Category Archives: sustainable agriculture

Onions and Geese

csa, fair share farm, onions, snow geese, sustainable agriculture
As is often the case in February, the greenhouse is the warmest place on the farm right now. Sunny days bring 90 degree comfort to our little hothouse. The onions we started on February 4th are up and growing well. Next in line are some herbs, and then the broccoli, cabbage and other brassicas.
Outside the skies have that late winter feel, as the geese cross back north over the farm. The snow geese have been abundant this year, and lower flying than normal. You almost feel that you can reach up and touch them sometimes. It is nice to be in a flyover state.
While you can hear them, you may want to full screen the video to get a better look by going directly to the YouTube Fair Share Farm Channel.

The Fair Share Farm CSA Video

compost, cover crops, csa, fair share farm, sustainable agriculture

For some reason this year the signups for the CSA have been coming in at a slower rate than other years. Perhaps for the better, this circumstance has caused us to review our “marketing” plan and spruce up our image.

So we decided that we should make a video showcasing the wonderful, fun and tasty aspects of our CSA. The first hint to go in this direction was based on comments received at our Jan 22 Core Group meeting (thanks guys). Right on the heels of the meeting we were shown more of the way by the GVOCSA…the CSA in Rochester where we first met. To see their video, click here.

The final inspiration came from some musical and cinematic professionals. Our good friend Jamie Ratcliff (Ernest James) was our first choice for an upbeat fun song.

Lastly, we went to see “The Artist.” This modern silent movie convinced us to chuck our script and use text and images to tell our story. We hope you like it and have fun watching.

Remeber, if you want to join the CSA, go to our website, www.fairsharefarm.com and click on the JOIN button.

Hello 2012

csa, fair share farm, rocky, row cover, seed order, sustainable agriculture

Welcome to 2012. We are gearing up here on the farm for what we hope is a good year…our 10th farming and our 9th CSA season. Hard to believe that it has been that long. Those 10 years have seen a lot of cover crops, compost, hay, straw, wood ash, lime and organic fertilizer added to our soil, and we are looking forward to reaping the benefits of those years of soil feeding. Over the last several years we have begun to see noticeable improvements to the soil, both in its texture and fertility.

In that time period we have also changed the layout of our fields several times. Areas that are susceptible to wet conditions are no longer farmed for annual crops, but have been replaced by perennial plants or laid fallow. We have also been breaking new ground in the areas where we have run the Parker’s sheep.

For some of the poorer soils on the farm we have implemented a system of continual mulching. We cover the beds with a deep layer of hay, and add more several times throughout the season. This mulch acts as a nice “canopy” over the soil surface, keeping it from getting compacted by rain, or dried out by the sun. It also serves to keep down weeds and retain moisture during droughty conditions.

Our electric tractor has proven a boon too, as the disking attachment allows us to easily make “raised beds.”  Put on the cultivator, and it allows us to break up the top couple inches of the soil, minimizing the need to till the beds. These techniques significantly improve drainage, while minimizing disturbance of the worms and other life in the soil.

January Work
This unseasonably warm weather has been a pleasure to work in over the last week. We are lucky to have our intern from 2011, Luke Knutter staying on as a hired hand for a couple days per week. We plan on getting caught up on a few things this winter, ahead of the Spring planting push.

Activities at the farm this week include the 2012 seed and equipment orders, inventorying,  budgeting and planning, cleaning and organizing the barn, maintaining the deer fence, and tractor maintenance. Next week will include more deer fence and equipment maintenance work, as well as planning and site work for our proposed high tunnel. More on that in our next post.
Fields at rest

Rebecca working on the seed order

Rocky at rest

Luke sorting row cover

In the Share – Week 24

csa, fair share farm, kohlrabi, sustainable agriculture, tomato plants
Looking like it came from the stars, the kohlrabi

Don’t forget!: FAIR SHARE FARM HARVEST DINNER – THIS Saturday, Oct. 29, 4-6 pm at St. James Lutheran Church, 1104 Vivion Road, Kansas City MO

LETTUCE (F/P) 2 for the full shares, 1 for the partials

BULB FENNEL (F/P) We love us some bulb fennel and this crop has turned out well. See Tom’s post for ideas for use if you are new to it.

TOMATOES (F/P) Amazing to all of us, we still have tomatoes ripening in our packing room from the big pre-freeze harvest. Most of the ones you are receiving this week are not quite ripe, so let them ripen on your countertop or in a closed paper bag if you want to speed up the process.

SWEET PEPPERS (F) Also from the big pre-freeze harvest. I am not a huge fan of green peppers, but boy these sweet things have me thinking different.

CABBAGE (F/P) An assortment of types to choose from.

BROCCOLI OR CAULIFLOWER (F)  They are smaller this week. I think all the hot, dry weather has finally caught up with them. Continue to check for any caterpillars we may have missed.

ROOT MIX (P) 2 beets. 2 watermelon radishes and 1 turnip. See last week’s post for more info. on the watermelon radish.

GREENS CHOICE (F) Tat soi, bok choy or Swiss Chard

KOHLRABI (F/P) Fall is when these beauties really shine. Once you peel it thoroughly, you get to the tender, juicy crunch.

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

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares

NEXT WEEK: You are on your own folks. I’ll bet you will still have some FSF veggies in the fridge and on the counter. If you are ready for more, check out the friendly folks down at the BadSeed Market on Friday nights. We plan to offer, as we have the past few years, a pre-Thanksgiving share to be picked up at the BadSeed Market on Nov. 18. More information will be coming in November.

FARM REPORT

The last week of the CSA season has arrived. It is always bittersweet to say goodbye to the growing season. In the last week, the first freeze marked the end to the tomatoes and other warm-weather plants. On Saturday, the CSA helped remove the tomato plants from the field, a good practice to prevent disease.

Other late fall tasks include planting garlic, mulching perennials and overwintering leeks and collecting the irrigation equipment. All of this we are trying to do this week as the farm team will be changing. Dani Hurst will be leaving us to join her fiancé working on his medical residency out of state. We have really enjoyed Dani’s enthusiasm and thoughtful attention to the work since she joined us in August. Lucas Knutter has been working at the farm since last fall and will be continuing with us through the winter on a part-time basis. Lucas has been invaluable to the farm team for the past year and we hope he will find time for us now and again while he builds a farm of his own on family land nearby.

Our farm crew of four relies on a membership of 120 families. Every one of you pitched in this season and helped make the harvest a success. We succeed as a sustainable business and farm thanks to all of you who have lent your hands to our endeavor. We appreciate all the time, energy and creativity that you gave freely to the farm and the CSA this season. Because of you our farm is a productive, thriving example of what happens when a piece of land is supported by a community of people. Tom and I cannot put into words the depth of our gratitude. Thank you!

I think all of our hard work deserves a celebration!

So join us for the  Eighth Annual Fair Share Farm CSA Harvest Dinner, October 29, 4-6 pm at St. James Lutheran Church, 1104 Vivion Road, Kansas City MO.

Look for your evite in your inbox to see what type of dish to bring to the best potluck you’ve ever attended.

Kids Costume Contest!! Adults costumes welcome!

Raffle for lovely items donated by the best green businesses in town, including: The Farmhouse, Green Circle, Sturgis Materials and the Grass Pad.   Raffle proceeds to benefit the Veggie Voucher Fund. 

Come party down with your favorite farmers and your fellow locavores! See you there.