Category Archives: high tunnel

In the Share: Week 5 extended

chickens, high tunnel, spinach

SPINACH   The leaves are large and in charge.

SWEET PEPPERS  The weather has forgotten that it is November and so we still have sweet peppers ripening in the fields.

HAKUREI TURNIPS  The leafy growth and warm weather has attracted some aphids in the high tunnel.  You might want to wash your greens extra carefully if you don’t want extra protein.

LETTUCE  We continue to try to make the lettuce last.  Huge heads of red leaf had to be picked on Friday.  A salad a day keeps the doctor away.

LETTUCE OR ARUGULA  A choice of a second head of lettuce or arugula.

BROCCOLI/GAI LAN  We are down to side shoots of broccoli which are much like the gai lan.

SWEET POTATOES  Orange type this week.

RADISHES  red globes from the fields and high tunnel.

HERB CHOICE  Cilantro, parsley or dill.

NEXT WEEK:  Greens, turnips, garlic, bok choy, lettuce, sweet potatoes, kale, bulb fennel.

FARM REPORT:
With us now in November a killing frost is surely not too far away although there is no sign of it in the 10-day forecast.  It has happened that it waits until practically December.  It has been very dry as well as warm and so we have fired up the irrigation pump to keep the peppers and the field greens going.  We gave the strawberry patch a good drink as well so that they will be healthy and strong while they are dormant.  The high tunnel is the opposite of dormant right now.  We continue to struggle to keep up with it’s leafy growth.

Pretty fantastic looking, really!  Makes a farmer proud.  All this leafy-ness is not all fabulous, however.  We plant beneficial alyssum to draw in predators like brachnid wasps, but we still have aphids especially on the radish tops.  Which if you have to pick a leaf for an aphid to go after, it could be worse.

On Saturday we completed the tomato teardown and expanded the chicken yard into it.  They really enjoyed the old hay that we use to mulch the tomatoes and quickly put their heads down into it hunting bugs and seeds.

In the Share: Week 24

csa, high tunnel, lettuce

LETTUCE F  This hot weather is kicking the lettuce out of the high tunnel, where it would “normally” be cozy during frosty fall days.  Instead, it is all going out in the next two weeks.

GREENS CHOICE F/P  Kale, gailan, chard or arugula

BROCCOLI, CAULIFLOWER OR SPINACH F

BULB FENNEL F/P  See Tom’s post for a bit more on this ferny bulb.

SWEET POTATOES F2/P1  Full shares get some of each type, partial shares have to choose.

LEEKS F/P  Potato-leek soup is the recipe on Tom’s post.  yum.

RADISHES OR BEETS P

GARLIC F

HERB CHOICE F  cilantro, dill or cutting celery.

NEXT WEEK:  Regular season folks, you are on your own.  Extended seasoners:  lettuce, greens, hakurei turnips, bok choy, sweet potatoes.

FARM REPORT:
We were just lightly nipped by the frost last week and most plants survived.  Then summer came roaring back and sent the crops into a heady growth.  The last couple of morning harvests have started with your farmers frowning at the exuberant green growth in the high tunnel.  What can hold for the extended season and what needs to be picked now is the trouble.  Perhaps this warm weather will have us eating peppers in November.

We began deconstructing the summer crops this past weekend.  There is a long way to go to clean up the fields and prepare them for the winter.  All are welcome any Wednesday or Saturday mornings to join in the work from now until Thanksgiving.

In the Share – Week 29

high tunnel, lettuce, radicchio

RADICCHIO  This is our second year trying these beauties.  They are yummy in a salad.

HEAD LETTUCE  butterheads and red leaf varieties

SALAD MIX  We had some empty space in the high tunnel, so we broadcasted our leftover lettuce seed.  It grew nicely and we have enough to share.

TURNIPS  Hakureis from the high tunnel.

SWEET POTATOES 

BOK CHOY  These got pretty large in the high tunnel.

GARLIC, DILL OR HOT PEPPERS 

SWEET PEPPERS  The cold weather has held off so here is one more round of green and ripe peppers.

SWISS CHARD OR GAI LAN/BROCCOLI  Broccoli leaves are the new “kale” according to some reports.  I think they mean Gai lan or “Chinese broccoli” which grows into a small shrub and has tender leaves.

NEXT WEEK:  lettuce, spinach, carrot, herbs, radishes and greens.

FARM REPORT:
We have been enjoying the farm’s post-season during the day and the Royals post-season at night.  What a team!  What a fun time for Kansas City and the surrounding community!  I hope that the good feelings of togetherness and team spirit continue on after today and permeate other part of our lives. 

The weather is the other local story.  It has been unseasonably warm and mild:  perfect weather for parade-watching or garlic planting.  We did the later this afternoon and hope to have it complete in time for the CSA members on Saturday to mulch all 6,000 cloves.

Most of the harvests are coming out of the high tunnel now.  Things look good overall with lots of greens and roots for the extended season.   We don’t grow salad mix very often but it filled in nicely in a space where we wanted lettuce quick.  You might notice a prickly lettuce imposter trying to hide in the salad mix.  He died shortly after this photograph was taken.

 

In the Share – Week 22

broccoli, high tunnel

O’HENRY SWEET POTATOES F/P  We love these sweet buttery beauties.

BROCCOLI F  A short harvest this time around.  We will get some to the partials next week. 

LETTUCE P  So, we had a little break-in with a deer last week, hence the paltry supply of lettuce.  We have the area they didn’t find well-covered now and hope to have more lettuce for you all before the end of the season. 

SMALL CABBAGE F  Read all about our stellar fall cabbage crop below.

BOK CHOY  F  I recommend stir-fry with the hakureis.

SWEET PEPPER F/P  Cooler temperatures means less ripening, so expect more green and purple ones from now on.

EGGPLANT or BEETS F/P The first of the fall beets (no tops, just roots) and nearing the end of the eggplant.

HAKUREI TURNIPS F/P  Salad turnips that we rarely cook and instead prefer straight out of the field.  Exception:  stir-fry with bok choy.

TOMATOES F/P The end of tomato season is coming soon, but here’s a few more.

HERB CHOICE F Sage, cilantro, dill or hot peppers

NEXT WEEK:  Sweet potatoes, carrots (finally!), tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, garlic, broccoli, lettuce, greens and herbs.

FARM REPORT:

The small cabbages that are in the full shares this week are the best of the fall crop.  Our favorite fall vegetable, the one we hope to depend on for income in our old age, failed.  At the time that we planted them we knew we were taking a risk.  We had waited as long as we could before preparing the soil for planting.  After the seemingly never-ending rain, we didn’t know if we would have another chance.  We ended up with cloddy soil, but we were able to get the plants in and thought the transplants would be able to handle it.  Two months later it is clear that no such handling took place.  A good half-acre of crop including cauliflower, broccoli, turnips and radishes- is a bust.  Luckily we planted in other areas after the soil conditions had improved so that we have enough of other crops to get us through the end of the CSA season. 

On a brighter note, we put the roof back on the high tunnel this week.  It was a team effort and a success.  See Tom’s post for a view from the top. 

In the Share – Week 21

cover crops, high tunnel, outstanding in the field

KOHLRABI P

SWEET POTATOES F/P

SWEET PEPPERS F/P

TOMATOES F/P

EGGPLANT F/P

HERB CHOICE F  Sage, cilantro or dill

GREENS CHOICE F  Swiss chard, kale, gai lan, or bok choy

LETTUCE and/or FRISEE F/P  The frisee makes a nice little salad.

GARLIC F/P  Partial shares get a choice of garlic or herbs.

ROMA GREEN BEANS F  The last week of these guys.

NEXT WEEK:  Peppers, eggplant, greens, turnips, beets, green tomatoes and sweet potatoes

FARM REPORT:
Autumn is here and we welcome its arrival.  After an especially eventful growing season, your farmers are looking forward to a winter rest.  But, we are not there yet!  Much lovely fall crops must be harvested, brought in for storage or protected outdoors.  The high tunnel is ready for its hat to go back on for the wintertime.  We planted it full of greens back in early September.  It is nice to keep the plastic off of its top and ends for as long as possible to avoid overheating the plants inside, but it needs to be buttoned up before the first frost.

Out in the fields have a nice blanket of various cover crops that Tom sowed in late July.  Sorghum Sudan grass, cowpeas, mung beans and oats cover the Spring fields.  These plants growing now are next year’s fertility.

 
Speaking of out in the fields, “Outstanding in the Field” is returning to our farm on October 14th.  Chef Ted Habiger from Room 39 in KCMO will be feeding us multiple courses of local delights from our farm and others in the region.  Event details and tickets are here.

In the Share – Week 19

harvest dinner, high tunnel, tomatoes

 TOMATOES F/P  We have picked the majority of the patch and many of the late summer hybrids are ripening nicely. 

LETTUCE F/P  Dainty, speckled heads.

ROMA BEANS F/P

FINGERLING POTATOES F/P  See Tom’s post for these gourmet treats.

SWEET PEPPERS F/P  Tom talks potatoes and peppers this week.

GARLIC F/P  Essential for the above combo and also a star ingredient in the tomato and lettuce salad we had for dinner. 

EGGPLANT, SALSA PACK OR OKRA F

HERB CHOICE F  Cilantro, dill or arugula

STIR FRY GREENS F  A mix of bok choy, tat soi and gai lan.

NEXT WEEK:  tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, okra, salsa packs, greens and kohlrabi.

FARM REPORT:
Tom and I had a fun time at the potluck at the farm on Sunday.  The hayride was a hit,  the food was delicious, the kids played and the adults got in some good conversation over microbrews.

We were touched by the CSA’s gift of a commemorative stone in memory of our dear dog, Rocky.  At the time, I was so intent on not crying that I didn’t pay attention to the card attached.  Inside there was $135 to be donated to the Veggie Voucher Fund in Rocky’s honor.  I can think of no better way to remember his good nature than to help our members in affording their CSA share.

A big thank you to all the folks who donated your resources and creative energy towards making the potluck a real community event.

 

With the party over, we were back to work on Monday with the planting of the high tunnel first on the list.  Lettuces, radishes, gai lan, chard, endive, arugula, bok choy, herbs and tat soi were added to the spinach and hakurei turnips that we planted earlier.  By the end of the day we were watering them all in with the drip irrigation.

In the Share – Week 31

high tunnel, rocky

SWEET POTATOES

BUTTERHEAD LETTUCE

RED LEAF LETTUCE

FRISEE ENDIVE

GARLIC

HAKUREI TURNIPS OR BEETS

RED CABBAGE OR SPINACH

CILANTRO, DILL OR RADISHES

ROOT MEDLEY Carrots, Gold Ball turnips, and Watermelon radishes.

NEXT WEEK:  You’re on your own ’til Springtime.  We recommend stocking up at the BadSeed Farmers Market this Friday (1909 McGee 4-9 pm) and throughout the winter, every Friday 4-8 pm. 

FARM REPORT
Another growing season is drawing to a close with this the last week of the extended CSA season.   Overall, it was a successful year with full shares through Spring, Summer and Fall.  Potatoes and onions did very well.  The lettuces, zucchini, cucumbers and broccoli also enjoyed the cooler temperatures and plentiful rain. 

Winter came early this year with a low of 10 deg. F this morning.  We breathed a sigh of relief  when we took the double layers off of the high tunnel beds today and all looked undamaged.  These cold snaps remind us that winter growing is a gamble.  So, while we can we are clearing out the high tunnel for the last week of the CSA and for the Bad Seed Farmers Market on Friday.  If you haven’t made it down before or if you are a die-hard regular, there is nothing like this market to get you in the mood for Thanksgiving.  Hope to see you all there! 

In the Share – Week 29

butterhead lettuce, Garlic, high tunnel, lettuce

BUTTERHEAD LETTUCE 

RED LEAF LETTUCE

SPINACH

YELLOW ONIONS

GREENS CHOICE  Kale, Swiss Chard, Gai lan, or Bok Choy

ROOT MEDLEY  Carrots, beets and Gold Ball turnips

HAKUREI TURNIPS 

RADISHES

CILANTRO OR DILL

NEXT WEEK:  lettuces, greens, garlic, sweet potatoes, cabbage and bulb fennel.

FARM REPORT:

November arrived with a cold snap that has all but ended the outdoor harvest season.  What is left in the fields are hardy crops under heavy cover or in the high tunnel.  High winds have made the row cover a challenge to keep on, but a calm day today allowed us to re-cover the lettuces, fennel and endives that remain in the fields.  The high tunnel provides a much better cover for cold temps. and wind and we should be able to eat well for the next few weeks from inside the bubble. 

This week the spinach, Hakurei turnips, radishes, herbs and many of the greens are coming out of the high tunnel. 

The change in the weather also signals the garlic planting season.  All 4800 cloves are in thanks to many hands.  The fine folks from Milsap Farm in Springfield, MO couldn’t have timed their visit better to get the job done.   If you are ever down in their neck of the woods, tell them we sent you and count yourself lucky if you get there on a Thursday for their weekly wood-fired oven pizza nights.

The next step for the garlic is to mulch the entire planting with a good layer of straw which will protect the cloves over the winter and keep the plants happy through til harvest in June.  This time of year we like to have enough help on CSA mornings to complete the harvest early and have time to get in some mulching.  Last week the strawberries and over-wintering leeks got the treatment.  This week it will hopefully be the garlic’s turn.  If you haven’t completed your shifts for the season, come on out and join in the straw throwing.

In the Share – Week 22

cauliflower, high tunnel, rain

CAULIFLOWER OR BROCCOLI F/P

SWEET PEPPERS F/P  A big bag for everyone.  See Tom’s post for easy ways to use them/preserve them.

HOT PEPPERS F/P  A selection of jalapenos, Anaheims and hot wax.

EGGPLANT F  We picked baby eggplant in case we had frost.

CARROTS F/P  More snack-size ones.

ONIONS F  storage yellows and reds.

LEEKS F/P  The white part of the leeks are very nice this year – so long they barely fit in the crates!

GREENS CHOICE F  Swiss chard, kale or bok choy

GOLD BALL TURNIPS W/TOPS F  These are great stewing or roasting turnips.  Like most roots they store best without their tops, so separate them before you refrigerate them. 

TURNIPS AND RADISHES P

TOMATO F

NEXT WEEK:  More cauliflower, broccoli, turnips, lettuce and greens.  Potatoes, garlic and beets.  New:  the first of the bulb fennel.

FARM REPORT:
An extraordinary week has passed that included a five inch rainstorm, the threat of frost and Tom away at his niece’s wedding.  All went well as the farm crew kicked into high gear to make it happen.  See Tom’s photo of the bride escorted by her Tom’s sister, Fran and husband Woody.  Congratulations to Barbara and Mike! 

Last week I mentioned how lucky we are to work in the beautiful outdoors with rainbows overhead and such.  Three days later we get this lovely sight…

After two days of rain, the forecast for Friday night fell to 36 deg. F.  Not knowing for sure if a frost was coming or not, we decided to bulk harvest the peppers, eggplants and tomatoes and pull out the row cover for the lettuces, fennel, chard and herbs.  Saturday morning came with only frost on the roof, but not in the fields.  All of our work is not in vain as we are now well-prepared for the next time frost threatens. 

Temporary covers protected the crops in the high tunnel during the frost scare, but  by Monday we were ready to put the real cover on.  It is always exciting to play with a 40′ x 100′ piece of plastic.  This time went much better than last year.  The biggest change is that we are using a single layer instead of a double layer.  This makes it a lot lighter and easier to attach.  Also, less plastic! 

In the Share – Week 16

deer fence, greenhouse, high tunnel


SWEET PEPPERS F/P  Ripe and juicy, with lots of red bull’s horn type that are super sweet.

GREEN BEANS F/P  More Roma (flat pods) and Jade (standard pods) plus the start of the Rattlesnake pole beans.

TOMATOES F/P  The heirloom varieties are out-pacing their hybrid cousins right now.

CARROTS F/P  More crisp, orange ones from cold storage

RED ONIONS F/P

SALSA PACK F

POTATOES F  A choice of yellow or pink ones

CHERRY TOMATOES P

NEXT WEEK:  More tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, salsa packs, green beans and eggplant.

FARM REPORT: 
This week finds us nearing the end of the planting season.  Most of the fall crops are in the ground and growing well.  It will start feeling like fall when we begin harvesting kale in a couple more weeks.  On Thursday we started plants for the high tunnel:  lettuce, bok choy, Swiss chard, kale, beets and gai lan. 



During these hot, humid days it is nice to dream of  the cool, crisp days of fall spent harvesting greens and, of course, sweet potatoes.  The local wildlife, deer to be exact, had recently begun the sweet potato harvest without us.  Deer love sweet potato leaves and had groomed the rows of some of the tops before we noticed.  No major harm was done we think and the deer fence is now back up and operational.