All posts by Farmer Rebecca

In the Share – Week 4

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In the Share: Week 4
STRAWBERRIES (F/P) Two quarts for the full shares; A quart and ½ for the partials.
PEAS (F/P) The first of the sugarsnap and snow peas. All have edible pods so just strip off the top, pop the whole pod in your mouth and enjoy.
LETTUCE (F/P) Two for the full shares, one for the partials.
GARLIC SCAPES (F/P) Just this week, the tender young flower stalks off the hardneck garlic. Use as you would green garlic. Makes a fabulous pesto. See the video below for the sounds of the scape pulling.
ASPARAGUS (P) The last of the season.
ARUGULA (F) A spicy treat to add to your salads.
RADISHES OR HAKUREI TURNIPS (F)
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Mint or dill or a dried herb. Partial shares have the choice of arugula instead of an herb.
Also this week: Parker Farms delivery

Next week: More strawberries, peas, lettuces and turnips. Swiss chard.

Weather: Another week, another gentle rain. We really have been lucky the past few weeks. Just enough rain and sunshine to nurture the plants and allow us to get our work done.
The Fields: Every morning finds us crawling through the strawberry patch. The birds sing, the breeze blows gently and luscious berries beckon. Not a bad way to start the day. Thanks to the fabulous farm crew we have been able to pick the patch in 2-3 hours. The average is currently 70 quarts of berries per day. Not too shabby. All those berries do not pick themselves and we’ve been very lucky to have had an extra worker the past two weeks. Charlotte Weichert is a family friend visiting from Hamburg, Germany. Charlotte is taking a break between medical school and beginning her residency to travel our great United States. She has been with us for the past two weeks and will be continuing her travels this weekend when she heads for points west. You can see Charlotte in the center of the photo above along with the Saturday morning pickers.

Links: This week we are happy to introduce farm apprentice, Kara Jennings. We knew we had found a kindred spirit in Kara when we learned that she is a Spanish speaker and anthropology major just like farmer rebecca (me). Kara has been working alongside Tom and I since the end of March, commuting each day from her home in Gladstone. The closest photo we could get of the camera-shy Kara is her hand-modeling in the garlic scape video. C’mon, Kara, don’t be so shy! Alright, here she is in her own words:

Hello. I am excited about working with Tom, Rebecca & Lori this season. I have already learned so much in such a short time and look forward to learning more about vegetable farming. My husband and I hope to start our farm in the next two years. We plan on growing fruits & veggies as well as raising some alpacas for fiber (I have a very bad addiction to good yarn!). Wednesdays and Saturdays have become my favorite days here at the farm. I have enjoyed meeting the members who have been up to work and can’t wait to meet the rest of you. Kara

In the Share: Week 3

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In the Share: Week 3
STRAWBERRIES (F/P) About half a pint for everyone to begin the hopefully month-long harvest.
LETTUCE (F/P) Two for the full shares, one for the partials
ASPARAGUS (F) Just a few more weeks worth of the tender shoots before we let them make their ferns for the summer. Partial shares will get them next week.
RED RUSSIAN KALE (F/P) The only kale we grow in the springtime – hearty and so healthy. Full shares get both greens, partials get a choice of the two
VITAMIN GREEN (F/P) In the ‘Asian green’ category. Great fresh or stir fried. Check out Tom’s blog for our new favorite super-simple greens recipe.
GREEN GARLIC or RADISHES (F/P) The radishes that survived the sogginess are less than perfect, a bit pithy and spicy, but still very edible. This will be the last of the green garlic.
GREEN ONIONS (F/P)
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Cilantro or dill or a dried herb

Also this week: Bread of Life delivery

Next week: More luscious strawberries, lettuces. A new planting of radishes should be ready as well as arugula and perhaps finally Hakurei turnips. The peas should debut as should the garlic scapes.

Weather: The rain today was just what the crops needed. It was of a gentle, soaking variety that we seldom see in our parts. Now with a little sunshine the crops should start reaching for the sky.

The Fields: We are feeling pretty good about how the fields are at this point. All the tomatoes are mulched and have either their cages or the first string of their trellising. Over the years we’ve built up our capacity to mechanically cultivate (i.e. weed with the tractors) to the point where now we usually only need to weed right around the plants. Last week the membership helped with just such a task and cleaned up 1200 feet of the onions. A few more beds of onions, beets and carrots are still to be done before all the crops are tidy for the summer.

Links: This week we have a featured writer, Lori Watley, one of our two 2009 farm apprentices. Lori has been living and working on the farm since mid-April. She is always game for whatever farm task is at hand with a quick wit that keeps us smiling. Here she is in her own words:

I am a foodie and average human being who wants to help educate my community on living healthfully and conscientiously. Since this includes knowing where your food comes from, I figured it would be pretty neat-o to work on a local farm and see first hand just what is entailed in the growing of sustainable and organic food.

In addition to working at the farm this season, I will be instructing four classes on home canning and preserving as part the Urban Homesteading series offered by Bad Seed Farm. (http://www.badseedfarm.com/) The class is a hands-on introduction to home canning for folks who have an interest in learning and keeping alive the practical and artful way of food preservation.

I am looking forward to meeting all of you (yes you!!) as I enjoy my time at the farm this summer. (it’s the low down, BTW, that I am always up for a game of Yahtzee or Scrabble. Or Pictionary. Or…games! Yes, I do indeed like a good game. ahem.) Oh, and if you happen to see a white and orange cat slinking about, feel free to say hello to my fellow companion and partner in crime, a one Mr. Romeo T-Bone.

Here’s to a great season!
Lori Watley

In the Share: Week 2

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LETTUCE (F/P) We’re back to our standard one for the partial shares, two for the full shares. This week everyone gets a Forellenschluss (‘Trout back’ speckled romaine heirloom)
ASPARAGUS (F/P) We have enough for all this week thanks to the warmer temperatures. (Check out fellow FSF CSA members delectable asparagus recipes on our blog roll)
BOK CHOI (F/P) The downpour last week sent them into a premature flower, but they have kept their sweetness.
GREEN GARLIC (F) Add to your stir fries, salads & pastas.
GREEN ONIONS (F/P) The first young babies of the onion harvest.
MINT (F) In abundance this time of year. Read Tom’s post for a short tract on its healing and culinary properties
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Cilantro or dill

Also this week: Parker Farms delivery

Photos: This past Sunday, we joined the beekeepers, Keith & Nancy Stubblefield, to inspect the hives. All appears well. We removed the sugar-water feeders that helped them through the first month in their new homes. Now they must forage amongst the strawberry flowers and white clover blooming on the farm. I got to suit up and assist Keith with the hive inspection. We also added the ‘supers’ that we hope will be filled with honey by late summer.

Reminders: Please don’t forget to pickup your Parker Farms products at distribution. It is pretty much impossible for the distribution team to hold on to these items for you. Look for the coolers that say ‘meat’ and ‘eggs’.

Weather: Last week we fared better than many and only received 2.7 inches of rain and a bit of pea-sized hail followed quickly by a low of 39 degrees. Our spring plantings of radishes, arugula and Hakurei turnips are not enjoying the multiple downpours and their harvests are in doubt. Ahead of the frosty forecast we were able with a big help from the membership on Weds and Sat to mulch all of the tomatoes. They seemed to have survived just fine, but some of our peppers got a bit nipped. We think most will recover and we have some replacements for those that don’t. Thanks to the Saturday crew especially who braved a suprisingly bitter wind during harvest and then mulched 800 row feet of tomatoes.

The Fields: Our planting season is winding down with just a bit left until we gear up for the fall crops in June. Until then we are focused on tending to the crops in the field: laying irrigation tape, protecting the crops from pests with row cover, staking, caging and mulching. The greenhouse has morphed into its summer form as an herb-drying house. We turned off the fan and filled it with crates of drying herbs, making it quite the herbal sauna inside.

Week One – In the Share

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In the Share: Week 1
LETTUCE (F/P) Two big heads for the partial shares, three for the full shares. **Please wash well – there are aphids
ASPARAGUS (F) The full shares get slightly less than a half-pound this week. Next week it will go to the partial shares. It’ll be in the shares alternating between the two for another few weeks.
LEEKS (F/P) We have enough from our over-wintered patch for this week only
TATSOI (F/P) Bring on the Asian spinach!
GREEN GARLIC (F/P) So young and tender…
SORREL or FLOWERING CHIVES (F): tangy and tasty or pretty and edible
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Mint, lovage or tarragon or a dried herb. Partial shares will have a choice of the flowering chives too.

Also this week: Bread of Life delivery

Welcome all to the sixth CSA season at Fair Share Farm. We are truly looking forward to sharing many a harvest with our community of eaters. We anticipate seeing many familiar faces this year and meeting many new folks as well

Reminders: Since this is the first week of the season, we ask that you take extra care when you pick up your share. If you are a veteran CSA member, give yourself time to get back in the habit of reading all my scribbled labels. The distribution teams will be on hand to walk everybody through the process. We are forever grateful to these folks who take our place at the table so that we can stay on the farm and get done what needs to be done.

Either Tom or I will be at the distribution sites for this week only, just to give you all a big welcome and lend a hand if necessary.

Weather: Last year was one of our toughest due to soggy, cool weather and our region’s heavy soils, but so far this year we have missed the deluge that has hit many of our neighbors. The water has only stood in the fields one day this season. We thank our lucky stars every day that the sun shines upon us.

The Fields: Tom, Kara, Lori and I (rebecca) are keeping on schedule for the most part. The spring crops have been planted as well 1,000 row feet of tomatoes. The potatoes are up and looking good – a happy sight after last year’s sad rotten mush. In many areas we are piling on straw and hay and the plants seem to be responding. To be done this week: plant more leeks, all of the peppers, seed the okra, mulch and trellis the tomatoes. Here’s the lovage with a nice layer of mulch around it:

Links: Some of you may already be hooked on Emily Akins’ blog ‘Everything begins with an E’. She and her hubby, Sergio, did some very informative and fun videos last season on freezing greens. This season she plans to blog about cooking up her share from us each week. We’ve added a link to her on the right-hand side.

Next week: More big spring lettuces, the slow-growing cilantro and dill should be ready, more green garlic or perhaps green onions, the first baby radishes, some arugula perhaps, bok choy. Parker Farms will begin distributing their meat and egg shares.

… and don’t forget to scroll down to Tom’s posting on how to cook your veggies each week.

Until next harvest, farmer rebecca

The Three Year Plan

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Greetings from your farm – Farmer Rebecca here. With Spring in the air, Tom and I are busy preparing for the season ahead. The greenhouse is already filled to capacity with the spring plants that will soon be transplanted to the fields. The onions are growing rapidly and have already had their first ‘haircut’. We give them a trim to keep them from getting too top-heavy and to focus their energy on bulking up their roots. Broccolis, cabbages, lettuces and herbs fill up most of the rest along with the first tomatoes – the cherry and bush varieties. This week the onions are moving out to the coldframe to make room for more tomatoes, leeks, lettuces and peppers.

Tom alluded to our ‘Three Year Plan’ in the previous post. We spend each winter evaluating the season that has passed in order to plan for the season ahead. In reviewing our planting and harvest records, we noticed that in many cases we plant double the amount of crops we should need for 105 shares. Which raises a couple thoughts. One, we are stubborn. When it comes to member favorites like broccoli and berries we will do whatever it takes to produce them even if it means planting way more than we should need to. While that’s admirable, I suppose, it is not a long-term strategy. Instead our ‘Three Year Plan’ calls for us to increase the care each crop receives which we hope will lead to an increase in the overall productivity of the farm without increasing the amount of acreage.

The first step is to hire an additional farm apprentice to work with us in the fields. With another full-time member of the farm crew we will have more time to tend to the crops. A priority will be to spend this extra time adding more organic matter to the fields in the form of straw, hay and compost. Organic matter is the ‘holy grail’ of sustainable agriculture. In the big picture, every life form is dependent on the decomposed life that precedes it. Decomposing organic matter feeds the web of soil organisms whose excretions include nutrients in forms that plants can use. The decomposing matter and the organisms that feed on it create air spaces where roots can grow and water can drain, especially critical in the heavy soils of our region. Last season we learned a lot about how water with nowhere to go can affect crops. Even in a wet year, we found that beds with a layer of mulch did better than those with no cover at all.

If our theory holds true that increased care and organic matter equal increased productivity, we hope to be able to grow the membership from 105 in 2009 to 125 in 2010 and 150 in 2011. Additional CSA memberships will allow us to pay for the second apprentice and purchase of the straw, hay and compost without raising share prices. The extra income will also allow us to pay for farm improvements in the future by creating a capital fund. If our plan is successful we will emerge from the three years with an efficient and integrated farming system that is more sustainable and secure. With our new plan in hand, we are excited to get to work to make 2009 the most bountiful season ever. We welcome all of our members, friends, family and supporters to join us in this vision for a sustainable future built on care for each other and the Earth that is our home.

Week 24 – Last week

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In the Share: Week 24
SWEET POTATOES (F/P)
CABBAGE (F/P)
BROCCOLI (P)
SPINACH OR LETTUCE (F)
CHOICE OF GREENS: SWISS CHARD, BOK CHOY OR TATSOI (F/P)
ROOTS: BEETS, TURNIPS, RADISHES AND KOHLRABI
GARLIC
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Cilantro and Dill
DRIED HERB (F/P) take a tin of herbs dried in our greenhouse for the winter.

Also this week: Bread of Life delivery

Farm report
The last week of the 2008 season is upon us. We are both sad to be saying farewell for the winter but also grateful for the chance to rest. We thank you all for your support of our farm and hope that you enjoyed sharing the season with us as much as we enjoyed sharing the harvest with you. Tom and I are really looking forward to celebrating our 5th CSA season with all of you at the End of the Season Dinner this Saturday. We’re working on a summary of our efforts thus far as well as some thoughts on the future. We hope to see many of you there.

As I was finishing the blog tonight, I was sent a link to a fun youtube video on blanching Fair Share Farm greens from Emily Akins & Sergio Moreno. Have a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJdDaQU308c

The end of the season also means the end of the apprenticeship of Jennifer Baughman. Jenn was a real treat to work with and we will absolutely miss her as she sets out on a search for her farming future. Here’s a few words from her to all of you:

Hello, my name is Jennifer Baughman. As the 2008 growing season comes to an end, I will share my reflections on my learning experience as Fair Share Farm’s apprentice this year.

What a blast! THE BEST EVER! Tom and Rebecca are incredible teachers and very patient (as I was pretty inexperienced in the beginning). They showed me the importance of being very detail oriented and very very organized, from planting methods to post harvest handling, always ensuring that the CSA’s standards are being met and even exceeded. I feel inspired to apply all that I have learned right away!

Where am I going from here? Before I decide where to live permanently, I plan on visiting a few more farms. I am interested in bio-dynamic farming, no-till methods, and permaculture, and plan to marry all three methods along with specializing in wild crafting and medicinal herbs. Next up on my journey, I will travel to a BEAUTIFUL camp resort down in Georgia. Enota Springs is found tucked deep in the forests at the beginning of the Appalachian Mountains.( http://www.enota.com/index.htm)

As for this winter, I will be focusing on my home-based business, where I work with my boyfriend to supply Kansas City with the highest quality superfoods available. As well as host nutrition classes and potlucks through our meetup group.(http://rawfood.meetup.com/423/)
Thank you for your comitment to local, organic food. Together, we enhance our wonderful environment.
Jennifer
ExoticOrchard@gmail.com

At the farm – Week 23

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In the Share: Week 23
CARROTS (F/P) Red-cored Chantennay – an heirloom and a good-keeper.
SWISS CHARD (F/P)
BROCCOLI (F/P)
CAULIFLOWER OR KOHLRABI (F)
GREEN PEPPERS (F/P) the last harvest
BOK CHOY (P) see week 22 kimchee recipe
NAPA (CHINESE) CABBAGE (P) ditto above
WATERMELON RADISHES (F)
LETTUCE: (F/P)
ASIAN GREENS (F) Vitamin Green or Tatsoi
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Cilantro or dill or a dried herb.

Also this week: Parker Farms delivery

Next Week: More greens and roots. Cabbage, garlic and sweet potatoes. Bread of Life delivery.

Farm report
The farm continues to be active as we prepare for the coming cold season. This week we dug the rosemary and marjoram plants from the field and potted them up. They will spend the winter dormant but protected in the greenhouse. Today we harvested all the green peppers of reasonable size from the plants and pulled more irrigation tape out of the beds. We also began the process of folding up the header pipes and fire hose that brings the water to the field. Each run is folded, tied and labeled before being hung in the barn rafters for the winter. On Saturday, the membership rolled out straw bales down the beds destined for next spring’s pea crop.

But before you all say goodbye for the season, we need something from each of you. A commitment that you’ll be with us next year … and some money to back it up. This week’s email includes a handy deposit slip that along with $50 will secure your spot in the 2009 membership. Some call it ‘seed money’ which it truly is. We are often asked what we do during the winter. Part of what we do is we purchase the bulk of what the farm needs for the year ahead. We save money by buying in bulk and limiting the amount of shipping by picking up supplies at the winter conferences from our suppliers. Also with the price of everything going up from seeds to plastic, fuel to peat moss, we get the best price early in the season before any shortages can occur. While it all makes good business sense, the winter is obviously a pretty slow time economically for farmers. The only money coming in until the spring signup will be your deposits. So before old man winter arrives, please consider sending in that deposit so that we can prepare for another season of growing quality, nutritious food for your family and your community. Thanks!

Week 22 – fall preparations

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In the Share: Week 22
LEEKS (F/P) This week only.
BROCCOLI or CAULIFLOWER (F/P)
BOK CHOY (F) see Tom’s kimchee recipe
NAPA (CHINESE) CABBAGE (F) ditto above
SWEET POTATOES (F/P)
LETTUCE: (F/P)
KOHLRABI & CELERIAC (P)
GARLIC (F/P) choice for the partials with the herbs. Fulls get both
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Basil, lovage or a dried herb.

Also this week: Bread of Life delivery

Next Week: More greens, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and roots. Perhaps carrots and beets. Green peppers. Parker Farms delivery.

Farm report
We continue to prepare the fields for their dormant period. The Saturday crew weeded and mulched the strawberries in record time. Photo courtesy of CSA member, Emily Akins.

Despite the fact that 2008 has been one of the most difficult for vegetable growing that we’ve seen, we feel lucky that we did not have actual flooding like many others. While it is my nature to obsess over the details of every crop failure, I must admit that we really cannot complain. The mid-season survey results seem to show that you all feel the same. You are apparently pretty content in both the produce you receive and in the CSA organization. Berries continue to win the ‘please grow more’ category and the okra lovers and haters continue to be equally represented. However, the overwhelming response was none at all. If you did not complete a survey (and you are actually reading this) let us know why not. Perhaps your comments will help us reach more of you next time. The survey results were discussed at our recent core group meeting whose main purpose was to plan the End of the Season dinner taking place this October 25th. As always it is the best potluck in the metro with live entertainment from the membership along with a season wrap-up from us, door prizes and kid’s activities. In the spirit of community, the coordinators are looking for folks who can come early or stay late to help. Keep an eye out for the email invitation which should be coming to your inboxes this week from Social Coordinators, Ann & Mark Flynn.

At the Farm: Week 21

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In the Share: Week 21
BROCCOLI (F/P) The fall crop debuts a bit wildly
CAULIFLOWER (F/P) a bit wild as well, the purple is due to stress.
SWEET PEPPERS (F) last of the ripe ones and some green
GREENS CHOICE (F) kale, collards, chard or asian greens
LETTUCE: (F/P) One heads-worth for all again.
TURNIPS OR RADISHES (P) Hakurei Turnips, Purple-Top Turnips or Watermelon Radishes. For the Wednesday shares; the Saturday partials got them last week.
ONIONS (F) the last of them
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Basil, chives, thyme or a dried herb.

Also this week: Parker Farms meat & egg share delivery

Next Week: More greens, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and roots. Sweet potatoes return. Bread share delivery.

Farm report
The hot topic amongst area organic farmers is a revolutionary no-till approach. It began when Patrice Gros, a Frenchman farming in Arkansas, visited our area last winter to talk about his practices. He loads on the straw along with some rabbit manure and gets high yields out of a small area. The thick layer of organic matter allows the soil to stay loose even after a downpour. It sounded intriguing enough to us but we might never have tried it if our neighbors, Vicky and Dallas Brock, hadn’t shown up one day with a trailerload of grass clippings from their yard. Thanks to them we’ve covered four 100 ft. beds with thick layer of hay and are hoping to do more. We got so inspired by the project that we’ve begun raking up grass clippings wherever we can find them. Here’s Jen laying straw right over the top of our buckwheat cover crop in the spring field. Rocky pitches in the best he can.

Our enthusiasm for the no-till idea has a lot to do with the problems we see in our soil. The clay that Clay County is known for (but not named for; Senator Henry Clay holds that honor) covers the limestone bedrock of our farm. Ages ago, winds carried our soil here from distant lands and left a deep and fine layer called loess. The rich loess deposits of our corner of Missouri and up into Iowa supports a varied and productive agriculture even as much of the best soil has already washed away. What is left on our farm is really fairly good for our area. There is a good foot of topsoil and below that several feet of clay. Despite being able to reliably grow carrots and a variety of tender vegetables, a wet season like this one surely shows us our limitations. The almost 10 inches of rain that fell this September compacted the soil leaving few spaces for oxygen to penetrate. The sun only needed a few days to bake it until it cracked. Today we realized we needed to irrigate after thinking we were done with it for the season. A thick layer of organic matter might have made a difference. Now to find that rabbit poop…

At the Farm

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In the Share:SWEET POTATOES (F/P) Check out FSF CSA member MaryAnn Blitt’s sweet potato ravioli recipe on Tom’s blog.SWEET PEPPERS OR CAULIFLOWER (P) Welcome the cauliflower.

SWISS CHARD (F/P) The spring crop has re-grown its luscious leaves. The flea beetles like them too.

LETTUCE: (F/P) One heads-worth for all from the bolting lettuce patch.

TURNIPS OR RADISHES (F/P) A combination of several radish and turnip plantings. Hakurei and Purple-Top Turnips; Easter Egg and Watermelon Radishes

KOHLRABI AND CELERIAC (F) one of each

GARLIC (F/P) A choice for the partial shares with the herbs.

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

Also this week: Bread of Life bread share delivery

Next Week: More greens, sweet potatoes and peppers. Meat and egg share delivery.Fall officially arrived on Monday. On Tuesday we picked the first of the cauliflower. On Wednesday we will be pulling the first of the watermelon radishes, kohlrabi and celeriac. It feels and tastes like fall already. It’s been nice to have mild radishes for a change. Even the watermelon radishes have only a hint of their regular sting thanks to the cool, moist weather. On the other hand, the cool, moist weather has led to black spots on the French Breakfast radishes. We’re going to pull the whole patch this week and send in any survivors as an extra. With another week past since the 5 ½ inches of rain, we are now seeing more adverse effects. The first two beds of cauliflower and broccoli have yellow leaves and some continue to wilt during the heat of the day. Also some are ‘buttoning-up’ as they did in the spring. We also have a lot of bolting lettuce. Bolting is when the young lettuce head sends up a flower stalk prematurely. The lettuce quickly becomes bitter and inedible as the stalk grows. We think the bolting must also be a symptom of the water-logged soils. Our favorite Italian heirloom lettuce, Quattro Stagioni, is so far the main casualty. We rescued a few before they got bitter and have them in the Wednesday shares.

Despite all the drama, Tom and I haven’t lost our marbles yet. There seems to be enough in the field for the next month, although we aren’t looking at any bumper crops. The fields hold carrots, beets, leeks, more radishes and turnips, broccoli and cauliflower, kohlrabi and celeriac, quite a few peppers and cabbages, lettuce and spinach. There is also Chinese cabbage, Asian greens, kale, collards and chard. We have more sweet potatoes curing and a bit more garlic and onions. We will be harvesting the rosemary, sage and basil, oregano and chives.