Fair Share Farm News

The Fair Share Farm CSA Video

2012-01-29T19:15:00.000-08:00

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.

Kite Flying

2012-01-26T15:46:00.000-08:00

Our good friend Bill McKelvey recently visited the farm and told us of a how-to paper he had describing how to take your own aerial photos with a kite and a digital camera. We thought the idea sounded fantastic, and saw it as a great event for a farm day of the future.

Before planning for such fun though, we thought that we should first start taking the steps needed to become expert kite-people. We figured that with all of the scrap materials we have on the farm we could easily construct a kite for no cost.

So...with a little web surfing, some old lath, a peat moss bag, tomato twine, a stapler, and some old rags, we attempted our first kite today. After several unsuccessful combinations of materials (row cover appears to be too thin) we hit it right with the peat moss bag for the kite and old tea towels and t-shirt material for the tail.

The wind was a little weak, but despite that we got the kite up and flying--a successful trial run. Now we will start working on the contraption needed to house the digital camera, and play around with some kite designs and sizes.

If you have kite flying experience we would love to hear from you. We look forward to having some fun with the late-Winter and Spring winds that always cross the farm.

Tom with his kite.

Rebecca launching the kite.

Hello 2012

2012-01-12T14:11:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 2012. We are gearing up here on the farm for whatwe hope is a good year…our 10^th farming and our 9^th CSAseason. 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 arelooking forward to reaping the benefits of those years of soil feeding. Overthe last several years we have begun to see noticeable improvements to thesoil, both in its texture and fertility.

In that time period we have also changed the layout of ourfields several times. Areas that are susceptible to wet conditions are nolonger farmed for annual crops, but have been replaced by perennial plants orlaid fallow. We have also been breaking new ground in the areas where we haverun the Parker’s sheep.

For some of the poorer soils on the farm we have implementeda system of continual mulching. We cover the beds with a deep layer of hay, andadd 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 outby the sun. It also serves to keep down weeds and retain moisture duringdroughty conditions.

Our electric tractor has proven a boon too, as the disking attachmentallows us to easily make “raised beds.” Puton the cultivator, and it allows us to break up the top couple inches of thesoil, minimizing the need to till the beds. These techniques significantlyimprove drainage, while minimizing disturbance of the worms and other life inthe soil.

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

Activities at the farm this week include the 2012 seed andequipment orders, inventorying, budgeting and planning, cleaning andorganizing the barn, maintaining the deer fence, and tractor maintenance. Nextweek will include more deer fence and equipment maintenance work, as well as planningand 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

Thanksgiving Share 2011

2011-11-17T06:16:00.001-08:00

The late Fall is here. As I sit writing this on Thursday morningit is 21⁰F outside and there is a heavy layer of frost in the fields. Through thewonders of modern weather forecasting we were able to anticipate this deepfreeze, and have harvested all but the sturdiest of the crops for yourThanksgiving share. We are always happy when we can provide food to the CSA solate in the season---14 items this year.

With such a large selection of produce, the recipe optionsare endless. To start with, we suggest perusing the 2009 and 2010 Thanksgivingshare recipe suggestions.
We also offer the following suggestions:

Leeks and fennel: Treat leeks like onions and fennel likecelery for all of you cooking needs. Use these substitutions in your standard bread stuffing recipe to create a flavorful dish.

Watermelon radish, Hakurei turnip, fennel and broccoli:Start your feast off with this fresh and healthy crudité platter. Cut theradish and turnips into rounds or half rounds. Pull the fennel stalks off thebulb like celery. Cut the broccoli into florets. Make a dip of yogurt, sourcream, olive oil, vinegar and herbs.

Lettuce, spinach, fennel, cabbage and grated beets: Make a nicesalad of these oh so fresh vegetables for the dinner table. Or better yet, waituntil after Thanksgiving and top the salad with leftover turkey and gratedcheese for a hearty chef’s salad.

Beets: Add some color to the normally brown, white andorange of a Thanksgiving plate. Cook your beets whole in boiling water forabout 20 to 35 minutes (until just starting to get tender), cool in cold water and peel. Cut into slicesand dress cold with oil and vinegar, or warm in a pan and top with butter, saltand dill.

Sweet potatoes: Good as a savory dish by themselves (mashedor roasted) or in a pie, the options are in your family traditions or on theweb.

Cabbage: A fresh cole slaw is always good, especially if youare having smoked turkey or other bbq style meats.

Tomatoes: The tomatoes have been off the vine for over amonth, so we don’t expect them to be especially tasty in asalad, but will go well cooked in a stew or curry.

Bok Choy: We have hadthese Asian greens under wraps in the field for the last month. It was apleasant surprise to uncover them and find such large, green plants. They willmake for a good stir-fry either side of the Thanksgiving meal, when you need toload up on some green vegetables.

We wish everyone a happy and healthy Thanksgiving and hope the you are able to share it with your friends and family.

Tom and Rebecca

End of the Season Dinner Thanks

2011-11-14T05:22:00.001-08:00

Want to give a heart-felt shout out to all the folks whomade our 2011 End of the Season Dinner such a fun success. Ann and Mark Flynnagain threw a wonderful get-together, and we can never than Mark enough forprocuring so many wonderful raffle items. We raised almost $250 for the veggievoucher fund to help our members who need a little assistance in buying ashare.

We want to specifically thank all of the folks who donatedto the event. We truly appreciate your support of the Fair Share Farm CSA andthe community we are building. As winners of two of the raffles, Rebecca and I arelooking forward to our night of dining at Jem Restaurant in Liberty and at theFarmhouse in River Market.

We also want to thank members who contributed items: Fredand Carol Barth, Stacey Cook, the Flynn’s and Coral Wert.

Thanks again to:

Grass Pad

BlueBirdcafe

White Mule Organics

Pryde's of Old Westport

Olive or Twist

JemRestaurant

Mother Natures Health Market

In the Share - Week 24

2011-10-25T19:52:00.000-07:00

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.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 24

2011-10-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

The end of the regular CSA season is here. We thank you allfor the support that you have given us, from helping us in the fields and barn,to working with us to distribute your food. The CSA model is the key to thesuccess that we have seen to date. The reasons are many; helping with cashflow, regularly meeting the people we grow food for, an efficient deliverysystem, moral support, etc. Thanks again.

The Final Share, 2011
This week’s share has many items that you can keep if there is more thanyou can handle. The cabbage, kohlrabi, beets, and other roots will keep in thecrisper drawer for over a month. The lettuce, herbs and other greens will needmore immediate attention.

The fennel will keep too, but we suggest that you use itright now, while it is as perfect as we can hope for. Think of it as celerywith more flavor. Fennel slices is a realy nice addition to a lettuce salad.You can add it to a stew, soup, or any other recipe that calls for celery.

Fish and Fennel
We bought some fish the other day so that we could cook it in the manner ofa recipe we saw Lidia Bastianich prepare on her show Lidia’s Italy. I believeshe used veal for her recipe, and you could also use de-boned chicken, or pork.

Ingredients:
2 large fish filets
2 medium leeks, cleaned
1 medium or ½ large fennel bulb, cleaned and cut into 1 inch slices
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 tablespoon olive oil
about 10 thinly sliced lemon rounds, cut in half
1 tablespoon butter
1-1/2 cups dry white wine, stock or fruit juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut dark green top part away from leek. Cut the leekslengthwise, wash all sand and grit from between the layers. Then cut crosswiseinto narrow slices.

Cut most of the top off of the fennel, then cut in half fromtop to bottom. Cut out the root core. Cut into slices.

Dust the fish in flour and fry on high heat with the oliveoil. When both sides have browned set aside on a warm plate. Add the butter and1 tbsp of olive oil and sauté the leeks, fennel, and garlic. Cook on high heatfor 2 minutes, and then turn to medium low for 5 to 10 minutes, or until vegetablesare tender.

Add stock/wine/juice, bring to a boil. Add fish and simmerfor 5 minutes. Serve hot.

In the Share - Week 23

2011-10-18T18:59:00.000-07:00

LETTUCE (F/P) 2 heads for the full shares, 1 for the partial shares.

SWEET POTATOES (F/P) More of the bumper crop of sweets. This week more white O’Henrys

SWEET PEPPERS (F/P) We picked them all and will hand out ripe and green in the next 2 weeks.

TOMATOES (F/P) More of the late flush of ‘maters.

EGGPLANT, POTATOES OR BROCCOLI (F)

CAULIFLOWER (P) We’re hoping for enough for the partials this week and the full shares in Liberty that missed out last week.

MIXED ROOTS (F) A couple of beets, a couple of radishes and a turnip. This makes the best roasted root vegetable dish. The watermelon radishes lose their bite if you slice them and peel off their outer shell.
GARLIC (F/P)

HERBS (F) Cilantro, dill or parsley

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares

NEXT WEEK: Our last week of the CSA season. More lettuce, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. Green peppers and bulb fennel.

FARM REPORT

The farm is a buzz of activity preparing for the first freeze of the fall forecasted for tomorrow morning. We spent the last several days covering crops out in the field and harvesting everything else. Monday we focused on the tender summer fruits: peppers, eggplant and tomatoes. Today we pulled beets, turnips and radishes. Overall we brought in over a thousand pounds of produce in two days.

Before we became over-run with green tomatoes and dirty beets, Tom and I got a good visit in with some of our family. On Saturday my niece Nina, my sister Sally and my mom Sharon came for a visit to the farm followed by a performance of the Tom Sawyer Ballet at the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The ballet was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed the beautiful new building. Before we left for the big event Farmer Tom took our photo in front of the newly renovated Fair Share Farm Barn for the Storing of Crops.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 23

2011-10-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

Two weeks to go, and we are busy harvesting the sensitivecrops and covering up the Fall crops that would prefer not to be frosted. Sowhile the season is winding down, we have been very busy. It is nice though, tobe surrounded by a wonderful end of the season harvest as we go about ourduties.

White Sweet Potato Soup
This cool, downright cold weather has prompted the urge for soup. As isusually the case, the recipe we decide to try comes from one of Rebecca’s casualcomments like “mmm, let’s make some sweet potato soup tonight.” So, pressedinto duty I sorted through the options, and realized that it should be as easyas making the standard potato leek soup, but with white sweet potatoes.

This take on the classic soup has an earthy warmth andsweetness that should be in every CSA cook’s repertoire. Finish it with somesour cream or crème fraiche, topped with fresh parsley and it becomes anelegant treat.

Ingredients:
2 medium leeks, cleaned
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1-1/2 cups dry white wine (optional)
2 medium white sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice
1-1/2 quarts vegetable or chicken stock (or more if a thinner soup is desired)
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut dark green top part away from leek. Cut the leekslengthwise, wash all sand and grit from between the layers. Then cut crosswiseinto narrow slices.
Put olive oil and butter into soup pot, heat until buttermelts. Add leeks and sauté 5 minutes over medium high heat.

Add garlic, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper and sauté 2 minutesmore.

Add wine and cook until the wine is reduced by half.

Add sweet potatoes, cook 5 minutes.

Add stock and heat to boil.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes or untilpotatoes are soft..

Serve as is, or puree part or all in a food processor for acreamy soup.

In the Share - Week 22

2011-10-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

LEEKS (F/P) Heighten any recipe by replacing the onions with some slow simmered leeks.

LETTUCE (F/P) More of the red, ruffled head or a green romaine.

BOK CHOY (F) Back in late August when the heat and drought was threatening to kill both crops and farmers alike we rushed to plant as much for the fall as humanly possible. Now we’ve got a bumper crop of brassicas. Hope you are enjoying the fruits of our sweaty labor!

TURNIPS (P) These are the full-size, fall turnips that the full shares got two weeks ago. Check out Tom’s recipe in Week 20 for the best sweet potato, turnip mash ever.

BROCCOLI (F/P) Oh baby, the broccoli crop is in and boy is it beautiful! Everyone gets at least a pound and a half. Again, check for any caterpillars we may have missed.

CAULIFLOWER (F) Last week the members that pick up at the farm got the first cauliflower of the season. This week the full shares in Liberty and KC get their turn. Partial shares will have it next week.

TOMATOES (F/P) Surprise, surprise we have enough tomatoes for everyone.

SWEET PEPPERS (F/P) We keep thinking we need to start picking green ones, but every harvest we come away with enough ripe ones to keep us busy.

EGGPLANT, OKRA OR ANAHEIM PEPPERS (F) See Tom’s post this week for an easy and tasty way to use the versatile Anaheim.

HERB CHOICE (F) Parsley, Arugula, Thyme or Cilantro

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares

NEXT WEEK: More broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, sweet peppers and eggplant. Sweet potatoes, garlic and cabbages.

FARM REPORT
The saying goes, “make hay while the sun shines,” and while we are not in the haying business, we know enough to take advantage of this unseasonably warm weather. One task that we weren’t sure we would complete before winter hit was painting the new siding on the barn. Since replacing the siding back in July, we have taken time when we can to finish up some of the details around the door and building the landing. And finally this week we were able to start painting.

That’s me on the left. In the middle is Dani Hurst who has been apprenticing with us since August. On the right is Marlene Reuter who has volunteered with us on a regular basis for the past 2 years. Not pictured is Tom who got to do the high up parts. We got pretty far until the paint ran out. Hopefully we’ll finish the job this Thursday.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 22

2011-10-11T18:23:00.000-07:00

This Fall has been like no other. While we had some coolnights a week ago, the recent warm temperature and sunshine has caused a growthand ripening spurt in the fields later than ever. It’s been awhile since everyone got a poundof ripe tomatoes, and here it is almost the middle of October. The peppers havelikewise filled with color.

In the brassica patch we have found some whoppers. And sincewe can’t cut a broccoli head in two, some of you are going to be getting somepretty nice broccoli and/or cauliflower this week. This is brought to you bythe summer work crew of Luke, Kim, the irrigation system, and your farmers.Those tiny plants that we put in the ground during a 100 degree spell, andtended to through thick and thin, have grown like no other. With all of thefertilizing coming from cover crops, compost, and soil we have been feeding for8 years, we are struck by just how well biological farming works.

Broccoli head, Tom head, cauliflower head

Lentils
We recently purchased some lentils in bulk and have been eating themregularly. The recipe below is one I started using about the time I startedmaking my own tomato sauce in earnest. It is great to use as the liquid for thelentils instead of water. This dish is good hot or cold. We usually make adouble recipe.

Ingredients:
1 cup of lentils
2 cups of tomato sauce (enough to cover the lentils by ½ to 1 inch
I large or 2 medium peppers, chopped fine, or
2 to 3 medium Numex hot peppers
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped fine
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp chopped parsley

Method:

1. Sauté the onions and peppers in the olive oil until tender ( about 2 minutes)in a 2 quart saucepan
2. Add the garlic, lentils, salt and tomato sauce to the pot, stir, cover andbring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until lentils are tender, about 15 minutes.
4. Add the parsley, stir and serve.

In the Share - Week 21

2011-10-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

BROCCOLI (F/P) We returned from our float down Jack’s Fork River just in time to harvest over 100 lbs. of broccoli today. They are big and beautiful despite the grasshoppers chewing on the tops of some. Also, we tried real hard to keep the caterpillars at bay, but you may need to soak the broccoli to get rid of any we left behind.

SWEET POTATOES (F) The regular orange sweets this time around.

GARLIC (F/P) We’ll be planting next year’s crop in about a month’s time. We save the biggest heads and plant their cloves six inches apart.

CHOICE OF GREENS (F/P) An assortment: Asian greens, Collards, arugula, Swiss Chard, Rapini

LETTUCE (F/P) They are sizing up slowly so we are trying to restrain ourselves from picking too many too soon. This week everyone gets one head.

PEPPERS AND/OR EGGPLANT (F) These warm days are keeping them producing.

BEETS OR HAKUREI TURNIPS OR KOHLRABI (F)

TOMATOES (F) Not sure how many we have but they are attempting a small resurgence.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares, last distribution of Of the Earth fruit shares

NEXT WEEK: More broccoli, lettuce, peppers, eggplant and greens. Leeks, cabbage and cauliflower.

FARM REPORT
Tom and I managed a quick vacation this week, our first since sometime in February. We joined my sister Sally and her family on a float down one of Missouri’s lovely spring-fed rivers. See Tom’s post for more and photos of the lush Alley Spring. We returned today to our dry prairie farm and with much else to do this post is brief. Here’s the current view of our irrigation pond. It has dropped significantly, perhaps 4 feet since this Spring.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 21

2011-10-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

Rebecca and I just enjoyed a few days off the farm, floatingthe Jack’s Fork River with her sister and family. It reminded me of theAdirondack Mountains in New York; clear, cold streams and beautiful Fallcolors. Our natural close encounters included many kingfishers, an otter,trout, and a bald eagle.

Back at camp we had a great time relaxing, eating, talkingand playing music. Dinner included Parker Farms fully cooked brauts, campfireroasted Fair Share Farm sweet potatoes, onions, carrots and garlic, and half acabbage cole slaw.

Alley Spring reflection

Alley Spring shore

Rebecca pointing to a bald eagle

We got back Tuesday afternoon hoping to harvest enoughbroccoli so that all of you could get some. We were greeted with a picking ofover 100 pounds. After washing and packing it for the shares, we enjoyed it ina frittata.

New York Times food writer Mark Bittman suggests thatfrittatas include more vegetable than egg. So get a big pan, some eggs and alot of broccoli and cook one up. They are good both fresh and hot, and cold.

In the Share - Week 20

2011-09-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

TENDERSWEET CABBAGE (F/P) The name says it all. The first out of the fall cabbage patch, which is looking good.

LEEKS (F/P) They are smaller than we’d like but they are a more northern crop that just survived a blaster of a summer. We’ll have them at least one more time before the end of the season.

BEETS (F/P) Full shares get both beets and turnips. Partial shares get a choice of Hakurei turnips or beets.

GOLD BALL TURNIPS (F) These are the real deal. The turnips have sweetened and bulked up during these cool fall days.

CHOICE OF GREENS (F/P) A wide assortment of choices here: arugula, Swiss Chard, Rapini, Collards.

EGGPLANT (F) The eggplant is putting on its fall flush before the frost comes so enjoy them while you can.
SWEET PEPPERS (P) ditto on these guys. Won’t be too many more ripe ones. Then we’ll start on the green ones.

POTATOES OR ONIONS (F/P) Full shares get a choice with peppers.

BOK CHOY/TAT SOI (F) We direct seeded these and are bunching them at baby size for the best stir fry.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares, Of the Earth fruit shares

NEXT WEEK: More turnips, greens, eggplant and peppers. The fall broccoli and cauliflower begin. Sweet potatoes and garlic.

When the weather is as pleasant as this everyone wishes that they could be a farmer, working outside with the leaves changing and the crisp sunrises. The farm crew surely appreciates such a lovely office after such hot summer. There were times this summer when we dreamt of September days like these. All of this pastoral beauty is tempered, however, by a serious shortage in precipitation. We have been irrigating non-stop since mid-July. July and August can get pretty dry in our neck of the prairie, but usually by now we have received a nice autumnal soaker. Last September we got 6 inches of rain in one week. This September we are officially at 1.1 inches for the month. Cracks in the ground persist even pretty close to our irrigated crops. We are supremely indebted to the irrigation pond and solar powered pump. It was an investment, but it is paying us back this year.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 20

2011-09-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

One thing we like on the farm is a good harvest, especiallyin the Fall. The crops coming from the field now are as green and healthy as wehave ever had. We attribute much of this to the farm’s soil fertility plan. Themajority of our Fall crops are preceded by a cover crop of chickling vetch andoats. We plant it in April and turn it in at the start of Summer.

This organic matterbreaks down just like a compost pile. We plant into it when the soil life is ata healthy peak. The past several seasons we have seen the cover crops createstrong, green plants. We feel our results show how productive organictechniques can be once you have brought your soil to life.

For the nine years we have been here we could have beenspreading synthetic 10-10-10 fertilizer to grow vegetables instead. If we hadgone that route and fed the plants chemicals, we would have provided noimprovement to the farm’s ecosystem. The plan for such a farm is to buychemicals for all of your days. You gain nothing long-term.

We are glad we don’t go that route. We feel good that withour growing methods we can see such a response from the land, and know that ithas improved in health. We often bemoan the fact that if organic farming practiceshad received the support that conventional ag got back in the 1970’s “go big orget out” days, the US would be so much farther along in organic acres plantedand techniques learned. If the farm had 40 years of growing under its belt, itwould be that much more fertile and energy efficient.

Cabbage
In the present we have some excellent cabbages. The flat-top heads in your shareare Tendersweet cabbage. Its leaves are thinner than many cabbages, making itsomewhat delicate. It is a raw treat and is perfect for salads of any kind.

Gold Ball Turnips
We hear on-line that turnips are the new beet. We hope you agree, as we arelooking to pull some fine ones this week. Our inability to grow rutabaga (itwas big last year) has been limited, so we have replaced them with Gold Ballturnips. I encourage you to try them in the recipe below.

White Sweet Potato,Gold Turnip and Garlic Mash
I hope this combination sounds good to you. These vegetables create a verycreamy mash, and a quite unique, rich flavor.

Ingredients1 large or 2 medium O'Henry white sweet potatoes
1 large or 2 medium Gold Ball turninps
6 cloves of garlic; whole, skins removed
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup of milk

Method1. Wash vegetables, and peel if desired. Cut into chunks. Put in pot with just enough water to cover. Add garlic and salt.
2. Bring to boil, turn to simmer and cook until tender. Drain and return to pot.
3. Mash vegetables (or puree with a blender), add butter and milk. Blend.

In the Share - Week 19

2011-09-20T17:33:00.000-07:00

O’HENRY SWEET POTATOES (F/P) White sweet potatoes are super creamy and oh so sweet!

GARLIC (F/P) Soon it will be time to plant next year’s crop but we still have many heads for eating.

HAKUREI TURNIPS (F/P) Welcome back the Hakureis! Eat em like an apple, in case you forgot.

LETTUCE (F/P) We are so close to having enough lettuce for everyone. There may be a few folks on Saturday that we’ll have to send something else. It was darn difficult to get these babies to sprout in the summer heat, but they are looking good now.

BOK CHOI/TAT SOI BUNCHES (F/P) Stir-fry season is back. Check Tom’s post for a reminder.

KALE, RAPINI OR COLLARDS (F) Aphids are invading our brassicas. We will try not to send them in with the shares, but wash well and check the backs of the leaves just in case.PLUM

PURPLE RADISHES (F) I am loving our fall radishes. They are so juicy. Add em to your stir-fry for a crisp crunch.

SWEET PEPPERS, HOT PEPPERS OR OKRA (F) The summer crops are winding down, but we’ll have a bit more until frost.

HERBS OR ARUGULA (F/P) Sage, thyme, basil or arugula.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares, Of the Earth fruit shares

NEXT WEEK: More turnips, greens, peppers and herbs. Leeks, beets and cabbage.The Autumnal

Equinox this week marks the end of summer and the beginning of fall. Days and nights are even in length and the plants respond by slowing their growth and sweetening with the cooler temperatures. With only five more CSA distributions after this week (last pickup: Oct. 26 & 29) it is time to celebrate the completion of another successful season. Tom and I look forward to this time of year all season long when we can finally relax and just have a good time with our community of eaters.

We hope you all can attend the 9th annual Fair Share Farm CSA Harvest Dinner on October 29th from 4-6 pm. As always, the event will take place at St. James Lutheran Church, 1104 Vivion Road (same spot as the Spring Signup) and everyone is asked to bring a dish for the best local, organic potluck west of the Mississippi.

The Fair Share Farm CSA Core Group is planning a fun event including a raffle to benefit our Veggie Voucher fund. Raffle tickets cost $1 (cash only) and you can buy as many as you want to increase your chances of winning. Thank you to Blue Bird Bistro and the MisFit Ranch Bed and Breakfast for being the first two to donate gift certificates for the raffle.

With it being Halloween weekend, costumes are encouraged. Prizes will be awarded for the best children’s costumes. If you would like to help with set-up, clean up or have something you would like to donate to the raffle contact Ann & Mark Flynn, FSF CSA Social Coordinators. Ann and Mark will be sending out an evite to all of our members soon, so watch for that in your inbox.

What to Do WIth Your Share---Week 19

2011-09-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

The last days of summer are here, with the Autumn Equinox occurring at 10:04 am on Friday. The days keep getting shorter, and the nights are growing cooler. Farming for a living makes you realize that the sun is the true clock of our lives, not the digital device on your wrist or in your phone. We enjoy this time of year, as the sunrise creeps south every morning, reminding us to stock up and prepare for the Fall and Winter, and enjoy the beauty of Autumn.

Asian Greens
Speaking of seasons, it is once again stir-fry season. Our wok is getting a workout with the Asian greens, turnips, radishes and hot peppers that grace the shares. Now is a good time to make the most of these nourishing green vegetables. Our Stir Fry Primer is all the farther you have to go to master the art of the wok.

Hakurei Turnips
The Hakurei turnip is one of those vegetables that make us happy to be CSA farmers. We are pretty sure that not too many folks knew what they were before they joined the farm. It feels good to be able to offer a new vegetable to people and have them enjoy it like you all do. The Spring planting was a great success, and this Fall’s will certainly rival it. Don’t forget that both tops and bottoms are edible. So be sure to use the greens too, either in a salad or a stir-fry.

O’Henry Sweet Potatoes
We hope that you enjoyed the orange Beauregard sweet potatoes in the Week 17 shares. This week, as promised we are handing out a white sweet potato called O’Henry. We trialed about 30 feet of these last year and were very happy with their productivity and taste. White, sweet, potato says is all about these delectable tubers.

Digging sweet potoatoes with the CSA

We think a good way to try these out is to mash them. It really brings out their sweetness and creaminess. Simply cut off any tough spots, cut into large chunks, and then boil or steam until tender. While still hot mash them before adding some salt, butter and milk/cream. Yummy.

In the Share - Week 18

2011-09-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

mulching the fall brassica

POTATOES (F/P) Last of the “Irish” or “South American” potatoes for the year. Enjoy!

ONIONS (F) Probably the last of the onions too.

RADISHES (F/P) Oh my, we have a lot of radishes on our hands. Too hot for you, you say? Slice them up, dress with vinegar and honey, let sit and then eat without fear.

EGGPLANT OR OKRA (F) The eggplant has rebounded nicely from the summer heat and the okra will continue until the temps. get too chilly.

SWEET PEPPERS (F/P) Still got some ripe ones out there and hopefully will for a bit longer.

CHOICE OF GREENS (F/P) Rapini, Kale, Collards and Chard. See Tom’s post for more on enjoying your greens.

ASIAN GREENS or ARUGULA (F) We direct-seeded some bok choy and tat soi this summer after our greenhouse seedings wouldn’t sprout in the heat. Now there are lots of baby bok choy and tat soi in the field to pick.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Basil, tarragon, parsley or a dried herb. Partial shares get a choice of an herb or arugula.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares, Of the Earth fruit shares

NEXT WEEK: More radishes, eggplant, okra, greens and peppers. Hakurei turnips and O’Henry white-fleshed sweet potatoes.

FARM REPORT
On Saturday afternoon after a productive CSA harvest morning, the farm hosted the 2011 class of Growing Growers apprentices. Growing Growers offers workshops and farm tours to those who desire to start a career in local, sustainable agriculture. The topic of the September workshop was Pests, Weeds and Disease, or as the coordinator of the Growing Growers program and farmer at Blue Door Farm, Laura Christensen, quipped, “The Plagues.” Unfortunately for the students not a pest, weed or disease was in sight to identify at Fair Share Farm (ha ha).

After a stroll through the fields, a demonstration of the electric tractor and the solar-powered irrigation system, we headed to the wash & pack area of the barn. There we had a conversation about what the CSA membership means to us as farmers. The stats. are impressive: over 1,000 hours of on-farm labor provided, an active and engaged core group, money and support provided up-front before the harvest begins and endless hours saved schlepping to the farmers market.

Even more than these, the greatest benefit for us is the guarantee of a reliable income no matter what the season. This year is a good case in point. Too little rain and too much heat led to disaster in the Cucurbit patch, meanwhile the tomatoes flourished. Last year it was the opposite: lots of squashes, cucumbers and melons but few ‘maters. While no farmer wants to see a tenderly nurtured crop turn to dust, we sleep a little easier knowing that our balance sheet is not dependent on any single market favorite. Instead we are fortunate to have as our task to feed our member families well. The diversity of crops in our fields and the adventurous appetites of those who eat them is our crop insurance.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 18

2011-09-13T18:19:00.000-07:00

Today was a big day as we finished up our Fall planting (except for the garlic). All of the crops for the remainder of the season are in the ground, and so are the many cover crops we plant. Such days are milestones to us, as we can tick “planting” off our current to-do list.

Enjoying the fruits of the harvest is next on the list, with a kitchen counter full of potatoes, greens, radishes, onions, and many other goodies. We begin craving the late season harvest this time of year, with many of the vegetables harkening back to Spring. But thereally nice thing about this time of year is that there are also tomatoes, peppers and sweet potatoes around.

Greens
If you did not link to the Mark Bittman recipe I talked about last week I suggest you do now, as it could become a favorite for many I know. We have it on a regular basis, especially when there is broccoli raab around. A simple dish that starts with toasting bread crumbs in a pan, before sautéing some greens and garlic, and ends by adding some pasta and cheese and tossing it all in the pan.

Tomato Radish Pesto Sandwich
We often fix a quick sandwich at lunch, full of whatever is at hand. We especially like the crunchiness of a good radish and a homemade spread.For the spread we took some leftover pesto and mixed it with a little mayonnaise. Fresh sliced tomatoes, radishes, and a few leaves of arugula filled in the middle of some good bread, and we were ready to picnic.

Arugula Radish Salad
The arugula we are harvesting right now is as good a quality as we can get. It is growing big and green right now, with not too much spiciness. If you find it a little strong, be sure to dress it well, as tart flavors like vinegar mellow out it’s bite.To make a nice fresh salad simply clean and chop some arugula and put in a bowl. Add a generous amount of grated radish, add some creamy garlic dressing (or dressing of your choice), toss, and serve topped with pumpkin seeds or nuts.

Bulk List---Week 19

2011-09-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

The farm is reviving as the Autumn nears. Now is the opportunity to take advantage of extra greens, spicy radishes, hot peppers, and basil. Make and freeze some pesto now before the frosts come and the plants are gone.

We also highly recommend that those of you that like hot peppers think about making a big batch of Jalapeno en Escabeche. There is more info on this delicious recipe in our Week 10 blog. We make a quart on Sunday and it is already about gone.

Radishes: $2.50/bunch
Jalapenos: $2.50/pint
NuMex Anaheim hot peppers: $2.50/half lb
Poblano hot peppers: $2.50/half lb
Arugula: $2.50/bunch
Large basil bunch: $3.00/bunch Basil (pesto size bunch): $3.00/bunch
Kale/broccoli raab/mustard greens: $3.00/bunch

In the Share - Week 17

2011-09-06T18:38:00.000-07:00

SWEET POTATOES (F/P) If I had to pick only one vegetable to grow I would probably pick these sweet roots. They are tasty, nutritious and the plants thrive in our hot, humid Midwestern summers.

GARLIC (F/P) some say the artichoke variety we are handing out this week is the tastiest. See what you think.

ARUGULA (F) A favorite in our kitchen. All it needs is a simple vinaigrette, but for a real treat toss it with some hot roasted potatoes and garlic.

PINK BEAUTY RADISHES (F/P) We’ve got loads of these lovely ladies this week, just in time for a radish sandwich!

SWEET PEPPERS, OKRA, EGGPLANT OR HOT PEPPERS (F/P) The eggplant is coming back to life after it’s “near death experience” in the summer heat. Take your pick of the late summer fruits.

CHOICE OF GREENS: KALE, COLLARDS, ASIAN GREENS, RAPINI (F/P) An assortment of gorgeous greens. Rapini, or Broccoli Raab, is similar to a mustard green but at it’s peak it will make a small broccoli floret. We are picking some before it has started to flower so that we don’t miss the best stage for the lovely greens.

GREEN BEANS (F) The bean patch took a lot of punches from the dry, hot summer and still produced a nice flush of tasty beans last week. Another couple of pickings may be all it has left.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Basil, sage, parsley or a dried herb. Partial shares also get a choice of arugula with their herbs.

TOMATOES (F) Not sure how many tomatoes we will have until we pick the cherry tomatoes tomorrow. We’ll send in all we’ve got.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares, Of the Earth fruit shares

NEXT WEEK: More peppers, eggplant and okra. Radishes and greens. Potatoes and onions.

FARM REPORT
One of the fringe benefits of being a farmer in the countryside is that you share your work environment with many species that are not often found on the factory floor or in the office tower. Some of our fellow creatures we see every day, the butterflies and birds, our dog and the cats, the katydids and the dragonflies. They are so common that they often go unnoticed or our gaze fixes on them for only a moment before we get back to the task at hand. The appearance of other creatures is much more uncommon, so that when they are spotted we stop with full attention. This week we had our first fox sighting on the farm.

He/she was hunting the many grasshoppers that are in our fields. Foxes also eat rabbits, voles, mice and birds we are told. They say the young foxes that were born this spring leave their den in the fall to forge on alone. Perhaps this little one had just struck out on his own and was happy to find such a bountiful harvest of grasshoppers. We saw him again today so he must have decided our farm was worth a return trip.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 17

2011-09-06T17:18:00.000-07:00

This week you will be able to feel Autumn approaching in air, as well as your share. A morning low of 48 degrees greeted us on Tuesday as we harvested. A welcome relief from the hot days of July and August. And the delicious crops of Fall also greets us now, with radish, arugula, greens, and sweet potatoes finding their way to the dinner table.

Sweet Potatoes
A recent article in the LA Times talks about the resurgence of sweet potatoes as a “go to” food for many Americans. In the past decade sweet potato consumption in the US has doubled. On the menu at many a restaurant, this delectable tuber is seeing a popularity it has not known for some time.

Here at the farm we have doubled our sweet potato production of just a few years ago. We have found that we have more consistent results growing them than crops like winter squash, and we like them just as much. We have settled in on growing two separate varieties; the old standard orange “Beauregard”, and the white skinned and fleshed “O’Henry.” The former is in your share this week, the latter in two weeks. We hope that you enjoy them and that they serve as a good substitute for winter squash.

Sage
Sage, aka salvia officinalis, is an herb known through the ages. This aromatic herb is traditionally used in sausage making and turkey stuffing. It is also a wonderfully matched accompaniment to sweet potatoes. Simply clean and cut your sweet potatoes, add some olive oil, salt and chopped sage, and roast at 400 degrees until tender and browned.

Broccoli Raab
Among the greens choices this week is broccoli raab, aka rapini. With the taste of both broccoli and mustard greens it is quite hearty. We suggest checking out our Week 3 blog from 2009 for more info and a link to a great article by NY Times food writer Mark Bittman.

Roasted Green Beans
One thing we enjoy about the CSA work days at the farm is the chance to talk with the members and hear how they prepare the vegetables in their share. On Saturday in the bean patch Janice Marsh talked about her incredible simple recipe for green beans…roasting them.

That was all we needed to try it out. Her simple instructions (see below) produced a delicious dish. Thanks Janice.

Ingredients
Green beans
Olive oil
Salt

Method
Snap the stem end off the beans and pull the strings off the sides. (While the beans are tender, it will help to get rid of the string).
Toss beans with a tablespoon or so of olive oil and salt to taste.
Roast at 400 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes, until desired tenderness.

Herb Tins
We buy herb tins at the start of the season to have a convenient container for providing you with the choice of a dried herb. We like this tins not only because they are attractive and work well, but because they are reusable.

So, if you have accumulated some tins and are not using them around the house, you can bring them to distribution and they will find their way back to us, and then back to you.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 16

2011-08-30T18:45:00.001-07:00

Fall is starting to make an appearance as the cool crops of autumn continue to try to beat the heat. Things are greening up in the field and we are starting to get our first taste. Collards and kale leaves are being plucked to fill your share and keep the plant producing. The radishes are sizing up and we don’t want to wait to pick them. Good in a salad, or better yet a sandwich.

Okra
This hot weather crop has been producing at a peak rate lately. As the plants get larger, the sideshoots of the plant also produce pods, increasing their harvest. Okra is very flavorful, extremely nutritious and good for your digestive system. It has high levels of fiber, as well as vitamins A, C and K.

As Jan Glauberman mentioned in last year’s week 15 blog, water is okra’s enemy, as it will make it slimy. Dry heat cooking, as described in her recipe Wok Fried Okra, gives it some crispness. We prepared it tonight using some ancho chili powder instead of Indian spices to flavor it. Any dry rub that you prefer will work well.

In the Share - Week 16

2011-08-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

lettuce newly transplanted

CARROTS (F/P) Last out of cold storage. The pesky heat this summer kept 3 plantings from sprouting, so this is it for the year.

ONIONS (F/P) It was a good year for onions. Dry weather during their critical dry-down time meant less loss in the field and in storage. This week, we are handing out Prince, our best keeper.

SWEET PEPPERS (F) Not many this week, we are trying to restrain ourselves from picking all the green fruit that still has a chance of ripening. At the first warning of frost we’ll have to pick them all, but until then there’s still time for some more sweet reds and yellows.

OKRA OR HOT PEPPERS (P) The okra is at its peak right now. As soon as the weather cools so will it’s production.

TOMATOES (P) It the partial shares turn for the few remaining tomatoes after a glorious run.

PINK BEAUTY RADISHES (F) The first of the fall plantings of radishes, young and tender. By next week they should be full grown and ready for everyone.

KALE OR COLLARDS OR OKRA OR ANAHEIM PEPPERS (F) And the first picking of the fall kale and collards. We grow Toscano and White Russian kales as fall crops.

GREEN BEANS (F/P) Finally the beans are back for a quick run before their season is done. We are picking off of 3 different plantings that stalled over the hot summer: Rattlesnake pole beans, Jade green beans and yellow wax.

HERBS (F/P) Basil, parsley, thyme, summer savory or a dried herb.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares, Pierce’s fruit shares

NEXT WEEK: More radishes, kale and collards, okra and peppers. A few more tomatoes. Arugula and broccoli raab (rapini). Potatoes and garlic.

mowing down the cover crop

FARM REPORT
Anyone who has been out to the farm lately can’t help but notice our 8 feet tall cover crop of sorghum sudan grass and cowpeas. The sorghum sudan looks a lot like corn, so many have asked if that is our sweet corn crop. Sorry to disappoint you all, but we are very happy with our healthy cover crops. Cover crops are grown to add nutrients and organic matter to the soil prior to planting our vegetables. The huge amount of biomass produced keeps our soil life active and including both a grass and a legume gives a balance of both carbon and nitrogen to the subsequent crop. In this case, the sorghum sudan and cowpeas will decompose through the fall and will provide a good foundation for the fall planting of garlic and our spring plantings next year. The cowpeas like growing with the grass because it can climb up the tall stalks.

In the Share - Week 15

2011-08-23T18:38:00.001-07:00

potato harvest

POTATOES (F/P) Desiree and Bintje varieties, both yellow-fleshed and great for steaming, frying and salad. Full shares get two shares worth this week, partial shares get the normal amount.

GARLIC (F/P) Is our garlic piling up on you? Try roasting a whole head for a change. Spread the roasted garlic on toast or add to your favorite recipe for a bump in flavor.
SWEET PEPPERS (F/P) The sweet pepper harvest is in a lull right now as a lot of the ripe fruit has been picked. There are a lot of green fruit on the plants however, and more still forming, so the harvest should have several more rounds going right up to the first frost.

OKRA OR HOT PEPPERS (F) The okra really kicked in this week. I hope you all have found that excellent and oh, so simple recipe from the blog from last year. No deep-frying needed and no slime neither!

SWEET POTATO GREENS (F/P) A novel idea in this part of the world, but in others sweet potato greens are the go-to-dish. They grow abundantly in hot weather and trimming the plant back a bit does nothing to diminish the production of the sweet roots. See Tom’s post for a quick recipe with another everyday food from the tropics, peanut sauce.

TOMATOES (?) We’re not quite sure what we are doing with the few tomatoes we have this week. There aren’t enough for everyone to even get one. We’ll know what we have to share once the cherry tomatoes are picked tomorrow.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) More luscious basil and aromatic summer savory

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares

NEXT WEEK: More sweet peppers, tomatoes, okra and hot peppers. I know I keep saying this, but maybe finally some beans. Carrots and onions.

FARM REPORT
Finally on Monday morning the farm received a good soaker of a rain and for that we are grateful. Summer is winding down and after the brutal summer we are happy to say, “Good riddance!” The crops are all responding to the cooler temperatures and beneficial moisture. You can almost see the plants growing new leaves and fresh fruit right before your eyes. The peppers, eggplant, tomatoes and beans have set a brand new batch of little green fruit. The okra is reaching for the sky and the sweet potatoes continue their quest to cover the field with their vines. We are keeping a close watch on the radishes, arugula, hakurei turnips and lettuces that we planted in the middle of the hot summer, watered and weeded until now. In another few weeks they will be returning to the shares and it can’t happen quick enough.

I don’t know that it has been noticed much in your households what with school starting and perhaps the last of the summer vacations, but the farmers are a bit nervous about how light the shares are right now. The full shares are getting an extra box of potatoes this week to compensate but still we would love to have more peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and gosh a cucumber or a zucchini or some green beans would be really nice!
We attribute the lack of much to harvest right now to the after effects of a very hot and dry summer. We lost a lot of crops during the nasty weather, most regrettably the entire Cucurbitae family which seemed to fail due to healthy crop of heat-loving squash bugs than to the heat per se. Others have simply been shy about setting fruit until now.

We believe we will be through the worst of the lull in another couple of weeks once all these green fruit start ripening and the first of the fall crops start coming in. Until then, we hope you understand the difficulties that we face out here and know that we are doing our very best to feed your family well.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 15

2011-08-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

We are sorry that the pickin’s have gotten a little slim lately. The heat wave of July put many of the plants in the field into a somewhat dormant mode. For many fruiting plants, such as tomatoes, tomatillos and eggplants all the blossoms of July were burnt by the heat, keeping them from setting fruit for later (now!). Our later plantings of cucurbits were likewise affected and even with irrigation, the plants were severely stressed and then overrun by squash bugs. The beans have been totally confused, blossoming over three weeks ago but barely forming a bean. We hope that they may still produce.

For now though, we do have some delicious vegetables. The potatoes did well this year and we are handing out a double share to the fulls this week. The sweet potato plants are tropical by nature, and with a generous supply of irrigation water have thrived. We plan on digging some this week for inclusion in the shares soon.

This week we will be handing out the delicious and nutritious sweet potato greens. A regular staple in many parts of the world, they are a nice change from all of the fruits of summer. To spice them up we recommend that you mix the cooked greens with some tasty peanut sauce.

Sweet Potato Greens with Peanut Sauce
To cook the sweet potato greens simply cut off the lower half of the leaf stem and rinse the leaves. Put ¼ cup of water in a saucepan, add the greens and cook until tender. You can also add a tablespoon of red or white wine vinegar for flavor and a little salt. Mix or top the greens with peanut sauce.

Sauce Ingredients
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp water
pinch of salt

Stir all of the ingredients together. I also recommend the Cooking with Amy blog. She gives a very good summary of how to make peanut sauce to suit your personal taste.

In the Share - Week 14

2011-08-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

Carmen sweet peppers

TOMATOES (F/P) From now on we will be lucky to have one or two per share each week.

ROMA TOMATOES (F) Also called paste tomatoes for the thick sauce they make.

SWEET PEPPERS (F/P) The sweet peppers continue their late summer run.

CARROTS (F/P) From our cold storage, a sweet taste of spring.

OKRA, EGGPLANT, HOT PEPPERS OR BEETS (F/P) The last of the spring beets out of cold storage or choose from an assortment of summer fruits.

RED ONIONS (F/P) Read Tom’s post for more on our red onion varieties.

YELLOW ONIONS (F) The onions did well this year and we are sharing the bounty. These are our best keepers so you don’t need to use them right away.

HERB CHOICE (F) Basil, summer savory, dried herbs

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares

NEXT WEEK: More peppers, okra and eggplant. Potatoes and garlic. Maybe green beans?

FARM REPORT
It really does feel like late summer on the farm with the cooler weather and finally we are getting caught up on the rain. After a few years of paying attention to the seasons you start to recognize the signs that mark the shift from one season to the next. One evening taking Rocky for a walk there was a family of crows overhead. The crickets are noisy with their chirping now and the goldenrod is getting ready to bloom. Last week we were presented with a new way to mark the change of the seasons – our first fruit share from the Pierce family at Of the Earth Farm.

The first share included Gravenstein and Redfree apples, Asian pears and luscious peaches. Tom and I tend to not eat much fruit since vegetables are right at hand and free for the taking, so it feels luxurious to gorge ourselves on all their delicious fruits. With another share arriving tomorrow, we are starting to contemplate applesauce or pies in the near future.

I don’t know if everyone knows how lucky we are to have the Pierce’s join our little community. If you have ever looked for it, you would know that local, organic tree fruit is very hard to find around here. Our humid, buggy summers make it a real challenge to produce organic tree fruit that is edible, much less as beautiful and tasty as the Pierce’s. This is why we were so thrilled when the Pierce’s contacted us last winter with the idea to offer fruit shares to the membership. They recently transitioned their orchard to only using organic methods and we are so glad to have them join us. We sincerely appreciate their willingness to take the leap and congratulate them on their delicious success.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 14

2011-08-16T17:21:00.000-07:00

Some of this week’s harvest started over 3 weeks ago. The onions were pulled and set in the upper barn to cure. This year is a very good crop. These latest onions have cured well and are all unique. Below is a photo of the four varieties in the barn: Prince, Cabernet, Rosa di Milano, and Tropea.

As a storage onion, Prince is the strongest flavored by far. The Cabernet are very round and very juicy, with a nice sweetness and flavor. The Rosa di Milano have a top that flattens out. They are sweet, pungent and somewhat fine. They have many thin layers with a nice color. The Tropea onions are perhaps the mildest of the four, and are perfect for raw eating, while sweetening when cooked.

We are currently spend much time cultivating the fall planting. Knowing how the hours of sunlight is dwindling makes a farmer anxious. We are rooting for some very healthy looking fall crops to come out of the heat wave and grow for fall.

Last Thursday our good friend Liz Graznak brought her farm crew and helped us get a lot of work done. One was weeding leeks. To make sure their effort stuck we then mulched them with the help of the self-monikered "Team Awesome" on Saturday morning. The farm crew, including our pictured new apprentice Danni Hurst, finished them off on Tuesday.

In the Share - Week 13

2011-08-09T18:04:00.001-07:00

beautiful basil

TOMATOES (F/P) Tomatoes are winding down now. We’ll have a few for a few more weeks thanks to a late planting of “heat setting” types that will set fruit even in hot temperatures.
FINGERLING POTATOES (F/P) See Tom’s post for more on these dainty delicacies.
GARLIC (F/P) no meal is complete without the lovely allium.
SALSA PACK (F/P) the tomatillos won’t be around much longer so enjoy them while you can or freeze your salsa to enjoy later.
SWEET PEPPERS (F/P) Should be more of these sweet babies for awhile.
OKRA OR HOT PEPPERS (F) Nothing says late summer like okra and peppers.
HERBS (F/P) The basil (see above) just keeps coming this year thanks to a heavy layer of mulch.
ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares
NEXT WEEK: Tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers and okra. Carrots and onions. Hopefully the beans will be back.

FARM REPORT
The break in the weather has cheered up farmer and plant alike at the farm. The cooler temperatures are so very appreciated after such a long stretch of nasty heat. Even changing our schedule to avoid the heat of the day just barely kept the farm crew from overheating. Most of the crops (if you don’t count the entire Cucurbitae family – cukes, squash, melons, pumpkins – all goners) survived the heat but just by the skin of their teeth. Now with those days behind us, all of us survivors hope to limp towards fall growing stronger as the days grow shorter.
While the temperatures have moderated, we still are very dry. The irrigation system continues to keep the plants alive and growing, but we could really use a good soaker. We’ve received perhaps an inch total these past two weeks from four different rain events that looked really promising but didn’t quite deliver. Here’s the scene from one morning last week when we thought we’d definitely get a good downpour.

During the boiling heat we were trying our darndest to get some lettuce seedlings started for the fall. Finally we made room indoors for our dear lettuce and sure enough the cooler temps. provided by our little window AC unit did the trick.

Today we saw the first sprouts pushing up through the potting soil so we quickly moved them to a sunnier location down at the shade house. If all goes well we should be eating lettuce by the end of September.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 13

2011-08-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

The shares are expected to enter a lull for a little while, as the summer crops recover from the heat wave, and the fall crops set down their roots. But there is still some delicious harvesting to be done, as we have over 4 beds of potatoes to dig yet.

This week Kipfel fingerling potatoes are in the share. As I write the blog we have not dug the bed, so I do not know how the harvest will be, but we did dig some the other day to try out.

The first two varieties of potatoes you received (Caribe and Kennebec) are mealy in texture and are good for baking and mashing. The Kipfel and remaining varieties this year are more of a waxy texture that makes them well suited for frying and boiling. The recipe below is a simple and delicious. The shape of the fingerlings make them easy to cut into bite-size rounds.

Fried Fingerling Potatoes
Ingredients
Fingerling potatoes
Olive oil
Summer savory (optional)
Salt and pepper

Method
1. Cut the potatoes cross-wise to form little rounds.
2. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a heavy skillet. Add the potatoes. Let cook for a minute on high heat and then stir so that all of the potatoes are covered in oil. Turn heat down to medium, add salt, pepper and herbs and cook 2 more minutes.
3. Add some water, enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Cover and cook 10 minutes.
4. Uncover, stir, and cook another 3 to 5 minutes, until potatoes are cooked through and browned.

Bulk List----Week 12

2011-08-03T03:40:00.001-07:00

What To Do With Your Share---Week 12

2011-08-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

While we are struggling to keep crops going and start plants for the fall, the tomato crop continues to be a bumper. The harvest of the last two weeks has been record-breaking. So we continue to suggest that you make sure to find a way to eat or preserve all of your tomatoes.

One thing that may be helpful, as we noted last week, is to freeze your extra tomatoes. To do that you need to first blanch and peel them. Rather than take photos and show you how, we can take advantage of this well done Youtube video showing the process. .

Another is to make a quick sauce. It isn’t often that the combination of fresh tomatoes and beautiful onions is at hand. Especially when some of them are the “torpedo –shaped” Tropea onions. We like their flavor and shape and would like to know what you think. One way to try them out is the recipe below.

Fresh Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
Tomatoes
Onions
Jalapeno (optional)
Basil
Oregano and/or summer savory
Olive oil
Salt

The quantities are up to you and is dependent on the amount of tomatoes you have. Six or seven medium tomatoes would call for one large onion. If you like onions, add more.

Method
With a paring knife, core out the tomato and remove any bad spots. Cut in half and squeeze out the juice. Chop tomatoes into 1 inch chunks. Chop the onions and sauté in olive oil. Add the pepper and oregano, cook 2 more minutes. Add the tomatoes. Stir, cover and bring to boil. Remove lid and simmer for 20 minutes or so, until tomatoes are breaking down.

Take half of the sauce and puree it in a food processor, or run it through the food mill. Return the pureed sauce to the pot. Stir and cook 5 minutes. Serve over pasta with basil garnish.

Purslane
In organic farming, when certain plants crop up on their own in your fields, you don’t immediately define them as a weed and kill them. What grows well in your soil is an indication of its condition. It is known that if the plant purslane grows, you have a healthy and rich soil.

We have noticed a great abundance of it in our fall crop beds. So, as organic farmers our logical next step is to eat it. We learned to like it several places in our internships in NY and Indiana, and enjoy its flavor and texture. A great source of omega-3 fatty acids and other vitamins and minerals, it is especially nutritious.

We made a simple salad with it on Sunday and really enjoyed it. We picked the leaves off the stems and tossed them with some oil and vinegar. Next we topped it all with pickled beets. Large chunks of tomato would also be a good combination. We hope you try it and enjoy it.

In the Share - Week 12

2011-08-02T17:51:00.000-07:00

TOMATOES (F/P) It is “deliously hot” at the farm according to one of our recent guests. Nothing tastes better than a ripe heirloom tomato grown in a hot, dry Midwestern summer.

CHERRY TOMATOES (F/P) We don’t wash any of our tomatoes on the farm. It keeps them tasty and healthy. Wait until you are ready to eat them and give them a quick rinse.

SALSA PACK (F/P) The tomatillos are putting out the fruit right now. Que rica la salsa!

CARROTS (F/P) More big orange ones from the last harvest.

PURSLANE (F/P) What’s that, you say? Isn’t it a weed? Actually purslane is quite tasty and full of Omega 3s. Read Tom’s post for more info.

TROPEA and WALLA WALLA ONIONS (F/P) See Tom’s post for a great onion and tomato sauce recipe. I’m eating it right now and it is divine!

OKRA, SWEET PEPPERS AND EGGPLANT (F) Hopefully soon we’ll have enough sweet peppers for everyone. They are starting to ripen in large quantities. The damaged ones always ripen first, so there will be a crate of “seconds” to take what you want.

HERBS (F) Basil and summer savory

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares

NEXT WEEK: More tomatoes, salsa packs, okra and peppers. Potatoes and garlic.

FARM REPORT
Here we are at the mid-season mark. Week 12 of 24 has arrived. Now is a good time to pause for a moment and assess the weeks behind us and look to the weeks ahead. Overall, Tom and I were really pleased with the spring and early summer shares. Despite a shortened strawberry season, the shares were hefty thanks to some big lettuces and spring turnips, among others.

The summer started out pretty good with a nice carrot and beet harvest. The summer squashes, cucumbers and beans started out promising but the later plantings have fizzled in the hot, dry conditions.
Right now we are thrilled, if a bit daunted, by the tomato harvest. Last week alone we picked 1,600 lbs. of heirloom, hybrid, paste, drying and cherry tomatoes. Currently, the overabundance of tomatoes is making up for the lack of many of the other summer fruits that have withered in the heat. As CSA farmers our first priority is to fill the shares by minimizing our risk of crop loss. That’s why one of our big investments on the farm is a reliable irrigation system. The system is working very well right now, but it has it’s limits. We have a lot of field to cover, including full-grown summer crops that need a deep drink and newly planted fall crops that need steady moisture. We have had a difficult time getting some of the fall crops established. When the temperatures are extreme some seeds refuse to sprout and flowers drop without forming fruit.
Not all crops are faring poorly. The heat-loving sweet potatoes and okra are thriving. We also have a good crop of onions, garlic, potatoes and carrots that will keep us in staples for a good while. The winter squash and melons bit the dust early on due to the dry weather. A few winter squash may go in the shares next week. For the fall there are rows upon rows of newly transplanted cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli that will hopefully fill our bellies in October if we can keep them alive until then. But really there’s only one constant when it comes to Missouri weather, it’s bound to change soon. Just last weekend we got a nice break and a little rain shower during the Saturday harvest. We managed to squeeze everyone in the packing room until it stopped.

In the Share - Week 11

2011-07-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

summer harvest

TOMATOES (F/P) We thought last week’s harvest was pretty good. This week is monumental. Over 800 lbs. just today. Each share is getting about 5-6 lbs. We will pick the cherry tomatoes tomorrow and likely have lots of them too. Here’s a photo i.d. of some of our heirloom varieties:

clockwise from upper left: Green Zebra, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Pineapple, Cherokee Purple, Amana Orange and Rose.

KENNEBEC POTATOES (F/P) an old-time favorite from Maine. They are great mashed or baked.

HARDNECK GARLIC (F/P) Musik garlic is a porcelain hardneck variety and one of our favorites because of it’s huge cloves that make adding lots of garlic to every dish easy.

SALSA PACK (F/P) The tomatillos are producing well. Pick up some extra on the bulk list and preserve some chile verde for the winter.

CABBAGE (F/P) It is perfect weather for some coleslaw.

EGGPLANT or OKRA (F) We picked the eggplant smaller this week as the blast furnace in our field is taking its toll. A few less fruit to care for will hopefully help the plants hold on a while longer.

CHERRY TOMATOES (F/P) You don’t have to be a celebrated chef to appreciate Fair Share Farm cherry tomatoes, but when they are served to you in a duck egg pasta with chanterelle mushrooms and rabbit you look at them in a whole new light.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Basil, summer savory, thyme, tarragon or a dried herb.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares

NEXT WEEK: More tomatoes and salsa packs. Carrots and onions. Perhaps some ripe sweet peppers.

FARM REPORT
The events of the last week seem like a dream to me. On Sunday Tom and I were sweating in the herb garden pulling weeds. Just a few hours later we sat just a few feet away and dined on seven-courses of local food skillfully done with 150 new friends. Read Tom’s post for all the details on Outstanding in the Field including some photos of ours and more from our neighbors at the table who took lots of great shots.

In the midst of the big event, we were still full-time farmers and this was a big harvest week on the farm. The last of the garlic was dug and hung in the barn and all varieties look pretty good. On Saturday an extraordinary crew of CSA members brought in the bulk of the onion crop, over 1,800 row feet of onions and laid them all out on the screens in the upper barn. This is also peak tomato season and this year the fruit are really coming in. We picked over 1,000 lbs. of tomatoes last week and it looks like we are going to top that this week.

All of this work and more got done despite the blazing heat. We continue to keep to our “tropical” schedule of starting early, breaking at mid-day and doing more in the evenings. The plants would surely love to take a break at mid-day also, but instead we are trying to keep the water flowing all day every day. The water pressure does not allow for all crops to be watered at once, so each section of the field gets a half-day of watering before it’s on to the next one. So far we are managing to keep the plants alive for the most part. A good summer thunderstorm full of a couple inches of rain would be much appreciated however.

What To Do With Your Share---Week 11

2011-07-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

Sunrise tomato harvest

When a bounty of food enters the home, a plan is needed to make the most of the surplus. With this week’s share one thing you can do is eat as many fresh tomatoes as you can, as such windfalls are fleeting. Eating a whole fresh tomato, cut into thick wedges, and topped with some salt and olive oil is an opportunity that should not be missed. The simpler the better.

You can also juice them into a drink. Tomato juice with some salt, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco is a refreshing drink.

You can also make sauce. We made some on Monday with a couple crates of tomatoes one step away from compost. Slicers like you are getting are make a tasty sauce, but it is a bit thin unless you cook it down. We cook ours in an electric roaster on the porch. It keeps the house cooler.

Another option is to freeze your excess tomatoes. Drop them into a pot of boiling water for 45 seconds to one minute, then remove with a slotted spoon, and place in cold water. The skins should be cracked . Peel the skins off the tomatoes, squeeze and drain them before placing in a freezer bag.

Outstanding in the Field Dinner

2011-07-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

Well the Outstanding in the Field Dinner was a rousing success. After all the planning and preparing to host, things went off as well as we could have ever hoped for. The weather cooperated, as it was the coolest day in the last week or so.

My sister Fran and her husband Woody visited for the weekend. Along with some good family time, Woody helped us put up our new barn door the morning of the dinner. That, along with all the onions the CSA crew helped us harvest and fill the barn with gave the old timbers a new shine.

Things began on Saturday night when the OITF crew rolled onto the farm near midnight after a 14 hour trip from Colorado. The next morning they slowly roused themselves before quickly hitting full stride.

We walked the farm with founder Jim Denevan, discussing how to lay things out. He then mulled things over with his staff and they promptly set up the communal table in the field where it rose up and over a ridge. One of the guests said you could see the curvature of the earth.It was neat to watch their efficiency and timing. We really enjoyed their visit.

Next the restaurant crew arrived after working all night. They too went right to work. That included cooking the ribeye in a charcoal roaster. A picture of the roaster in action is here. This link has been shared with us from Bud Hirsch, who sat at the table with us and has linked an entire album of photos from the dinner.

150 people trickled onto the farm around 5pm for a reception and farm tour and electric tractor demo by Rebecca. We then sat down to a dinner in our field that included green bean lollipops; duck egg fettuccini with goose confit, chanterelles and cherry tomatoes; and roasted Majinola Wagyu rib eye, carrot gnocchi, onion, arugula, romaine with sweet vermouth and black raspberry. Jonathan Justus and his staff cooked an incredible meal. I get tired just thinking about all the effort they put into it. All of the guests seemed to have a wonderful time.

Bulk List---Week 11

2011-07-26T03:37:00.000-07:00

Paste tomatoes (firsts) - $3.00/lb; $2.50/lb over 10 lbs
Tomato seconds (heirloom and hybrids) - $2.50/lb; $2.00/lb over 10 lbs
Drying tomatoes: $4.00/qt
Tomatillos: $2.00/lb
Salsa Packs: $2.50/pack
Jalapenos: $2.50/pint
Swiss chard: $3.00/bunch
Carrots: $3.00/bunch
Herbs (summer savory, tarragon, thai basil): $2.50/bunch
Large basil bunch: $3.00/bunchJalapenos: $2.50/pint

Medium and large/slicer pickling packs are available in a limited quantity this week, depending on harvest. If we cannot fill your order this week you will be put on a wait list for next week.
When placing your order, be sure to specify what types of aromatics you want. Choices are:
cornichon (tarragon, thyme, garlic, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
dill (dill flowers, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
garlic (garlic, hot peppers, grape leaves)
Pickle pack (medium cukes): $14/pack
Pickle pack (large cukes): $12/pack

In the Share: Week 10

2011-07-19T20:38:00.000-07:00

TOMATOES (F/P) The tomato crop is in and lookin good.
GREEN BEANS (F/P) Last pickin’s off the first planting. Partial shares get a choice of beans or a salsa pack.
COLORFUL CARROTS (F/P) Not all carrots are orange.
WALLA WALLA ONIONS (F/P) Sweet and mild, they are a quality fresh onion
SALSA PACK (F/P) Roasted or fresh, add a tomato and the pack makes a salsa muy bueno
CUCUMBERS (F) Some large picklers and regular slicers. Let us know how you like the varieties
SUMMER SQUASH (P) Rounds and pattypans
HERB CHOICE (F) Mixed bunches including parsley, basil, thai basil, thyme, summer savory, tarragon, or jalpenos or dried herbs.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares

NEXT WEEK: More tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers and squash. Potatoes and garlic.

FARM REPORT
The high pressure dome of air sitting over us has brought lots of heat, and a south of the border farm schedule. In order to do all we have to do in this oppressive heat we are starting at sun-up and working past mid-day before taking a siesta until 6pm. It has worked well and our interns Luke and Kim have sweated it out with us, giving their all to help us harvest, pack, hoe, tie tomatoes, weed, irrigate, sow cover crops, take care of the sheep, etc.

We are moving to a new carrot bed this week to bring you the annual “colorful carrots.” Orange, red, and yellow, they are great for the palate and the eye. Varieties include White Satin, Yellow Sun, Dragon (purple) and our favorite orange, Bolero.

sweet potatoes happy in the heat

Tonight’s evening work stint has been taken over by the tomato harvest’s shear volume. We hope you enjoy this week’s share, one of our best tomato harvest’s yet. More to come next week and we hope for a while.
We have also been spending time preparing for the Outstanding in the Field dinner this Sunday. As Ronny, the host at Justus Drugstore told us last month, “It’s a big deal.” We have been planning and working to show the farm in a good light and provide a subtly beautiful Missouri farm setting for the event. Some details we won’t know until the dinner table arrives, so we will have to be nimble on Sunday morning when the OITF crew arrives.
Thanks again to all for your help and support. And we look forward to seeing some of you at the dinner.

Bulk List Update and Canning Class Info

2011-07-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

For those of you interested in learning about water bath canning, fellow CSA member Emily Akins and I will be teaching a class at Bad Seed on Sunday July 31 from 1 to 4 pm. All the info you need on the class, the cost, and how to sign up is at http://www.badseedkc.com/farm/classes-events/. If you have never canned and are interested in learning the basics and a bit more, take advantage of this class.

For those of you that already know what to do, this email is to inform you that with this morning’s harvest the paste tomatoes have started ripening, and are coming off the vines by the bushel. We have 6 different varieties of paste tomatoes planted, of varying shapes and sizes. There are all great for making sauce, salsa, chili sauce, whole tomatoes, and any other recipe that calls for a meaty love apple.

We also have “seconds” of the slicers we hand out. These tomatoes may have cracks, bug holes, or serious “cat facing” that requires trimming them a bit. They can be a bit fragile, as they can have some damage, so be prepared to use them fast. They don’t make a thick sauce like the paste tomatoes, but are good for canning and a multitude of other uses.

One more note, the paste tomatoes are picked with a good overall blush, but take a while to ripen. So what we send in can be a few days away from being dead ripe, giving you time to prep for your tomato preserving. Prices are below.

We also have Principe Borghese drying tomatoes, perfect for the dehydrator, and a limited supply of extra salsa packs and tomatillos.

Paste tomatoes (firsts) - $3.00/lb; $2.50/lb over 10 lbs
Tomato seconds (heirloom and hybrids) - $2.50/lb; $2.00/lb over 10 lbs
Drying tomatoes: $4.00/qt
Tomatillos: $2.00/lb
Salsa Packs: $2.50/pack
Jalapenos: $2.50/pint
Swiss chard: $3.00/bunch
Carrots: $3.00/bunch
Herbs (summer savory, tarragon, thai basil): $2.50/bunch
Large basil bunch: $3.00/bunch

Medium and large/slicer pickling packs are available in a limited quantity this week, depending on harvest. If we cannot fill your order this week you will be put on a wait list for next week.

When placing your order, be sure to specify what types of aromatics you want. Choices are:
cornichon (tarragon, thyme, garlic, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
dill (dill flowers, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
garlic (garlic, hot peppers, grape leaves)

Pickle pack (medium cukes): $14/pack
Pickle pack (large cukes): $12/pack

What to Do With Your Share---Week 10

2011-07-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

Some suggestions this week for eating in the heat. This hot weather calls for only limited cooking, so as to keep the house coooool. Here are a few of the things we have been eating during the heat wave.

With the tomato surplus rising, we continue to gobble them up. Our standard lunch for the last week has been tomato sandwiches. They always include some type of basil accompaniment. The simplest is to pluck some large leaves and layer them on. Another is to make some pesto and use it as a spread. You can add the pesto to some mayonnaise and it will last even longer. Dress it up however you want, and eat it quick, as you can’t pack it in your lunch unless you want a soppy sandwich.

Gazpacho is yet another quick meal from the share that fills our fridge regularly. Last year’s blog has a gazpacho primer. This no-cook, cool soup is one of those things that tastes so right on a 99 degree day.

As a Bread of Life specialty bread subscriber we regularly get pizza crust in our share. We bought a new toaster oven last winter that fits a 12 inch pizza crust. A few fresh veggies, some homemade goat cheese, a sprinkling of olives or anchovies, and dinner is served.

You may remember from two weeks ago that we started to ferment some cukes into pickles. This old, old food preservation method has held on for centuries for a reason. It works so well, is easy, and creates a taste treat you can only get from cukes, water, salt, seasoning, a crock, and patience.

The photo below is the finished pickle. Fragrant, tart, crunchy and juicy, you have to taste them to understand just how good they are.

On the bulk front, along with the paste tomatoes, we suggest trying the jalapenos. Last year we canned them Mexican style (Chiles Jalapenos en Escabeche). Our recipe is from the critically acclaimed The Art of Mexican Cooking by Diana Kennedy. A link to a very similar recipe is here. If you like jalapenos, and want some to tend to a wintertime craving, make this dish.

Bulk List---Week 10

2011-07-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

Jalapenos: $2.50/pint
Swiss chard: $3.00/bunch
Carrots: $3.00/bunch
Herbs (summer savory, tarragon, thai basil): $2.50/bunch
Large basil bunch: $3.00/bunch

Medium and large/slicer pickling packs are available in a limited quantity this week, depending on harvest. If we cannot fill your order this week you will be put on a wait list for next week.

When placing your order, be sure to specify what types of aromatics you want. Choices are:

cornichon (tarragon, thyme, garlic, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
dill (dill flowers, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
garlic (garlic, hot peppers, grape leaves)
Pickle pack (medium cukes): $14/pack
Pickle pack (large cukes): $12/pack

What to Do With Your Share---Week 9

2011-07-12T19:13:00.000-07:00

The soaring temperatures and humidity this past week has been enough to make you dizzy. The past week has been as long and hard and hot as I can remember, but with a nice payoff of a new barn front and a good harvest.

This week is peak for squash and cucumbers, while the peppers and eggplant continue to produce well. The tomatillos are coming on, as well as the hot peppers. We continue to dig a good crop of garlic, and hope for the okra to kick in soon (especially if we can weed it).

New to the share this week (as a choice) are salsa packs. Familiar to many, the pack contains most all the ingredients you need for a fresh salsa (tomatillo, garlic, onion and jalapeno). Just add a tomato and a few other ingredients, and you will have an incredibly fresh and flavorful dish

Check out our past blogs for our Fresh Salsa and Roasted Salsa recipes.

We are also starting to add hot peppers as an occasional choice. We don’t plan on giving everyone hot peppers, but if you like them, keep your eyes open as they may be a choice, or in the swap box. Right now the hot peppers are Numex Joe E. Parker (Anaheim type good for frying) and jalapenos.

This week also marks the return of dried herbs. We plan on having a selection of dried herbs available as a choice each week. These herbs are cut and dried in our hot, hot summer greenhouse. The tins they come in are reusable, so we will take them back if you have no need for them when you are done.

Another item that may be less familiar to some is Thai basil. An herb choice, this is the basil that often is a part of spring rolls and other Asian cooking. Try it in last week’s cucumber salad recipe.

In the Share - Week 9

2011-07-12T19:10:00.001-07:00

TOMATOES (F/P) The heat is bringing on the favorite fruits of summer. This week Nyagous, a velvety brown heirloom is coming in nicely along with our early reds.
CHERRRY TOMATOES (F) Try one of the pink ones, it’s a new variety for us. Let us know what you think.
POTATOES (F/P) We’ll be digging the Caribe and the Kennebecs this week. Both are have a mealy texture great for mashing.
BEETS (F/P) Last of the spring beets go in the shares this week plus a few available on the bulk list.
CUCUMBERS (F) The cucumbers grew fast in this heat, which is perfect weather for a cold bowl of gazpacho.
SUMMER SQUASH (F) Lots of round zucchini and pattypan squash. So cute and they won’t slide off the grill like the long ones.
GREEN BEANS (F/P) Whoa, we went from no beans, to loads of beans. With few pickers on the schedule we can’t pick them all. Everyone gets a good amount this week, but if you want more you’ll have to come pick ‘em yourself.
EGGPLANT AND GREEN PEPPERS (F) Soon we will let the peppers ripen and stop picking their green fruit. In the meantime, enjoy!
GARLIC (F/P) Partial shares get a choice of garlic or herb. The garlic is not quite cured, so use soon or refrigerate.
HERBS, HOT PEPPERS OR SALSA PACK (F) Basil, thai basil, dried herbs, jalapenos, Numex anaheims, or salsa pack. It’s a hodge podge of good things to complement your vegetables. Read Tom’s post for more info.
ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares
NEXT WEEK: More beans, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers and squash. Onions and carrots.

FARM REPORT
To state the obvious, it has been blazing hot this week. As luck would have it, back in May we chose this weekend for a volunteer day at the farm. I am happy to report that the weekend was injury-free and that we got a lot of work done despite the heat. A big thank you goes out to all the folks that braved the heat with us: John Graff, Kelly Parker, Rick Robson, Mark Flynn, Tiffany Coleman, Trish Berrong, Chris Riebenslager, Lucas Knutter, Keith and Nancy Stubblefield. We know there could have been many more comfortable ways to spend your weekend, instead you slogged it out with your farmers who are forever grateful.

The barn at the farm has seen alot over the century that it has stood. Originally built to dry tobacco, it once held a dairy operation before its current life as our vegetable farm's only barn. It serves us as a packing house, storage and tool shed, garlic and onion drying house and equipment shed and workshop.

On Saturday the tearout of the old siding began.

By Sunday morning all the siding was off and the new, wider doorway was framed in.

The new siding went up as the sun beat down.

Almost finished and no one passed out from the heat. Hooray!

Bulk List---Week 9

2011-07-11T19:55:00.000-07:00

Beans don’t pick themselves, and we have a lot of beans in the field as of today (and not enough pickers). Join the fun and have some good produce to eat, freeze, or make into dilly beans.

U-pick green beans $1.50/lb
Beets: $3.00/quart
Swiss chard: $3.00/bunch
Carrots: $3.00/bunch
Walla Walla onions: $3.00/bunch
Herbs (summer savory, tarragon, thai basil): $2.50/bunch
Garlic: $1.00/head
Large basil bunch: $3.00/bunch

In the Share: Week 8

2011-07-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

Cherry tomatoes ripening

TOMATOES (F/P) We have just enough for everyone to get one tomato or some cherry tomatoes and not all the fruit you get is completely ripe. To ripen a tomato, leave it on your kitchen counter or for quicker ripening place in a paper bag. Ripe tomatoes of any color (and we grow a lot of different colors) feel soft with gentle pressure. Most of what we have this week are hybrid early reds and heirloom “black” varieties (more burgundy or brown really with various amounts of green-shoulders) and there's a few pink ones. By the end of the season we hope you get a chance to try all of our 30 varieties and find a few favorites.

CARROTS (F/P) While the tomatoes are just starting, the carrot harvest is in full swing. More sweet orange carrots from the April planting.

CUCUMBERS (F/P) The struggling first planting of cucumbers has turned the corner and is pumping out the fruit.

EGGPLANT and/or GREEN PEPPERS (F/P) The graceful eggplants and peppers are also giving up their jewels.

SUMMER SQUASH (F) The first planting of summer squash has been a bit of a dud. The second planting of round squashes is looking good and is just starting to come in. As happens in the squash patch, a few got larger than we want. These will be at the end of the line as a "take what you want" extra. They would be great stuffed or turned into baked goods.

WALLA WALLA SWEET ONIONS (F/P) See Tom’s recipe for a sweet onion, tomato, cucumber salad. Tastes like summer.

HERBS (F/P) Pesto basil bunches or a mixed bunch of summer herbs.

KOHLRABI (all) Extra item this week for those who want it, last of the season but still very tender and substantial.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares

NEXT WEEK: More cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, squash and eggplant. Potatoes and beets.

FARM REPORT
Killing weeds is one of our favorite ways to kill time on the farm. Over the years we have gotten better and quicker at the task. The various cultivators and discs that we attach to our electric Allis Chalmers G made quick work of many a weed this week. Hoes were also put into service for the places the tractor can’t go like around the bigger plants like the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. The leeks are especially demanding of cultivation because they are in the ground for such a long time. After a combination of farmers and CSA members completed the task of hand weeding around the plants, we were able to get them in top notch shape with a few passes of the G.

Leek cultivating

the end result

What to Do With Your Share---Week 8

2011-07-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

Summer is in full swing here as the days heat up. Work is demanding in July, but the warm and dry is something that has been missing over the past several years. The weather has produced a crop of peppers and eggplant that is our best to date. We are hoping that the plants maintain their health and produce into the Fall.

If such a fate is ours, you will be eating eggplant, peppers and tomatoes on a regular basis. So here are a few tips to enjoying these wonderful and beautiful vegetables.
1. Do not refrigerate your fresh tomatoes. It adversely affects both taste and texture.
2. Raw and crunchy eggplant can be a turn-off. You should cook you eggplant to the texture of a cooked mushroom.
3. Eggplant does not have a strong flavor, so you can add it to most any dish and it will take on the flavor of the dish.
4. Peppers are easy to preserve. If you have too many just cut them, clean them, chop them (if desired) and freeze them.

Cucumbers are something to use this week, as we are having a good harvest at the moment. The simplest thing is a cucumber, Walla Walla onion, and tomato salad. Cut them up, add the dressing of your choice, and you have a great veggie dish. The Walla Wallas are particularly sweet and make this not just any salad.

The request for pickle packs has been great. We are glad that pickling has become a CSA experience for so many of you. You may have to be patient (you are in the cuke queue) and flexible as far as when you get yours though. We have 200 feet of plants, but they have been temperamental as far as production. The small ones are in highest demand and are the slowest producing.

I’m here to say that the large cukes have great potential too. We recently started a crock of fermented pickles using the large ones. Our friend Linda Coussens gave us a large, high quality Gartopf crock. We started the process on Sunday, filling it with whole cucumbers, onions, garlic, tarragon, dill and salt water. Ten days like that, and then 2 weeks in the larder. So come the end of July we will update you on their progress.

Another good use is making pickle chunks. Get some pickling lime and follow their recipe. Lime pickles are the crunchiest you can get.

Bulk List---Week 8

2011-07-05T04:53:00.000-07:00

Beets: $3.00/quart
Kohlrabi: $1.00/lb
Swiss chard: $3.00/bunch
Carrots: $3.00/bunch
Herbs (summer savory, tarragon, thai basil): $2.50/bunch
Large basil bunch: $3.00/bunch
Walla Walla onions: $3.00/bunch

Pickling packs are available in a limited quantity this week. If we cannot fill your order this week you will be put on a wait list for next week.

When placing your order, be sure to specify what types of aromatics you want. Choices are:
cornichon (tarragon, thyme, garlic, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
dill (dill flowers, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
garlic (garlic, hot peppers, grape leaves)

Pickle pack (small cukes): $18/pack
Pickle pack (medium cukes): $14/pack
Pickle pack (large cukes): $12/pack

In the Share - Week 7

2011-06-28T19:02:00.000-07:00

pepper trellis

LETTUCE (F/P) the crisp heads are hopefully holding for this week and then it’s goodbye lettuce until fall.
GREEN GARLIC (F/P) two heads for the full shares, one for the partials, from the beginnings of the garlic harvest. These are full size but not cured. Read Tom’s post for more on use and storage.
NEW POTATOES (F/P) freshly dug new potatoes are like nothing else. Enjoy them soon or refrigerate.
SUMMER SQUASH (F/P) slice and put them on the grill for a tasty Independence Day treat.
GREEN ONIONS (F) Every dish begins with onions so we try to include them in the shares every other week from now through fall.
CHOICE: EGGPLANT, GREEN PEPPERS, CUCUMBERS OR SNOW PEAS (F) this is the last of the spring peas (peas only for the Weds. shares) and the first of the fruits of summer.
BEETS OR KOHLRABI (F) Both crops are to be harvested in bulk this week before the heat takes them out. The extra beets will store beautifully in the walk-in cooler and will be available in bulk for a while longer.
CABBAGE (P) partial shares get their chance to make coleslaw. More for the full shares next week.
KALE OR CHARD (F) grin if you love your greens!
HERB CHOICE (F/P) summer savory, parsley or basil
ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares
NEXT WEEK: More squash, cucumbers and cabbage. Carrots and perhaps beans and cherry tomatoes.
HELLO SUMMER
You can tell it is summer on the farm by how we spend our time. For one thing everything green is growing new leaves, branches, flowers and fruit exponentially. If we ever stood still long enough we could probably perceive the growth of the tomato plants. Once a week we spend several hours trellising the tomato crop. We put our strings about every six inches along the stakes, weaving a new one in and out of the crop about every seven to ten days. For the determinate varieties some are approaching the tops of their cages. After the cold, wet spring of 2010 put a damper on the tomato crop, we are really hoping for a good harvest. We are looking forward to the hot weather forecasted for later this week which sounds like tomato-ripening weather to us. In the meantime we have the beginnings of the cherry tomatoes. If you are lucky there may be one cherry tomato per share this week, just enough to wet your whistle.

Another telltale sign that it is summer is the exuberant growth of plants that we do not want growing on the farm, i.e. weeds. The FSF farm crew has made good headway in this area but there is still a bit more to do. Every so often we get done with harvesting early on a CSA morning and get some extra help from the membership, but for the most part it is the four-person farm crew out on the six acres. Some weeds we can get with the tractor’s cultivators, some we can get with our hoes, but the ones right around the plants have to be pulled by hand. If your idea of a fun Sunday is pulling weeds with your farmers, come on out on the volunteer day on July 10th .

And it wouldn’t be summer in Missouri without a feisty thunderstorm which we awoke to 1 am Monday morning. Small hail, strong winds and three inches of rain.

There is nothing to keep you up at night quite like hearing the wind howl and visualizing entire plants snapping under the pressure of wind, hail and torrential downpours. Happily all but a couple plants survived, some crates were blown around and we spent the better part of the day shoring up more plants. This is the first time we have staked the peppers and so far we are happy with the result.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 7

2011-06-28T16:55:00.001-07:00

Fresh Garlic
We feel we are off to a good start with this year’s garlic. The hardneck variety Musik is the plump, 4 to 6 clove garlic in your share this week. We leave the neck on in case you want to hang it up and let it cure some.

You can also use it now. To get at the cloves cut the neck off, and then use a paring knife to slit the outer papers. Once you peel it back you can get to the cloves.

This week we recommend a recipe from last year to go with this week’s veggies. The Grilled Pasta Primavera is a great way to christen the grill for the season. Or, you can use your broiler.

Another good recipe that will take care of this week’s beets, and any others you have in the fridge, is pickled beets (from our July 6, 2005 newsletter). If you like beets, this is a nice way to have them on hand to top a salad, or have on the side. An added bonus is that you can use the pickle juice when you are done just like you would vinegar, and stretch that wonderful flavor even farther.

Bulk List---Week 7

2011-06-28T16:53:00.000-07:00

Order some extra goodies for your week.

Cabbage (small head): $2.50/hd
Onions: $3.00/bunch
Garlic (fresh hardneck): $1.00/head
Kale or Chard: $3.00/bunch
Herbs (tarragon, basil, summer savory): $2.50/bunch
Beets: $3.00/quart

What to Do With Your Share---Week 6

2011-06-21T18:19:00.002-07:00

The roots are taking over from the fruits and leafy greens of the early shares. Turnips, kohlrabi, beets, carrots and onions are now in the majority. Their heartiness is good for you, and if you cook them right, the taste is too.

A week ago we trialed the beets. The trial was a success. We utilized an Asian dressing to test them out.

Beet Salad with Asian Dressing
Ingredients
1 bunch of beets
2 scallions or ¼ cup chopped fresh onion
1 to 2 medium carrots

Dressing
1/8 cup sesame oil
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp fish sauce
Juice of ½ lime
1 squirt Sriracha hot sauce
1 tsp honey
1/8 tsp salt

Method
Top the beets and boil until tender
Quickly cool beets and peel off skin when cool
Mix all dressing ingredients together
Cut into desired size, add chopped onion, grated carrots and dressing

We were recently persuaded to try kohlrabi in a new way, by using it like jicama. Jicama is the root of a plant cultivated more in Central and South America than here, that is similar to kohlrabi. Rebecca modified the Clementine Jicama Salad recipe from epicurious.com. I thought the grated kohlrabi in this salad was shredded coconut. It was delicious.

Kohlrabi and Orange Salad
Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic or garlic scape
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
2 oranges, peeled, separated, and cut crosswise into chunks
1 kohlrabi, peeled and shredded
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup crumbled fresh cheese
1/3 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (try Al Habashi in the River Market)

Method
Whisk together garlic, salt, lime juice, oil, honey, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.
Add oranges, kohlrabi, onion, and gently toss.
Season with salt and sprinkle with cheese and pumpkin seeds.

In the Share - Week 6

2011-06-21T18:19:00.001-07:00

The first carrots

LETTUCE (F/P) The first day of summer marks the beginning of the end of the spring lettuce crop. We are hoping for another couple of weeks with the more heat-tolerant crispheads.
SUMMER SQUASH (F) Good, reliable zucchini and yellow squash. This is the kind of food civilizations were founded upon.
CARROTS (F/P) The first harvest of the season. They’re still growing but are oh so tender at this stage.
GREEN ONIONS (F/P) No more slender scallions, these have some heft. They still need to be refrigerated as long as they have the green tops.
CABBAGE (F) Petite spring cabbages. There will be more and for the partials too next week.
KOHLRABI OR TURNIPS (F) These are most likely the end of both until fall.
SUGARSNAP OR SNOW PEAS (F/P) It was a good harvest (over 300 lbs.) but this is the last of them.
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Summer savory and basil. All combo bunches this week.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares

NEXT WEEK: More squash, cabbage, and lettuce. Beets, chard and kale. Perhaps a sprinkling of peppers and cucumbers.

FARM REPORT
The longest day of the year is today and the farm crew has been making full use of the extra daylight hours. Most of Monday was spent in the tomato patch, trellising and pruning. The plants looking great. They are growing fast and have lots of flowers and green fruit.

Irrigation has been a top priority for the past two weeks as we continue to miss the big downpours that are all around us. Here you can see some of the tools that help us get the irrigation system in place. The wooden cradle holds the old electrical spools repurposed to hold our irrigation tape. The tape runs down each row of crop and connects to the supply line with a small valve.

With the tomatoes tended, we tackled the Family Cucurbitae. 6 rows of winter squash, 4 of summer squash, 3 of melon and 4 of cucumbers is enough to keep the four of us (me, Tom, Luke and Kim)occupied for awhile. Hand weeding around each plant is a meditation in orange blossom, scratchy leaf and squash bug.

Bulk List---Week 6

2011-06-21T04:46:00.000-07:00

The Spring crops are waning, but we still have some bulk available.

Beets: $3.00/bunch
Swiss chard: $3.00/bunch
Lettuce: $3.00/head
Carrots: $3.00/bunch
Herbs (oregano, tarragon, fennel): $2.50/bunch
Onions: $3.00/bunch

What to Do With Your Share---Week 5

2011-06-14T18:49:00.000-07:00

When it comes to variety, this time of year is quite exceptional. When the shares include such delectables as strawberries, broccoli, sugar snap peas and summer squash, you know it is mid-June. We hope that enjoying this Spring’s bounty has been easy.
Here are a couple of suggestions for you:

From last year’s Week 5, try the Julienne Snap Peas, a wonderful pea salad that gets better over time.

Another must, if you still have any garlic scapes, is to use last week’s creamy garlic scape dressing as a dip for your strawberries. This combination is one of those that is realized when you spend two weeks in late Spring smelling scapes and berries every day. I feel that, when two fruits or vegetables are naturally ripe at the same time, they will always go together. It is the rule of the seasons. I hope you taste this combo and see what I mean. Last year’s Garlic Scape and Strawberry Dressing is another option.

The summer squash will be a regular in the shares for a while, so it is good to realize the many options you have to prepare this versatile vegetable. We don’t feel that it is bad to go the fried route every once in a while. And when you use an egg batter, you are getting both vegetables and protein in the dish.

Tempura Style Fried Summer Squash and Broccoli
Ingredients
Summer squash
Broccoli
Eggs
Flour
Oregano, marjoram and/or summer savory
Salt and Pepper
Frying oil (we used grape seed oil

Method
1. Trim ends from summer squash and cut into rounds or half rounds
2. Break broccoli into florets
3. Dust the vegetables in flour seasoned with herbs
4. Next dip the vegetables in egg
5. Fry coated vegetable in oil until golden brown
6. Drain on paper
7. Season with salt and pepper

In the Share - Week 5

2011-06-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

Zephyr summer squash

LETTUCE (F/P) As the heat takes over, the lettuce in your shares will be heavy on the romaines and crisphead varieties.

SUGAR SNAP or SNOW PEAS (F/P) The pea patch is really pumping out fruit at the moment. We picked 200 lbs. last week and hope for a similar harvest this week. The snow peas are a variety called 'Oregon Giant' and are great raw or cooked.

BEETS (F) My favorite vegetable is the beet. The beets this week are young and tender and the greens are good too. After this week beets will be a choice so this is your best chance to try them.

KOHLRABI, TURNIPS OR GREEN ONIONS (F/P) Partial shares get a choice of kohlrabi or beets.

KALE OR CHARD (F/P)

SUMMER SQUASH (F/P)

STRAWBERRIES OR BROCCOLI (F/P) We know, it is a hard choice and most of you would prefer both but alas both plantings are nearing their end.

HERB CHOICE (F) spearmint, summer savory or oregano.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares

NEXT WEEK: More lettuce, peas, kohlrabi, summer squash and herbs. Cabbage and carrots.

FARM REPORT

As was mentioned last week, we are in the throes of the June juggernaut. We've got the spring harvest in full swing, summer crops needing much attention and the fall seeding has begun. This week we built what we hope will be a permanent home for the fall seedlings.

A separate home for the fall seedlings is necessary as the greenhouse is way too hot in the summer. A cool, shady spot is best for getting the seeds to sprout in the summer heat.

In the past we used screened tents purchased at the big box store. They never lasted more than a season due to their flimsy construction. We are very happy to stay out of the big box store by building our own, much sturdier alternative. All we needed was some rebar, electrical conduit, scrap wood and a shade cloth that we had purchased a few years back but never put to use. So far it has held up splendidly to wind and rain. We have quickly filled it chock full of seeded flats of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts.

Bulk List---Week 5

2011-06-14T04:09:00.000-07:00

Since we did not fill up our shares for Saturday pickup, we have about 10 extra shares worth of produce each week. Until we fill up for Saturdays, you can expect most share items on the list. Sorry, but there are no more u-pick strawberries. The patch is winding down.

Kolhrabi: $3.00/bunch of two
Hakurei turnips topped (from first planting): $3.00/lb
Hakurei Turnips with tops (from new planting): $3.00/bunch
Beets: $3.00/bunch
Sugar snap peas: $2.00/half pound
Swiss chard/kale: $3.00/bunch
Lettuce: $3.00/head
Herbs (oregano, tarragon, fennel): $2.50/bunch
Scallions: $2.50/bunch

What to Do With Your Share---Week 4

2011-06-07T18:08:00.001-07:00

Strawberries 2011
Strawberries are the dominant producer on the farm this week, as they reach their peak maturity for 2011 (though sugar snap peas are a real competitor). In the Bulk List post below we are seeking to entice you out to the farm to take advantage of this year's harvest. We hope that we did not imply that there were not any good berries to be found, as the old Honeoye patch may well be getting a new life, now that we have spent over a week culling out as many damaged berries as possible.

Uses for strawberries abound. Here on the farm we eat as many raw, fresh, berries as possible while they are at hand. Other annual rituals include freezing whole berries for future use, jam making, juice making, and wine making.

Making juice with a tabletop strainer

Kohlrabi

A CSA defining vegetable, kohlrabi is unknown to many people. We grow it for you because it is a substantial spring vegetable. Be sure to peel it and then enjoy the crunchy, juicy and somewhat sweet flavor of a fresh as can be kohlrabi. Cut it into thin strips, or grate it and mix it with last week's garlic scape dressing for a quick side salad.

Spring Pizza

The farm provided well this week as the ingredients for a delicious pizza arrived. We get a bread share from Bread of Life, and every two weeks we get a whole wheat pizza crust. We take it from there and provide the toppings. Next ingredient was cheese, made with some local goat milk. Simply heat the milk to 185 deg F, take it off the burner and add some vinegar and let it curdle. Strain off the whey and you have fresh goat cheese.

Carmelized leeks, garlic scape pesto and oregano are all share items this time of year. Sun dried tomatoes are from last year's crop. We will be growing more drying tomatoes this year, so make sure your dehydrator is ready to go this summer.

At 12 inches, this pizza crust fits into our toaster oven (it's nicer than a microwave). It is much more energy efficient than heating a larger oven space. In 10 minutes you have incredible pizza.

Pizza

1 Bread of LIfe whole wheat pizza crust

olive oil

oregano

garlic scape pesto

carmelized leeks

sun dried tomatoes

mozzarella cheese

goat cheese

Place toppings on pizza in order shown. Bake according to pizza crust instructions.

In the Share - Week 4

2011-06-07T18:00:00.000-07:00

Sugarsnap peas ready for picking

LETTUCE (F/P) More lovely ladies from the generous lettuce patch.

STRAWBERRIES (F/P) 2 pints (i.e. 1 quart) for all. You get 1 pint each of our 2 strawberry varieties: Honeoye and Amore. Let us know how they compare.

BROCCOLI (F/P) It is peak broccoli season this week, so enjoy it while you can.

ENDIVE 'FRISEE' (F/P) A frilly addition to a salad or darn good on its own with strawberry and honey dressing.

SUGAR SNAP PEAS (F/P) The first picking in the pea patch. These are edible-pod peas. Just snap off the top and whatever string may come with it and enjoy.

HAKUREI TURNIPS OR KOHLRABI (F) The second planting of turnips or the first of the kohlrabi. For those new to the kohlrabi, read more at Tom's post It is nice just peeled and eaten raw in slices.

GREEN ONIONS (F/P) Yes, we are eating our young as they are so tender.

SUMMER SQUASH (F/P) The first picking is enough for everyone to get just one. We pick our zucchini and other summer squashes at this size because they are more flavorful and don't have much of a seed cavity. Large squashes will appear in the swap boxes when we invariably miss one or two for those who want some baking-sized specimens.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) dill, fennel, tarragon or garlic scape. Fresh spring herbs ready for every meal.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares

NEXT WEEK: More lettuce, snap peas, broccoli, summer squash, kohlrabi and turnips. Baby beets.

FARM REPORT

June is a month full on the farm. Spring crops are coming into harvest and are doing well. The summer crops are growing by leaps and bounds as are the weeds. And it is time to prep and plant for fall. On Monday we put the second string on all the trellised tomatoes.

Me, Kim and Lucas twining through the tomatoes.

Today we planted 800 sweet potato plants. The transplanter made planting a breeze compared to the knee-crunching alternative. Thanks to modern invention we then had time to plant our last row of tomatoes and another 2 rows of melons and hoe the summer squash in addition to the morning harvest of broccoli and strawberries.

Kim and I planting sweet potatoes

And then twice a week the farm gets help from the community. Last Saturday was an especially large crowd. Everyone played their part and we got alot done.

Saturday harvest with 3 teams: spinach, lettuce and others of all ages pulling turnips

Bulk List---Week 4

2011-06-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

Hakurei turnips topped (from first planting): $3.00/lb
Hakurei Turnips with tops (from new planting): $3.00/bunch
Tat soi or yukina savoy (Asian Greens): $2.50/head
Kale: $3.00/bunch
Scallions: $2.50/bunch
Strawberries (U-pick only): $3.00/lb (a pound of strawberries is about a quart)

Bulk strawberry sales will be a bit different this year. We do not plan at this time to pick extra strawberries for bulk sales. Problems with the old patch of Honeoye strawberries (early-Spring cold, disease issues, small berries) has made it incredibly time consuming to pick. It took the farm crew 10 person-hours to pick 38 quarts on Saturday. And we only got through about 15% of the patch. At that rate it would take one person 3 straight days to pick enough just to fill the shares with a quart apiece.

Our new patch of Amore strawberries, however are doing well. While not as heavy a producer as our old patch, the berries have been high quality and relatively easy to pick. We will be picking that patch once per day from here on out and putting those berries in the shares.

So……..if you want extra strawberries this year you will have to pick them yourself. The plan is to open up the old patch to the membership for picking NOW. We encourage you to come on out, see the farm, pick and snack on some strawberries, and know that you had intimate knowledge of where your next jar of strawberry jam came from.

We urge you to take us up on this offer so that as many berries get picked as possible. You can bring your friends/non-members if you like. Just follow these simple rules:

1. No “drop bys”. We ask that you phone or email to let us know when you are coming out.
2. Children must be supervised by an adult at all times. No wandering or running children please.
3. You may go in the packing room/CSA distribution area. All other portions of the barn are off limits.
4. We will be weighing your berries so you can bring your own containers. Otherwise, we will provide pint and/or quart containers for your use.
5. No pets please.
6. If you wish to see the sheep do not touch the fence, as it is electrified.
7. Do not walk in front of the bee hives.
8. There is poison ivy in the fencerows. Leaves of three, let it be.

We look forward to providing you with fresh, local, sustainably grown strawberries. See you at the farm.

Tom and Rebecca

What to Do With Your Share---Week 3

2011-05-31T17:38:00.000-07:00

The Spring lettuces just keep coming this week. You hear some folks say that you can’t grow respectable food using organic methods, but as the leafy greens in your shares have shown they are one crop that grows great, given the weather isn’t too extreme (like the last 7 days).

Being farmers living close to the fields, we get our choice of the extra and less than perfect lettuces. That means we can cut ourselves a couple Regina di Maggio butterheads for a lettuce heart salad this time of year. The center of these lettuces live up to their designation of butteriness (if that’s a word). They are so tender and delicious that they deserve to be a salad all to themselves. They are a five-star treat.

To compliment this salad we recommend the creamy garlic dressing below. You can use green garlic, garlic scapes or bulb garlic for the recipe. This time of year, of course, the fresh garlic choices are the best. Not much else is needed but lettuce hearts and a garnish.

This dressing is bold enough for romaine hearts too. We have lots of large romaines growing right now and you can expect to see a lot of them. Use the outer leaves to top a sandwich, burger or BLT and use the hearts for a nice Caesar salad.

Butterhead Lettuce Heart Salad with Creamy Garlic Dressing
(dressing modified from The Silver Palate Cookbook)

Ingredients
1 egg yolk
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar or honey
1/4 cup chopped green garlic or garlic scapes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup best-quality olive oil

Method
1. Take outer leaves off lettuce head (save them for another salad or sandwiches) until you are left with the tender heart. You may want 2 lettuce heads per salad. Wash, dry in a salad spinner, and place in salad bowl or individual bowls.
2. Combine egg yolk, vinegar, sugar, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process briefly.
3. With the motor running, slowly dribble in the olive oil.
4. Taste, correct seasoning if necessary, and transfer to storage/serving container.
5. Top salad with the dressing and garnish of choice (we used roasted pumpkin seeds).

Strawberries
We have to report that year's strawberry season is getting off to a tough start. It appears we suffered significant frost damage from the early-May cold spell, and may have other, yet to be determined problems. Of the two patches, the patch planted last year is doing the best. We will be talking to Extension to see what their opinion is. We hope that we will grow out of this slump.

The berries you receive might not have the shine and firmness that you are used to, but based on many samples, we feel that they are flavorful and should be handed out. We encourage you to use them soon, as they are a delicate fruit.

Hakurei Turnips
Everyone likes to be original, so most of our recipes are born of what is at hand and our creative hunger. But the more we search the web for recipes, the more we see that the aptitude of folks to cook fresh vegetables in imaginative ways is growing in leaps and bounds. I realized this as I searched for Hakurei turnip recipes the other day.

We have had an excellent harvest of Hakurei’s this Spring, and hope to have them in your share for a couple weeks. We don’t want to load you with a particular veggie without some cooking suggestions, so I searched for Hakurei turnip recipes, and found a slew of options. The curried Hakurei’s on The Veggie Project blog caught my eye.

The blog is posted as “a group of Boston-area families committed to cooking with local vegetables. During the summer of 2008, we each plan to try new vegetarian recipes with produce from local farms. We will use this blog to share information about the recipes we have cooked, and hope to inspire others to cook more locally.”

Curried Hakurei Turnips
Ingredients
1 chopped onion (you can substitute green onions or green garlic)
2 tablespoons oil
5 or 6 harkurei, sliced thin
2 teaspoons curry powder (makes a hot dish)
1 teaspoon salt
one lemon, cut into wedges

Method
Sauté the onion in the oil for a few minutes until translucent. Add the turnips, the curry powder and salt and cook until everything is tender. Squeeze some lemon juice over the dish before serving and serve with extra lemon wedges.---We used lime. This is an excellent combination of turnips and onions.

In the Share - Week 3

2011-05-31T17:20:00.000-07:00

BROCCOLI (F/P) One of my favorite crops to grow which means I’m a bit of a sadist. Broccoli is a finicky crop especially in our Springs, but they are looking as good as we’ve ever had right now.
STRAWBERRIES (F/P) 1 pint for everyone. Read Tom’s post for the whole story on the disappointing strawberry crop. But, did I mention the broccoli is outstanding this week?
LETTUCE (F/P) There are some monsters lurking in the field masquerading as lettuces. Try a decadent treat – farmer Tom’s butterhead heart salad. I plan to give the full shares a butterhead and a romaine. Partial shares get a choice of one.
HAKUREI TURNIPS OR PINK BEAUTY RADISHES (F/P) It's a hard choice, I know. Both are on the bulk list...
SPINACH (F/P) The storms and four inches of rain in the last week have tested the spinach. So far it appears to have survived. We are picking every leaf this week, so enjoy it while you can.
TAT SOI OR ARUGULA (F) Need something to jazz up your salads? A crunch or some spice.
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Mint, cilantro, oregano or dill
GARLIC SCAPES (F/P) The delightfully delicate flower buds of the hardneck garlic. See Tom’s blog for a garlic scape dressing to go with that butterhead heart salad. The scapes also work well in a Caesar salad for the romaines.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life shares

NEXT WEEK: More broccoli, lettuce and radishes. Kohlrabi and kale. Sugarsnap Peas and endive.

FARM REPORT
It has been a crazy week here at the farm. Sheep arrived, a tornado threatened and we got four inches of rain. On Wednesday morning Tom Parker brought five lambs to the farm.

The lambs will stay with us for the summer, eating our grasses and clovers and depositing their good benefits on our soil. To keep the farm food safe, we always keep them at a lower elevation than our crops and work with them at the end of the day. Every three days we move them to a new spot where they have fresh forage. This mimics the natural movement of grassland animals and keeps them free from parasites.

Later that same morning, we had a tornado warning. Several of the CSA members here on their farm shift got to join us down in our root cellar.

All clear with only rain and hail. Nothing to speak of compared to the plight of others in Sedalia and Joplin.

As far as the rain goes, it was getting dry so we didn’t mind the first inch or so. Now we are very much hoping it will cease and desist immediately.

Forecasters call for a hot and sunny week. Sounds just fine to your farmers. Give us some sun already!

Week 3 Bulk List

2011-05-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

If you like Spring vegetables, take advantage while they are still around.

Lettuce: $3.00/head
- you can specify butterhead, romaine or leaf lettuce
Tat soi: $2.50/head
Hakurei turnips: $3.00/bunch
Radishes: $2.00/bunch
Herbs (cilantro, dill, mint, oregano): $2.50/bunch
Green garlic (last week): $3.00/bunch

In the Share - Week 2

2011-05-24T17:46:00.000-07:00

Week 1 bok choi harvest

LETTUCE (F/P) We got "pea-size" hail this afternoon, so expect some extra speckles on your lettuce this week. The bruising is small enough to ignore when the lettuce tastes this good.

HAKUREI TURNIPS (F/P) The first juicy Hakureis of the season. If you have never had this variety of turnip you are in for a treat. Go ahead, eat em like an apple.

GREEN ONIONS (F/P) More tender alliums to zest up every dish

TAT SOI (F/P) Related to bok choi. Use similarly, although the leaves are tender enough to chop up and eat raw. See Tom's post for more info. on our "Asian spinach"

BOK CHOI OR RED RUSSIAN KALE (F) This is the last of spring bok choi and the first of the kale. Either way you'll be eating well.

CHERRY BELLE RADISHES (F) The last of these red darlings until our next radish planting matures.

GREEN GARLIC (F) Chop up the tender white and light green half and add to well... every dish is better with some green garlic.

ASPARAGUS (P) I know it was difficult last week to walk by the asparagus for the full shares with none for you. You have been patient and now you get your reward.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Fennel, cilantro and dill. We think the mixed bunches are popular so we will continue to make alot of them. Let us know what you think.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms delivery

NEXT WEEK: More lettuces, turnips and green onions. Perhaps the first taste of strawberries. Arugula, spinach and kohlrabi.

The farm is a buzz with happy spring activity. Yesterday Fair Share Farm CSA member and beekeeper, Keith Stubblefield, visited to check the bee hives. We could tell by looking at the entrance to the hive that there were alot of bees.

Upon opening the hives we were greeted by this happy sight.

Good news for all those honey lovers out there (Farmer Tom being one of the biggest), we have some happy bees. For the last two years we have struggled to have sucessful bee hives. Out of eight colonies that we have brought in, there are just two remaining. But boy are those two looking good. Since they had filled up most of the space, we put two additional boxes on each hive. That will give them plenty of room to spread out and make even more honey.

Bulk List---Week 2

2011-05-24T04:28:00.000-07:00

Still lots of extra greens, alliums and herbs out there. Get them while you can.

Bok Choi---$2.50/head
Tat soi---$2.50/head
Lettuce---$3.00/head
Radish---$2.00/bunch
Hakurei turnips---$3.00/bunch
Herbs (mint, cilantor, dill, fennel, lovage)---$2.50/bunch

What to Do With Your Share---Week 2

2011-05-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

The freshness continues this week with the arrival of the Hakurei turnips. A big bunch is coming your way, so be sure to use the whole lot, tops and all. Add them to a stir fry, eat them raw, cook and mash them, there are lots of possibilities.

The green changes this week too with the addition of tat soi. We use it just like we would spinach and as a core ingredient in stir frys.

Stir Fry Soup

One thing to remember with this week's share is that it is still stir-fry season. We like Asian cuisine because it is adept at using lots of vegetables in a hot, cold, or fermented dish. Monday night we cooked up a stir fry using the week's vegetables and some stuff from the fridge.

To make things a little more interesting, and to make an even heartier dish we added chicken stock (you can also use vegetable or beef stock) just as we were done making the stir fry and made it a soup. Serve it in a nice big soup bowl over rice, garnish with cilantro, and it's a meal.

Radish Suggestions

Radishes it seems are one of those vegetables that people love or hate. We love them because they are a great snack in the field. We wipe off the dirt and crunch into them. Their juiciness and spiciness are a refreshing treat when we walk by the patch.

Emily Akins knows how to enjoy them and came up with her own radish sandwich recipe on her blog (check our Blog Roll).

In the Share - Week 1

2011-05-17T05:34:00.000-07:00

Hey there, it's farmer rebecca. Every week for the next 24 weeks, I will be letting you know what is in the shares plus a brief farm report. Here's the letttuces you will eating this week.

That's (clockwise from top left) New Red Fire (ruffled red and huge right now), Forellenschluss ('trout-back' in German, green romaine with red speckles), Quattro di Stagioni ('four seasons' in Italian, red butterhead) and Regina di Maggio (another of our Italian beauties, the 'May Queen', green butterhead with a hint of pink).

The farm crew is proud to bring you the following:

LEEKS (F/P) these lovely ladies need no introduction to our renewing members, but if you have never savored the buttery goodness of the leek see Tom's post for our favorite recipes. We have a good harvest this spring of our over-wintered varieties. Full shares get 2 lbs., partials 1.5 lbs.

LETTUCE (F/P) It is lettuce season and boy, we've got some monsters out there! Full shares get 2, partial shares 1.

GREEN GARLIC (F/P) Another early spring CSA share regular. It's a garlic that looks like a spring onion. Same idea, different allium. Chop it up, saute it with your favorite meal or eat it raw for the tenderest kiss of garlic.

CHERRY BELLE RADISHES (F/P) Bright jewels of spring bring color and crunch to the shares.

BOK CHOY (F/P) One of my favorite spring veggies. I could eat Tom's stir fry with bok choy every night and never tire of it. See his post for the recipe. Full shares get 2, partials 1.

ARUGULA (F) A little peppery kick to your salads. Partial shares get a choice of herbs or arugula.

ASPARAGUS (F) We have enough for a 1/2 lb. per full share this week. We just planted 600 ft. of a new patch, so hopefully in a few years we will have plenty. Partial shares will get asparagus next week.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Cilantro, dill or lovage. We'll also have some bunches that have a bit of all of the above.

CHIVE FLOWERS (F/P) A little extra treat for your bellies or a vase. We like to sprinkle the chive flowers on top of our salads. Avoid the tough stems of the flowers, but the tender leaves are well, they are chives so you can eat them as such.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life bakery shares

NEXT WEEK: More lettuces, arugula, radishes and herbs. Green onions and Hakurei turnips. Tatsoi and kale.

FARM REPORT

The day has arrived. We are at the starting line of the 8th Fair Share Farm CSA season. On your mark, get your salad spinner ready and eat!

The farm crew has been anticipating this day since February 9th when we planted the first seed in the greenhouse. Actually, you've got to go back further than that to November 2010 when we planted the garlic. No, that's not right either. Really you've got to go back to February 2010 when we seeded the over-wintered leeks that are in your share now. Alot has happened in the meantime. The rain has fallen, the sun has shone and the farmers have been lovingly tending the crops. When all of those factors come together well, you get a share that is bursting with springtime tenderness and beauty. We hope you all enjoy eating it as much as we have enjoyed growing it. Dig in!

The Fair Share Farm CSA Core Group met last Sunday at the farm. We had a great afternoon preparing for the season and looking ahead to some long-range planning. It was a bit cold and wet but we took a short stroll amongst the vegetables and out to the orchard where we planted an apple tree in honor of our dear friend and core group member, Kathy Brock. Kathy was a FSF CSA member for 6 seasons and was a vital and much-loved member of the Liberty distribution team. She will be dearly missed, but we will remember her whenever we bite into one of her apples. Ha! That would make her laugh, I think.

Welcome to the Vegetables

2011-05-17T04:54:00.000-07:00

Welcome one and all to the 2011 Fair Share Farm CSA. The fields are in great shape this Spring and we are hoping for a bountiful season. For those of you who don't know, this part of the blog is written by me, Tom the Farmer. It is the spot you can go to get ideas for cooking each week's share.

Depending on time and personal energy, you may find a recipe from a recent meal here at the farm, a list of tried and true favorites, or other suggestions for cooking up your veggies (or all of the above). You can also search the blog, or go to our website and; a) search the Recipe page or b) check out our 2004 - 2007 Newsletter archive. In all cases you will find recipes that we have tested and tasted, and that each use a large array of share items.

Since the 2005 CSA seaon we have had leeks in the first week's share. This week's amount is heftier than normal, since we have to dig an entire bed before they flower, and want to get them to you while they are still fresh.

Once we made leeks as staple of our shares we found that those unfamiliar with this noble allium quickly fell in love with it. Part of the reason has been our suggested recipe. If you are new to leeks be sure to try Angel Hair Paste with Leeks and Garlic Saute. Last year's Asparagus and Leek Fritatta is also a winner. It is a good way to use the small bunch of asparagus. In future years, when our new patch is producing we plan on this item being a larger share.

Stir Fry Season
This week's recipe is a variation on the stir fry recipe in last years Week 2 blog. I recommend reading that blog post, as it references an excellent article on the basics of stir frying. We received lots of comments last year on how stir fry's became a delicious "go to" meal for many members.

On Saturday we had a hankering for just such a meal, especially after staring at these prime vegetables in the fields all week long. But as we pulled the ingredients together we realized that we had no ginger root in the house. We did find some candied ginger in the freezer though, and substituted it with great results.

Spring Stir Fry 2011
While suspiciously similar to last year's recipe I hope that it serves to illustrate that for many CSA share recipes you simply use what you have.

Ingredients
2 tbsp sesame oil
1-1/2 tbsp chopped candied ginger (or ginger root)
2 green garlic (bottom half) You can also add green onions
3 to 5 radishes
1 to 2 bok choi
6 to 8 lovage leaves (optional)
Cilantro for garnish

Sauce:
You can use the sauce from last year's recipe, or as we did, simply look in your fridge and find all of those Asian sauces that may be in there. We used a combination of oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili garlic sauce and fish sauce.

Method
First step is to ready the ingredients. For the bok choi you will want to chop the stems and the leaves separate. Likewise with the radishes, chop the root and the tops separate
Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside
Heat a wok or large skillet, add the sesame oil
Add the candied ginger, stir and cook for 30 seconds
Add the radishes and green garlic, stir and cook for 2 minutes
Add the bok choi stems, cook for 1 minute
Add the greens from the bok choi, and radish, and the lovage, cook 1 minute
Add the sauce and cook for 1 more minute

Serve immediately over hot rice and garnish with cilantro if desired

Bulk List---Week 1

2011-05-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

We have a bulk list this year before the season even starts! For those newbies out there, each week we post a list of those vegetables we have extra of and sell to the membership. If you would like to purchase items simply email me (Tom) at my farm email of tom(@)fairsharefarm.com. Your order and a bill will be sent into distribution. You can pay the distribution coordinator and they will see that we recieve your payment.

Leeks---$3.50/lb
Lettuce---$3.50/hd
Green garlic---$3.00/bunch
Cilantro, dill, fennel, garlic chives or mint---$3.00/bunch

Getting Ready for Next Week

2011-05-12T05:51:00.000-07:00

The weather, the day length and the crops all say it is time to start the Fair Share Farm CSA season next week. For the past several weeks we have been sampling the fare and eating well here at the farm. Now it is time to start getting those fresh veggies to you.

Rebecca's recent email includes the details you need to know for picking up your vegetables and planning for your work days at the farm. We look forward to serving up a nice share next week.

In preparation, we have been uncovering many of the crops that were shrouded in row cover during the early Spring. The lettuce and broccoli are now out in the open air. Lettuce is doing great---beautiful multi-colored heads of leaf, butterhead and romaines still growing. The broccoli looks good too, though we have hade some loss due to voles and crown rot.

Over the last week we have had a lot of help from the Spring 2011 William Jewell College Ecology of Food class. Their professor and friend, Paul Klawinski, requires that the students put in service learning hours as a part of this exceptional class. On Monday a crew of 5 helped us wash and sanitize all of our crates. On Tuesday they helped us harvest, trim and clean 400 row feet of leeks. Thanks to all.

Monday also heralded what might be known as leek week here. Each year we plant leeks for harvest the following Spring. This year's crop, started in the greenhouse in February 2010, braved last years wet Spring and Summer, as well as a very cold winter with little dieback. As it starts its second year of growth it wants to flower, requiring that we harvest the leeks now instead of next week. You can expect a generous size share of this elegant and flavorful vegetable next week.

Leek week continued with the planting of this year's Fall crop. Over 1,600 leek transplants were trimmed and planted in a matter of hours thanks to our electric tractor and our transplanter. They will be ready in October and for the annual Thanksgiving shares. Next year's Spring leeks are still in the greenhouse and will go out soon.

Leek transplants

Planted leeks

The Beginnings of Summer

2011-05-05T04:32:00.000-07:00

As farmers, we try to spend a lot of our time listening. Listening to the plants, the soil, the weather forecast, to better manage the farm. Since 2008, arguably our wettest and toughest year, we have modified our growing practices to alleviate the distress caused by too much rain.

From taking some areas out of production, to guttering our beds with our electric tractor, to using more mulch, these changes paid off in the likewise wet years of 2009 and 2010.

Last year we learned what we should have already known about planting summer crops like tomatoes---wait until it is warm. In 2010 late April and early May saw cold, wet days and nights that killed the feeder roots of three beds (about 300 plants) worth of plants and lead to a harvest at less than 50% of what we should expect.

This year we have been more patient, waiting for what looks like the beginning of day and night temps over 50 degrees. Tomatoes are heat loving plants, and plants that are warm and happy for their whole life grow just as fast, if not faster, than ones put out in the cold to start.

So Wednesday the farm crew set out 100 cherry tomato plants and 100 hybrid determinate plants. Yet to come are 100 hybrid determinates, 300 heirloom, and 200 paste tomatoes. We finish off our tomato planting in about a month with a final bed of summer (heat tolerant) tomatoes.

Tomato planting

Other goings on include walking by the strawberries every day and marveling at their lush green growth and many flowers. At the moment things look right for another successful strawberry season. Keep your fingers crossed.

Elsewhere in the field the broccoli and cabbage planted under the warmth of the row cover are growing as well as in any Spring. As they size up they make thier presence more obvious behind the shear fabric. Other crops are growing well too, as can be seen in the photo of this year's garlic crop.

Meanwhile, in the greenhouse, we are finishing up most of our seeding and moving plants from the greenhouse, to the cold frame, to the field. It is interesting to watch the cucurbit seeds germinate in the soil blocks, as their large seeds seem to explode through the soil surface and unfurl thier leaves.

Thinking of Summer

2011-04-24T07:26:00.000-07:00

The Spring has been good so far, though it has gotten a bit wet lately. We have reached the point in planting where we are shifting our focus to the warm weather crops of summer.

Seedlings were started over a month ago, and now the tomato transplants are inching closer to the fields. We put the cherry and cage tomatoes in the cold frame on Friday to give them a good week to "harden off" before planting them near the end of the month.

The peppers and eggplant continue to grow, though we have had to re-seed some due to poor germination. This week we also seeded the first batch of cucumbers and melons in soil blocks, as well as all of the winter squash. As we pull roasted red peppers and eggplant out of our freezer, and canned tomato sauce out of the larder we can taste the expectations of summer. We are out to finish last year's stores so we can make room for the 2011 harvest.

Tomato transplants in the cold frame

Soil block of melons

Work continues on the Spring crops. Thinning of the spinach, turnips, radish, arugula, carrots and beets is in order right now. While somewhat tedious there is always a nature show during the work. Our contact with the ground rumbles the soil and forces the many earthworms in our beds to the surface. They stretch out of their burrows and make their way along the surface before disappearing again to do their work.

Maintenance work and barn cleanup was also on the list last week as we have a long list of rainy day tasks to do.

Rebecca thinning hakurei turnips

Earthworm and turnip seedlings

The view from our window

Lettuce growing

Lucas working on our "new" mower

Rocky keeping watch

We also were able to do some mushroom hunting at the end of the day. We had been hearing many reports that the morels were out, and we have been able to find enough for several meals and snacks. The tree ear mushrooms are also fruiting.

Flame Weeding and Cover Cropping

2011-04-14T06:09:00.000-07:00

As the nice weather continues, our work continues to pick up. From potting up tomatoes in the greenhouse, to planting and mulching more broccoli, to equipment maintenance. The order of the day yesterday though was cover cropping.

We have experienced the many benefits of cover cropping over the past several years and have worked up a system that seems to work well for our farm. Each spring we spread a mix of chickling vetch and oats on the beds that will be planted with our fall crops. The beds are cultivated to eliminate (most all) weeds, the seed is broadcast, the tractor harrows them in, we wait for rain to help them germinate, and then watch them grow into a mass of green organic matter.

Sometime in late June we will spade this "green manure" in and let it decompose for a couple weeks. Soon after we cultivate to get any small weeds that want to come up, and then plant our fall crops. The feel and smell of the soil at this point is just something you have to experience. It is alive and fully cycling nutrients, creating the conditions we organic farmers work for.

Below is a video of Lucas broadcasting the seed. A clearer version is on YouTube.

The seed after broadcast

Getting ready to harrow

The fun really began though when, for the first time in farm history we put our flame weeder to work. After buying a new part this week, we got the bugger working, taking on a project we had planned on tackling for many years, the asparagus beds.

In our last post we talked about the problems with these beds and our plans to abandon them when the new patch kicks in. But in the meantime we hope to harvest some quantity of asparagus from the old bed.

The video and photo speak for themselves. What isn't shown is the taste treats we enjoyed as a part of this exercise. The asparagus has already come up and, while we harvested what we saw, when we started burning we could see there were still spears coming out of the ground.

Well the fire served to do nothing more than char those spears, allowing us to harvest grilled asparagus! That's why we love this job.

April Planting

2011-04-07T16:12:00.001-07:00

We entered April with some beautiful weather and put it to good use. In what may be a Fair Share Farm record, on Tuesday we planted 1,200 row feet of broccoli, 600 ft of cabbage, 300 ft of lettuce, 1,200 ft of potatoes, and 600 feet of onions. We were able to do this mainly with the aid of our transplanter. The cover cropping we did on our beds last season, the winter freeze thaw action, and our workhorse electric tractor also played a major role, creating an incredibly loose, friable, weed free soil to plant in.

Lucas cultivating

Rebecca and Lucas transplanting broccoli

Mulching the broccoli and cabbage

At our last Core Group meeting we were asked if we were doing anything new this year. I said no, forgetting that we purchased over 500 asparagus crowns to create a new patch. Our old patch has never been real happy, and last year appeared to be disappearing prematurely. The new patch will be planted putting our 9 years of experience on this piece of land to work.

First we spaded the beds last fall to allow them to loosen up over the winter. Then we limed the beds before cutting trenches to plant the asparagus in. Next step was to help out these alkaline loving plants by spreading wood ash from our stove, before planting the gangly crowns in the bottom of the trench. As the plants grow we will slowly fill in the trench with compost and topsoil before giving the whole patch a layer of hay mulch to hold down the weeds and retain moisture. We are hoping to have a nice bunch of asparagus as a regular item in the first week or two's shares in a couple of years.

Asparagus crowns laid out for planting

Planting the crowns into the trench

Finishing Out March

2011-04-01T05:24:00.000-07:00

March has ended with a flourish at Fair Share Farm. We put our 2011 intern Lucas to work a week early, and he helped us accomplish a significant amount of work this week. The plants have started moving out of the greenhouse and into the field. We've planted most of the onions, the first batch of lettuce and the kale.

With the weather the way it is looking we hope to plant out the broccoli, cabbage, potatoes, cilantro, dill, and more lettuce next week. We've also seeded the first carrots and beets.

Farm beautification has proceeded with piles of brish being cut and fences cleared. We have also cleaned up and "rearranged" many outside storage areas to make them more attractive and useful. Like when you clean up your house for company, it is nice to be pushed to do the work you have always planned on doing.

"Heeling in" the onion transplants

Rebecca seeding beets

Broccoli and cabbage

Lettuce and kale

Uncovering the strawberries

Building a Raised Herb Bed

2011-03-30T05:16:00.000-07:00

We continue to try to get the best out of our soil at the farm, but for some plants a heavy silt loam is never to their liking. Such is the case with some of our herbs. When we were in Upstate New York we seem to remember one tarragon plant growing as tall as your head in their sandy soil and being enough for the whole CSA. Our plants do not do as well, to say the least.

So we are building a raised bed for some of these herbs, in an attempt to make them happier. The soil mix we are trying is roughly 1/3 sand, 1/3 compost and 1/3 topsoil. A little wood ash, a quick mix, and voilà, an herb garden.

The other factor that helped us decide to try this out is that we are cleaning up an old pile of building stones from behind the barn as part of our farm beautification. These wonderful limestone blocks came from our barn's old foundation wall that was replaced in 2004. While there is only a limited amount of stones, we may build another raised bed if this one proves beneficial.

Here is the stop action video of the project. A higher resolution version is available on YouTube

FSF to Host "Outstanding in the Field"

2011-03-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

We received some exciting news this week at the farm. We have been chosen (and agreed) to host an Outstanding in the Field dinner.

This program travels around the country, setting up their long dinner table in a farm field, while having a celebrated local chef serve up a farm inspired meal. Our event will be held July 24 (rain or heat or shine) with chef Jonathan Justus providing the meal. For more information on Justus Drugstore, the Restaurant read this New York Times article.

The tickets are $180 per person. You get the unique experience of dining in the field and eating arguably the best local food from the area’s most celebrated chef. Along with appetizers, wine parings, a five course meal you get a chance to rub elbows with real live farmers (that’s us!).

We receive a generous honorarium for hosting, and plan on putting some of it towards farm beautification. We like our scruffy side, it is proof that we are indeed a working farm busily producing food and not manicuring the grounds, but we don’t want to look too shabby for this celebrated event. To help with this we anticipate having a volunteer day or two as the date approaches to help showcase Fair Share Farm in the best possible light.

Spread the word. The folks at Outstanding in the Field say that tickets sell out quickly. We are looking forward to playing host to the region for one night’s dinner.

Tom and Rebecca

Is it Really Spring?

2011-03-26T06:33:00.000-07:00

We are getting antsy to get going in the fields at Fair Share Farm, but the weather, and our farmer's sense tell us, be patient. We have learned that a transplant in the greenhouse with warm roots will give us a healthier plant than one that gets set out into 40 degree soil. And while we've seeded some peas and spinach, it remains too cold and wet for much else.

And cold and wet is the word. For the next five days the warmest temperature we can expect is 45 deg F; and 4 of the next 5 nights will see temps in the mid to high 20's. All are well below the balmy average of 60 deg F during the day and 40 deg F at night.

So we continue working in the greenhouse, and in the barn, and clearing brush, and planning, and whatever else we can do.

First day of Spring

Snow on the garlic Friday morning

Seeding the eggplant in mini-soil blocks

Stinging nettles, a Spring treat

Sign-up Meeting and Spring

2011-03-21T17:47:00.000-07:00

We would like to extend a thousand thanks to the Fair Share Farm CSA Core Group for organizing and running the annual Spring Sign-up Meeting. Their efforts are a great help to us, the farmers (as well as to the members!) In another smoothly run show, at a new location to boot, we "oriented" new members, signed contracts with both old and new, helped you schedule your farm work shifts, and introduced you to our partner vendors.

If you are a new member and missed the meeting, you need to attend the alternate signup meeting this Saturady at the farm at 2:00pm.

Contract signing

Meanwhile, farming continues. The broccoli continue to gain leaves, the garlic is pushing through the straw mulch that protected it all winter, and the earthworms are mating. We have planted onion sets, peas and spinach in the field and start the peppers and eggplant in the greenhouse today.

Broccoli starts

Garlic

Earthworms

This time of year we also find time to do our own Spring yard work. We have a home garden that is more protected than the fields where we start early lettuce and greens, so that we have some food for our interns and volunteers before the season is in full swing.

On that note too, if you planted the walking onions we handed out a few years ago, take a look at them now, as here at the farm they are perfect for pulling. If you want to keep a supply for next year simply pull a bunch/cluster, take the onions you want to eat, and replant a couple. You can trip the roots and tops before planting to help the plant out. They can last a lifetime, as these were from a garden in central MO that was originally planted in the 1940's.

Lettuce planting

Home garden

Yummy walking onions

And yes, we still have bees. After buying 7 hives in the past 2 years, we still have 2 (maybe 3) viable hives going. We will see how they do this year. If available, we plan on buying some locally bred bees from Les Miller this year to fill in some.

Springtime for the bees

March Farming

2011-03-18T05:38:00.000-07:00

Activities are accelerating here at the farm as March passes the halfway point. In the greenhouse we have seeded a host of crops: onions, leeks, broccoli, cabbage, Asian greens, kohlrabi, lettuce, tomatoes, celeriac, kale, herbs and flowers. Our volunteers and interns, Shelly, Marlene and Lucas have been a great help.

Marlene seeding w/Momma kitty

Broccoli showing its true leaves

No more greenhouse for the onions. They are hardening off outside awaiting planting in about a week.

Lettuce, kale and leeks filling the cold frame

Cleaning the tools in prep of the season

Lucas taking a soil sample.

Recycle and Reuse at the Farm

Frugality is nothing new to this Missouri homestead. In our remodeling of the house and in other activities at the farm we often find scrap materials that were used in construction 4o or 50 years ago.

To live up to the waste not attitude of our forebearers, and satisfy our desire to keep plastic out of the trash, we have designed our own version of the "ground staple". By cutting waste irrigation tubing in half, and punching two holes in it, we are able to make a ground staple that better holds down our row cover. It appears to be working well, and has the potential to save us a lot of time when putting out the row cover, as our alternative is to bury the edges (a tiresome and time consuming process.)

To top that, we are using them this year to tack down large sheets of waste greenhouse plastic on our cherry tomato beds to help warm the soil before planting in April. More on that in the future.

FSF ground staple

Warming the beds

Electric Tractor Update

At the end of last year our electric tractor was not acting as powerful as in the past. After some testing, it became apparent that 3 years of farming was all our batteries could take.

As we were hoping for 4 to 5 years we were a bit disappointed. Luckily our search for new batteries took us no farther than next door in Lawson, to Magnum Industrial Batteries. The folks there were helpful in providing us with an alternative design for our battery pack.

Instead of the six 8-volt batteries of our original system they suggested eight 6-volt batteries to achieve our required 48-volts. The 8 battery system cost the same as the 6 and has over twice the amp/hour rating, meaning we will have more overall life.

We installed the batteries on Tuesday and went to work cultivating on Thursday. The tractor performed like a charm, with enough power to draw the cultivators and disks through almost an acre of beds.

New battery pack

Cultivating in prep for planting

Continuing to Move Towards Spring

2011-03-12T05:46:00.000-08:00

The words of the day lately have been remodeling and greenhouse. We are wrapping up the remodel and getting our life back in order in the house. While the trim work and other jobs await us, we are now able to move our concentration back to farming.

Yesterday and today were filled with planting...cherry and determinate tomatoes, kohlrabi, pac choi, herbs, more broccoli. As the sun gets stronger and the fields dry out we get closer to the days when we can again work in the fields. The sunshine and warmth are most welcome.

Broccoli growing

Kale and lettuce growing well

Painting

More painting

Done except for trim (yeah!)

Spring is Almost Here

2011-03-07T16:45:00.000-08:00

Spring isn't here yet, but it's close. Here are some sure signs Spring is just around the corner at the farm.

Snow geese

Homemade salami (finocchiano)

Sprouting garlic

Remodeling final stages

Onion seedlings

New (albeit old) equipment. Our new flail mower.

Broccoli seedlings.

Valentines Day 2011

2011-02-14T07:04:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day to all. Here at the farm we are starting out with a warm cup of coffee to prepare for a day of renovation, before a Valentine evening.

The onion seeds are starting to sprout (yeah!) A moment that has been less tenative as we have become more proficient in the greenhouse. But nonetheless, it is always a beautiful sight to see healthy seedlings beginning their new life.

Out in the fields the snow continues to melt. The insulating blanket of a foot of snow was a great benefit during the cold spell, and now the melting snow is adding some much needed moisture to the soil. It will warm up, before cooling down again later in the week, which is just fine with us farmers. No need to rush the Spring and have things damaged by a late cold snap.

Starting the Greenhouse

2011-02-09T16:43:00.000-08:00

We remain quite busy at the farm. When we're not farming or remodeling we are using chain saws, log splitters, bobcats, tractors, trailers...and chains. Cutting, splitting and hauling wood through and around snow drifts is something that just has to be experienced. Lots of problem solving mixed with fresh winter air.

The main priority of the week, however, has been the greenhouse. We recieved our humified compost from Microleverage (of Sedalia) on Saturday, the last piece of the puzzle, and started seeding onions on Monday. It is a tedious job seeding 10,000 onions, so we spread it out over several days, finishing today-Wednesday.

We are trying something new this year relative to onion planting. Normally we grow onions from seeds and transplant each little plant 4 inches apart. We found last year through a trial that we can instead plant 4 together, and space them at 1 foot. This spacing allows us to use the water wheel transplanter to plant onions and save us from one of the most tedious (there's that word again) jobs on the farm. More to come on the onions.

Planting sheet and seed pack

Planting onion seeds in soil blocks

Remodeling continues on the office and living room. It has been a dirty, uneventful tearout, but there was one interesting suprise. Our living room ceiling was drywall over cracked plaster. The furring strips that were used to attach the drywall are 18 foot long tongue and groove floor boards. They're coated with a nice green patina of lead paint, but may prove useful in some other part of our renovation.

Furring strips

Friday

Monday

Winter Hits the Farm

2011-02-02T10:18:00.000-08:00

Considering the fact that an estimated 100,000,000 people were impacted by the Blizzard of 2011, this is but another snow story. Here at the farm we experienced mainly bliss though it all. The heads-up that modern meteorology provides allowed us to plan ahead, and view the snow and wind from the safety and warmth of our small farmhouse.

We spent the day moving our office and living room out of the back half of the house to prepare for our latest home renovation project---total tearout of plaster and lath, insulating of exterior walls, some carpentry, electrical, drywall, painting, and a new wood stove. We ended the day making a large pot of chili, cole slaw and pumpkin-coconut pie.

We awoke today to 5 degrees and a beautiful sunny morning, with an inch of snow in some areas and drifts of 2 to 3 feet in others. The cats as you can see have the life, sitting on a sunny chair looking out at the bird feeder (a word that means something different to them).

The knowedge of impending snow also kicked us into gear on Friday and Saturday to do some much needed repair to the greenhouse before the start of the season. Both corners of the greenhouse were rotted and required repair. Also, the plastic had several major rips and needed replacement.

With the help of one of our 2011 interns, Lucas Knutter, we tackled the job over two days. Day one consisted of the carpentry. Day 2 with installing the new plastic. Once we get some openings sealed along the roof line the greenhouse will be ready to go. The only things keeping us from planting the onions is the arrival of our Microleverage compost (Tuesday's delivery had to be cancelled), and waiting for the single digit and sub-zero temps to pass. The season is about to begin.

Removing the rotten lumber

Installing a new corner

Removing the old plastic

Installing new wiggle wire channels

Installing the new plastic

The bubble inflated, trimming the plasic

January at the Farm

2011-01-18T08:32:00.000-08:00

Well, Hawaii (see post below) is but a memory now (a nice memory), and it is back to work on the farm.

January is always busy for us. The last 4 years we have helped teach a full day CSA Mini-School at the Great Plains Growers Conference on the first weekend of January. Gearing up to spread the good word about CSAs takes a lot of our focus that first week. The minute the conference is done we dive into the seed and equipment order, with a self-imposed deadline of 1/15.

The seed order has become easier over the years, as computers and the internet are incredibly helpful. But spending $3,000 on thousands of tiny DNA packets still requires organization and planning. This year's order is on its way, with the hope that all the seeds we want are still left. The growth of organic vegetable growing has been a boon to the seed market, but does occasionally create shortfalls. We should be in pretty good shape though, as our order is usually timely.

Ordering the seeds

Thank heavens for spreadsheets

Once the seeds have been ordered, we work at getting all our other purchases to begin moving towards the farm. From potting soil compost, to a new mower, now is the time to get ready for the season. The first week of February is coming up soon, and that is when we start up the greenhouse, seeding the onions.

With the early planning done, and the greenhouse requiring limited tending, we are able to fill our days in late January and February with the fun of home remodeling (for the 8th year). This year's work will include tear out and insulation of our living room and office walls, electrical work, drywall and painting, replacing our wood burning stove with an efficient one, and other tasks if time allows. We are looking forward to completion of this "final" stage of work.

Rocky and the cats are surviving the winter. The cats are going a little stir-crazy though, as they stay inside a lot in the winter, and start getting on each other's nerves. Their favorite spot is under the wood stove. Cozy.

Rocky on the other hand, can take the cold like the Great Pyrennes/Anatolian Shepher cross that he is. Laying on a frozen pond is just fine with him.

The farmers stay cozy too. How can we not, with a stocked larder and freezer. One reason I got into canning and preserving was that, hard work though it is, it has a big payoff. Some folks seem to think you can't eat well with local food in the winter---it is the time that we actually fatten up on local fare. The recipe below is a delicious example of it.

A well stocked larder

Lamb Meatball Stew
The meatballs are an excellent way to make lamb stew, without the need for a cut of meat. You can season the meatballs to suit your taste. The carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic and herbs are all part of our winter stores.

Ingredients:
1 lb Parker Farm ground lamb
1 tbsp roasted garlic puree (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 medium carrots
2 to 3 medium onions
1-1/2 lb potatoes
1 tbsp dried mint
1 tbsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 quart chicken, turkey, vegetable or other stock
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour

Method:
1. Mix the garlic puree, salt, and pepper with the ground lamb and shape into small meatballs (30 or so).
2. Brown the meatballs and then set side.

3. In the same pot, saute the onions and carrots for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, salt, pepper, and herbs and cook for 3 minutes more.

4. Add the meatballs back to the pot along with the stock. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are tender.
5. Make a roux with the butter and flour---melt the butter in a small pan, add the flour, stir constantly for about a minute. Add the roux to the meat and vegetables and blend in.
6. Let the stew simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
7. Serve hot with bread and butter and a cooked green (ours was kale with an olive oil/mustard sauce).
8. Enjoy winter eating.

December Vacation

2011-01-18T08:17:00.000-08:00

We do our best every year to push our farm work to the back burner in December, and save time for some serious rest and relaxation. Vacation travel has been sparse the last several years, so this year we made plans to visit Kauai, Hawaii and some free family lodging.

It was a wonderful week, complete with sun every day, great beachs, snorkeling, amazing flora and fauna, and local food that included tropical fruit and fresh seafood. We were able to cook at our accomdations, so we visited the market each day, and prepared many of our meals "at home." Here are a few photos we took. Aloha.

Rebecca along a north shore beach

Breakfast

Taro fields

After a day of paddling an
outrigger with Rebecca's
Aunt Phyllis

The everpresent wild rooster

Your Thanksgiving Share

2010-11-18T18:53:00.000-08:00

The Thanksgiving share harvest continues into it's third day on Friday as we reap the last of the 2010 vegetables from the fields. While we unfortunately have to scratch brussel sprouts from the list (too many aphids on them to make them palatable), we have a quality crops of 13 items.

Lettuce: Small to medium sized heads, crisp and delicious.

Endive: A bitter green that adds a nice bite to a late Fall salad. If you saved any strawberries from the Spring try our Week 4 recipe of Garlic and Strawberry Dressing over Endive.

Kale, Collards or Arugula: Kale (or Collards) with Vinegar and Egg is an awesome side dish to add some greenery to a Thanksgiving meal. The last few frosts have sweetened up both of these greens. The arugula has a bit of a kick this time of year, so you may want to use it as you would a herb in your salad, chopped somewhat fine.

Asian Greens: Chop them up and add them fresh to your salad, or stir-fry a light meal on either side of the holiday.

Butternut Squash or Sweet Potatoes: Recipes abound here in the cyber world. Or use a family
favorite, if you have one. Roasting, mashing, soup and pie are all options.

Bulb Fennel: A favorite of ours. We only grow it in the Fall, as that is when its flavor is the mildest. Treat it as you would celery. It is delicious cut into pieces and added to a salad dressed with a red wine vinaigrette. Check out the recipe below for another yummy dish.

Broccoli or Spinach: The last of the hearty broccoli, still as flavorful as ever. Or do you want some of our lone spinach crop of the year?

Roots assortment: The carrots, radish and Hakurei turnips will make a diverse crudités platter for your Thanksgiving guests. A little beet grated onto your salad adds a beautiful color.

Kohlrabi: Fall kohlrabi is the best, sweet, juicy and crunchy. Just trim the top and the root end, peel it, and cut it as you like. It is another staple crudités item, or a great addition to roasted vegetables (see recipe below).

Cabbage: We like it as a raw addition to the Thanksgiving meal. Think cole slaw.

Leeks: Use them wherever onions are called for, or in the recipe below.

Garlic: Everyone needs some garlic if they’re doing any cooking.

Cilantro: Fresh as can be for topping a salsa appetizer, or as an addition to a creamy dressing.

Roasted Fennel, Leeks and Kohlrabi
While harvesting the bulb fennel today, and being soothed by its aromatherapy, our apprentice Emily said how she thought the fennel would be great roasted. So, not being one to let a good idea go to waste, I decided that tonight’s dinner should test her theory. The result (with the addition of leeks and kohlrabi) was a warm, savory and hearty dish. Add what you want to this, potatoes, sweet potatoes, garlic...

trim the top and core the root

Ingredients
2 medium fennel bulbs
2 medium leeks
1 medium kohlrabi
1 tsp salt
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp butter

cut the fennel like you would celery

Method
Cut the tops off the fennel bulb and core out the root. Chop in half, and then crosswise to make celery like chunks.
Clean and chop the leeks into ½ inch slices and rounds
Peel the kohlrabi and chop into ½ inch size chunks
Mix vegetables with salt, oregano, thyme and olive oil
Spread on a baking sheet and top with butter
Bake at 375°F for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring once.

The Wedding of Rebecca and Tom

2010-11-07T04:09:00.000-08:00

Hello good friends. Not our normal post here, as we would like to let everyone know that on Noveber 6, 2010 we got married.

arriving at the Ratcliff's

The Officiant, John Erb

John is a good friend who made wine with Tom for many years in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. He is also a Catholic deacon with an anti-establishment bent.

John 18:37 Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice."

John said he wished to express how he felt that we were living, rather than simply speaking a life of caring for the earth, living a life of love outside the status quo, and sharing our life with the community.

the wedding procession with flower
girls Pearl and Josephine

Here Comes the Bride

First Reading:
Not sure, but we feel that this may be a true story.

Excerpt from Aristophanes's Speech from Plato's Symposium
Translated by Benjamin Jowett

Aristophanes professed to open another vein of discourse; he had a mind to praise Love in another way, unlike that of either Pausanias or Eryximachus. Mankind, he said, judging by their neglect of him, have never, as I think, at all understood the power of Love. For if they had understood him they would surely have built noble temples and altars, and offered solemn sacrifices in his honour; but this is not done, and most certainly ought to be done: since of all the gods he is the best friend of men, the helper and the healer of the ills which are the great impediment to the happiness of the race. I will try to describe his power to you, and you shall teach the rest of the world what I am teaching you.

… the primeval man was round, his back and sides forming a circle; and he had four hands and the same number of feet, one head with two faces, looking opposite ways, set on a round neck and precisely alike; also four ears, two privy members, and the remainder to correspond. He could walk upright as men now do, backwards or forwards as he pleased, and he could also roll over and over at a great pace, turning on his four hands and four feet, eight in all, like tumblers going over and over with their legs in the air; this was when he wanted to run fast.

Terrible was their might and strength, and the thoughts of their hearts were great, and they made an attack upon the gods. Doubt reigned in the celestial councils. Should they kill them and annihilate the race with thunderbolts, as they had done the giants, then there would be an end of the sacrifices and worship which men offered to them; but, on the other hand, the gods could not suffer their insolence to be unrestrained. At last, after a good deal of reflection, Zeus discovered a way. He spoke and cut men in two, like a sorb-apple which is halved for pickling, or as you might divide an egg with a hair …

Each of us when separated, having one side only, like a flat fish, is but the tally-half of a man, and he is always looking for his other half. And such a nature is prone to love and ready to return love, always embracing that which is akin to him. And when one of them meets with his other half, the actual half of himself, whether he be a lover of youth or a lover of another sort, the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, and one will not be out of the other's sight, as I may say, even for a moment: these are the people who pass their whole lives together, and yet they could not explain what they desire of one another. For the intense yearning which each of them has towards the other does not appear to be the desire of lover's intercourse, but of something else which the soul of either evidently desires and cannot tell, and of which she has only a dark and doubtful presentiment.

There is not a man of them who when he heard the proposal would deny or would not acknowledge that this meeting and melting into one another, this becoming one instead of two, was the very expression of his ancient need.

And the reason is that human nature was originally one and we were a whole, and the desire and pursuit of the whole is called love.

with our witnesses, Jessica and James

Second Reading:
Readings from our journal that we are trying to keep. We looked back at the days before our engagement to see if there was anything that prompted it.

Thursday, September 30
Weeded cabbage, rolled up irrigation, mowed, sprayed Bt on brassicas. Found 2.7 lb baby puffball mushrooms, also some oyster mushrooms. Mushroom bisque, froze extra, bought tickets to Kauai.

Friday, October 1
Harvest sweet potatoes, many jumbos, cherry tomatoes, wash last of pumpkins. Mushroom quiche, okra & Caesar salad. Spices from Angela Farnung.

Smudging ceremony

Saturday, October 2
CSA day, harvest last beans. Forecast for frost tonight. Harvest rest of sweet potatoes, also green peppers, eggplant and tomatoes. Sonic for dinner. Watch “The Lady Vanishes”

Sunday October 3
Frost on grass, not too much damage. More frost predicted tonight. Froze beans, peppers and eggplant. Got engaged! O’Henry sweet potatoes, pork chops with apples, Roma beans and last bottle of 1999 homemade champagne. Brought in houseplants.

dinner with John, Brooke and Dan

The Bride at Bad Seed

So there you have it. It was a beautiful day.

Bulk List---Week 24

2010-10-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

There are a few things we have extra of. Stock up now.

Sweet potatoes: $1.75/lb
Asian Greens (bok choi, tat soi): $3.00/large head
Kale/Chard/Collards: $3.00/bunch
Leeks: $3.00/lb

In the Share - Week 24

2010-10-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

SWEET POTATOES (F/P) More sweets from our overflowing stores. It was a good year for the sweet potato.
CHOICE OF GREENS (F/P) bok choi, tat soi or rapini (broccoli raab)
CAULIFLOWER (F) The cauliflower continues it's great run.
BROCCOLI (P) A good pound for each partial share.
CABBAGE (F) The first to head from our patch, just enough for the full shares.
KOHLRABI (P)Partial shares get their turn at our best kohlrabi of the year. Peel, slice and eat it raw.
LETTUCE (F) Our fall lettuce is giving me fits. There is only enough that has even remotely sized up for the full shares, so here you go!
WATERMELON RADISHES (P) Chop off their tops and they will keep til Christmas. But eating them now is a nice thing too. The outside is the hottest, the inside the prettiest.
CHOICE OF EGGPLANT, SWEET PEPPERS OR OKRA (F) This warm October weather is keeping these hot weather crops going.
BEETS OR TURNIPS (F) The beets are very nice. I like to sautee the whole beet plant top to bottom in a little olive oil and vinegar. Yum. Or you can choose hardy fall turnips, either Purple Top or Gold Ball, the perfect addition to a hearty fall stew.
CILANTRO OR ARUGULA (F/P)

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms delivery

Here we are at the last week of the season. A bittersweet time for us all. After a long, hard dash through the growing season, Tom and I are looking forward to the slower pace of winter work. We're not there yet, however. This week's been all about the pipe - 2100 feet of it.

pushing the pipe

pipe waiting to be pushed

The unseasonably warm weather has really been nice for the work. It has kept the crops growing too. While it's hard to say for sure until the last share is harvested, we think if the weather holds we will have some broccoli and cauliflower next week. We'll keep you posted but we may go down to the Bad Seed Friday night market on the 29th to sell what we have. I'll send out an email once we know for sure. Also, we plan to do the pre-Thanksgiving market at the Bad Seed on November 19th. By then it will be time to glean the fields of whatever is left and get us all loaded up for our Thanksgiving meals. We'll be in touch once we know what will constitute the "Thanksgiving share".

But before we get to all that, it is time to celebrate the completed CSA season. We hope to see many of you this Saturday at the 7th annual Fair Share Farm CSA End of Season dinner. All of our current members should have received an evite in their inboxes. The party is going to be rocking with a live band, face painting for the kids and, as always, the best darn potluck in town. Our CSAers sure know how to cook, and eat! See you there!

What to Do With Your Share---Week 24

2010-10-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

Another Season Eaten Up
Hard to believe that it has been 24 weeks since we first handed out shares for 2010. And while our bones and muscles feel it, our brain sees it all as having flown by. We want to thank everyone for there support, input, encouragement, and camaraderie. Community is the first word in CSA, and we couldn't have done it without you.

The Last Share
We feel it is important to remind everyone of how to store items from the last several shares, so that they will last if you do not eat them right away. Sweet potatoes, for example, are from a tropical plant, and should not be refrigerated. Keep them in a warm, dark area that is over 55 deg F. They can keep until the spring if treated that way. Store your winter squash the same way.

If you happen to get a cabbage, you can store it in a bag in your crisper for at least a month. We store ours in the packing room cooler (after it has been turned off), and can enjoy cabbage for months. Try some cole slaw at Xmas.

Any root crops will keep a long time too. Simply cut the greens off of your winter radishes, kohlrabi, turnips or beets, before storing them in a bag in the crisper.

Butternut Squash-White Bean Stew
We got this recipe from Relish Magazine. Rebecca happened to recover it from the recycle bin, as it was apparently a supplement in The KC Star. To say this stew is hearty is an understatement. Leeks are an excellent substitute for onions in this dish, and sweet potatoes can take the place of the squash.

A 2-pound whole squash yields about 4 cups of cubes. Look for tomato paste in a tube, so you can use a tablespoon at a time. Serve with cheese toast.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup slivered onion
3/4 cup thinly sliced celery
3 cups mushrooms, halved
4 cups cubed, peeled butternut squash
1 (14-ounce) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 cups water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (15-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Instructions
1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and mushrooms. Cook until vegetables start to brown, about 8 minutes.
2. Stir in squash, tomatoes, garlic, water, tomato paste, rosemary, salt and pepper. Mix well. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender, about 25 minutes. Uncover, stir in beans and simmer until stew consistency, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired. Serves 8.

Recipe by Jean Kressy
Nutritional Information
Per serving: 150 calories, 4g fat, 0mg chol., 5g prot., 24g carbs., 7g fiber, 420mg sodium.

In the Share - Week 23

2010-10-12T17:57:00.000-07:00

your cauliflower

BUTTERNUT SQUASH (F/P)
LEEKS (F/P)
CHOICE OF GREENS (F/P) Kale, collards or Swiss chard
CAULIFLOWER (F/P)
BROCCOLI (F)
WATERMELON RADISH (F) A big winter radish that is green on the outside and pink on the inside. To store for a month or more, cut off the greens leaving an inch of top and place in a plastic bag in your crisper.
KOHLRABI (F) Same story for storing long term. Peel it before you eat it. Great raw or lightly steamed.
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Sage, lemongrass or a dried herb

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life shares

NEXT WEEK: More broccoli, cauliflower and greens. Partial shares will get either kohlrabi or watermelon radishes or both. More sweet potatoes for everyone. Hopefully the lettuce will be ready.

cleaning off the bean plants

The end of the season is almost here (just one more week after this one) but yet the farm is as busy as ever. We had a big crew on Saturday and took the opportunity to tear down the pole bean fence.

walking out the fence under Rocky's supervision

Later that day the FSF CSA Core Group gathered to plan the Fair Share Farm End of Season dinner which will be held next Saturday, October 23 from 5-7 pm. Look for an evite in your inbox in the next few days from Social Coordinator, Ann Flynn. We look forward to celebrating the season with you all by enjoying what is surely the best darn potluck around. This year the party will be festive with live music and face painting. Hope to see you all there!

The other big excitement this week is covered in Tom’s post. I’m keeping it short here so that we can return my dad’s “hot spot” internet service in a timely manner. If you need to reach us call, don’t send any emails.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 23

2010-10-12T17:28:00.000-07:00

Herbs are Great
We heard that the last time we had sage in the shares there were a lot of bunches that made it to the swap box instead of to folk’s homes. While you may not have an affinity for sage, we hope that you reconsider these last few weeks of the season.

Sage is an old, traditional herb (thus said the old sage.) While it is available most all year round from the garden, we save it for the time of year when winter squash and pumpkins are handed out, as it is an idea seasoning for these cucurbits. In past blogs and newsletters we have highlighted its culinary benefits, like in sweet potato ravioli with browned sage butter, or simply with sweet potatoes, as a substitute for sugar and marshmallows.

Lemongrass is another herb choice this week. A plant suited to the tropics, we were able to get an OK harvest this year. Its wonderful aroma is obvious, but how to utilize it in a dish might not be. These little plants pack a lot of flavor and to get to it all you have to do is grate the bulbous root end (after cutting off any root hairs.) Our favorite use is in Lemongrass Chicken. But search the web and you are sure to find many recipes.

The Trencher Strikes
Sorry if this blog is short, but it has been a busy couple of days. You may know that we recieved some stimulus funds to improve our irrigation system---75% cost share on the 2,300 feet of irrigation pipe, as well as 4 solar panels.

With 2 days of trenching behind us (see photo below) we have weathered the trencher hitch coming off our truck on the way to the farm (all is OK), a very wet day of work on Monday, and severing our internet line. We are fortunate enough to have Rebecca's dad next door so we can borrow his Droid and have a hot spot for an hour to compose this latest installment.

Many thanks go out to our farm crew for putting pipe into the ground today, and especially to Tom Parker, a busy farmer and experienced water line installer, who assisted us today. We plan on being even better prepared in the future for all those hot, dry Missouri days that we know we will see.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 22

2010-10-05T16:52:00.002-07:00

Relish the Share
The two light frosts of Saturday and Sunday brought all of the peppers out of the field and into your shares. We hope that you are not overwhelmed by the harvest and put them to good use.

There are many things to do with green peppers. This week we have a green pepper relish recipe. You won’t have enough peppers to make it worth your while to can them, so don’t stress about that. Just keep it in your fridge and use it over the next several months on burgers, in egg salad, potato salad, or in your homemade thousand island dressing.

An option for the peppers you can’t use right away is to freeze them. Peppers are unique in that you don’t have to blanch them before freezing. Simple clean them of the stem and seed, cut them into chunks, and freeze them. It is best to first freeze them on a cookie sheet and them put them in a freezer bag or other suitable container.

Fajitas are another wonderful use of peppers. Or check our Week 21 of 2005 newsletter for 3 other tasty pepper and onion dishes. You can use your leeks instead of onions if you haven't eaten them already.

Hot Peppers
The fulls get a shot at some more hot peppers this week, as they were also harvested to beat the cold. The first hot pepper primer was in this year's Week 13 blog. This week there are a few new ones for you. The ones in the foreground of the photo below are cherry bells. They are the ones you see stuffed with cheese and prosciutto at the Italian delis.

The ones in the background are poblanos. Also known as an ancho pepper when it is dried, they are quite spicy and the pepper of choice for chile rellenos. Unfortunately these peppers never sized up, but they can still be used for this wonderful dish.

Green Pepper Relish
If your are thinking of canning your pepper relish, or doing some other preserving, I suggest this National Center for Home Food Preservation Publication 8004, page 10. The recipe below is adapted to fit the quantity of peppers in your share.

Makes about 3 half pints.
About 6 medium peppers (1.5 lb +/-) a mix of green, red and hot to suit your taste (including juice)
2 medium onions
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups white vinegar (5%)
1/2 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tsp salt

1. Combine all ingredients. Boil 30 minutes, uncovered.
2. Pack into jars, to 1⁄2 inch (1 cm) from top.
3. Remove air bubbles by running a plastic knife or spatula between the food and
the jar. Then wipe jar rims with a clean, damp cloth and secure lids and ring
bands.
4. Let cool and then store in the fridge, or process pints in a boiling water bath as prescribed in Table 6 of the guide.

In the Share - Week 22

2010-10-05T16:52:00.001-07:00

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.