Category Archives: frost

In the Share – Week 19

bok choy, frost, harvest dinner, rocky

beautiful bok choy 

 GREENS CHOICE F/P  Bok choy, beet greens or kale

GARLIC F/P  soft-neck artichoke type is a good keeper

FINGERLING POTATOES F/P  Austrian crescent and French fingerling varieties.

LETTUCE F2/P1  This week only and then we will have to wait a few more weeks for more.  Summer crisp variety.

KOHLRABI F  The first of the fall crop.  Partial shares have a choice with the greens choice.

SWEET PEPPER F/P  Just one for everyone.  These cold nights do not ripen peppers.

TOMATO F  ditto on the tomatoes, but we don’t have enough for everyone this week, only the fulls.

HERB CHOICE F/P   mint, rosemary, thyme, chives or dried.

NEXT WEEK:  More greens and peppers.  Carrots and onions and perhaps the first of the broccoli, radishes and turnips.  Finally some rapini (broccoli raab).

FARM REPORT:

 
Saturday morning we awoke to frost.  At first light we ventured to the fields to see the crops dusted with frozen dew.
 

Officially the thermometer said 35 deg. F. and once the sun melted the frost we could see little damage.  Now three days later it is safe to say that we survived unscathed.  Only the leaves of the sweet potatoes were damaged in any way. 

Sunday night we celebrated with 100+ of the CSA membership.  Our community sure knows how to cook and eat!  The weather was perfect and due to popular demand there were four hayrides.  When not eating or riding around the farm, many enjoyed the view from atop the big round straw bales.  Since I managed to forget almost everything that I meant to say at the dinner, let me say now how deeply indebted we feel towards everyone who has played a role in the re-building of our family farm over the past 11 seasons.   Our farm apprentices, employees, friends and family and the CSA membership have built something together out here that we hope will remain for many years to come.

Rocky staying warm on the compost pile
 

Extended Season Begins Next Week

chickens, eggs, extended season, frost, row cover

Next week begins the 2014 extended CSA season.  For the next 31 weeks we endeavor to feed the community from our fields.  Our best guess for the first share is lettuce, spinach, arugula, Swiss chard, carrots, asparagus, green onions and a choice of herbs. 

We also plan to give each extended season share a dozen eggs (if you do not eat eggs, let us know and we will substitute with something else.) It was not the plan to include eggs in the shares, but we are doing it this once because we feel that some of the share items will be smaller than we would like. Such has been this cold starting spring (see last post), and our high tunnel growing learning curve.

If you would like additional eggs they are $5.00/ dozen. Email us with an order and they will be delivered to distribution for you (while current supplies last).

The normal Spring routine of plant, mulch, cover was tested this morning with a low temp. of 24.8 deg. F. 

A heavy frost covered most of the fields.  It seems all survived intact thanks to the row cover.  The perennial crops like the strawberries can handle the frost better and looked fine once the frost melted.

The greenhouse is filling with peppers, eggplant and tomatoes. We are hoping to squeeze the last of the cool-weather crops out to the fields by the end of the week. 

In the Share – Week 24

frost, high tunnel, tomato plants
first frost

LETTUCE (F/P)  Just enough out of the field to get everyone one for the last week, all butterheads or the speckled heirloom, Forellenschluss.

CARROTS (F/P)  Freshly dug with their tops on, stubby Chantennay-type. 

GREENS CHOICE (F/P)  Kale, arugula, or tat soi.  Partial shares include a choice of endive.

ENDIVE (F)  The frilly French lettuce, also known as frisee.

SWEET PEPPERS OR EGGPLANT (F)  It warmed up last week before the frost and a few more fruit ripened in the process.  Here’s the very last of the summer fruits.

WATERMELON RADISHES (F)  Spicy when fresh, they are sure sweet roasted.

BEETS OR BULB FENNEL (F/P) 

HAKUREI TURNIPS (F)  A gamble when we planted them, they are just now sizing up for a small tender bunch with very edible greens. 

SWEET POTATOES (F/P)  More orange Beauregards.

HERB CHOICE (F)  Cilantro, dill, parsley or a dried herb.

GARLIC (F/P)  We planted 3/4 of the field on Monday before the rain.  With only a bit more to go, we are letting go of a bit more for everyone.

NEXT WEEK:  (The first week of the extended season)  Sweet potatoes, leeks, red cabbage, spinach, potatoes, herbs, lettuce, and bok choy.

FARM REPORT:

Whew!  Your farmers are very much enjoying a beautiful Fall after a busy year.  This is the last week of the regular 24-week CSA season.  For almost 100 of you, this is the last week of the CSA.  Thank you for spending the season with our produce.  We hope you feel well-fed from our local family farm.

Looking back, we are always amazed at how much we all accomplish working together.  Ten years of the Fair Share Farm CSA has breathed new life into the farm.  This past Saturday was typical of the crazy wonderful support we see here.  With some time left after the morning’s harvest, the CSA crew went to work removing the tomato plants and supports from the fields. 

Fifty of you will continue with us for four more weeks.   The high tunnel is mostly full of green goodness.  We did have problems this fall with the lettuce crop, both inside and outside.  We’ve had to pick good heads wherever we could save them from their bolting behavior.  But we have beautiful spinach other salad greens and fresh roots in the high tunnel, more under row cover outside and crates of roots in storage to keep everyone full of good food. 

And finally, we continue to pour over the 2013 survey results.  Here are some of our finding so far:

1.       In general, the percentage of members responding from each distribution location matches the actual percentage of members at each site.

2.       About 1/3 of our members have been with us for over 5 years.

3.       Over 40 members responded saying they buy bulk.

4.       112 out of 113 respondents say the pick-up process is clear and effective (nice job distribution teams)

5.       97% say the produce quantity is adequate and is a good value for the price.

6.        96% of respondents say they will sign up again next year.

7.       96% say they use the blog.

8.       It appears our least favorite vegetables are radishes, turnips, eggplant, okra and kohlrabi. Eggplant and okra are also favorites of many.

9.       The membership is not overly interested in communicating internally (87% do not presently use the blog comment capability or Facebook.)  It appears that some people are not aware that we presently have a Facebook page where recipes and other information can be shared. It also appears that folks can “like” and “comment” but cannot post to the wall.

10.   It appears that there is adequate interest in purchasing processed items (78% said yes, or they would probably buy processed food.) Also 29 of 30 members that sampled fermented pickles at the 10thanniversary party said they would buy them if offered.

11.   In responding to what they liked most about the CSA work days the word work was used 23 times, learning 14 times and seeing 13 times. What was liked least was nothing (12), heat/hot (16), and drive (5).

12.   In responding to what members liked most about the CSA the word blog was used 21 times, love (19), and produce (15).

13.   What folks liked least appear to be related to personal inconvenience of pickup times and/or location, the fact that choices dwindle as distribution progresses, wanting more in the swap box, timing of bulk list and blog posting, and wondering why there is a bulk list instead of us sending everything in that we harvest.

14.   Folks want more opportunities to buy eggs.

In the Share – Week 23

cabbage, frost, survey

CABBAGE (F/P)  We are sending in an assortment of types:  Napa, Savoy (with ruffles) or smooth-leaved. 

GREEN PEPPERS (F/P) Ahead of tonight’s forecasted frost, we cleared out the pepper patch.  Expect a bit of color but mostly greens and purples. 

GREEN TOMATOES (F/P)  These are pure green tomatoes that should be cooked.  See Tom’s post for tips. 

LETTUCE (F/P)  One luscious butterhead per share.

SWEET POTATOES (F/P)  After a month of digging we finished the harvest on Monday.  All told, we brought in over 3,400 lbs. – a new record.  This week everyone gets cream-colored O’Henry’s.

BROCCOLI OR CAULIFLOWER (F)  More broccoli side shoots and the beginnings of a second flush of cauliflower.

HERB CHOICE (F)  Cilantro, dill, thyme or sage.

GOLD BALL TURNIPS (F)  We love these roasted with some herbs and olive oil.  Mix with other root vegetables or eat them alone.

LEEKS (F/P) Another round of leeks for all. 

NEXT WEEK:  More sweet potatoes, lettuce, herbs and beets.  Watermelon radishes, carrots and greens.

FARM REPORT:
Fall is here in all its glory.  The sun was shining on us as we dismantled the tomato patch on Monday.  The farm crew spent many an hour walking the rows and its always a little sad to see it go.

Before the season ends, Tom and I wanted to thank you all for your responses to the annual CSA member survey.   We were glad to hear that so many of you enjoyed the 2013 season as much as we did.  The survey is one of our most important tools as CSA farmers and we have been very fortunate for the past several years to have Gary and Jan Glauberman on the CSA Core Group as survey gurus.   We love to hear from you all and we use the information in our planning.  We also admit that when 96% of you say that the quality and quantity of the shares was on target, your farmers do sleep easier at night! 

There were a few comments related to the topic of how we decide what is in the share each week.  Tom and I have a rough idea of how much we want to provide of each vegetable when we plan out the year in January.  We like to have a good variety of greens, roots, and fruits with lots of favorites and a sprinkle of something different.  The herb choice is important to many.  Tomatoes, berries and broccoli always win the survey, but many of you also love beets, okra and turnips.

As the crops begin to mature, we make a list for the week of what is ready for harvest.  Some items like carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic are harvested in bulk and then doled out usually every other week for as long as they last.  Other items are picked the day of distribution and we often don’t know how much we will have until we bring it in. 

By the time we are a week away from the share going out we have a basic list.  By Monday, that list is fleshed out into full and partial columns and other items are added as the harvest begins on Tuesday.  By the time we send out the bulk list Tuesday afternoon we have a pretty solid idea, but nothing is definite until the final box is packed.  

We attempt each week to provide neither too little and too much.  We have some good vegetable eaters in the membership, but there are also many among us with busy schedules that don’t always accommodate time for food preservation.  For that reason, we endeavor to supply a week’s worth of produce and not much more.  Sometimes, like at the peak of the tomato harvest or before frost, we give may you a bigger dose, but usually we are careful not to overload the shares with too much of a good thing. 

We think that the last thing any self-respecting local foodie, organic-minded conservationist wants is to waste food.  The weekly bulk list provides for those of you who want to put up extra and it gives the farm an outlet for the excess. 

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now.  We’ll try to get to more survey responses next week.  Until then, happy frost day!!

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

In the Share – Week 2

asparagus, chard, endive, frost, lettuce, radish

LETTUCE (2): One of our favorite French heirloom butterheads and one red looseleaf.

SPINACH: A smaller portion than last week’s big bag from last fall’s planting. The February planting isn’t nearly as lush.

GREEN ONIONS: These are out of the field from an over-wintered patch.

ENDIVE: Also called frisee, it is lovely in mixed salads or lightly sauteed

SWISS CHARD: The plants are enormous and hogging the sunlight, so they gotta go!

SPRING TURNIPS: More Japanese delicacies. We should have planted more of these (next year!).

STIR-FRY GREENS: Many of our brassica family, including the bok choy and Napa cabbage have started bolting. They are still tasty and you get a little pretty flower too!

RADISHES: Wish we had lots more of these babies, everyone will get a few.

HERBS: From the perennial herb beds, tarragon and chives.

NEXT WEEK: More lettuce, spinach, herbs and green onions. Finally Hopefully asparagus!

 FARM REPORT: My goodness, have you all looked at the forecast? Freezing temperatures are on the way, maybe even some snow. This is coming after 2 days in the 80s. We are as prepared as we possibly can be since all the row cover we put out last week is still out there, but row cover only helps so much. We are happy that we have not put out any of the warm weather crops yet. The tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cukes and squashes are safely stored for a hopefully soon transplanting. But even the cool-loving crops don’t like freezing and this see-saw of weather can lead to premature bolting. We are currently experiencing the results of this in the high tunnel with the flowering bok choys and napas.

On a related note, at this point we feel that we will delay the start of the 24-week season by one week. That would make the first week May 22/25. Our plan is to add a week at the end of October to make it up. It is funny because last year we started a week early, which was unusual, and ended earlier in the fall. Anyway, the asparagus is really slow to start and the lettuces and other greens and roots are also slow and won’t be big enough to hand out. We’ll look at it again next week and give you all an update but that’s what we are thinking at the moment.

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.

In the Share – Week 23

frost, high tunnel, leeks, outstanding in the field
 

LEEKS (F/P) I love the way the walk-in cooler smells when it is full of leeks. It smells like buttery goodness.

LETTUCE (F/P) Tender red leaf and butterhead varieties this week.

TOMATOES (F/P) A couple of green tomatoes and a few more ripe ones.

GREEN PEPPERS (F/P) The last of the green peppers

NAPA CABBAGE (P) We are harvesting the prettiest Napa cabbage crop we have ever had: dense heads of delicate leaves.

CAULIFLOWER OR BROCCOLI (F) We planned on putting out more broccoli and cauliflower transplants this summer but as insanely hot as it was we are grateful to be able to offer a choice of the two. Partial shares will get broccoli next week.

BEETS (F) The first harvest of the fall beets, mostly a long variety called “Cylindra”

TURNIPS AND WATERMELON RADISHES (F/P) A couple of each. The watermelon radishes are good keepers. To reduce the heat of radishes slice them into rounds and peel the hot outer layer off.

HERB CHOICE (F) Arugula, dill or tarragon

NEXT WEEK: The last week of the regular 24-week season. More lettuce, herbs, broccoli, cauliflower and sweet potatoes. Carrots, savoy cabbage and bulb fennel.

FARM REPORT:

 The thermometer read 26 degrees F Sunday morning and with that the summer crops took their exit. The fields are now stripped with brown rows of dead plants. Everything does not die with the frost. We are gladdened by the resilient cabbages and broccolis that will keep growing until the hard freeze. Other crops fared just fine under a layer or two of row cover. We are just beginning to harvest the fall roots and look forward to many more warm days before winter. The high tunnel plants are growing rapidly within the protected environment.
 

Next Friday 10/19 we will be hosting our second Outstanding in the Field dinner at the farm and we invite you to join us. The talented folks at Justus Drugstore will once again be serving up their hand-crafted recipes to 100+ diners sitting at a long table in our fields. The chef will be using some of our produce along with other local meats, wines and cheeses. There are still seats at the table available. Go here to learn more and to purchase tickets. Last year the food was amazing and we met so many interesting people who traveled great distances to eat dinner in our farm field.
 

In the Share – Week 22

extended season, frost, high tunnel, sweet potatoes
sweet potatoes
 

CAULIFLOWER (F/P) The broccoli is just starting and some may get a choice of the two.

SWEET POTATOES (F/P) These are the traditional orange type. They keep for months at room temperature. Never refrigerate sweet potatoes.

LETTUCE (F/P) The last of the crispheads this week. Next week we start in on the more tender leaf lettuces.

GARLIC (F/P) One head for all one last time. The rest we are planting at the end of the month.

TOMATOES (F/P) We have quite a few ripe tomatoes still and we think everyone will get around a pint again.

GREEN TOMATOES (F/P) Frost is on it’s way by Saturday morning. The farm is in full swing preparing for it which includes harvesting the green fruits from the summer crops. See Tom’s post for ideas for using your green ‘maters.

GREEN PEPPERS (F/P) Ditto on the peppers.

EGGPLANT (F) If the forecaster is right this will be the last of the eggplant.

NAPA CABBAGE (F) See Tom’s post for a yummy sweet potato and cabbage recipe.

CHOICE: HOT PEPPERS, ARUGULA OR HERBS (F/P) 

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms CSA shares

FARM REPORT:

pre-frost harvest
 

The frost is not forecasted until Saturday, but we are trying to get a lot done early this week before the weather gets wet and cold. Tomorrow we hope to bring in the last of the tender crops and button up the high tunnel. Row cover is protecting the lettuces and bulb fennel out in the field and most of the green summer fruits have been picked.  Many of the crops that we grow this time of year can handle a light frost and actually get sweeter in the cold weather.  Fall carrots, broccoli, kale and turnips actually benefit from a cold night or two. 

Speaking of cold nights, all current CSA members are invited to sign-up for the Inaugural Fair Share Farm CSA extended season.  A deposit form will be in your inbox tonight.  We are offering 4 extra weeks of produce starting October 24th.  Space is limited to 50 shares, so send that form on in to secure your spot.  We are only offering full shares, so consider sharing with friends and family if it is too much for you alone.  Cost is $30/week. Distribution will be available at the normal farm, Liberty and Bad Seed locations and times.   No work requirement for this short run although that may not be the case in 2013.  Our best guess is that the shares will be comprised of the following:  lettuces, bok choy, sweet potatoes, cabbage, bulb fennel, beets, carrots, turnips, radishes, leeks, endive, spinach, herbs, cauliflower and broccoli.  Tom and I are looking forward to extending our harvest season on the farm and we welcome you to join us.

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.