomes a gray wall. But when I woke on Monday, the snow had stacked thick on the branches, halting my view at the first row […]

Jason’s final day of work was before Christmas. Since he normally takes vacation days between Christmas and New Years, it didn’t feel odd to have him home these last few days. We watched out the window for him on his last day. When the headlights cut through the December dark, Silas and I started waving […]

We’re now eight work days out from Jason leaving his full-time job. It might seem like a time for radical rethinking of farm revenue, but for two reasons this December isn’t much different than past years. For one, the farm’s functioned for seven years now, and Jason’s meticulously tracked our yearly progress. Because of this, […]

My self-assigned project this month was to write a preview for Season 8. Even with so much to share, I couldn’t find the motivation. I think, perhaps, it’s because I needed to write this post first, and square up about the past year. From memes to movies, there’s a tendency to romanticize farm life. There […]

The world takes on a metallic shine in November. There’s a fair amount of brown, yes, but as I write this, the sun is behind big clouds, and they’re ablaze silver-white by its power. The leaves that remain are gold and bronze, and the wind makes them wink like coins in the sunlight. In fields […]

THREAD By Stella Ruggiero I wouldn’t call my parents musicians, since I don’t think anyone ever paid them as such, but they were musical. My father played just about anything with strings, but favored guitar or banjo. For mom, it was the piano. And even though she had the sweeter, clearer voice, dad always sang […]

Hello, friends! Fun news to share. Over the summer, PCN spent a day on the farm with us, and now it’s time for our show to air! Here are the details sent out by PCN: Get An Insider’s Look Into Plot Twist Farm with PCN Tours One of our most popular weekly series, PCN Tours […]

1,008 CSA shares grown on about 3 acres by 2 1/2 farmers (counting Silas). That was Season No. 7 at Plot Twist Farm! The end of the year was an unusual one. We had someone in our care, and this, added to the fact that Silas and I have shifted our focus to cyber school, […]

One night, Jason and I once had a conversation in the kitchen that I’ve returned to during my lowest points as a farmer. Back in those days, he listened to farming podcasts almost every day, and he’d report back the most interesting stories. His favorite was the Farmer-to-Farmer podcast, hosted by the late Chris Blanchard. […]

This is Jason’s haul from last night. We’re nearing the end of the big tomato harvests, and now it’s time to move on to squash and other autumn crops. All of the tomatoes are heirlooms for this week’s CSA members. The yellow are pineapple, and the pink are brandywine. The green are ripe; they’re a […]

We’re still adjusting to cyber school, and a walk after Silas’s last assignment of the day has helped us both this past week. While I prefer a quiet, non-academic stroll, Silas has insisted on toting along our tree identification book, and stopping us every few feet. I’m not sure if it’s me, or the quality […]

It’s been a great tomato year on the farm. These are different varieties of artisan tomatoes. The bucket on the far right is chocolate cherry. The name comes from the dusky purple color, not the taste. They have a low-acid, earthy flavor. A woman at the farmers market once said we were the farm with […]

What an exciting day of picking! These are heirloom tomatoes. They’re grown from seed that’s been saved for generations. They grow in beautiful colors and unusual shapes. They’re how a tomato is supposed to look and taste. In our opinion, they make the most delicious sauce. Hello to our fellow tomato lovers! It’s time to […]