In the Share - Week 1

RED RUSSIAN KALE F/P

GREEN BUTTERHEAD LETTUCE F/P

RED BUTTERHEAD LETTUCE F

RED LEAF LETTUCE F/P

GREEN ONIONS F/P

SPINACH F

CHIVES AND CHIVE FLOWERS F/P  The chive flowers are a pretty salad topping!

MINT AND TARRAGON F

PEA SHOOTS F/P  Read Tom's post for more info. on this succulent Spring treat.

NEXT WEEK:  More salad greens and herbs, Swiss chard, green garlic, bok choy

FARM REPORT:
Welcome to Week One of the 24-week CSA Season!  We are happy to welcome both those of you who have been with us through the years and those who are brand new to our CSA and farm.

For the newbies, thank you for taking the plunge!  The first season is often a period of adjustment as you learn how to eat seasonally in our region.  We grow crops that thrive in our climate and in our organic soil which is pretty opposite of the American diet where we can eat everything any time we please.  So, to assist in the dietary shift you are about to make, each week Farmer Tom will cover some of the less usual crops and how to enjoy them.  Every week I (Rebecca) list what is in the share for the week and give a quick farm report. And, that's my cue...

The field harvest for the CSA began today when we brought in a few hundred lettuce heads for the shares tomorrow.  The lettuce crop is plentiful.  Two plantings have ripened concurrently so we have double what we need.  Blame the warm Spring for the fact that you will eat lots of salad for the next month or so.

We had five inches of rain in ten days, so there was a period of time when we couldn't do much in the fields.  We have made up for lost time since, with all the Spring crops getting a nice weeding with the tractor.

We then shifted gears to the Summer crops of tomatoes, peppers and eggplant and were able to get several hundred of each of those crops planted thanks to our transplanter and the crew putting in extra hours last weekend.

Right before the rain on Sunday we also managed to do something we had never done before:  put the chickens in the high tunnel.  The CSA members helped us glean the last of the worthwhile crops out of the structure ahead of the move.  We made sure to leave them plenty of less-than-desirable plants to pick at.  They appear to be enjoying their new environment.  It is staying dry for them for now until we remove the plastic cover when we find the time.  We are hoping that their stay will lead to a healthier, more fertile high tunnel going forward.  Thank you, chickens!  And thank you to all of our CSA families for your support!  This family farm is feeling grateful!

In the Share - Week 11

TOMATOES F/P  The hot weather has finally kicked the tomatoes into ripening.  Everyone will get a few heirlooms and hybrids this week.  The heirlooms come in a rainbow of colors, even green when ripe.  Their flavors are as diverse as their colors, shapes and sizes.  We grow Cherokee Purple, Rose, Goldie, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Black Krim, Green Zebra, Amana Orange to name a few.  The hybrids we grow are red and a bit thicker-skinned than the heirlooms, which is a good quality during a wet weather pattern.  We are trying a new orange hybrid variety, Sunkist, thanks to my mom's advice.  Let us know what tomato is your favorite!

RED ONIONS F/P  Not as big and beautiful as last year's crop, but they did survive the wet unlike some other crops I hate to mention (carrots)

PURPLE VIKING POTATOES F  We are very grateful for the good potato harvest that continues to feed us as we recover from the deluge of the last two months.  And they are high in Vitamin C.

SQUASH OR CUCUMBERS P  The cucurbit family is struggling in the fields.  Last year at this time we were swimming in zucchini and cucumbers.  Same number of plants in the ground, same fertility program, very different result.  Only variable:  weather.

GENOVESE BASIL F/P  A nice bunch for pesto-making.

SWEET PEPPERS, EGGPLANT OR SALSA PACK F  The first of these three with many more to come.  The salsa packs are in limited quantities this week.  See Tom's post for the rundown on this member favorite.

GARLIC F/P  There is nothing like fresh, juicy garlic in the summertime.

CHERRY TOMATOES F We grow cherry tomatoes in every color of the rainbow too.  Some are heirloom, some hybrid.  Tomatoes are ripe when they are brightly colored and fleshy to the touch.

NEXT WEEK:  Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, salsa packs, squash, cucumbers, garlic, herbs, onions and potatoes. 

FARM REPORT: 
Yes, the spring carrot crop is a big bust.  Rot set in like we have never seen before.  Our second planting has succumbed as well as most of the first.  That's 1800 ft. of carrots gone.  But no time to linger on that sad note, the fall planting get going.  So far we have planted cauliflower, cabbage, carrots and beets.  Tomorrow we hope to plant broccoli, turnips and radishes.  The rain has held off just enough to work the soil and plant.

While the humans dart across the fields at the farm, we are missing one of our crew.  Rocky, our canine companion and co-worker, has been boarded at the vet these past two nights.  He either stepped on a thorn or has a spider bite on his paw.  The medication has been unpalatable to him and we had to resort to kenneling him at our vet in Lawson, MO to manage to get him to take the pills.  We hope to pick him up just as soon as we can.   Not only do we miss him but the crops are unguarded without him.   Already some critter is going after the tomatoes in the field.  Yesterday morning we found many half-eaten tomatoes on the ground likely the leftovers of a possum or raccoon party the night before.  We cleared the plants of ripening fruit, but what we really need is our Rocky back on patrol.

2010---Our Seventh CSA Season

Hawk wing impressions, and one less rabbit on the farm.

In 2010 the focus was better ergonomics.  The farm had grown for the past six years and we were realizing that we needed to find more efficient ways of farming so that our bodies would hold out for many years to come. Organic vegetable farming entails a lot of stoop labor.  Farming smarter involves improving the ergonomics of the work. Sometimes that means that you let a machine help you do the job, as in the case of tractor-mounted transplanters and cultivators.

With that goal in mind, I made the 300-mile round-trip to Morgan County Seeds near Barnett, Missouri and ferried back a transplanter on John's 16-foot trailer. No task causes me more anxiety than over-the-road hauling. I've hauled 50 greenhouse barrels strapped 3 high, our Allis Chalmers G, 100 square bales of straw, and entire kit for the high tunnel.  Each trip has given me more respect for the power and control necessary for such activities.

 the new Water Wheel transplanter

Farm apprentices Emily Lecuyer and Matt Maes joined us in late March. Emily had returned from a Peace Corp stint in the Phillipines and was ready to learn about CSA and biological farming. Matt was to get married that July, buy land nearby, and start a farm and a family - what a busy year! Emily and Matt pitched in during what would turn out to be a cold Spring and hot Summer.

Emily and Matt in the Spring greenhouse

We had our new Water Wheel transplanter, but no tractor to pull it. The Graff family tractor (aka Grandpa) was having some problems after 45 years of farming. Valve cracks, a rotted out radiator, and numerous other issues meant an overhaul was in order. Luckily FSF beekeeper, CSA member and all-around helpful soul, Keith Stubblefield, volunteered to share his mechanical knowledge and saved the day. He walked us through all of the repairs and gave the muscle of the farm a new life.



Keith adjusting the engine

Once Grandpa was back in service, we found that we could plant rows and rows of broccoli, cabbage, squash and sweet potatoes with the transplanter and made good use of it. Some plantings still required the tedious tasks of mulching and row covering, but such efforts have a payoff in improving the chance of a good harvest.

A quick planting of broccoli and cabbage

Mulched and covered to survive the cold Spring

Transplanting sweet potato slips

2010 was the year of a terrible outbreak of tomato blight on the east coast. It wasn't much better here, as our early planting was stunted by the cold, wet Spring. The later plantings of tomatoes that missed the bad conditions grew much better and saved the tomato crop from being a total bust.

Tomato plants with wet feet on a cold day

2010 success stories included 1,000+ quarts of strawberries (the record so far), 1,000+ lbs of beans, excellent onions, and our best winter squash harvest yet.  Efforts for the squash crop included cutting vine borer worms out of the stems of the plants. It saved a lot of plants and helped increase the harvest.

Garlic harvest

Lots of cukes

CSA bean picking morning

Winter squash in the barn

Our Allis Chalmers G had been with us for several years now and were were starting to realize it's full potential.  Along with seeding and cultivating, we increasingly used it to "gutter", using discs to make a raised bed. Guttering the beds has become one of the most important tasks we perform to improve drainage.

Emily cultivating and guttering

2010 was also the year of the Federal Stimulus.  Through University Extension, we learned that funds were available for remote solar irrigation systems on farms. In the end, we received 75% cost-share on purchasing over 2,000 feet of below ground irrigation pipe and four more solar panels. Trenching, laying and covering the pipe and appertunances took some doing, but was well worth the effort. Having a permanent supply line from the pond to our fields saves us countless hours previously spent rolling out and rolling up hose each year---yeah!  The additional solar panels improved our ability to reach the highest points in our fields with life-giving water.

New panels on left

On November 6th, 2010 Rebecca and I made it official and got married.  It was a great day!  With some help from the Graff family, we traveled to Hawaii in December and soaked up the sun and gorged ourselves on tropical fruit.

Star fruit tree on Kauai

Next up---putting it all together, Outstanding in the Field, barn facelift, and a long, hot Summer.