Category Archives: feed the soil feed the people

What to Do With Your Share—Week 1

asparagus, community supported agriculture, cover crops, csa, fair share farm, feed the soil feed the people, kansas city, leeks

Welcome to the 2013 season. We are happy to have a diverse share this first week, a reward perhaps for making it through the Spring. The harvest has begun, and it is time to start cooking.

Leeks are one of our favorite vegetables, so we take advantage of times like now. We used a recipe tonight that was in our newsletter 8 years ago…angel hair pasta with leeks and pasta. Our variation included spaghetti and parsley and was so good, we had to recommend it and take a picture of it.

The aspargus you are getting is fresh and tender. Great steamed, grilled, sauted, marinated raw, it is very versatile. To clean asparagus you can wash it and snap off any tough ends, or you can peel it. There is no better demonstration of this craft than by Jaques Pepin. I encourage you to go to the KQED website and click on the video of Episode 208 at the 5:10 mark.

Whatever herb you get, chances are that it will enhance the flavor of any meal you decide to cook. With seasonal eating you get a natural pairing of flavors. Chives, mint or tarragon would have gone well in the leek dish.

Rye and vetch

In the field we are beginning the steps of feeding the Fall crops. A picture perfect stand of rye and vetch has reached it’s full development, and we mowed it all down today in preparation of spading it into the ground. Yummy.

First CSA Pickup Delayed One Week

community supported agriculture, csa, fair share farm, feed the soil feed the people, frost, strawberries, tranplanting

First up, the 2013 Fair Share Farm CSA season will start next week on 5/22, not this week as originally anticipated. The exceptionally cool and wet Spring this year has slowed the growing process here at the farm dramatically. And, being 30 miles north of the city, we are even slower than all of you in the heat island of KC.

chickens moved to the field and pecking in the grass

But, things are growing, despite one last gasp of cold on Mother’s Day morning, when a frost visited the farm. While the forecast for the night was 39 degrees, we knew that a clear night can bring problems, so we covered all 1,300 feet of strawberry plants to protect their tender blossoms. By morning, with the tiny daggers of frost stabbing everywhere, we were happy that we learned our lesson in 2011 when similar conditions severely damaged the crop.



multiply by 1,300 feet to see why we are hopeful for a good strawberry year

Other plants had been uncovered last week and were presumed to be able to handle mid-May weather, but have been set back a little and are showing the signs of wear from Spring 2013. In particular, the 1,400 broccoli plants we planted and mulched are “buttoning up”, forming penny sized heads 3 to 4 weeks before there anticipated maturity. Peas have also struggled through things. And today we jump to 90 degrees.

mass of tomatoes at the greenhouse on Sunday awaiting transplanting

But we have many more plantings to go, and yesterday set 400 tomato plants in the ground, to go along with the 700+ pepper plants and  400 eggplant and 200 summer squash that were put in the ground today. We have three main plantings each year—Spring, Summer and Fall. So even if our early shares suffer a bit, we are starting anew with the 2013 Summer crops and are hoping for less griping about the weather.

planting tomatoes on Monday

transplanting peppers on Tuesday

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