In the Share: Week 24

LETTUCE F  This hot weather is kicking the lettuce out of the high tunnel, where it would "normally" be cozy during frosty fall days.  Instead, it is all going out in the next two weeks.

GREENS CHOICE F/P  Kale, gailan, chard or arugula

BROCCOLI, CAULIFLOWER OR SPINACH F

BULB FENNEL F/P  See Tom's post for a bit more on this ferny bulb.

SWEET POTATOES F2/P1  Full shares get some of each type, partial shares have to choose.

LEEKS F/P  Potato-leek soup is the recipe on Tom's post.  yum.

RADISHES OR BEETS P

GARLIC F

HERB CHOICE F  cilantro, dill or cutting celery.

NEXT WEEK:  Regular season folks, you are on your own.  Extended seasoners:  lettuce, greens, hakurei turnips, bok choy, sweet potatoes.

FARM REPORT:
We were just lightly nipped by the frost last week and most plants survived.  Then summer came roaring back and sent the crops into a heady growth.  The last couple of morning harvests have started with your farmers frowning at the exuberant green growth in the high tunnel.  What can hold for the extended season and what needs to be picked now is the trouble.  Perhaps this warm weather will have us eating peppers in November.

We began deconstructing the summer crops this past weekend.  There is a long way to go to clean up the fields and prepare them for the winter.  All are welcome any Wednesday or Saturday mornings to join in the work from now until Thanksgiving.

In the Share: Week 22

LETTUCE F2/P1  The last of the lettuce, mainly red leaf.  We have some in the high tunnel for the extended season, but that's it for the lettuce outdoors.

BONITA SWEET POTATOES F/P  See Tom's post on these camotes muy bonitas.

SWEET PEPPERS F  More ripe ones thanks to a warm week.

ONIONS OR POTATOES P  Last of both for the season.

TOMATOES F  Dwindling amounts of these.

GREENS CHOICE P  Kale, chard or gailan.

GARLIC F/P  Silverskin softneck

BEANS OR BROCCOLI F  More roma beans or broccoli.

CILANTRO OR THYME F/P

NEXT WEEK:  Leeks, sweet potatoes, eggplant, greens, peppers.

FARM REPORT:
On the same day that our commercial kitchen was approved (See Tom's post for more on that) we were greeted by a rainbow shining in our fields.  Happy day!

The chicken coop seems to be located at the end of the rainbow.  Perhaps our pot of gold is in the form of golden orange egg yolks from our free-ranging flock.

Another natural beauty visited us at the wash area this week.  This praying mantis hung around for several days on the underside of the drain table and here on our water cooler.

In the Share: Week 20

LETTUCE F/P As soon as I said that the lettuce didn't need another gully washer, guess what happened?!  This photo is after the four inches of rain that fell Tuesday night into Wednesday last week.  More water encouraged the already bolting lettuce all the more.  So far we are keeping up with harvesting the ones that are most threatening to bolt while they are still nice, but expect some emergent stalks in your heads.

TOMATOES F/P  Today sure felt like tomato season with a heat index at 100 deg. F.  What a weird weather year.  The heat and humidity has been unreal and our organic tomato patch has suffered as a result.

GARLIC F/P  From storage.  We are finishing up the artichoke variety and are moving on to the silverskin.

SWEET PEPPERS F  There are lots of peppers on the plants, but fewer are ripening so only the full shares get them this week.  Partial shares get them next week.

POTATOES OR ONIONS F  The last of both for the year.

EGGPLANT OR OKRA P  Both are doing well right now. You've got to savor the summer while it lasts!

ROMA BEANS F  It has been a very weird year with the bean crop.  All season long we have not been able to get our bean seed to sprout.  Finally we got half of a planting to come up.  After much cajoling we have a bit of a bean harvest.  See Tom's blog for more info. on this Italian-type bean.

CUCUMBERS F  Last hurrah of these for the year.

GREENS CHOICE P  Kale, chard or gailan

HERBS OR HOT PEPPERS F/P  Numex (green or red), Hot wax (yellow), and jalapenos (dark green or red) or cutting celery.

NEXT WEEK:  lettuce, greens, peppers, eggplant, okra, sweet potatoes

FARM REPORT:

At least this time, the rain actually fit in our rain gauge.  Large rain events have become common enough that we should probably buy a bigger rain gauge.  No joke!   See Tom's post for a soggy photo.  Crops like the radishes, turnips, and arugula that were already stressed from the last rain are worse now.  After each rain event we have re-planted in the hopes of things turning in our favor, so far no such luck.

At the moment, the shares are full thanks to the summer crops that will be done soon and storage crops that we have pretty much gone through.  Expect lighter shares for the last few weeks of the season.  On a bright note, the sweet potato harvest has begun and it looks fairly respectable.  They will start appearing in the shares next week and for most of the rest of the season.

In the Share: Week 19

LETTUCE F/P  Dainty Forellenschluss heads first from the lettuce patch, which is looking good as long as we don't get another gully washer.

GREENS CHOICE F The first picking on the fall kale, chard and gailan will be light to start.

SWEET PEPPERS F/P  The peppers don't want to stop growing.  Expect lots of ripe peppers, and once the frost threatens, lots of green peppers in your future.

YELLOW ONIONS F/P

POTATOES F  More of the Desiree variety with pink skin, yellow flesh.

EGGPLANT F  The plants are making nice fruit now.

CUCUMBERS P  Not many more cucumbers left. A sign of the end of summer.

TOMATOES F/P  A last little flush is slowly ripening.

HERBS F/P  Chives and thyme

NEXT WEEK:  Peppers, sweet potatoes, garlic, eggplant, lettuce

FARM REPORT:
We had a beautiful day for the CSA harvest dinner.  The community came together and put on a great party with lots of fun for the kids, homebrew and good conversation for the adults and no injuries have been reported.

Since we spilled the beans last week (see here if you missed it), Tom and I had to take a few minutes from the festivities to talk about our plans for next year.  Sustainability is sometimes described as a three-legged stool comprised of social, environmental, and economic components.  We think the CSA is rocking the social component with the sliding scale, coordination with food pantries, distribution sites and so much more.  Our environment benefits from the farm's commitment to organic practices, the purchase of wind power from our electric co-op, and a myriad of other things that are done to conserve resources on the farm.  The economics of the farm are strong thanks to the support of the membership.  With the commercial kitchen almost complete, the farm hopes to complement the CSA income with sales from fermented foods.  We are excited to begin the next chapter of building our farm business with the community and the land. 

In the Share: Week 17

SWEET PEPPERS F/P

CARROTS F/P baby orange ones from the summer harvest.

TOMATOES F/P

SUMMER SQUASH F yellow squash or zucchini

YELLOW ONIONS F/P

EGGPLANT OR OKRA F

CUCUMBERS F/P

HERBS F/P  See Tom's post for more on our interesting assortment of herbs this week that includes basil, fresh fennel seeds and garlic chive flowers.

NEXT WEEK:  peppers, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, potatoes and garlic.

FARM REPORT:
The farm received nine inches of rain within a span of three days. Most of it fell Friday night when all of the creeks rose and lots of folks found water in their basements.  It was what some folks around here call a real gully washer.  We've done the good work of sowing the farm's gullies down in permanent sod, so instead the soil washed right over our newly-planted lettuce beds.  Once it dries out enough to attempt it, we'll need a shovel to unearth what lies beneath.

Most of the crops weren't buried like the lettuce, and not even most of the lettuce got the full treatment, but there's other damage that is hard to see at first.  When we get a big rain event like we had this week, water pools below ground long after the surface water has receded.  Plant roots swimming in muck leads to root rot.  Root rot leads to leaves wilting and yellowing.  Not every crop is in this situation, but many are.  If we get the weather that is forecasted for the next week, dry and sunny, we should see some recovery.  If instead we get another slew of rain then it might be time to start wishing on rainbows.

In the Share: Week 8

CRISP LETTUCE F/P  It took major "babying" of these summer crispheads under their shade cloth, but they managed to get to a respectable size despite the blazing heat.

ROMAINE LETTUCE F  Meanwhile these little romaines were out in full sun and somehow managed to make nice little romaine hearts.

SUMMER SQUASH F/P  Finally the squash has begun to produce, especially the yellow squash.  There are smaller amounts of zucchini so far.

NEW POTATOES F  I am eating maybe the best potato salad I've ever had thanks to farmer Tom. See his post for the recipe.

WALLA WALLA ONIONS F  These yummies are in the potato salad too.

CHARD OR GAILAN P  These plants have a thick layer of mulch around them and are happily giving us their green goodness into the heat of the summer.

KOHLRABI P  It's the partial shares turn to have fun with the alien vegetables.  Peel it well and eat it raw, it's so easy.

GARLIC F/P  More hardheck, drier this time but not completely cured.

HERB CHOICE F/P  Basil, summer savory or cutting celery.

TOMATOES AND CUCUMBERS ??  We have small amounts of both and we plan to share them with you however we can.  It'll be a suprise.

NEXT WEEK:  Squash, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, carrots, beets.

FARM REPORT:
We have really lucked out on the weather this year.  It has been at times uncomfortably hot, but more importantly the rain and sunshine has been just right.  Today we were surprised by a mid-morning shower that dropped a nice 1.7 inches of rain.  After a week of dry weather, it was just perfect for keeping the crops happy.

The dry spells in between the rain showers are key to the farm staying on schedule.  During the last dry spell we planted another round of summer squash, cucumbers and beans.  These crops only produce for a while and need to be succession planted so that we can enjoy their tasty fruits all summer long.

On the left are the newly seeded rows, on the right the squash we are picking currently plus a row of mulched okra.  The row cover is protecting the pickling cucumbers from the dreaded cucumber beetles.

One of the big tasks right now is harvesting the garlic.  Once they start to die back in the fields, they need to be pulled while they still have plenty of green leaves.  The leaves extend to the heads where they form the layers that protect the cloves and allow the garlic to keep for months.

So far all of the hardneck is out of the ground and hanging in the old tobacco-drying barn to cure.  We are now working on the softneck varieties.  We love growing our garlic, which involves saving the best 20% of the heads for seed to plant later in the fall.  The hardneck variety, Musik, is a German Porcelain type that we brought with us from Peacework Organic Farm in Western New York, where Tom and I met.  I can't help feeling sentimental about our garlic that has weathered the ups and downs through the years with us.

In the Share: Week 2x

WALKING ONIONS  an early perennial, eat as you would any green onion.

BUTTERHEAD LETTUCE

RED LEAF LETTUCE

ASPARAGUS

RADISHES & TURNIPS

BOK CHOY & TAT SOI

FALL CARROTS  Last of the storage carrots.  Sometime in June we should have the first of the fresh crop.

RED RUSSIAN KALE  From out in the field.  We'll save the rest for the start of the 24-week season in 2 weeks, but the biggest leaves are perfect for picking now.

HERB MIX Cilantro, dill, chive flowers

NEXT WEEK:  lettuce, asparagus, green onions, green garlic, arugula, bok choy, herbs and radishes.

FARM REPORT
With all of the spring crops in, the rains have been appreciated.  You can almost watch the lettuce grow.

Rainy days find us in the greenhouse potting up the summer crops.  The eggplant is ready even if the weather is not quite yet. We will wait as long as we can to make sure that we are past any freezes.

The CSA workers have been a great help in getting in the harvest and tending to the fields.  We like to hay mulch vegetables like the Swiss chard that will stay on in the fields into the summer.

In the Share - Week 29

RADICCHIO  This is our second year trying these beauties.  They are yummy in a salad.

HEAD LETTUCE  butterheads and red leaf varieties

SALAD MIX  We had some empty space in the high tunnel, so we broadcasted our leftover lettuce seed.  It grew nicely and we have enough to share.

TURNIPS  Hakureis from the high tunnel.

SWEET POTATOES 

BOK CHOY  These got pretty large in the high tunnel.

GARLIC, DILL OR HOT PEPPERS 

SWEET PEPPERS  The cold weather has held off so here is one more round of green and ripe peppers.

SWISS CHARD OR GAI LAN/BROCCOLI  Broccoli leaves are the new "kale" according to some reports.  I think they mean Gai lan or "Chinese broccoli" which grows into a small shrub and has tender leaves.

NEXT WEEK:  lettuce, spinach, carrot, herbs, radishes and greens.

FARM REPORT:
We have been enjoying the farm's post-season during the day and the Royals post-season at night.  What a team!  What a fun time for Kansas City and the surrounding community!  I hope that the good feelings of togetherness and team spirit continue on after today and permeate other part of our lives. 

The weather is the other local story.  It has been unseasonably warm and mild:  perfect weather for parade-watching or garlic planting.  We did the later this afternoon and hope to have it complete in time for the CSA members on Saturday to mulch all 6,000 cloves.

Most of the harvests are coming out of the high tunnel now.  Things look good overall with lots of greens and roots for the extended season.   We don't grow salad mix very often but it filled in nicely in a space where we wanted lettuce quick.  You might notice a prickly lettuce imposter trying to hide in the salad mix.  He died shortly after this photograph was taken.

 

In the Share: Week 28

lacewing on the lettuce

LETTUCE  blushed butter oaks.  Lacewings eat aphids which can sometimes be a pest in protected environments like the high tunnel.  It is nice to see our beneficial friends.

ARUGULA  big leaves from the high tunnel.

RADISHES  sweet red ones from the high tunnel

BROCCOLI/GAI LAN  the bunches will include both - stems, leaves, buds are all edible.

SPINACH the first pick from the high tunnel

CILANTRO  big plants are thriving in the high tunnel

TOKYO BEKANA  This is a new one for all of us.  Similar to Napa cabbage but more open.  It grew pretty large, so plan on some stir fry or coleslaw soon in your future. 

BULB FENNEL  from the field.

POTATOES choice of Desiree or Fingerling varieties

NEXT WEEK:  lettuce, carrots, greens, herbs, garlic

FARM REPORT:

Once again post-season baseball for our hometown team, the Kansas City Royals, coincides with our post-season.  The extended season for 53 shares starts this week with greens from the high tunnel, fennel and broccoli from the field and potatoes from storage. 

The farm has been a quiet place these past few days.  The employees and apprentices finished their season on Saturday. Before they left, we built a big raised bed with old stones from the barn.  After the deluge we experienced this summer, raised beds seem like a safe bet. 

Royal blue skies

 

In the Share - Week 10

 spider guarding the lettuce crop

LETTUCE F/P  Crispheads that are heat-tolerant this week only.

SQUASH OR CUCUMBER F/P  Its been a paltry harvest so far but the second planting is just beginning to fruit, so hopefully more soon.

PURPLE VIKING POTATOES F  These are especially good for mashing or baking.

GARLIC F/P  The 2015 garlic harvest is all in the barn to dry.  Big thanks to all who participated in the mud-slinging!

HERB CHOICE F/P  Basil, lemon basil, or summer savory.  The lemon basil is a new one for us.  It is resistant to the mildew that took out our entire crop last year.  So far all of the basil shows no signs of trouble this season.  Fingers crossed!

CABBAGE, KALE OR CHARD F  The weather has been very Irish up until the last few days and so has the harvest.  Cabbage and potatoes have sustained us through the dreary days.  This is the last of the cabbage until fall.  See Tom's posts for some thoughts on fermentation.

TOMATO/EGGPLANT OR PEPPERS F/P  The tomatoes are producing a bit more with the heat.  We hope to get them to all of you that we can this week even if it is just one.   The peppers and eggplant are in pretty limited quantities.

NEXT WEEK:  Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, cucumbers, herbs, onions.

FARM REPORT:
Summer has finally arrived in all its sweaty glory.  The farm crew had to take the mental leap from cursing the rain to laying irrigation tape.  The air may be steamy, but it doesn't take long for the ground to dry when it is 100 deg. F.  The irrigation pond has been full and overflowing since September; the solar panels are catching the sun's energy and the pump is good-to-go, so by Friday we will be irrigating (baring unexpected circumstances, of course).  The plan is to transplant the cabbages and cauliflower and seed the fall roots late this week.   A good omen for the plantings to come was seen on the farm on Monday afternoon.  The rain stayed away but a rainbow appeared.

In the Share - Week 29

BUTTERHEAD LETTUCE 

RED LEAF LETTUCE

SPINACH

YELLOW ONIONS

GREENS CHOICE  Kale, Swiss Chard, Gai lan, or Bok Choy

ROOT MEDLEY  Carrots, beets and Gold Ball turnips

HAKUREI TURNIPS 

RADISHES

CILANTRO OR DILL

NEXT WEEK:  lettuces, greens, garlic, sweet potatoes, cabbage and bulb fennel.

FARM REPORT:

November arrived with a cold snap that has all but ended the outdoor harvest season.  What is left in the fields are hardy crops under heavy cover or in the high tunnel.  High winds have made the row cover a challenge to keep on, but a calm day today allowed us to re-cover the lettuces, fennel and endives that remain in the fields.  The high tunnel provides a much better cover for cold temps. and wind and we should be able to eat well for the next few weeks from inside the bubble. 

This week the spinach, Hakurei turnips, radishes, herbs and many of the greens are coming out of the high tunnel. 

The change in the weather also signals the garlic planting season.  All 4800 cloves are in thanks to many hands.  The fine folks from Milsap Farm in Springfield, MO couldn't have timed their visit better to get the job done.   If you are ever down in their neck of the woods, tell them we sent you and count yourself lucky if you get there on a Thursday for their weekly wood-fired oven pizza nights.

The next step for the garlic is to mulch the entire planting with a good layer of straw which will protect the cloves over the winter and keep the plants happy through til harvest in June.  This time of year we like to have enough help on CSA mornings to complete the harvest early and have time to get in some mulching.  Last week the strawberries and over-wintering leeks got the treatment.  This week it will hopefully be the garlic's turn.  If you haven't completed your shifts for the season, come on out and join in the straw throwing.

In the Share - Week 20

LETTUCE F  I wish we had more of these crunchy heads, but we'll have to wait for the butterheads and leaf lettuces to mature a bit longer.

CARROTS F/P  These are the perfect snacking size.

RED ONIONS F/P

LEEKS F/P  The first digging of the fall leeks. It looks to be a good crop.

CABBAGE F  Tendersweet lives up to its name.

BROCCOLI P  We have just enough heads for the partial shares this week, but full shares will get some next week and hopefully for many weeks to come.

TURNIPS AND RADISHES F  Just a few of each.  The trick with eating them raw is to never cut them in advance and then leave them dry.  Eat it right away or dress it with vinegar, oil or salt.

TOMATO/CHERRY TOMATO F/P  Just a bit for everyone and make sure to let them ripen on your countertop.

PEPPERS AND EGGPLANT F

GREENS CHOICE F/P  Bok choy, arugula, rapini

NEXT WEEK:  More greens, broccoli, cabbage, eggplant and peppers.  Potatoes, garlic and kohlrabi return.

FARM REPORT:

equinox sunrise

The fall equinox marks the moment when our days and our nights are equal.  After that, fall begins the lengthening of the nighttime.  Days getting shorter means the plants grow slower and many people assume that this means farmers get some time off.  Well, we do... but in December.  Right now we are as busy as ever.  We are pushing through these gorgeous days to get the fall crops in order.  The high tunnel is filling and the fields are weeded and watered.  Out in the cabbage patch we caught a visitor that is usually too quick for the camera.

The dew has been heavy lately and she was surely to wet to fly away.  It is amazing to think how far this little, delicate creature has to go from here.  We hope her time in our fields were a benefit and that she finds her way home safely.

In the Share - Week 1

RED LEAF LETTUCE  It is Spring salad season when the tender lettuces thrive. 

BUTTERHEAD LETTUCE The most tender of them all are our heirloom butterheads.  Enjoy them while they last. 

ASPARAGUS  We will have asparagus for two weeks, before we let it grow its summer ferns.

KALE  Some kale soup would be perfect for this weather we are having.  39 deg. forecasted for Thursday night - yikes!!

BOK CHOI & TAT SOI  Every CSA member would be happy if they had the stir fry as a tool in their culinary workshop.  Tom did an easy primer a few years back

SCALLIONS  aka green onions, young and slender.

LEEKS OR RHUBARB  See Tom's post more on this choice.  The first harvest from the rhubarb patch coincided with a miserable survival rate of the over-wintered leeks.

HERB CHOICE  Cilantro, dill, common chives and garlic chives.

NEXT WEEK:  More lettuce, asparagus, and herbs.  Green garlic, radishes, and Swiss Chard.

FARM REPORT:

Here we are - first week of the CSA for the bulk of our members.  The last three weeks of harvest for 52 shares came from our high tunnel.  Now it is time for the real harvest to begin.  Mother Nature is in full control in the fields, toying with us as we race around tending to the Earth's carpet.

Luckily we have a great crew to get the job done.  Linda and Jody are working part-time since early March.  Dustin and John joined us as full-time apprentices in late March.  It makes all the difference to have a good team and this year we certainly have it.  Below is teamwork in action as we cover the newly planted squashes and cucumbers to protect them from pests. 

Our team grows by 8+ people every Wednesday and Saturday morning.  CSA members with friends, family and children in tow descend upon us to reap the harvest.  The farm shift requirement is imbedded deep in the Fair Share Farm CSA.  Tom and I first met on a long-standing CSA farm outside of Rochester, NY.  I never would have met the love of my life if Peacework Organic Farm didn't require its members to help at the farm.  And we continue to see so many benefits from bringing our families out to the farm, getting everyone's hands in the soil and giving the young ones a chance to pull food up out of the ground.  Not to mention the relationship that is built between people, or as CSAers like to call them, eaters.

The Fair Share Farm CSA Core Group is an amazing group of talented eaters who keep the whole community running.  There are 2 farm shift schedulers who make it possible for 150 families to come to the farm in an orderly fashion.  We have 15 folks who keep the 3 distribution sites humming with activity.  There is Inreach, Outreach, Events, Kid's Activities, Social Media and Cheese shares.  As you can see, it is not just about the vegetables.  Earlier in the month the Core Group met at the farm house.

Our lives are enriched by the bonds we have created around the most basic act of sustenance.  We are looking forward to another season with all of you.  We strive for a bountiful crop and hope you enjoy the fruits of our labor.    

In the Share - Week 21

romaine lettuces

LETTUCE (F/P) Our best guess is that last hot spell gave the lettuce a fright because almost half of our varieties are going into premature bolt, including some precious heads in the high tunnel.  Crud!  Others are holding on strong and everybody will get one of those until they run out.  Some may also get some baby heads that had to be cut before they get their full bolt on.

TOMATOES (F/P)  The harvest is dwindling, but the plants continue to slowly ripen fruit.  We barely missed a frost this weekend so we'll have them for at least another week.

LEEKS (F/P)  The first digging of the fall leeks.  Can't wait!

BROCCOLI (F/P)  The broccoli is starting to settle down a bit and cold nights make it sweet.

CAULIFLOWER (P)  Partial shares get a choice of cauliflower or more broccoli.

SWEET PEPPERS (F/P)  The ripe ones are getting scarcer but these warm days help. 

CARROTS (F)  Orange sweeties from our recent digging.  There's another bed out there that we are looking forward to eating all winter.

BOK CHOI (F) We planted whatever seed we had left including red ones, white-stemmed and green-stemmed varieties.

HERB CHOICE (F)  Cilantro, dill or basil.

NEXT WEEK:  More peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and beets.  Bulb fennel debuts.

FARM REPORT:

Fall is easily our favorite time of year.  The air is clean and crisp.  Snuggled in our hoodies and jackets we are greeted by the morning sunrise a little later every day.  With nothing left to plant, we focus on the harvest.

fall morning radish pull

In any extra time we have on CSA mornings, we tackle the sweet potato harvest which is breaking all previous records.  Last week we dug a whopping 680 lbs. out of a 200 ft. row.  With several more rows to dig, we encourage anyone who still owes hours to get on out here. 

Luke and Lorne leading the way

When the planting ends, work on the infrastructure begins.  First on the list, the back of the barn.  Some of you may remember when we re-faced the front of the barn two years ago.  Some of you even helped us on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year.  Luckily we stayed injury-free and the barn is much improved.  This time around because of the lay of the land we are fifteen feet up off the ground for the entire project.  For this reason, we are sticking with the "professionals" on this job.  The farm crew plus an extra hand here or there should be able to get the job done. 

back of the barn (before)



In the Share - Week Three

STRAWBERRIES (F2/P1) Oh boy! We spent over 20 “man hours” in the berry patch just today! Luckily there were 5 of us picking. When the berries come on, it is an everyday task that has it’s rewards. If you have some extra time this week or you haven’t yet signed up for your work shifts now is a tasty time to do so.

LETTUCE (F3/P2) The lettuce patch is also pumping out the poundage. Several succession plantings are ripening at once, so everyone gets an additional head this week. There are still a few butterheads and lots of romaine this week.

BROCCOLI (F) Can’t say the same for the dismal broccoli harvest. Broccoli’s time to shine is in autumn.

HAKUREI TURNIPS (F/P) Eat ‘em like an apple!

BOK CHOY (F/P) bunches of baby bok choy this week – tender and juicy for your next stir fry.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) cilantro, oregano, dill or a dried herb

NEXT WEEK: More lettuce, strawberries, green onions, turnips and herbs.  Sugarsnap peas!

FARM REPORT: In between picking strawberries and trying to get the last of the summer crops in the ground, the farm crew gave the high tunnel a makeover this week. What was left of the spring extended season crops were mowed and spaded in.

It is a bit tricky maneuvering "Grandpa" the tractor in and out of the high tunnel, but Farmer Tom has the knack and made short work of preparing a nice seedbed for the cover crops.

Next we sowed sorghum sudan grass and cowpeas with our little broadcast seeder that swings over the shoulder. A little raking and we are ready to take the roof off and for the rain to water it in. Removing the high tunnel roof is a bit un-heard of, but we feel very strongly that the soil needs the benefit of rain and pure sunshine. We plan to re-install the plastic roof before we plant for the fall extended season. In the meantime, we hope for a lush cover crop to feed the soil.

In the Share - Week Two

French butterhead (see the ladybug?)

LETTUCE (F2/P1) More luscious butterheads and brilliant red leaf lettuces.

NAPA CABBAGE (F) Great in slaws or pickled in a kimchi, aka Chinese cabbage.

RADISH OR ARUGULA (F) Neither fared well through our wintery Spring. We are picking them baby size, while they last.

CHARD OR KALE (F/P) The first pickings off these two reliable vegetables. Partial shares choose between chard, kale, or Napa cabbage.

BROCCOLI (F/P) Much less reliable, but much more popular … alas!

HAKUREI TURNIPS (F/P) If you are new to these, try eating the entire plant raw – top to bottom. 

STRAWBERRIES (F/P) The patch is just starting to produce. If you don’t get any this week, lots more are on their way.

GREEN GARLIC (F/P) The young garlic plants are tender and nice in any dish where you would use garlic.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Cilantro, dill, garlic chives or dried herbs.

NEXT WEEK: More lettuce, strawberries, broccoli, green onions, turnips and herbs.

FARM REPORT: The weather has finally warmed and the plants are responding by pumping out new growth. The peas are racing up their trellising after sitting still for so long. Every plant on the farm is intent on sending out their solar collectors to soak up the sun’s energy. Meanwhile the humans try to keep up with all this activity to direct it towards productive forms. Tomatoes are pruned and trellised, weeds are pulled, cucumbers thinned. One of our favorite ways to direct plant growth is mulching. The crops benefit and the weeds lose. On Saturday, we had lots of help from the membership so after the morning's harvest was complete we tackled the tomato patch.

 tomato mulch

Four big round bales of hay later and the farm crew was reminded of the power of the CSA model.  Thanks everybody for making our job easier!

While we focus on the plants, the chickens carry on merrily in their new location in the lower part of the far field. Their spontaneous cackling reaches across the fields and they are fun to watch as they peck around in the grass. Sometimes all you can see is their backsides pointed to the sky as they search the tall grass for bugs. 

chicken circle

 In addition to whatever they find, we give them organic, non-GMO feed that we purchase by the ton to get the best price. If you come out to the farm we usually have a couple dozen eggs for sale, just ask.  We charge $5/dozen which we are hoping will allow us to break even on the annual costs of the feed. Having chickens on the farm gives us more than just egg money. The fringed benefits are cheep entertainment as mentioned, fertilizer, less bugs perhaps and of course frittatas. See Tom’s post below for tonight’s dinner – chard and leek frittata.  Yumm!

In the Share - Week 2

LETTUCE (2): One of our favorite French heirloom butterheads and one red looseleaf.

SPINACH: A smaller portion than last week’s big bag from last fall’s planting. The February planting isn’t nearly as lush.

GREEN ONIONS: These are out of the field from an over-wintered patch.

ENDIVE: Also called frisee, it is lovely in mixed salads or lightly sauteed

SWISS CHARD: The plants are enormous and hogging the sunlight, so they gotta go!

SPRING TURNIPS: More Japanese delicacies. We should have planted more of these (next year!).

STIR-FRY GREENS: Many of our brassica family, including the bok choy and Napa cabbage have started bolting. They are still tasty and you get a little pretty flower too!

RADISHES: Wish we had lots more of these babies, everyone will get a few.

HERBS: From the perennial herb beds, tarragon and chives.

NEXT WEEK: More lettuce, spinach, herbs and green onions. Finally Hopefully asparagus!

 FARM REPORT: My goodness, have you all looked at the forecast? Freezing temperatures are on the way, maybe even some snow. This is coming after 2 days in the 80s. We are as prepared as we possibly can be since all the row cover we put out last week is still out there, but row cover only helps so much. We are happy that we have not put out any of the warm weather crops yet. The tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cukes and squashes are safely stored for a hopefully soon transplanting. But even the cool-loving crops don’t like freezing and this see-saw of weather can lead to premature bolting. We are currently experiencing the results of this in the high tunnel with the flowering bok choys and napas.

On a related note, at this point we feel that we will delay the start of the 24-week season by one week. That would make the first week May 22/25. Our plan is to add a week at the end of October to make it up. It is funny because last year we started a week early, which was unusual, and ended earlier in the fall. Anyway, the asparagus is really slow to start and the lettuces and other greens and roots are also slow and won’t be big enough to hand out. We’ll look at it again next week and give you all an update but that’s what we are thinking at the moment.

In the Share - Week 15

colorful carrots

TOMATOES (F/P) Everyone will either get a few slicers or a quart of cherry tomatoes. The slicers are ripening slowly so give them a few days on your counter before attempting to eat them.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH (F/P) Yes, it is a bit out of season but we have no choice. The pests killed off the plants before the fruit fully ripened. They are still good, but they won’t keep long. See Tom’s post for a recipe.

COLORFUL CARROTS (F/P) We finished the harvest of the spring plantings. The carrots are quite crisp and tender despite the arid weather.  We  are looking forward to having them in the shares for several weeks now.

RED ONIONS (F/P)  everyone gets a quart.

SWEET PEPPERS (F) I like to eat the small ones for a snack. The red-horn shaped ones are especially sweet.

HOT PEPPERS, OKRA OR SALSA PACK (F) Take your pick. We are hopeful that the okra will kick in as it usually does in August. So far it has been shy about giving up its fruit.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Basil, sage or a dried herb.

NEXT WEEK: More tomatoes, carrots, peppers and okra. Potatoes, garlic and beets return.

FARM REPORT:

In a little under 48 hours the air shifted from sultry heat to cool and almost coastal. The farm crew had to dig to the bottom of their closets to find long pants and sweatshirts for the dewy mornings. Despite almost constant clouds, only a few drizzles have fallen since the “hallelujah” rain of 0.8 inch rain last week (see Tom’s post from then for the beautiful weather that brought the rain to us). With the doubling of our so lar power last year (thank you, federal stimulus!) the panels generate about 400 watts of energy with full cl oud cover. That is at half-strength, but still enough to water a big block of crops. We are already seeing the response of the plants to the decrease in temperatures. Finally after many weeks of worrying over the pole beans, they are beginning to set fruit. Young, green fruit cover many of the pepper and tomato plants.

More fall crops went in the ground this week: lettuce, bulb fennel and more cauliflower.

 We have also been seeding all of the fall roots and greens. Many are up and looking good.

We expect the shares to be light for a few weeks, until the fall roots and greens are ready. We have some room for a light week or two thanks to a warm spring that allowed us to sta rt the CSA season a week early. So, we hope you enjoy the offerings from the tough-as-nails plants that survived Summer 2012. We figure by the middle of September we will be reaping the harvest in the form of lettuce salads and freshly dug turnips.