News and blog

Well I have decided to name my tractor Jolene.  Not really for any reason other than I found my self singing that song while I was cultivating the other day.  I think she was purring a version of it as well.

Jolene is a 1940's Alice Chalmers G.  We spend a lot of time together and I have expecially have gotten to know her this year better than in the past.  We make ditches, cultivate, hill potatoes, disk things, and plant seed together.  We really have the fields looking great this season.  Here are some shots of Jolene at work.

The onions are looking great thanks to the WWOOFers.  We are now a WWOOF pack of 5.  Bryan and Sean have been here for a while and we now have 3 French WWOOFers that are doing an internship for college here for 6 weeks.  There is a little language barrier but we are making it work.  I admire them.  I cant imagine setting out to do something like this not really knowing the language well.  Maybe someday in life I can do some world traveling via the WWOOF program.  

Its official, summer is here and in full swing.  Tis the season that more crops start ripening up. Our first zucchinis are coming on, and the greenhouse tomatoes are starting to ripen up.  Each season we have a crop at the farm that just doesnt do well.  I always over compensate the next year and plant to make sure that we are going to have a good crop.  This year it is tomatoes.  

We have about 100 tomato plants in the greenhouse and I figure about 400 in the field.  Unless something crazy happens, I foresee a great number of tomatoes in the near future.  We have picked the first cherry tomatoes that are ripening up in the greenhouse.  Many varieties to choose from.  We have back cherry, sun cherry, sun gold, Wendy, pear, jelly bean and Juliette.  All the cherry varieties are in the greenhouse.  They are easier to manage and keep pruned to have easy access for picking.  We also have Money Makers, (come on money maker!) which are a smaller slicing tomato, pink icicle, striped roman, striped german and brandywines in the greenhouse.

I still always notice new things at the farm.  The tractor tire above has a tin can and duct tape for a hub!  Oh Alice, you are the best!

Produce seasons change like the weather.  You never really know what you are going to get till the day you harvest it.  Every element has its baring on weather a crop succeeds or fails.  For instance last year we had horrible flea beatles on our brassica crops which in turn migrated to the potatoes and let their larva chew up the spuds.  This year I was bound and determined this spring to grow things that I know have done well in the past several years.

Back to the flea beetles,  I was very selective in what I planted in the fields this spring.  I thought I was going to outsmart those little buggers and plant only what I have found them to not like, with the exception of 200 red cabbages, some kohlrabi and a very few radishes.  Well call me smart, I have not had any flea beetle problems on any of the crops except the tomatoes in the greenhouse!  That had to be the most unpredictable thing this spring.  

Element 2: bring in the animals.  There isn't much new here.  I have found that sharing with the deer and other animals is my best bet, I always plant a little extra.  They sure do love the green butter lettuce and have been hard at it.  One year they ate all my winter squash!  Well I take that back, they took a bite out of each squash!  The coons I havent had  much trouble with, sweet corn is just destined to be shared.  We have a friend that comes down and traps them to relocate.  Last year he got 75 coons in one season or some crazy number like that!  In addition the coyotes are many at the farm.  I have heard that to tell when the watermelons are ready, you just wait for the coyotes to start eating them.  I have never had good luck with melons, so I cant say first hand.

All in all so far this season has been great.  I feel like the fields are not quite as full but much more manegmable. Things are hoed and looking great.  The photo above is our potato patch.  It is just beautiful.  

Moral of the story is that when a farmer, you never know what to expect other than the unexpected and to be prepared for anything!                                                                                                                  

What a great beginning to the season!  It has been crazy busy and it seems hard to keep up, but the farm looks great!  The onions and potatoes have had a once over via hoe and are looking great.  The lettuce and peas are growing, and the greenhouse is still looking great.  We are going to be harvesting carrots, beets and green onions out of the greenhouse for a few more weeks.  The basil is big and beautiful in there and the fennel is coming along great.  Tomatoes are beautiful!  We are sure not to have a shortage this year.  There are about 100 plants in the greenhouse of all different varieties of cherrys and heirlooms.  We also have romas, green and red zebera and more!  

Strawberry Moon – June This name was universal to every Algonquin tribe. However, in Europe they called it the Rose Moon. Also because the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries comes each year during the month of June . . . so the full Moon that occurs during that month was christened for the strawberry!  (http://www.farmersalmanac.com/full-moon-names/)

We have been snacking on some of the trial beds of Strawberries.  We spent all day today planting the new berry plants and will continue tomorrow!  Next year we should have some to sell!

Major props to the 2011 WWOOF pack!  A great big thanks to those of you who have been here and to Brian, Shawn and Michael who are here now.  

I am really excited about how this season has started out.  The first harvest for market and CSA was a great one and I foresee many more to come.    

We are going to be having our annual open house on the 14th of May.  Come see what we have going on!  We will be open for plant sales from the 9th-15th of May.  We have lots of different varieties of many plant species!  Hope to see you there!

Decisions are tough.  Sometimes it is hard to remember why I am doing things.  I am reading a great book right now that has really inspired me to focus my energy inward and to do what is best for me.  

I will not be attending the Salida market on a regular basis this season (maybe drop in once in a while).  There are many reasons, one being my family.  I want to be able to spend some time with them.  I would hate to regret not being a major part of my kids lives.  

I want to thank all of you who have supported me over the past seasons and I hope to maybe in the future start attending again.  

A major thanks to all of the CSA members that I have had over the past several years.  You made my farm possible!  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! 

Well we have greens, eggs, and hams!  I have some greens available.  If you are interested give me a call or shoot me an e-mail and I can have them ready for you.  Right now we have arugula, salad mix, beet greens, limited spinach. There will be eggs in the fridge in the greenhouse, delivered from Mary on Tuesday evenings.  There is a can for you to put the $3 in per dozen.  Also, through Easter we still have our pork specials.  Hams $4.00 a pound (CSA members get $.50 off all pork prices always!)  and the $50 package deal.  

I AM SO GLAD THAT IT IS OFFICIALLY SPRING!

Pork has arrived!  We have a lot for sale.  We have 3 1/2's left @ $3 a pound plus processing.  I am also running a spring special approximately 10# packages for $50 (price will vary by a few bucks since we go by package weight) 2 breakfast sausage, 2 italian sausage, 2 kielbasa, 2 packages pork chops, 1 ham steak, 1 bacon.  What a great deal!  

Also have lots of Easter Hams on special, usually $4.50 a pound only $4 a pound for a limited time!

As always, our pork is free of nitrates, nitrites, or any thing else icky!  We have all the other cuts to!

• Having "farmers market style shares" this season will give you the choice of what you want! This will mean more of the vegetables that you love and will be able to use more of.                         (Colorado Springs you will be getting a traditional pre-packed bountiful basket since we are not doing a market up there.)
• Extra vegetables that you get can be put by for later eating by either dry storage, freezing or dehydrating them.  Cherry tomatoes are my favorite dehydrated.  I also dehydrate shredded zucchini and squash for use in soups and such over the winter.  Some seasons I have heard CSA members say they still have winter squash when they sign up for their new share!  I will include more literature this season about topics like this.
• You are keeping your money in you community and supporting local agricultural survival.
• When you pay for your share early, even in payments, you are guaranteed a basket of food that is already paid for, for 20 weeks. (in the past we have extended the weeks of shares when we still have produce later in the season.  One season we were still giving shares out in November!)
• Fresher more nutritional food coming from a small family farm that insures it has been grown in nourished healthy soil, Certified Naturally Grown!

"We are working hard to drive our local economy through developing our CSA program...This will help us build a solid, local foundaton we need to suceed on a year round basis and try to become more sustainable. 

The money people send to us five to two months before the season starts for their CSA farmshares allows us NOT to have to go to the banks for credit to buy the necessary inputs for the farm operation. They trust us to grow fresh, local produce for them by giving us a chance to cut the middleman out (the banker and the broker) by reducing costs at the beguning of the season. The relationships we have started to develop with our local families are paramount and essential for a stable, local economy.  CSA famshares also keep the flow of cash in the community by our giving our business to other community businesses .  We like to call this the "three leg's on the old milk stool"." 
an exert from A RURAL AMERICAN FARMER'S "STIMULUS PACKAGE" http://www.localharvest.org/blog/5020/entry/a_rural_american_farmer_s

PS: Say a prayer and send your good vibes for my dad.  We spent last week in the hospital he is having kidney trouble.