What to Do With Your Share---Extended Season Week 2

Hard to believe it is still April. The weather has been mild and we have finally gotten some rain. It has gotten a lot of things growing and blooming. Keeping up this time of year includes lots of harvesting.

Walking onions

Our perennial allium crops come on according to their own schedule and this week the chives and walking onions are peaking. The onions are a bit sturdier than a scallions, and can be cooked or used fresh. We also have the Bridger overwintering onion in the field and will begin pulling them too.

The chives include their blooms, which are perfect as a garnish to either fresh or cooked dishes. If you are enjoying our eggs, chives are a savory accompaniment.

Chive flowers

The Red Russian kale we seeded in the greenhouse in early February has grown lush of late and we plan on picking it for the first time this week. This tenderness will mean that a fresh kale salad is fitting. Try the recipe for massaged kale from our last year's May 19th blog.



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.

What to Do With Your Share---Extended Season Week 1

Hello 2016 CSA. We are happy to see the harvest start on schedule with good spring fare for the first share. Each season has its own characteristics and we are ready to see what this year brings.

Two of the items in the share --carrots and potatoes-- are crops that we harvested last year and have stored in our cooler. If kept at the right temperature and humidity many vegetables can be stored for long periods of time. You need to create an environment that puts them into a comfortable state of dormancy.

This cold storage also changes the taste of the carrot, usually towards the sweeter side. This year we are planning on installing new refrigerated storage in the barn that will be used, in part, to store vegetables over the winter for spring-time enjoyment. Let us know what you think of our efforts so far.

The fresh veggies are coming on too, and a couple of the stars are also over-wintered. The spinach and gailan plants we are harvesting from were first planted last fall. They have been nurtured, watered, fertilized and protected in the high tunnel their whole life, and are reaching their spring peak right about now.

During the off-season we have been enjoying the gailan. We are working to learn as much as we can about the best ways to raise and harvest it. We will trial a few new varieties, and see what harvest methods produce the best growth. We love the flavor and texture---milder and tender than other sprouting broccoli's, like the Italian broccoli raab.

Gailan (Chinese broccoli)

It is exceptional raw, so we regularly make a salad. You can chop it and then add whatever you want. We suggest grated carrots, some salt and pepper, garlic chives, and your favorite dressing. Simple, tasty and nutritious.

Gailan and carrot salad

We also want to thank Spike, who has been doing construction work at the farm this month, for switching gears and fixing our tractor. We were losing gears just as we most needed the ol' Farmall 504. Luckily it was a worn out 50+ year old gearshift mechanism and not the transmission, and Spike used the shop to patch us up. 

 

Tractor repair with Spike

In the Share - Week 1 (extended season)

EGGS  This week only, we have enough eggs to add to the shares.  Our hens have been busy fertilizing, weeding and eating bugs for us, when they aren't sitting in the coop laying their healthy and colorful eggs. (eggs will be offered on the bulk list for the next two weeks.  Egg shares start the first week of the regular season in three weeks.)

LETTUCE  From the high tunnel, butterhead or red leaf varieties.

FRISEE ENDIVE  Add to your lettuce for a frilly salad.

SPINACH  We may be out of spinach after this week, it had a long run from its original seeding in September 2015.

GAILAN  Also planted back in September, broccoli's more slender cousin.

ARUGULA OR SWISS CHARD  More greens from the high tunnel.

CARROTS  From cold storage of the fall 2015 crop.

POTATOES  Ditto on these.

HERB CHOICE  garlic chives and/or tarragon

NEXT WEEK:  Lettuce, green onions, hakurei turnips, radishes, and bok choy

FARM REPORT:

Welcome to the first week of the CSA! The harvest has begun just in time for Earth Day.  Organic farming and community participation is what sustainability is all about.  Thank you for caring about your Mother Earth!

The planting of the Spring crops is all but complete.  The fields are full of peas, potatoes, onions, broccoli, cabbage, kale, chard, carrots, beets, spinach, leeks and loads of lettuce.  Here we are last week putting the finishing touches on the leek planting.

 The rain has given us a temporary break from planting work.  Instead we filled our time giving the packing room and wash area a good Spring cleaning.  We adhere to and train our crew in good food safety practices.  This includes cleaning and sanitizing all of the crates and tools that we use for harvest.  It is a big task, but well worth the effort.

Up until two days ago, the fields were very dry.  Dry weather has its pros and cons.  Last year during the torrential rains I told more than one person that it is much easier to bring water to the plants than to take it away.

Other pros of dry weather: it was dry enough to kill lots of weeds!  Here's me and the cultivating tractor, our Allis Chalmers G, getting things tidy.

However, there is a big con of dry weather:  it was necessary to walk out irrigation tape in April, which is not always necessary but was very necessary two weeks ago.  This takes time, but was totally worth it.  All of our transplants look amazing after a nice drink from the pond followed by a good bath from the sky.

So, I'm sticking to my assertion that a dry year is better than a way-too-wet one.  Although this week's rain was tremendous and impossible to duplicate.  Thank your Mother Earth!

A March Like No Other

It is the last day of what seems to have been an endless March. This year has come to life about as early as we have ever seen. The fields are planted with potatoes, peas, onions, herbs, lettuce, carrots, beets, chard, cabbage and broccoli. A first from what our records show.

This unique situation has made us anxious, hopefully in a good way. Timing is everything with vegetable growing. The soil has felt wonderful, and things seem to be doing well.

Tom and I are joined this year by apprentices, Kimberly and Karen, along with Jody, who has returned for a third season here working part-time. Add in the CSA members and our farm team for 2016 is set.

Thanks to the Core Group for a smooth as always sign-up meeting. The cash flow that CSA brings to the farm in mid-March is another example of how timing is everything. Thanks to all new and returning members.

Big news for the CSA:  we have a new site in the crossroads to pick up your share. The partners of the soon-to-be opening, Lifted Spirits Distillery at 1732 Cherry Street, just blocks away from the old Bad Seed, have graciously allowed us to use their space for CSA distribution. We are very grateful to their willingness to house us after a long search. 

In 2004 our first CSA share went out at the Crossroads farmers market started by local food pioneer, Heather Hands and her store, Local Harvest at 18th and Wyandotte. After a short stint on 39th Street we returned to the Crossroads and resided at Bad Seed for the past eight years. We are thrilled to keep our roots in this vibrant part of KCMO. 

For those who may be hesitant about the "bar" ambiance, we will be in a back store room that has it's own entrance, so no one will need to walk through a haze of spirits to get their produce.  But, of course, you can swing by the front of the building on your way, if you so desire.

Back on the farm, we have ambiance too.  Enjoy the roll of photos below.

Working on the deer fence

In the greenhouse

New cover crop planter-part of our SARE project

Row covering the cabbage

Home field at dusk



Sign up

Easter egg hen

Getting Ready for the Season

While it has been a bit since we last posted, it is not because of a lack of activity on the farm. The modern world has shifted some of our on-line presence to our Instagram (fairsharefarm) and Facebook (Fair Share Farm-Community Supported Agriculture) accounts. They are linked together and are a convenient way for us to keep you informed on our daily progress.

Among the recent goings-on has been the burning of the native grasses on the parts of the farm surrounding our vegetable operation. Burning 175 acres is a two-day job, and we are happy that we were able to keep things tamed. Much of this area drains into our irrigation pond and our fields. Having our water flow through a restored prairie prior to using is yet another benefit of how the Graff family is managing the overall farm.

 

Our flock of 54 hens has grown from chicks in August to the egg layers of  the present. Between these birds and the flock at Urbavore Farm, we are happy to say that we expect to be able to provide egg shares for all those who want this year.

 

Late morning laying and brooding at FSF

On the vegetable front the greenhouse work has been going as good as ever. This year we started buying organic compost instead of making it ourselves. We are really impressed with the results we are getting from the Purple Cow Organics potting mix. It is saving us the time of mixing our own potting soil (all farm workers and apprentices cheer at this point), and the results have been consistent with extremely healthy plants.


Onions acclimating to the outdoors

Planting and seeding in the high tunnel has been going on for almost a month, and we are itching to get out into the field this week once the dampness from yesterday's rain is gone. Spinach is already in the ground, and we will next be planting potatoes, followed by the seeding of peas, carrots and beets. Kale, cabbage, lettuce and herbs are soon to follow. It may be an early spring this year.


Planting lettuce in the high tunnel

Potatoes warmed to the sprouting stage and ready for the ground.

Lastly for now is a reminder for all our members of the Annual Spring Sign-up Meeting on March 19 from 2 to 4 pm at St. James Lutheran Church on Vivion Road.

All Members:  Each share MUST send a representative.  You will be signing contracts, scheduling farm shifts, making first payments and potentially signing up with our Partner Vendors.

New Members:  Arrive promptly at 2pm for a 30-minute orientation

Returning Members:  Arrive any time between 2 – 3:15 pm. 

Don't forget to bring your checkbooks & calendars!   FSF does not have the capacity to accept credit cards on site, but we can invoice you through Paypal after the event.  Our Partner Vendors can only accept cash or checks.  You can also sign up for your farm shifts through our online system with your smart phone or one of our farm shift schedulers can get it done during the event.

Can’t make the date?  Reply to this email for info. on our alternate signup.

Winter greetings from Fair Share Farm!

The winter has had its ups and downs so far, and I don't just mean the weather.

 

The first weekend in December saw us in Eau Claire, Wisconsin for a gathering of 200 or so CSA farmers.  We learned a lot from our neighbors to the North and look forward to what they promise will be a biennial event.  The keynote was titled"  Awakening Community Intelligence:  CSA Farms as 21st Century Cornerstones."

 

We returned to the farm to find that our new Automatic Chicken Door had arrived!! Tom promptly installed the thing and we have been loving it ever since.  It's light activated and runs on 4 AA batteries that are supposed to last for years.  Hooray for the end of late night dashes through the snow to close the door!

 

Fridays in December were spent at the BadSeed hawking the last of the greens from storage and the high tunnel along with our ferments.  Jalapeno en escabeche sold out quickly along with all of the greens. 

 

We don't know quite how we will cope with the closing of the BadSeed market.  For those who haven't heard, Brooke and Dan are closing the store front and market in order to focus on their home (that they are building themselves) and their family (which will have a new member this Spring).  Tom and I are sad for the loss.  We, more than any other farm, save the BadSeeds themselves, have come to rely on the space for market, for CSA distribution, for starting our fermenting business, and for buying local foods from our friends and neighbors. 

 

 

A documentary film about the BadSeed is underway, so at least there will be a record of this amazing little revolutionary space that existed for a moment in time.  The market remains open through February.   

 

We have a couple of leads for spaces to replace the BadSeed distribution site.  It is hard to replicate the space, the location, etc. for the 60+ members who have picked up their CSA share there.  If you have any leads, we would love to hear from you!

Getting closer to the holidays, we visited our friends Liz and Katie at Happy Hollow Farm near Columbia, MO.  Liz has been building up a storm of high tunnels and its impressive to see.

 

Tom and I flew to his hometown, Cincinnati OH for a few days around Christmas.  There he is with all of his siblings, youngest to oldest:  Mary, Jeanne, Tom, Margy, Fran, Cathy, and Bill.

 

 

We drove back to Missouri passing through Indiana and Illinois with the floodwaters lapping at the sides of the road.

And just after we got back to the farm, the snow started.  Only a handful of chickens were brave enough to venture out in it.