Farmers at the (State) Farm

We are just 3 short weeks away from starting the 2009 Farmer's Market season! Excited?! We are.....and a little nervous. It is always this way at the beginning of the season: will the weather cooperate? Will anything be ready to pick? Will our customers show up? What did we forget THIS time? Actually, the only sure thing is that our customers WILL show up--you've never let us down yet!

We finally got into the field mid-April. We (and I am using "we" very loosely-I was at a soccer tournament!) planted over 11,000 sweet onions, lots of leeks, radishes, spinach, turnips, green onions, carrots and about 2,000 head of lettuce. Bill and his dad also got about 3 acres of sweet corn in as well. Now, it's a rush to get everything else in before we get busy with the markets. We have trays stacked up in the greenhouse, just waiting for the weather to warm up (and dry out!) so the warmer weather plants--tomatoes, peppers and eggplant--can get growing. Once we get stuff up and growing, I'll have some pictures. Right now, it's pretty boring.

ETA: There will not be a Buy Fresh, Buy Local booth at State Farm tomorrow. Sorry :( For those of you reading that work at State Farm, we will be participating in an Earth Day presentation on Thursday, April 30 at Corporate South. I'm sorry I don't have any other details than that......but we should be there with other eco-friendly folks over the lunch hours. So come look us up! We will have CSA information if you are thinking about beginning a healthier, more plant based diet. There are some CSA memberships still available---be the first in your department to sign up. Also, if you have a friend sign up for CSA at the same time, you both save $20 on your memberships. Come by and talk to me about it!

Finally, since I can't have a post without pictures, here are some to whet your appetite for some fresh veggies! These pics are examples of spring and early summer CSA shares. Both show what would be in your share for that particular week. The top photo has Red Oak Leaf loose head lettuce, 2 bunches of green onions, a bunch of French Breakfast radishes, white icicle radishes, Japanese turnips, and Napa cabbage. The second picture has a little more variety, as it is from about mid June: red radishes, yellow squash, zucchini, beets, leeks, sugar snap peas, butter crunch lettuce and rainbow swiss chard. As former members know, the later in the season is when the CSA REALLY pays off: sweet corn, watermelon and cantaloupe, plus tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potatoes and onions, plus all the other stuff that I can't remember right now!

Probably the best reason for joining a CSA besides getting the quality, fresh produce is your return on investment. Really. Raise your hand if this has happened to you: buy a bag of lettuce at the store for $3, open it and by the next day, it is brown around the edges. Kind of a use it or lose it situation and very wasteful if only one or two people eat salad. Fresh, seasonal lettuce will keep for up to a WEEK in the fridge--with no browning! Radishes are crisper, onions sweeter, watermelon juicier.......on and on and on. Because we harvest when the produce is ready, your recieve a quality produce that has a longer shelf life.....maximizing your dollar by not throwing away food.

Anyway, the countdown to great local summer eating is underway! See you at the markets!