Monthly Archives: April 2013

Rural Missouri Article on Fair Share Farm

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Our electric coop’s state-wide publication Rural Missouri did an article on the farm for the May issue. We are pleased to see the words “biological farming, community supported agriculture, Fair Share Farm and true stewards of the land” in the pages of the magazine. Thanks too for the nice words from member and neighbor Crystal Leaman …”It’s about investing in my community and the growth of something that is really wonderful.” It may load a little slow so be patient.

They sent us a box of copies, let us know if you want one.

In the Share – Week 1

asparagus, frost, high tunnel, row cover, wash area
LETTUCE (2)  a butterhead and a red leaf
BOK CHOY   some are green-stemmed, some are white – either way they make the best stir fry.
SPINACH  we are still picking off the fall planting and the leaves are still sweet and getting quite large.
SWISS CHARD see tom’s post for his yummy Cacciatore recipe
GREEN ONIONS AND GARLIC use the green garlic as you would green onions.  
PARSLEY AND DILL both appear to be thriving
ARUGULA  we do not grow baby greens here at Fair Share, so be prepared for big bunches of big-leafed and full-flavored arugula
HAKUREI TURNIPS  some say they taste like they have ice cream in the center, you be the judge.
CARROTS  this was our first winter with the high tunnel and we hope you all are ready for the experiment!  The carrots taste great but are a bit misshapen due to uneven watering, we believe.  We just have enough for everyone to get a 1/2 pound.
NEXT WEEK:  lettuce, leeks, spinach, herbs, endive, radish, turnips, maybe (hopefully!) asparagus
FARM REPORT
What a way to kick off the first week of our new extended season – a brutal cold snap that had us racing across our fields today doubling-up on row cover! We put a second layer on 3800 feet worth of beds doing squats every 20 feet to pin it down. Perhaps we are running on adrenaline, but it went quickly and no frostbite was reported.  

This was after a very pleasant day on Saturday with the first crew of CSA member workers.  With lots of extra hands we cleaned-up the asparagus patch, dug dandelions, painted the picnic tables and filled in the trench for the new drain line from the wash area.

The washing and packing area of the barn got a big retrofit this winter and is ready for business.

And here’s a sneak peak at the crops going in the shares tomorrow before we covered them up too.

We were hoping to have asparagus in the shares this week, but the stalks are barely poking out of the ground and for good reason, they’ll most likely be frozen in the morning.

Forecasts range from mid-20s to 21 degrees in the morning.  We have cancelled the work shifts for tomorrow.  Our farm crew of four will be able to handle the harvest once the crops thaw.  CSA distribution should continue as planned.  We were able to cover our most sensitive crops, but the fruit trees and the direct-seeded crops are uncovered.  We’ll let you know how it turns out.

What to Do With Your Share— Extended Season Week 1

cacciatore, chard, csa, fair share farm, feed the soil feed the people, kansas city

Welcome to the start of the 2013 Fair Share Farm CSA Season. We welcome a host of new and “seasoned” members and look forward to a tasty year. We will try not to complain about the weather this Spring and will only say that the status of the harvest is a function of it. And while we had hoped that the crops would be farther along by now, they are nonetheless ready for harvest.

One vegetable the high tunnel is well matched for is spinach, as it will grow well February through April. So we are happy to be able to have fresh spinach for you. We will be working to learn more and more about the idiosyncracies of growing this lucious green. Good fresh or cooked, these leaves are quite savory and full-bodied.

Their relative, chard, is the recipe for the week. We had to pick the plants two weeks ago as they were shading out everything around them. A regular meal for us became Chicken and Chard Cacciatore. The chard is also good simply as a tomato sauce ingredient, helping to fill the pot with the greens we all need. Tomatoes and peppers frozen from the previous summer are always a good addition and a perfect use for them.

Chicken and Chard Cacciatore over Spinach

1 whole chicken, cut into parts
1 qt tomato sauce
One bunch chard
2 cups or one can peeled tomatoes
2 cups chopped sweet or green peppers
One onion/green garlic bunch or 2 medium onions
Salt and pepper to taste

To easily cut the stem from chard fold the leaf, lay it on its side, and trim off the stem

Cut white parts of onion/garlic into 1/2 inch rounds
Cut stems from chard and chop into large dice
Fry the chicken parts until browned (10 to 15 minutes), remove from pan and keep warm
Add 1 tsp olive oil to pan and saute onions, garlic and chard stems
Return chicken to the pan
Add peppers, tomatoes, tomato sauce and chopped chard leaves
Stir so sauce coats everything in the pot and cover
Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer covered for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is tender
Serve over chopped fresh spinach, pasta, rice, or by itself

Harvest Starts Next Week

earthworms, fair share farm csa, feed the soil feed the people, low-till, MU Extension, mulching, no-till

The time is fast approaching to start the harvest. The Fair Share Farm CSA Extended Season begins next week. Check your emails for more info if you have signed up (sorry the extended season is sold out.  We do still have openings for the 24-week season, so contact us ASAP if you want to join).

The crops are willing, but the cold wet weather of 2013 is holding them back. Nevertheless, there is plenty to harvest in the high tunnel and we are anticipating a full 9 items in the share for Week 1. Salads, stir-frys, dressings, side dishes and many more menu choices await. We expect the following:
lettuce (2), arugula, green onions, spinach, chard, green garlic, herbs, bok choi.

Farm Report
This time of year we anticipate the life in the soil returning, in the form of earthworms, centipedes and ground beetles. Still warming, it is yet to reach its peak of activity. We are looking forward to the end of this cold start of 2013, so things can kick into gear biologically.

Earthworms disturbed by weeding

The last week or so has been a productive one for the farm crew. Many mornings start in the greenhouse, potting up peppers, tomatoes and eggplant. Mulching the crops and putting up the pea trellising has also kept us warm.



Peppers in the greenhouse
Mulching cabbage
Rocky enjoying a bed of hay

The few days this year it has been dry enough to plant we have geared up and gone at it. Today we planted the last of our seed potatoes using a no-till method. As it is too wet to cut a trench and bury the seed potatoes as we might normally, we searched for an alternative bed. We found some mulched beds that had broccoli in them last Fall, planted them in the hole of the old plant, and covered them back up with hay.

Potatoes, ready to be mulched and mulched again

This planting method is the type of thing that was discussed at the Growing Growers Building and Managing Healthy Soils Workshop last Saturday. I was invited to discuss our growing practices and we later gave a tour of the farm. We want to thank MU and K-State Extension for including us in the lineup and promoting organic agriculture.

Growing Growers class 4/13/13

Spring Growing on the Farm

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Well, Spring has sprung it seems, as the grass has greened, the perennials have started to pop out of the ground, and the planting has begun in earnest.

One nice sight has been the emergence of the sugar snap peas. Planted way back on March 15th, we have been patiently awaiting their appearance, not knowing if the snow, rain and freezing temperatures of March had done them in. But they are up and looking great, thanks in part to the quality of the soil and good drainage we have been able to put in place.
 

A good stand of sugar snap peas 04/08/13

In addition many hundered row feet of carrots, beets, spinach, arugula and hakurei turnips are in the ground and germinating. Our transplanting has included about 10,000 onion plants, almost 3,000 row feet of potatoes, 700 broccoli plants, 600 cabbage plants,700 lettuce plants (planting no. 1), herbs, and a bed each of kale and chard. Yesterday we found some beds that had dried out and planted even more, putting in the Asian greens, kohlrabi, Chinese cabbage and radishes.

Transplanting potatoes on 4/2
Broccoli and cabbage, irrigated and row covered

Late afternoon planting before the rains

And we are just getting going as the greenhouse and cold frame are full of another 700 broccoli plants, Asian greens, kohlrabi, more lettuce, herbs, and the beginnings of the Summer crops (tomatoes, eggplant and peppers).

Cold frame plants
Peppers in the greenhouse

All in all things look good, though it is not true of everything. The garlic planting has come up rather weakly. As you may remember, the garlic matured a full month early last year and was a poor crop with lots of problems because of this. The seed we saved from that crop has not proven to be very strong. We will be doing all we can to get the most out of what is in the field and still have a good crop of seed for next year’s planting.

Garlic coming up thin

The high tunnel looks good with the beginning of the extended season just around the corner. This is our first Spring growing in the controlled environment of a steel and plastic bubble and we are still learning the craft. Some crops look great, others show a bit of yellowing that we are working to correct. At this point we anticipate the extended season beginning on April 24.

Harvesting some greens for the farm crew

Rounding out the crop update we have uncovered the strawberry plants and amended them and look forward to fruit for all at the end of May/beginning of June. Our third year asparagus planting will get a short picking this Spring, with the plan that by next year it will be in the first week or two of the regular CSA season.

The farm crew of Luke, Lorne, Ryan and us are working hard to make this a productive year and are looking forward to the start of the harvest.