Category Archives: fair share farm

2006—Our Third CSA Season

February 27, 2013100 mile diet, chickens, community supported agriculture, csa, fair share farm, farm apprentice, tote bagsFarmer Rebecca

By 2006 Fair Share Farm and its CSA were here to stay. We continued to work on making our farming operation viable well into the future. Certain things we could control, like how and what we fed our soil, what we planted and when, and how we integrated the farm into the lives and health of our membership.

The fields at rest

What we can never seem to control is the weather. January 2006 was the warmest on record, February the driest, and April the third warmest. A good reminder that our job is to be ready for whatever weather comes our way. Wet, dry, hot, or cold, we cannot act like we are suprised by anything. The conditions in 2006 required us to start irrigating in April, something we had never had to do before. What ever happened to April showers bring May flowers?

By 2006 it was becoming clear that the climate was (and still is) changing. For me, 20 years of work in industry and environmental engineering, coupled with over 10 years as an farmer, and the on-line availability of raw data showing such things as higher than ever-recorded atmospheric CO2 levels and a polar ice cap that is losing both area and volume every year, is enough to cause concern.

From Fox 4 WDAF (click to enlarge)

While these conditions caused some problems, they were also quite beneficial to certain crops. Warm, dry weather is what tomato, pepper and eggplant thrive in, as fungal diseases don’t get established. We also had one of our best harvests of winter squash.

Carnival winter squash

In scrolling through these old photographs we are reminded of how far we had to come. The infrastructure still left much to be desired, especially when it came to good ergonomics in washing and packing. CSA members from this time period will remember squatting in the grass hosing off vegetables.

Cleaning beets on a CSA morning

Rattlesnake beans

Distribution at the new 39th Street Market

2006 was also the year of the pond. In February, Graff Properties hired local expert Howerton Ditching to turn a gully into an irrigation pond. The pond drains a rather large area (10+ acres) and even with limited rainfall it filled up by April. We hope this tendency repeats itself this Spring, as the pond is down by about 50% right now.

Pond outlet structure

Finished pond—February 27, 2006

Filling pond—April 30

Among the visitors to the farm that Spring were Mary Meyer and Richard Cartwright from Michaela Farm. We worked with the two of them when we apprenticed, and learned much about biodiversity and sustainability. I always remember Richard noting that everyday he touchs the earth with his bare feet. Even in shoes, it is a good habit to get into.

Rebecca, Mary and Richard

Once again, we were fortunate to have lots of help through our full-time and volunteer apprentice program. The full-time apprentice position was split between Brenda Raygor and Lindsay Medoff (the latter of Fair Share Farm tote bag fame). 2007 apprentice Libby Negus, Peas on Earth farmer Julie Coon, neighbor Jen Basuel and farm-girl Kathy Plant filled out the crew. Bad Seed mistress Brooke Salvaggio also helped out on her way to loads of her own fun.

Brenda, Jen, Libby, Julie and Kathy, a great crew

Planting garlic with Farmer Brooke, before Bad Seed, Dan, Percy or Urbavore

Lindsay’s wonderful tote bags

This was also to be the first year that we integrated animals into our farm operation. Previously unknown Liz Elmore moved back to KC from Pennsylvania and gave us a call inquiring about raising broiler chickens on our land. The plan was for it to be Liz’s business operation and we would provide the land and some labor. In return we got a few chickens, the fun of farm animals and lots of chicken poop.

Chicks in the brooder

Chickens in their movable pen

Long story short, the soil made out the best in this venture. As this was before Rocky, the racoons were a major problem, and the 95 to 100+ F degree summer was not conducive to fattening up chickens. The next animal operation at the farm would have to wait until 2009.

2006 was also the year of The 100-Mile Diet. A term you may be familiar with, it became especially popular in 2006 as people across the country began focusing on eating meals with ingredients grown and raise in their immediate locale. In KC we helped spearhead a group of 8 to 10 folks who wrote a series of article on the experience in Present Magazine. This on-line publication was the brainchild of friend Pete Dulin. His 2005 article on the farm is still our favorite look at what we do. Our fun culminated in a CD with copies of the articles, our favorite recipes, and resources for buying local.

The year ended with what has become our favorite mode of transportation—Amtrak. It had been 5 years since Rebecca and I met, and I left Rochester after 20 years of living there. It was nice to get caught up with friends and with the farmers at Peacework. We then hopped the train downstate to stay with my brother and his family in Brooklyn.

Rebecca NYC

When we returned, we found our 1947 Allis Chalmers G tractor. While it looks like a feather-weight, it is best tractor on the planet for smaller, organic vegetable farms like ours.

Arrival of the G

And next year…growing for 100, Easter freeze, starting the strawberry patch, and steady as she goes.

2005—Our Second Season

February 23, 2013csa, deer fence, fair share farm, farm apprentice, ten year anniversary, vegetablesFarmer Rebecca

In the beginning, our goal for Fair Share Farm was to have a 100 member CSA. It was our belief that a CSA of that size would sustain us economically as well as nourish us (we now know that number was a little low).

Ice storm—first week of January

Our second season was planned as another incremental step towards that 100 member goal. We were able to grow our CSA membership to 50, and were planting enough in the fields for 75. This approach allowed us a cushion to make sure we could provide for our members, and would leave us a surplus that we could sell at the Crossroads Farmers Market (our city distribution point).

CSA distribution table

Market table

The season was a good one. It started out slow, but we did have some excellent crops that year, including tomatoes, potatoes, beans and broccoli. We think that we may have been showing people that we at least knew something about vegetable production, and when we were on, things were as good as you could get.

Spring broccoli

Heirloom tomatoes

A wonderful crudite of June vegetables

Part of the reason for our success was the extra hands we had to help us. In 2004 Bill McKelvey earned the right to be called our first apprentice (once a week volunteer). While we were doing more learning than teaching back then, it was nonetheless instructive and proved to be the beginning of a wonderful friendship.

Another friend-to-be, Lori Watley began volunteering with us too. She helped us begin the orchard, and later returned as a full-time apprentice in 2009. The title of first FSF full-time apprentice goes to Amy Bousman. Currently a Kansas farmer and dairy maiden, we are happy to have been a help during her earlier years.

Bill helping sort potatoes for the Fall root cellar

Rebecca and Lori planting a fruit tree

Amy washing Chinese cabbage

Then there was the farm infrastructure. Afterall, what’s a farm without fences and a barn with a good roof. We had neither at the start of the year. Our landlord, Graff Properties, hired out a re-roofing of the barn and the work was completed in time for the season.

Roof work in the Spring

Packing room ready to go for the year

The fencing that I was referring to was the 3,750 linear feet of deer fence. After two years of electric fencing, hair bags, bobcat urine and Irish Spring soap, it was apparent that an 8 foot high physical barrier was the only thing that would keep the deer out of our fields.

The planning began in January, and in March we were cutting the black locust trees that would become the fence posts. Throughout the year we picked away at the project—laying out the fence, digging post holes every 25 feet, setting the posts with the members’ help, building gates, and finally hanging the fence. We could not farm without it.

Member Mark Flynn and brother-in-law Jeff Wilson working on posts—
Thanks for the help

Setting the posts with the members’ help

John and his deer fence spool

Among the other highlights of the year were the arrival of our two cats Momma and Sunny. The kitten Sunny arrived on Amy’s doorstep (RV step actually) and his constant meowing was soon met by that of his mom. We offered them some food, and they never left. They were a welcome addition to the farm, as Rebecca’s cat Luna had been laid to rest in February, and we were happy to have another mouser or two on the farm.

Sunny and Momma

We were able to take a real vacation that year, traveling to one of Rebecca’s favorite haunts—Mexico. Oaxaca City, Puerto Escondido, and Mexico City were our stops…the land of local coffee, chocolate and bananas. The people, countryside, food and culture were a wonderful retreat after three solid years of work.

Saturday wedding at Santo Domingo, Oaxaca City

Farm-raised Xmas gifts

Next up…abnormal weather, a growing CSA, a year of chickens and a new pond.

2004—Our First CSA Season

February 22, 2013csa, fair share farm, sugar snap peas, ten year anniversaryFarmer Rebecca

Since Fair Share Farm was first conceived it was always going to be a CSA farm. The concept of Community Supported Agriculture, and our experiences as both CSA members and apprentices had sealed the deal a long time previous. So 2004 was to be the year we would take on the responsibility of growing food for a community of local folks.

Step one was to generate membership. Through marketing the previous year at farmers markets, an article in the Kearney Courier, the KC Food Circle Expo, and word of mouth we were able to build a membership of 25 (our goal was 30). We held our first Core Group meeting at Fred and Carol Barth’s house along with member Kirk Day.

At the KC Food Circle Expo

Along with the vegetable growing, the infrastructure work continued. Our current packing room took shape as the barn received a makeover. The less than vertical north foundation wall was expertly replaced by a Menonite crew from Jamesport. John deftly felled the tree growing up the south side of the barn, and Rebecca and I re-built the lower barn so that it could house our cooler and wash area.

John dropping a tree

New wash area and packing room

The season started later than it does now, with the first share being handed out on Wednesday May 25, 2004. You can read all about it in our first Fair Share Farm CSA Newsletter. If you were around then you were lucky enough to get 2 pounds of sugar snap peas in your first share.

The first CSA farm work day

Our first distribution at the Crossroads Farmers Market

That bounty lightened up a bit as the season went on, however, as we learned just how wet and boggy some areas of our fields could get. The biggest loss of the season were the tomatoes and potatoes. Waterlogged from the start, and then eaten by the deer, the crop was meager. It is a tribute to those members who stuck with us after such disappointment, showing what supporting local agriculture means.

Soggy beds

Rain brings rainbows

Carrots have always seemed to thrive here

Late September share

We still had lots of ground to break in those days, and were still learning the craft of biological farming. We had yet to plant in the field up by the house. John had advised against it, as it was full of morning glory and cockelbur weeds. But we seeded brome grass and clover, and the wet summer helped this base vegetation flourish. We then started cutting beds and cover cropping with buckwheat.

The beds without the cover crop were lush too, with cockelbur weeds. We eventually got rid of them, without the use of herbicides, by balancing the mineral content of the soil and sticking with our cover cropping game plan. Today there is nary a cockel or a bur in that field.

Buckwheat flowering in distance and cockelbur crop in foreground

The winter was spent focusing on the house and more planning. These photos remind us that apparently we started our bathroom remodeling (yeeck!). It was finished by the following Spring.

Nothing but a memory now (yeah!)

With members Jessica and James—rounding up 2005 members in the Crossroads

So we worked and plotted our jump to 50 CSA members and enjoyed another winter on the farm. Next up—deer fences and full-time apprentices.

What to Do With Your Share—Week 3

May 23, 2012csa, fair share farm, kansas city, napa cabbage, stir fry, sustainable agricultureFarmer Rebecca

This “Sprummer” weather has really been something so far. We have learned over the past 10 years that all you can do is go with the flow, and adjust your growing practices to fit the situation. In our case that has meant harvesting up to a month earlier than in the past and irrigating starting n April. A few more than anecdotal examples of this seasonal shift are in our past blogs and harvest records.

This year the strawberry harvest is already winding down. In 2010 we spotted the first ripe berry in mid-May and didn’t pick a full quart until tomorrow, the 23^rdof May. Other years showed a similar timeframe, with the first harvest somewhere at the end of May.

Likewise, the sugar snap peas are in full flush at the moment. In other years, it would be at least two weeks before we would start picking them. Best case with all of this, you eat better earlier in the year. Worst case, we’ve screwed up the balance of atmospheric gases with pollution, and we won’t be able to count on a “regular” season of weather too often.

Napa cabbage

The Share
Opportunities abound for delicious meals with this week’s vegetables, and any that you have left from last week. Remember, that for most all of the greens that we give you the best place for them is in a bag in your vegetable crisper. They will last over a week in such storage conditions. Vegetables will dry out in a fridge if not in a bag, so be sure to keep them happy.

First, a couple links to recipes. If you look to the right, you will see a link to member Emily Akins’ blog Everything Begins With an E. Her post of May 15^this for braised lettuce with peas..just the thing for your share. If lettuce has accumulated, here is a good chance to eat some in a new way.

Re: the peas, you can “string” the sugar snap or snow peas and cut them into small pieces as a substitute for individual peas. Remember, with both types of peas we give you the pods are edible, but it helps to snap off the top and pull off the string (see photo). Try the recipe on that link too.

The turnips will be in the shares for a while, so keep our curried Hakurei turnip recipe in mind.

Raw Stir Fry SaladOur suggested recipe for this is an Asian vegetable salad/slaw, or as Rebecca noted, it is a “raw stir fry.” It started as we pulled a Chinese cabbage last week to check them out. I wanted to make a slaw, but felt that was a little too normal and finely chopped. So I cut up the more solid ingredients (turnip, radish, cabbage stem) into chunks while chopping up the greens. Tossed with an Asian sauce it really is the same ingredients as a stir fry, but raw.

Ingredients:Any that your want from your share. It is a good use for the Chinese cabbage. Also good in it would be radish, turnips, turnip greens, peas, broccoli, onion. Cut greens fine and other parts chunky for a good mix of textures.

Dressing:For a slaw-like taste I go for a dressing that is about half oil and half sharp tasting liquid (ie, rice wine vinegar, lemon juice, fish sauce). You can try the following and adjust to your taste:
5 tbsp sesame oil, 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp chopped ginger.

Method:
Prepare vegetables and mix well in a large serving bowl. Toss with dressing. Serve as is or over warm or cold rice. Garnish with cilantro and crushed peanuts.

May 13, 2012conventional versus local, fair share farm, strawberries, strawberry comparisionFarmer Rebecca

Every once in a while we buy produce from the grocery store to do a comparison. We like to check out the competition. We are also simply curious as to the overall quality of what is available in the produce section.

Our current evaluation was with strawberries. I bought a pound of what appears to be a modern standard for commercial strawberries. We looked at many factors and below is a little tally. Mind you we attempted to be objective.

Conventional (minus 2) on left, FSF/Local on right

Color
Conventional: All different shades of red, white and green, some unripe fruit
Fair Share Farm: All red or deep orange fruit.

Size of berry
Conventional: All were palm-sized, 13 berries per 1 lb package
Fair Share Farm: From small to thumb-sized, 43 berries per 1lb+ package

Interior
Conventional: Hollow with white flesh
Fair Share Farm: Red throughout

Exterior

Conventional: One berry half covered in mold, bruising on most.
Fair Share Farm: All berries in good to excellent condition. No significant bruising.

Flavor/Texture

Conventional: Depended, berries were crunchy as if not ripe. Ripest part had good flavor, sweet and tart.
Fair Share Farm: Juicy and tart with some sweetness.

Conventional on top, FSF/Local on bottom

There is more to the story too. We use what are called biological (organic) methods to grow the crops. Strawberries are fed organic fertilizer and mulched with straw. We work to promote soil life to help keep the plants alive. The plants are treated as perennials, so we keep them from year to year, reducing tillage.

Conventional berries are grown on plastic mulch. The soil is fumigated and sterilized with methyl bromide, an ozone depleting chemical that is still allowed for agricultural use. Synthetic fertilizer is fed to the plants for immediate uptake, kind of like an IV.

I am amazed by the size of the conventional berries. It is almost scary…actually it is scary. And, this being America, you can mark my words that in another 5 years they will be even bigger. If spam doesn’t make you feel inadequate, this sure tries.

Several years ago I emailed one of the commercial strawberry producers to ask them what their growing practices were. I got back a letter where pretty much the only thing they said was they were in compliance with the law with everything they do.

A main point these companies make, however, is that people need fresh fruit for a healthy diet and that is what they are providing. I do agree that there is a need for fresh fruit in everyone’d diet. The rest is a complex issue.

We would love to hear your strawberry experiences and how they relate to our comparison.

Week 1: What to Do With Your Share

May 8, 2012csa, fair share farm, leeks, lettuce, stir fry, sustainable agriculture, thousand island dressingFarmer Rebecca

Welcome to the 2012 Fair Share Farm CSA. In this section of the blog we will give you recipe ideas and other suggestions for enjoying your share to the fullest. This weekly blog will serve as a jumping off point for you to explore your possiblities. The recipes we post are all tested, and often created, right here in our kitchen. We suggeest the following supplemental sources of information each week:
Fair Share Farm Recipe Page—This website page is a compilation of some of the recipes we have recommended in the past. It was compiled several years ago, so it does not include all of our recipes. You can use the search bar or menu to find what you are looking for.

2004-2006 Fair Share Farm Newsletters—Prior to the blog we posted newsletters every week. An archive of them is on our website. You can look at newsletters from weeks with the same date as the week of your share for some probable cooking options.

This blog—As with the newsletters, you can search out what we were doing in previous years to find recipes appropriate for that week’s share. Also, you can use the search bar in the upper righthand corner to look for things.

Use the Google and the internets—The early days of CSA’s consisted of mimeographed newsletters. Today, if you have internet access, the possibilities are endless. Find something tasty? Link it in our comment section or post it on our facebook page. We would like everyone to signup.

So…on with the show. We have a great first share this year. So nice that the encores could be difficult, but that is our job after all. Just no more hail storms please.

Before our feature recipe of the week, here are a few past ones that are known favorites. New to leeks? Try an Asparagus and Leek Fritatta, or if you don’t get your asparagus until next week, try Mashed Potatoes with Leeks and Garlic.

The bok choi is perfect right now, so get the wok out and have a stir fry. Hope we don’t have to tell you what to do with the strawberries, but a nice option is presented below.

Butterhead Lettuce Wedge Salad with Strawberries and 1,000 Island Dressing
Rebecca and I saw a recipe similar to this on a cooking show this winter, and it stayed with us. The butterhead lettuce in your share is an Italian seed variety know as Regina di Maggio. They are the light green lettuces with the head in the center. The tender leaves combined with the thick dressing are a nice textural combination. Needing a knife to eat it makes it feel so civilized, like you are living at Downton Abbey.

Ingredients:
1 butterhead lettuce
Spring onion
Radishes
Strawberries

Dressing:
Combine in a bowl and blend 4 tbsp mayonnaise, 2 tbsp chili sauce or catsup, 2 tbsp chopped pepperoncinis or relish, 2 tbsp EV olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Peel the loose outer leaves away from the lettuce head and save them for salad or other use. With the root end still on, cut the lettuce head into sections (top to bottom). Keeping the root on allows you to wash and drain it without it falling apart.

To serve, cut off root and set wedges in individual bowls, cut side up. Top with chopped onions, radishes and strawberries. Top with dressing.

Fair Share Farm CSA to Start May 9th

April 29, 2012bad seed, csa, fair share farm, irrigation, lady beetles, onions, solar power, sustainable agriculture, tomato plantsFarmer Rebecca

The time has come to start the harvest. This Spring has been unusually mild and has created an early maturing of most everything on the farm. These conditions have convinced us to start the CSA a week earlier than originally planned. So…the schedule for the first week’s pickup will be:

Wednesday Distribution (Bad Seed or Farm) May 9th
Saturday Distribution (Liberty or Farm) May 12th

For deatils relating to your distribution site please click on the link. If you are a farm pickup, you will have chosen either Wednesday or Saturday, so please take note of which day you are scheduled for.

The farm crew has been busy keeping up with everything the last month. Our 2012 apprentices Dani Hurst and Ryan Stubby started the last week of March and have now been on the job for a month. Peruse the previous blogs and you can see all that we have been up to.

This last week we have been concentrating on our summer crops. On Monday we started up the irrigation system as the plants were becoming quite parched. Our solar irrigation system seems to be working well this season. You can see in the photo the high flow we get on-demand from the panels. We measured this flow at 35 gallons per minute.

Elsewhere in the field crops destined for future shares, such as onions and broccoli are growing well.

The tomato plants are starting to go out. The cherries and caged hybrids are in the ground, and the heirlooms and remaining hybrids are No. 1 on the runway. Squash and cucumbers are germinating in the greenhouse and will be in the field in the next 10 days or so.

We began seeing aphids in the greenhouse on the peppers and eggplants the last few days, so felt it was time to call in the biological hit squad of lady beetles. Rebecca bought some at Family tree nursery and we set 1/3 of them loose last night. This morning they seemed to be quite active. We expcet them to do their job and help keep our transplants as healthy as possible.

Look forward to seeing and feeding all of you soon.