Summer CSA Week 20

Life in St Anne has gotten colder. I don't mind in some respects, but in the arena of work I do mind. It is just so much more difficult to get any task accomplished. What we can do in a half hour in the summer takes us an hour in the cold. I have heat in both working areas so the guys can warm up, but that does not help when out in the field. I was out just before dawn today trying to get a jump start on the picking before they guys arrived. I had on thick gloves to keep my fingers warm. But, then I could not move my fingers easily. Then came the debate: cold fingers or decreased flexibility? Decreased flexibility won out. I kept the gloves on. My guys, though, would have decided opposite me and gotten rid of the gloves so they could work better.

The field is drying out some now, but I am really hoping for a bit of warmth. We has many crops out in the field that need some sun and warmth to finish out. Everything is growing as if it is November, rather than October. The weatherman agrees with my plants in that the temps are November temps, unseasonably cool. But, that has been the case for all on 2009, so why expect anything different?

We have a greenhouse due to be delivered the end of October for November construction, so I hope we get some moderation. It will increase our growing space by 1020 square feet. In the spring that will be nice.

Your box

Red onion - finally got a quantity of these babies cured and cleaned.

Butternut Squash

Pie Pumpkin
Boc choi

Kale

Carrots

Red leaf lettuce

Apples - these are an apple pear cross called Golden Russets. They are known for their crispy texture and sweet flavor.

Miscellaneous addition of extra new item or item that is in the box already. If you have any questions on what an item is, let me know.

I am back from my trip and in full gear. I had a great time. The mountains were beautiful - and cold. I was actually deterred one day by a snow storm. What impressed me most was the golden hues in the aspens. I thought of harvest time. The earth turns the most fabulous colors as if to rejoice in the time of harvest. I get excited watching it all come in, and it seems Mother Nature, joins with me in the triumph of the season. As a farmer, it is my job to be harmony with nature, working within the confines of natural selection, and designation. What nature creates day to day and month to month I seek to cooperate with and utilize my skills to produce a crop that only Mother Nature can create. I can not create, only emulate. It is so important to realize we are truly not the head, the boss, the top of the heap - we are subordinates in the overall scheme of nature, and this world we so wonderfully inhabit.

Last week my guys did great - harvesting, processing, handling sales - but my, oh my, what a mess this farm was. When I arrived Sunday morning, a gasped. It looked like a hurricane went through, literally. Fortunately, Jon, home from college, warned me - and then stayed for the day Sunday to help clean up. By last night, we were picked up, swept up and reorganized for the week. How sweet it is to start the work week on the right foot.

But, then I discovered how much more there is to do before the heavy frost comes this weekend. It is due to get down to 29 Saturday night. That will be the end of the peppers, eggplant etc. So, they guys are rushing to get everything in that has to get in before the cold hits in earnest. What that means for us is that our boxes are a little varied this week. Some things every one is receiving; other items are added to boxes at random. So if you get something not on the list, know that was on purpose.

Your box

Apples

Delicata squash

Miscellaneous onions

Sweet potatoes

Kennebec potatoes

Green bell peppers

Italian Roasting peppers

Eggplant

And one or more add ons - any questions on identification, please email me.

Vicki

News from the Farm - Week 18

I am out of town this week taking my mother on a trip down memory lane to her home town. I am also getting a much needed break. As far as farm news goes, I guess it shall await next week.

Your box

Green cabbage
Apples
Spinach
Spaghetti squash
Bell peppers
Beets
Radishes
Celery

Summer CSA - Week 14

Well, well, well - What month is this? My gut was telling me prepare for fall and this time my gut level was right on target. A low of 45 last night and again tonight. Tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe do not ripen very fast in this. But, other crops are prospering. Such is the way of farming. My greatest concern right now is the sweet potatoes. They should not be in the field if temps go below 50 degrees. I know they are not ready yet, but they may have been damaged by staying out. Perhaps it is not the year of the sweet potato.


But, it has been the year of the pepper. Amazing crop of peppers!


We are now down to 12 sets of onion to harvest. I thought we were down to nine, but Jay pointed out that I missed three sets. I guess I can't count that high. I have a goal of getting out 5 sets this week. By George, we should get done before Halloween! On Saturday the guys finished weeding the peppers. How beautiful! I bet the peppers are dancing because they can actually feel the sun and the wind at long last. I know I am, even if they aren't. Now we need to tackle the new crops of carrot and beet. With farming, it is like dishes - you get 'em all done and it is time to start all over again. Actually, weed germination is a sore topoic with me. It is very labor intensive, and therefore costly, but it is mostly what excessive use of agricultural chemicals on a wide spread basis has done to change weeds that rankles me.


Heavy historical use of herbicides has caused weeds to adapt to survive. Years ago, weeds germinated until mid July and then it was smooth sailing the remainder of the year. Now, in order to reproduce the seeds will continue to germinate into October. Often I see weeds setting seed at an inch height in the fall. Built into a plant's chemistry is the need to reproduce - hence the fruits we harvest. But, when early weeds are routinely killed early in the season, new crops come in so they can accomplish their purposes - setting seed. Scientists warned against this, but farmers with no knowledge base, continued to spray and spray some more. Now, we organic and sustainable folks fight weed issues we should never had had to face. The same is true with insects. Heavy and inappropriate use of insecticides has caused an adaptation in the insect population to wherrre many insects are resistant to previous chemicals. The chemical companies continue to make bigger and "badder" guns with which to kill the insects. Hence, why on many insects here at the farm all we do is hand pluck them to control the population of pest insects, while maintaining the beneficials. How wonderful all of you support farms like mine who work within the confines of nature. Thank you. You all make what we do whorth the effort.


Your box
Nectarines
Peaches
Peppers - miscellaneous sweet
Peppers - Hot banana - try pickling or freezing hot peppers for winter use
Peppers - Jalapenos - same as above or try one with your spaghetti squash
Watermelon - personal size, variety of types - you may get a yellow fleshed
Eggplant, Japanese - tender and non-bitter
Red leaf lettuce - small but flavorful
Tomatoes - basket of cherries and a larger tomato - We are slowly getting tomatoes, but many are split and thus I have to discard them.

News from the Farm - Summer Week 13

Now that the leaves are turning color and the night time temps are in the 50's, I really feel like summer is over. Fortunately, the weatherman disagrees with me and this week the temps are supposed to go back up. Hopefully, we will still continue to see ripening tomatoes and fewer cracks from the rains. Rain, rain, go away.

We have eleven sets of onion yet to pull - that is less than half of the whole. This week I plan to get another 2-3 sets out. The guys are probably going to have to work long hours to get it all done, but I am fortunate to have wonderful employees. Part of what gets difficult this time of year is the loss of employees and interns due to college starting back up. I employ college students and most of my interns are college students who do research on the farm over the course of the summer. This year we are participating in an energy study with the University of Chicago. Their goal is to determine if small local farms are better stewards of energy than large commercial agribusiness producers. The data will be interesting. Anyway, I have lost one person as of last week, one more this week and then another in two weeks. One will go part time on top of it. This explains some of my stress and fatigue this last week.

I love to grow vegetables. I strive to grow the best, freshest items to grace your tables. I will always go to the extreme to produce the tasty crops you desire. This week, though due to extreme fatigue, I pulled back just a touch and did not harvest every crop. I would liked to have added one more crop to your boxes, but lack of sleep was physically hurting me, so I had to schedule a bit more sleep for this week.

Your box

Mixed colored bell peppers - these guys are so pretty

Beets

Kale

Plums - yumm

Blueberries - Mick put them in clam shells for me - how nice

Cherry tomatoes

Freshly dug potatoes

Red cabbage

Vicki
Genesis Growers
8373 E 3000 S Rd
St Anne, Il 60964
815 953 1512
www.genesis-growers.com

The first watermelon have been harvested!  Hot diggity!   We immediately popped one of those big boys open and snarfed down that tasty flesh.  Everyone wants the heart, but I  beat them to it on the first melon, so the guys decided they had to pop open another one.  Here on this farm it does not take much to figure out a way to get another melon to sample - one just accidentally dropped - oops!  It had a dent.  Darn!  It was funny shaped!  Dang!  Anyway, watermelon is full of great minerals, so let them eat watermelon and drink less Gatorade.  Unfortunatley, they are not coming in very fast yet, but hopefully they will catch up.

We have continued to harvest onions, trying to get them all out.  We are so busy right now that our average is two sets a week.  At that rate we will get done by Thanksgiving.  Chad took the two interns out Friday and got one extra set pulled, so at this new rate of three a week we will be done by Halloween.  So Sunday, Jon (who has now left for school) went to Champaign and picked up two buddies who have never had the opportunity to play onion ball.  Poor boys!  Their goal is to get three more sets out.  They may not have been too fond of onion ball by the time they were done.  But, in order to leave a good impression, Jon wanted to have a bon fire with watermelon margueritas and lamb brats. Wonder which activity the fellows would have enjoyed more?  Unfortunately, they got rained out and only one set of onion was harvested.

This is the season of fatigue.  Three days last week I got only 2-3 hours sleep.  Usually what ends up overwhleming me is paper.  I stay so busy with field supervision and market, that I skip paper when I get in at night.  All I want is food and a shower and a nice pillow.  I think if you talk to most farmers right now they would concur that they are tired.  It is truly a shame we can't all take a week and go away just before the busy, busy season begins.  Please forgive us if we get spacy or a little cranky.  We are just revealing our fatigue as farmers.  

Your box

Gold zucchini

Cantaloupe

Mixed pepper basket - all hot except for the sweet chocolate - Save hot peppers for winter use by chopping and freezing.  No need to blanch

Small finger size green = Serrano

Larger green - Jalapeno

Yellow - hot banana

Brownish red - Sweet Chocolate

Heirloom cucumber - round yellow is a lemon cuke; long yellow or rust is a Poona Khera - you got one or the other

Sweet corn

Celery - we clipped out some stalks if they had insect damage

Swiss chard

Cherry tomatoes

Summer CSA - Week 10

I am making up missing eggs this week, but from now on please take eggs only on the weeks when you are due eggs.

Whew! Monday was one of those days when it seems like the work is greater than the worker - namely me. I am sitting at the computer, flithy dirty, sweaty - and probably a bit fragrant - writing you a note. Eeeek!. It is time to begin the main onion harvest. The key is to let the onion tops drop, dry out and then pull them out of the field before the August rains hit. I do not have an onion harvester, but we do have five acres of onion. That means we go out with the tractor and three to four people. The tractor carries a pallet behind it. One guy alternately drives and gathers onions. Two people crawl down the field on hands and knees pulling onions and tossing them into the wheel row. Then the extra guy and the driver play "catch" with onions. We plant three rows at 15 inch spacing, that run 500 feet each. So that is 1500 feet of onion per set. I am one of the crawlers. The guys rotate who drives, digs, pitches and catches. The onions were beautiful and I loved watching the pallets stack high. The weight of one pallet is about 850 pounds and it takes two pallets to handle one set. That is a mucho big load of onions.

Now, do you wonder why I am one of the crawlers? It is Mr Big Bad Bull Snake. The guys decided I should have a fifty-fifty chance of encountering him. But, guess what? No Mr Bull Snake when I am around. Go figure! I am the one who wants to see him and he is always missing when I harvest onion.

Actually, this job is tons of fun. Can you picture three men playing catch with onion all day long? There are high flies, ground balls, fouls, right in the strike zone and sometimes line drives right into a zone no one wants to mention. Talk about hot, sweaty, and tons of fun. When you use our onions, know they were harvested with great joy.

Please note when ordering onions, we are transitioning from fresh to "skin on." The transition takes a few weeks. During that period of time we cannot wash down the onions or it will ruin the skin.

Your box
Cauliflower
Sweet corn
Cantaloupe - at long last
Cucumber
Yellow bell pepper
Purple bell pepper
Green Bell pepper
Alisa Craig sweet Spanish onion
Arugula

News from the Farm - Summer Week 8

It finally feels like summer - not blazing hot, but summer, none the less. It was a happy day for me to feel some heat and sunshine. Monday we had another CSA member as a volunteer. Waleed spent the morning weeding tomatoes with our two interns. Between the three of them they got the whole main patch done. Thanks to our wonderful interns and volunteer. After we finished picking for the day, the guys went out to weed the new carrots and the main pepper crop. How beautiful a fresh weeding looks. Of course weeds, being opportunistic, quickly return so we must return again and again to the same patch. Overall, though, we look good.

In days gone by, weeds would be just about through germinating for the year. Over time, they have adapted to the widespread use of herbicides, and now their life patterns have changed. In an attempt to not be obliterated, they have begun germinating later and later in the year - at a time when the spraying is over in the chemical laden fields. In this way, they have adapted so they can survive and reproduce. One day we may have "monster weeds" - weeds that survive all human attempts at ending their lives. It used to be that once we hit July, the weeds quit germinating and it was smooth sailing for the remainder of the year. Alas, it is no longer so easy.

Actually, I am noticing that the insect cycles are off this year. We are now experiencing the hatching out of the adult potato beetle and the spring swarms of gnats are in the air. Cucumber beetles are very light, while we have usually already had 3 flushes by this time of the year. We had lightening bugs one week and now they are gone. Cabbage moths (butterflies) are just now emerging. Now, I cannot say I miss the "bad bugs," but it is truly a sign that this year is off.

Your box
Lodi apples - a tart apple from Hillside Orchards in Michigan

Apricots - from Mick Klug Farms in Michigan

Red kale - use just like you would green kale. Perhaps try some kale chips. Shake in a bit of olive oil. Add seasoning of choice, spread on a baking sheet and bake at 350 until edges are crispy. Another nice kale idea is to chop the kale and lightly saute. As it nears completion add a bit of raspberry vinagarette dressing, dried cranberries and pine nuts. Stir together and serve. Ymmm. This works with raw kale also, but you have to let it sit for ten to twelve hours to soften the kale.

Cucumbers

New red potatoes - just starting to harvest these tasty guys - so creamy. Jon and I grilled some with lamb sausage, onion and chopped peppers. Oh, so good.

Green beans

Fennel - a nice licorice taste to add to salad or veggies. We like to munch on the stalks as a treat.

Fresh Spanish onion

Broccoli

Vicki
Genesis Growers
8373 E 3000 S Rd
St Anne, Il 60964
815 953 1512
www.genesis-growers.com

Summer CSA, Week 5

Sorry for the late letter this week. I am behind schedule on paper and computer. Being sick two days last week put me behind schedule.
Wow! How nice that the weather has moderated. We have had a cold breeze both early and later in the day. It is pleasant to work in such weather, but I am not sure about the crops who need some heat. The warm weather crops need sun and some heat. It is as if we have had a long spring, a one week summer and now we are into fall. Goofy year!
Monday we spent a portion of the day picking, a portion planting, a portion running irrigation and a portion on weeds. All in all, a productive day. Tuesday and Wednesday were repeats so we are making some excellent progress in the fields. Today Jay is going to start taking out the areas that got grassed in during the rainy spell so we can replant. More fall crops are being seeded out today, broccoli being the primary target for the day.

Your box
Broccoli
Lettuce head
Collards
Cucumber (at long last)
Green beans
Red cabbage

Summer CSA, Week 4

We were so fortunate this week that the major rains missed us. We got a half inch while just 3 miles from here they received 1 1/2. Then 6 miles south they received 3 1/2. We would have been out of the field for a week if we had been hit hard. As it is, we got a nice watering. Today we were back in the field. We are almost caught up on planting. We are almost caught up on cultivation. Now we have to conquer the irrigation.
With cultivation we run the tractor and hang hoe. Almost every time we cultivate, it rains, rooting the weeds back in. yesterday and today the weeds actually perished in the sun and heat. (As did we.) We have made so much progress, I am thrilled. Granted, new planting will take the place of the old, new weeds will do likewise. But, that is just the nature or things on the farm.
Since I am hot, tired, want a shower and have to get up early, I will sign off.

Your box
Broccoli
Swiss chard
Lettuce heads (some of you got our one planting of iceberg, some got our Boston Bibb, the reminder got other varieties)
Kohlrabi
Cabbage

News from the Farm

Summer Week 3: On Being a Locavore, Weeds, and Planting Winter Squash

This was written by one of our members in response to my dismay over having slow (and therefore late) crops this year - and that a member dropped out due to a lack of produce. I appreciated it so much I thought I would pass it along to you.

Let them shop Wal-Mart. Part of the larger danger, culturally speaking, is that so very many of us are entirely urban folks descended from entirely urban folks--as I am!. I have never been on a working farm in my entire life, and I'm going on sixty. I saw my first cow up close in a zoo when I was 15: I had no idea they were so big. I think part of what this locavore movement is about is people like me trying to reconnect to what has been missing (at least in my family) since some time in the mid-1800s. Some folks are not going to get it, but that's okay. You are not just growing vegetables. You are also educating all of us--educating us about weather v. harvest, educating us about (good heavens!) what really fresh greens can taste like. I had no idea. Absolutely no idea. I sauteed that bok choy with onion, garlic and ginger, a little soy and rice wine, and served it over broiled salmon. My husband commented three times that it was good. And (after 35 years) that brings his total comments on my cooking to maybe 9 or 10 remarks.

Peace,

Cate

This week we have worked, worked, worked. Not only are we still short on farm workers, but we are trying to deal with planting and weeding issues. The wet fields have kept us out as far as planting goes, but causes the weeds to really sprout up. And sice we are unable to get the tractors into the field we have to watch them grow - and much faster than my crops. The rains have been good for the crops, but bad for planting and cultivating.

The worst spot for weeds are the carrot and parsnip patch. The crops start out slow and it gives the weeds time to take over. Sunday Jon and myself spent our whole day working on them. We managed to totally clear out three 600 foot lines of carrot. Now we have 78 more lines to go. Daunting? Yes, it is. But,it is also a nice field to work in, with the birds singing and the breezes blowing. And, I managed to clean that field last year, so I know I can do it again this year. If anyone wants to volunteer, let me know. We have plenty of weeds to spread around!

Yesterday and today we worked hard to plant winter squash. We managed to get over half of them planted before it began raining. Now we have to see when we can get back into the field again. Winter squash have a week long window for planting. May the sun once again shine on us!

Your box

Lettuce heads

Strawberries

Kale

Asparagus

Cilantro

Daikon radish - try a stir fry or add to a soup. It also is a great addition to a veggie broth.

Spinach

Vicki

From Vicki -

Reminder:  Please return your empty CSA boxes to your drop off site so I can reuse them.  Return egg cartons also.

The early outdoor planting scenario has caught up with me.  I had to try to squeeze crops into limited spaces due to wet soil and now I am finding I just do not have enough of several crops coming in yet.  I have been able to get new and larger plantings in and they are almost ready to pick, but just not quite yet.  I have been tempted this week to pick some items but feel I would end up hurting us more in the long run by picking prematurely.  I have always reminded myself not to rush the harvest, but am tempted because I want the boxes to be nice.  Rather than hold back a week on delivery I am going to pick what we can and add extras later in the season.  I would hate to miss the strawberries because they only come in for a short time and are in their prime right now.  My apologies, but I think I am making the right choice for this year and the crazy early season we have had.  By next week several things will be ready and I will feel better about picking them.  

With CSA, you share with me in the ups and downs.  I hate the downs, but this year have had many of them - all due to the cold and the rain.  Please know if you are frustrated, I am even more so.   If we go by the Farmer's Almanac, the rains are due to end and the year is going to warm up.  Here's hoping.  Unfortunately,some crops may be  a week or two weeks later than normal this summer beacuse we could not plant as normally scheduled. These are tiems like cucumbers, peppers, watermelon, tomatoes, etc. They will come in, and perhaps they will play catch up and not be late after all. 

 

My workers are still away, but I did find some temporary workers to fill in, so this week has been a little better, even though seven of us were out on Monday night until 8:45 PM picking the berries.  Whew!

 

Your box

Boc choi

Lettuce head - various types, as we were able to find big enough ones to pick

Strawberries

Rhubarb - the stalks are big and everyone got a over a pound

Hakurei salad turnips - the greens are edible also.  Eat them raw, are lightly steam or saute

Oregano

Vicki

Summer CSA, Week One - June 3, 2009

From Vicki:

Wow! What violent weather systems we have had as of late. We did not get hit too badly, but when the wind came up, we had to run for cover. I had to wonder if a tornado was heading our way. The crops are fine, but my neighbor told me just south of us they were hit with extremely damaging winds and rain. That is a tough thing for a farmer for whom everything lies at the mercy of nature.


This week, weather permitting, we will finally be planting our final warm weather crops. Cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc go in this week. They are looking very nice and ready for a new home. I held off starting these crops because when they are ready, they are ready. There is no holding back on them. We have a three or four day window for transplanting and then they are too "leggy" to transplant nicely. So, let us hope for little rain so we can get them into the field.


I noticed the first flush of cucumber beetles this week. There are five flushes in a year. This first flush is about two weeks late, so we may have two flushes right on top of each other. I dislike the little holes they put in the crop, but even more I dislike the fact that they are disease vectors, the truly bad thing about these guys. Disease control is the area of my pondering this year. Disease is what nature uses to control vegetation, so one variety does not take over. It is all part of nature's overall plan to keep the earth in balance.


My goal is always balance. So, how much intervention should I take in controlling disease? I find if I kill bad insects, I can upset the balance of good insects. My quest is to discover how to keep naturally occurring disease in balance with beneficial fungi that helps to balance harmful pathogens. Any insight is appreciated. I am sure I will come to a conclusion over the course of the summer.


This week's critter tale. The yellow finch are back in significant numbers. How beautiful! As many of you know, we eliminated most all of our animals from the farm, sending them to a friend's house for the season. We did keep Mr. Duck. I had two ducks, Mr and Mrs, but Mrs met with a predator and left Mr Duck as a widower. He was very depressed for a long time and I wondered if he would die from his depression. Then he decided to come on out of his house to play around. This week, though, having a open door policy with greenhouses, Mr Duck decided to enter house number one. He found the late crop of brussel sprouts to be an adequate place to wriggle around. I walked in and all the plants were laying flat. Ergh! I was not too happy with Mr. Duck. But the nice thing about plants is that they are very forgiving. The next day, with a drink of water, and some time to rebound, they were standing upright and happy again. Next time I get trampled, I hope I quickly stand upright with hope and dignity.


On a sadder note. Two of my three field workers had a family member involved in a life threatening accident and had to leave to go out of state. For this week we are extremely shorthanded. We had a hard time picking and processing. If you see some dirt please forgive us. Also, some of the crops are small yet due to the late spring we have had. We picked all we could, due to both situations, and will make up for it next week or the week after. Thanks for your understanding.


Your box

Rhubarb
Salad Mix
Spinach
Kale (bit on the small side and not washed)
Strawberries
Thyme