In the Share - Week 5

broccoli

LETTUCE (F2/P1) More romaine and red leaf lettuces that are so far surviving the heat!

SWISS CHARD (F/P) The first picking of this leafy green from the beet family.

BROCCOLI (F/P) Again, keep an eye out for any pesky caterpillars we might have missed.

SUMMER SQUASH (F/P) It feels like summer once the yellow squash and zucchinis make their entrance.

PEAS (F/P) It is most likely the last week of  a bumper crop of peas.  We think we'll top 500 lbs. after tomorrow's picking - a record for us. See Tom’s post for a deliciously simple recipe for cooked herbed peas.

HAKUREI TURNIPS (F) These are from our second spring planting and they are faring remarkably well considering they’ve had no water for a month!

SCALLIONS or HERBS (F) Parsley, dill or green onions.

NEXT WEEK: We are transitioning from spring to summer crops and the shares may be lighter for few
weeks. We will have more squash, lettuce, and turnips. Cabbage and baby beets.

FARM REPORT

The last time rain fell on the farm in any substantial amount was about a month ago. Thanks to our big irrigation pond and solar-powered pump we are keeping all the crops watered and alive. We are also adding a thick layer of mulch whenever we find the time.

Tom and I are looking forward to taking a break from our dryland worries and instead soaking up some good food and friendship THIS Saturday, June 9th at the . . .

PARKER FARMS FARM TOUR AND POTLUCK

43602 Highway F, Richmond MO 64085

Farm tour starts at 4:30 pm, followed by potluck dinner. The Parker family will provide the grilled meats, you bring a dish to share and a lawn chair. That’s it! So simple.

The shindig is in part an open house for current Parker Farm CSA members or anyone else that is interested in learning about their farming practices. The Kansas City CSA Coalition is also promoting the event amongst their membership, of which Fair Share Farm & Parker Farms are two of 14 CSA farms.

The Parker Farm sits atop one of the many gently rolling hills of rural Ray County. The pigs, sheep, chickens and cows move through the farm on fresh grass and lots of space. The Parkers have a beautiful system of rotating the animals around the farm very much like Polyface Farm in Virginia, farmed by rotational grazing farming advocate, Joel Salatin, who is as brilliantly entertaining of a sustainable agriculture spokesman as we’ll ever have. Anyway, I digress, the Parkers are our Missouri “Polyface” and they deserve a ton of credit for showing us all how it is done.

We have been incredibly fortunate to partner with the Parker family, Tom, Paula, Jessica, Tiffany, Brittany and Kimberly for the past 6 years. Tom and I receive the vast majority of our meat for the year from the Parkers CSA and can’t recommend it enough. If you’re curious about how animals are raised using humane and sustainable methods, come on out on Saturday. The more, the merrier!!

RSVP to the Parkers at: (816) 470-FARM (3276).  View their CSA Coalition listing here .

The KC CSA Coalition is promoting several farm tours in the coming months. Here’s the rest of the schedule:

July 14th 4:30 Karbaumer Farm

12200 MO 92 Highway, Platte City, MO 64097

August 11th 4:30  New Roots for Refugees

100 Richmond Ave, Kansas City, KS 66101

September 9th 3:30 Fair Share Farm

18613 Downing Road, Kearney, MO 64060

October 14th 4:30 Herb’n Gardner

17th & Belleview, KCMO 64108

Each farm on the tour is unique, please visit the KC CSA Coalition website at www.kc-csac.org for more information on this year’s hosts.