All posts by Farmer Rebecca

In the Share – Week 6

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The first carrots

LETTUCE (F/P) The first day of summer marks the beginning of the end of the spring lettuce crop. We are hoping for another couple of weeks with the more heat-tolerant crispheads.
SUMMER SQUASH (F) Good, reliable zucchini and yellow squash. This is the kind of food civilizations were founded upon.
CARROTS (F/P) The first harvest of the season. They’re still growing but are oh so tender at this stage.
GREEN ONIONS (F/P) No more slender scallions, these have some heft. They still need to be refrigerated as long as they have the green tops.
CABBAGE (F) Petite spring cabbages. There will be more and for the partials too next week.
KOHLRABI OR TURNIPS (F) These are most likely the end of both until fall.
SUGARSNAP OR SNOW PEAS (F/P) It was a good harvest (over 300 lbs.) but this is the last of them.
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Summer savory and basil. All combo bunches this week.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares

NEXT WEEK: More squash, cabbage, and lettuce. Beets, chard and kale. Perhaps a sprinkling of peppers and cucumbers.

FARM REPORT
The longest day of the year is today and the farm crew has been making full use of the extra daylight hours. Most of Monday was spent in the tomato patch, trellising and pruning. The plants looking great. They are growing fast and have lots of flowers and green fruit.

Irrigation has been a top priority for the past two weeks as we continue to miss the big downpours that are all around us. Here you can see some of the tools that help us get the irrigation system in place. The wooden cradle holds the old electrical spools repurposed to hold our irrigation tape. The tape runs down each row of crop and connects to the supply line with a small valve.

With the tomatoes tended, we tackled the Family Cucurbitae. 6 rows of winter squash, 4 of summer squash, 3 of melon and 4 of cucumbers is enough to keep the four of us (me, Tom, Luke and Kim)occupied for awhile. Hand weeding around each plant is a meditation in orange blossom, scratchy leaf and squash bug.

In the Share – Week 5

fall planting, shade structure

Zephyr summer squash

LETTUCE (F/P) As the heat takes over, the lettuce in your shares will be heavy on the romaines and crisphead varieties.
SUGAR SNAP or SNOW PEAS (F/P) The pea patch is really pumping out fruit at the moment. We picked 200 lbs. last week and hope for a similar harvest this week. The snow peas are a variety called ‘Oregon Giant’ and are great raw or cooked.
BEETS (F) My favorite vegetable is the beet. The beets this week are young and tender and the greens are good too. After this week beets will be a choice so this is your best chance to try them.
KOHLRABI, TURNIPS OR GREEN ONIONS (F/P) Partial shares get a choice of kohlrabi or beets.
KALE OR CHARD (F/P)
SUMMER SQUASH (F/P)

STRAWBERRIES OR BROCCOLI (F/P) We know, it is a hard choice and most of you would prefer both but alas both plantings are nearing their end.
HERB CHOICE (F) spearmint, summer savory or oregano.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares

NEXT WEEK: More lettuce, peas, kohlrabi, summer squash and herbs. Cabbage and carrots.

FARM REPORT

As was mentioned last week, we are in the throes of the June juggernaut. We’ve got the spring harvest in full swing, summer crops needing much attention and the fall seeding has begun. This week we built what we hope will be a permanent home for the fall seedlings.

A separate home for the fall seedlings is necessary as the greenhouse is way too hot in the summer. A cool, shady spot is best for getting the seeds to sprout in the summer heat.

In the past we used screened tents purchased at the big box store. They never lasted more than a season due to their flimsy construction. We are very happy to stay out of the big box store by building our own, much sturdier alternative. All we needed was some rebar, electrical conduit, scrap wood and a shade cloth that we had purchased a few years back but never put to use. So far it has held up splendidly to wind and rain. We have quickly filled it chock full of seeded flats of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts.

In the Share – Week 4

csa harvest, tomatoes, transplanting

Sugarsnap peas ready for picking

LETTUCE (F/P) More lovely ladies from the generous lettuce patch.

STRAWBERRIES (F/P) 2 pints (i.e. 1 quart) for all. You get 1 pint each of our 2 strawberry varieties: Honeoye and Amore. Let us know how they compare.

BROCCOLI (F/P) It is peak broccoli season this week, so enjoy it while you can.

ENDIVE ‘FRISEE’ (F/P) A frilly addition to a salad or darn good on its own with strawberry and honey dressing.

SUGAR SNAP PEAS (F/P) The first picking in the pea patch. These are edible-pod peas. Just snap off the top and whatever string may come with it and enjoy.

HAKUREI TURNIPS OR KOHLRABI (F) The second planting of turnips or the first of the kohlrabi. For those new to the kohlrabi, read more at Tom’s post It is nice just peeled and eaten raw in slices.

GREEN ONIONS (F/P) Yes, we are eating our young as they are so tender.

SUMMER SQUASH (F/P) The first picking is enough for everyone to get just one. We pick our zucchini and other summer squashes at this size because they are more flavorful and don’t have much of a seed cavity. Large squashes will appear in the swap boxes when we invariably miss one or two for those who want some baking-sized specimens.
HERB CHOICE (F/P) dill, fennel, tarragon or garlic scape. Fresh spring herbs ready for every meal.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares

NEXT WEEK: More lettuce, snap peas, broccoli, summer squash, kohlrabi and turnips. Baby beets.
FARM REPORT

June is a month full on the farm. Spring crops are coming into harvest and are doing well. The summer crops are growing by leaps and bounds as are the weeds. And it is time to prep and plant for fall. On Monday we put the second string on all the trellised tomatoes.

Me, Kim and Lucas twining through the tomatoes.

Today we planted 800 sweet potato plants. The transplanter made planting a breeze compared to the knee-crunching alternative. Thanks to modern invention we then had time to plant our last row of tomatoes and another 2 rows of melons and hoe the summer squash in addition to the morning harvest of broccoli and strawberries.

Kim and I planting sweet potatoes

And then twice a week the farm gets help from the community. Last Saturday was an especially large crowd. Everyone played their part and we got alot done.

Saturday harvest with 3 teams: spinach, lettuce and others of all ages pulling turnips

In the Share – Week 3

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BROCCOLI (F/P) One of my favorite crops to grow which means I’m a bit of a sadist. Broccoli is a finicky crop especially in our Springs, but they are looking as good as we’ve ever had right now.
STRAWBERRIES (F/P) 1 pint for everyone. Read Tom’s post for the whole story on the disappointing strawberry crop. But, did I mention the broccoli is outstanding this week?
LETTUCE (F/P) There are some monsters lurking in the field masquerading as lettuces. Try a decadent treat – farmer Tom’s butterhead heart salad. I plan to give the full shares a butterhead and a romaine. Partial shares get a choice of one.
HAKUREI TURNIPS OR PINK BEAUTY RADISHES (F/P) It’s a hard choice, I know. Both are on the bulk list…
SPINACH (F/P) The storms and four inches of rain in the last week have tested the spinach. So far it appears to have survived. We are picking every leaf this week, so enjoy it while you can.
TAT SOI OR ARUGULA (F) Need something to jazz up your salads? A crunch or some spice.
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Mint, cilantro, oregano or dill
GARLIC SCAPES (F/P) The delightfully delicate flower buds of the hardneck garlic. See Tom’s blog for a garlic scape dressing to go with that butterhead heart salad. The scapes also work well in a Caesar salad for the romaines.
ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life shares
NEXT WEEK: More broccoli, lettuce and radishes. Kohlrabi and kale. Sugarsnap Peas and endive.

FARM REPORT
It has been a crazy week here at the farm. Sheep arrived, a tornado threatened and we got four inches of rain. On Wednesday morning Tom Parker brought five lambs to the farm.

The lambs will stay with us for the summer, eating our grasses and clovers and depositing their good benefits on our soil. To keep the farm food safe, we always keep them at a lower elevation than our crops and work with them at the end of the day. Every three days we move them to a new spot where they have fresh forage. This mimics the natural movement of grassland animals and keeps them free from parasites.

Later that same morning, we had a tornado warning. Several of the CSA members here on their farm shift got to join us down in our root cellar.

All clear with only rain and hail. Nothing to speak of compared to the plight of others in Sedalia and Joplin.

As far as the rain goes, it was getting dry so we didn’t mind the first inch or so. Now we are very much hoping it will cease and desist immediately.

Forecasters call for a hot and sunny week. Sounds just fine to your farmers. Give us some sun already!

In the Share – Week 2

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Week 1 bok choi harvest

LETTUCE (F/P) We got “pea-size” hail this afternoon, so expect some extra speckles on your lettuce this week. The bruising is small enough to ignore when the lettuce tastes this good.

HAKUREI TURNIPS (F/P) The first juicy Hakureis of the season. If you have never had this variety of turnip you are in for a treat. Go ahead, eat em like an apple.

GREEN ONIONS (F/P) More tender alliums to zest up every dish

TAT SOI (F/P) Related to bok choi. Use similarly, although the leaves are tender enough to chop up and eat raw. See Tom’s post for more info. on our “Asian spinach”

BOK CHOI OR RED RUSSIAN KALE (F) This is the last of spring bok choi and the first of the kale. Either way you’ll be eating well.

CHERRY BELLE RADISHES (F) The last of these red darlings until our next radish planting matures.

GREEN GARLIC (F) Chop up the tender white and light green half and add to well… every dish is better with some green garlic.

ASPARAGUS (P) I know it was difficult last week to walk by the asparagus for the full shares with none for you. You have been patient and now you get your reward.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Fennel, cilantro and dill. We think the mixed bunches are popular so we will continue to make alot of them. Let us know what you think.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms delivery

NEXT WEEK: More lettuces, turnips and green onions. Perhaps the first taste of strawberries. Arugula, spinach and kohlrabi.

The farm is a buzz with happy spring activity. Yesterday Fair Share Farm CSA member and beekeeper, Keith Stubblefield, visited to check the bee hives. We could tell by looking at the entrance to the hive that there were alot of bees.

Upon opening the hives we were greeted by this happy sight.

Good news for all those honey lovers out there (Farmer Tom being one of the biggest), we have some happy bees. For the last two years we have struggled to have sucessful bee hives. Out of eight colonies that we have brought in, there are just two remaining. But boy are those two looking good. Since they had filled up most of the space, we put two additional boxes on each hive. That will give them plenty of room to spread out and make even more honey.

In the Share – Week 1

orchard
Hey there, it’s farmer rebecca. Every week for the next 24 weeks, I will be letting you know what is in the shares plus a brief farm report. Here’s the letttuces you will eating this week.

That’s (clockwise from top left) New Red Fire (ruffled red and huge right now), Forellenschluss (‘trout-back’ in German, green romaine with red speckles), Quattro di Stagioni (‘four seasons’ in Italian, red butterhead) and Regina di Maggio (another of our Italian beauties, the ‘May Queen’, green butterhead with a hint of pink).

The farm crew is proud to bring you the following:

LEEKS (F/P) these lovely ladies need no introduction to our renewing members, but if you have never savored the buttery goodness of the leek see Tom’s post for our favorite recipes. We have a good harvest this spring of our over-wintered varieties. Full shares get 2 lbs., partials 1.5 lbs.

LETTUCE (F/P) It is lettuce season and boy, we’ve got some monsters out there! Full shares get 2, partial shares 1.

GREEN GARLIC (F/P) Another early spring CSA share regular. It’s a garlic that looks like a spring onion. Same idea, different allium. Chop it up, saute it with your favorite meal or eat it raw for the tenderest kiss of garlic.

CHERRY BELLE RADISHES (F/P) Bright jewels of spring bring color and crunch to the shares.

BOK CHOY (F/P) One of my favorite spring veggies. I could eat Tom’s stir fry with bok choy every night and never tire of it. See his post for the recipe. Full shares get 2, partials 1.

ARUGULA (F) A little peppery kick to your salads. Partial shares get a choice of herbs or arugula.

ASPARAGUS (F) We have enough for a 1/2 lb. per full share this week. We just planted 600 ft. of a new patch, so hopefully in a few years we will have plenty. Partial shares will get asparagus next week.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Cilantro, dill or lovage. We’ll also have some bunches that have a bit of all of the above.

CHIVE FLOWERS (F/P) A little extra treat for your bellies or a vase. We like to sprinkle the chive flowers on top of our salads. Avoid the tough stems of the flowers, but the tender leaves are well, they are chives so you can eat them as such.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life bakery shares

NEXT WEEK: More lettuces, arugula, radishes and herbs. Green onions and Hakurei turnips. Tatsoi and kale.

FARM REPORT

The day has arrived. We are at the starting line of the 8th Fair Share Farm CSA season. On your mark, get your salad spinner ready and eat!

The farm crew has been anticipating this day since February 9th when we planted the first seed in the greenhouse. Actually, you’ve got to go back further than that to November 2010 when we planted the garlic. No, that’s not right either. Really you’ve got to go back to February 2010 when we seeded the over-wintered leeks that are in your share now. Alot has happened in the meantime. The rain has fallen, the sun has shone and the farmers have been lovingly tending the crops. When all of those factors come together well, you get a share that is bursting with springtime tenderness and beauty. We hope you all enjoy eating it as much as we have enjoyed growing it. Dig in!

The Fair Share Farm CSA Core Group met last Sunday at the farm. We had a great afternoon preparing for the season and looking ahead to some long-range planning. It was a bit cold and wet but we took a short stroll amongst the vegetables and out to the orchard where we planted an apple tree in honor of our dear friend and core group member, Kathy Brock. Kathy was a FSF CSA member for 6 seasons and was a vital and much-loved member of the Liberty distribution team. She will be dearly missed, but we will remember her whenever we bite into one of her apples. Ha! That would make her laugh, I think.

In the Share – Week 24

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SWEET POTATOES (F/P) More sweets from our overflowing stores. It was a good year for the sweet potato.
CHOICE OF GREENS (F/P) bok choi, tat soi or rapini (broccoli raab)
CAULIFLOWER (F) The cauliflower continues it’s great run.
BROCCOLI (P) A good pound for each partial share.
CABBAGE (F) The first to head from our patch, just enough for the full shares.
KOHLRABI (P)Partial shares get their turn at our best kohlrabi of the year. Peel, slice and eat it raw.
LETTUCE (F) Our fall lettuce is giving me fits. There is only enough that has even remotely sized up for the full shares, so here you go!
WATERMELON RADISHES (P) Chop off their tops and they will keep til Christmas. But eating them now is a nice thing too. The outside is the hottest, the inside the prettiest.
CHOICE OF EGGPLANT, SWEET PEPPERS OR OKRA (F) This warm October weather is keeping these hot weather crops going.
BEETS OR TURNIPS (F) The beets are very nice. I like to sautee the whole beet plant top to bottom in a little olive oil and vinegar. Yum. Or you can choose hardy fall turnips, either Purple Top or Gold Ball, the perfect addition to a hearty fall stew.
CILANTRO OR ARUGULA (F/P)

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms delivery

Here we are at the last week of the season. A bittersweet time for us all. After a long, hard dash through the growing season, Tom and I are looking forward to the slower pace of winter work. We’re not there yet, however. This week’s been all about the pipe – 2100 feet of it.

pushing the pipe


pipe waiting to be pushed

The unseasonably warm weather has really been nice for the work. It has kept the crops growing too. While it’s hard to say for sure until the last share is harvested, we think if the weather holds we will have some broccoli and cauliflower next week. We’ll keep you posted but we may go down to the Bad Seed Friday night market on the 29th to sell what we have. I’ll send out an email once we know for sure. Also, we plan to do the pre-Thanksgiving market at the Bad Seed on November 19th. By then it will be time to glean the fields of whatever is left and get us all loaded up for our Thanksgiving meals. We’ll be in touch once we know what will constitute the “Thanksgiving share”.

But before we get to all that, it is time to celebrate the completed CSA season. We hope to see many of you this Saturday at the 7th annual Fair Share Farm CSA End of Season dinner. All of our current members should have received an evite in their inboxes. The party is going to be rocking with a live band, face painting for the kids and, as always, the best darn potluck in town. Our CSAers sure know how to cook, and eat! See you there!

In the Share – Week 23

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your cauliflower

BUTTERNUT SQUASH (F/P)
LEEKS (F/P)
CHOICE OF GREENS (F/P) Kale, collards or Swiss chard
CAULIFLOWER (F/P)
BROCCOLI (F)
WATERMELON RADISH (F) A big winter radish that is green on the outside and pink on the inside. To store for a month or more, cut off the greens leaving an inch of top and place in a plastic bag in your crisper.
KOHLRABI (F) Same story for storing long term. Peel it before you eat it. Great raw or lightly steamed.
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Sage, lemongrass or a dried herb

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life shares

NEXT WEEK: More broccoli, cauliflower and greens. Partial shares will get either kohlrabi or watermelon radishes or both. More sweet potatoes for everyone. Hopefully the lettuce will be ready.


cleaning off the bean plants

The end of the season is almost here (just one more week after this one) but yet the farm is as busy as ever. We had a big crew on Saturday and took the opportunity to tear down the pole bean fence.


walking out the fence under Rocky’s supervision

Later that day the FSF CSA Core Group gathered to plan the Fair Share Farm End of Season dinner which will be held next Saturday, October 23 from 5-7 pm. Look for an evite in your inbox in the next few days from Social Coordinator, Ann Flynn. We look forward to celebrating the season with you all by enjoying what is surely the best darn potluck around. This year the party will be festive with live music and face painting. Hope to see you all there!

The other big excitement this week is covered in Tom’s post. I’m keeping it short here so that we can return my dad’s “hot spot” internet service in a timely manner. If you need to reach us call, don’t send any emails.

In the Share – Week 22

frost, sweet potatoes
the pepper harvest

SWEET POTATOES (F/P) A good harvest with some real jumbos. Don’t refrigerate your sweets! They don’t like to get below 50 degrees.
SWEET PEPPERS (F/P) The frost threatened so we picked them all. Full shares get 2 lbs, partials 1.5 lbs. Read Tom’s post for some simple ideas for preserving and enjoying them.
GARLIC (F/P) Softneck variety, keeps well.
CHINESE CABBAGE, BOK CHOI OR TAT SOI (F)
ARUGULA, THYME OR GARLIC CHIVES (F/P)
HAKUREI TURNIPS (P)
BROCCOLI OR CAULIFLOWER (F) Just enough for the full shares this week, partial shares are next in line. We are scrambling a bit as the second planting stalled after the deluge 2 weeks ago.
EGGPLANT, GREEN TOMATOES OR HOT PEPPERS (F) Harvested before the frost and the last of the season.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms delivery

NEXT WEEK: More broccoli and cauliflower. Kohlrabi, butternut squash and leeks. Cilantro and dill. Kale, collards and Swiss Chard return.

Saturday morning we awoke to a frost advisory for our area for that night. After the regular CSA harvest morning, the farm crew jumped to the task of harvesting anything that might be damaged. The last of the sweet potatoes came out well. We think all the heat and humidity of this summer led to some extra large sweets. We have several football-sized ones to feed us through the winter. Most of the crop was Beauregard, a standard commercial type with sweet orange flesh. We also planted a short stretch of O’Henry, a white variety that grew very uniformly. Hardly any footballs, but few small ones either. We mashed up some for dinner the other night and they were tender and oh so creamy.

one of many crates of Beauregards now safely stored in the greenhouse



Sweet peppers were the other big harvest on Saturday. We ended up with over 200 lbs. of these last jewels of summer. In the last hours of the day we covered the young lettuces with row cover, picked the remaining eggplant, hot peppers and green tomatoes. The sun set and we rested easy knowing that we had done what we needed to do.

The next morning we awoke to frost on the ground. It was a light and patchy frost. Only the most sensitive plants were hit and only here and there. A bit of frost on the tops of the basil plants and on the tips of the okra. The pepper plants look fine. If the warm weather holds for a few weeks we may even get another harvest.

In the Share – Week 21

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Jade beans

LEEKS (F/P) The long ladies are ready just in time for a fall soup.
PIE PUMPKIN (F/P) These are for eating, not carving. See Tom’s post for a recipe for pie.
LETTUCE (F) Just enough for the full shares this week unfortunately. We’ll have to wait a week or so until the next batch is ready.
BROCCOLI (P) Everyone’s favorite. We’ll have more in another week or so.
TOMATOES (F) The last of them.
CHOICE OF BEANS (F/P) The bumper bean bonanza continues. You’ll have a choice of Roma flat-podded, Yellow Wax or Jade green.
CHOICE OF GREENS (F/P) Partial shares get a choice of Chinese Cabbage, bok choi or tat soi. Full shares get a choice of kale, collards or Swiss Chard.
HAKUREI TURNIPS (F) Crisp and juicy enough to eat raw. The greens are great too.
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Rosemary, parsley or basil.
CAULIFLOWER, SWEET PEPPERS OR EGGPLANT (F) The first of what appears to be a good cauliflower crop. The eggplant have gotten over their late summer stress and are making pretty fruits again.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery delivery

NEXT WEEK: More cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, turnips and greens. Perhaps the first kohlrabi of the fall and more arugula. The much-postponed sweet potatoes. Garlic.

We had quite an exciting time after our last post. We went to bed that night only to be awakened by the sound of driving rain and hail on the roof. There’s nothing like listening to a hailstorm within the comfort of your home while you imagine all your delicate lettuces being pounded to pieces. Makes it hard to go back to sleep.

By the time it was all over we had 6.6 inches of rain, marble-sized bruises on the lettuce, bok choi and tat soi and no internet. As many of you know our internet service is dependent on a small antennae mounted on the top of our old grain silo. It works great most of the time but a close lightening strike takes it out.

Harvest was very muddy indeed! We used a 2-step washing program to try to get the mud out as best we could. Despite our efforts there was still alot of mud and those hail bruises don’t seem to wash off. Remarkably, the bok choi and tat soi made a full recovery within a few days and by Saturday’s harvest the hail bruises were gone! We had no idea that such tender greens could heal themselves so completely. Makes me want to eat them all the more!


bruised bok choi before it heals itself

All this excitement has made the month of September fly by. Here we are on the cusp of October, the final harvest of the CSA just a few short weeks away. Before I go, I’d like to give a quick rundown on what to expect over the remaining weeks.

This is week 21. We’ve got 24 weeks in all, so the last distributions will be Oct 20 & 23. It’s a little early this year, due to the way the days fell on the calendar this year. The End of Season dinner will be Saturday, Oct. 23rd. There will be more info. on this coming soon but go ahead and get it on the calendar now. It is the best darn potluck in town so you really don’t want to miss it.

As far as the food goes. The crops are looking good. Most survived the deluge last week except perhaps some radishes and spinach. Otherwise, we’ve got lots of sweet potatoes, butternut squash, cauliflower, leeks, lettuces, broccoli, turnips, kohlrabi, peppers and greens of various kinds. The beets and carrots came up pretty spotty this summer and then the wet took some of them out, so we may only have them as a choice at some point.

So, enjoy these last few weeks. We know we will. The air is crisp and cool, the sun is shining and the harvest is on.