Wednesday 20 February 2013

Hey Folks:

Welcome to those of you who are checking out this site for the first time – I hope you find the virtual side of the farm informative and entertaining.  If you have any questions about purchasing a share for the season, feel free to contact me at the number below.

Work at the barn reached a milestone this past week – the heat is now on and the readings for air and soil temperatures are being taken.  The air temperature has stabilized, oscillating between acceptable highs and lows.  The soil temperature is a bit warm, and so a few adjustments are being made to get some of the seed trays down to about 21 degrees.  I expect this to happen over the course of the next few days.  At that point, it will be time to plant our Leeks and Bulb onions.  If all goes well, the TomatoesPeppers, and Eggplants will get the go ahead to start their work…spring is definitely on the way.

For those of you who are returning (and those of you considering signing up for the first time), I have decided to go with doorstep delivery.  Most of my customers are located in two small locations, which will allow me to deliver quite efficiently.  This will do for the next year, but as the farm continues to grow, the idea of delivery will have to be reconsidered in the future.

In the meantime, it’s back to the barn for more temperature readings, and back to plowing the desk for my 2013 organic certification renewal…so much to do!


Update Feb 25th, 2013:


The first succession of Bulb Onions and Leeks are sown in the nursery.


I have chosen to continue the same bulb onions as last season (one variety of Yellow and one variety of red) as I have an idea as to how well they will do in fair conditions.  


As last year, I am growing  long season Leeks that should be ready by early Fall - these are the cold tolerant type that can stay in the ground right up to just before the ground freezes.  As well, I have sown "Varna" Leeks for this season, which are much smaller but should be harvest ready in 60 to 80 days after transplant (about sometime in July).  


Dick just HAD to say that the barn was full of leaks...


These all have been planted in the nursery in the barn.  The nursery is an insulated cabinet with artificial sunlight, soil temperature control, and air circulation.  This allows long season plants to get a head start in our northern climate - otherwise our tomato season would be about 4 weeks long - way too short for my tastes.


One other note, especially for those of you considering a first time purchase of a share.


I have tried to provide a complete picture on the menu page and 2013 harvest page as to what to expect for your purchase.  The information is all there, but I still find it is not as clear as I would like it to be.  I'll try to come up with something else in the near future.  


In the meantime, if you are interested, feel free to contact me, and I can answer any questions that you may still have.


Talk to you soon, 


Bob


Update March 1st:

The Onions have started sprouting.  They should have started next Monday, but I suppose they are in a hurry to be eaten.  Now the trick is to keep them growing...

Here are a few notes about our shares:

All of our produce is certified organic, and grown using an array of techniques ranging from traditional to modern, with a few adaptations I have learned along the way.

Produce is cleaned on the farm prior to delivery, using our biennially tested well water.  Leaves are rinsed twice. 

All shares receive harvests from the first week of June through the last weeks of October, with a couple of harvests  in November.

In total, there are 21 out of 23 weeks that I bill for (I assume 2 weeks absence on your part).  Full shares receive an additional harvest in May.

 For a $450.00 half share, you can expect about $20.00 worth of fresh food per week.

The $800.00 full shares receive about $40.00 per week.  

In addition, extra storage crops at the end of the year round out the value of your harvest.

These late season harvests include dry beans, storage potatoes, carrots, onions, winter squash and cold tolerant greens (green onions, kale, winter lettuce, spinach, etc).

To ensure I meet my commitment, I plant a little more than is needed to cover for the occasional setback in the season.  Last year, despite having a poor year for broccoli, missing a couple of weeks of lettuce, and having a poor turnout from the leeks, I was still able to generate more food than the value of the shares – half shares received almost $500.00 worth of food.

A few days before the weekly harvest, I will post an estimate of what you will receive on the website (On the page “This Weeks Harvest”).  This will allow you to plan.

I have to emphasize that if there are crops you want more of less of, please let me know as soon as possible, so that I can plant less or more of a certain crop.

Here is a glance at some of the differences between Full and Half Shares:

Full Share
Half Share
2 Heads of Lettuce per week
1 Head of Lettuce per week
2-3 Types of greens per week
1-2 Types of greens per week
Garlic – minimum 16 bulbs
Garlic – minimum 8 bulbs
2-4 Lb Tomatoes each week
1-2 Lb Tomatoes each week
1-2 other Fruit (2-3 peppers, 1-2 cucumber, 1-2 squash, etc.)
1 other Fruit (2-3 peppers, 1-2 cucumber, 1-2 squash, etc.)
1 Lb Carrots each week
1 Lb Carrots every two weeks
1 other root (turnips, beets, celeriac, radish, etc).
1 other root (turnips, beets, celeriac, radish, etc).
1 Lb Beans or Peas each week
1 Lb Beans or Peas every two weeks
1 Lb Potatoes each week
1 Lb Potatoes every two weeks

Quantity per share can be adjusted slightly, provided no-one else is short changed.  However, making adjustments is much easier if I know before I start planting.

The quantities for Beans, Peas, Potatoes, Carrots, etc are usually the minimum amount – if there is extra, all shares are topped up.

In the hottest part of the summer, I usually give two or three small  heads of lettuce per share instead of 1 or 2 large heads (they are harvested early to prevent the plants from going to seed as sometimes happens in hot weather).

Sometimes there is a lot of extra produce (such as Carrots or Tomatoes).  On these weeks, I notify all customers that extra food is available.  Those who want to preserve food have the opportunity to take extra.  First come, first serve.

There are two goals we hope to achieve within the next two years:

1- Find a way to offer more customer choice in basket contents - this has proven to be a much bigger challenge than I realised when I was an intern.  The production logistics (and risks) pose a considerable challenge.

2- Extend our season of winter greens, storage crops, and root vegetables up to the  feasting holidays of Christmas and New Years.  

With your support this year, we should achieve this bar by 2014 or 2015.  

In the meantime, our goal is to continue to provide ourselves and our customers with top quality produce.

Bob




Wednesday 6 February 2013


Hey Folks:

A couple of updates.

I have located a source of organic Parsnip seed here in Canada.  I have to confirm a couple of details but anticipate getting some seed for this year.  This may be the culmination of a long search.  

The same farm produces seed for another crop I have been looking for sometime – New Zealand Spinach.

New Zealand Spinach (not really a spinach but tastes like it) grows on a trellised vine.  It is notoriously difficult to get started, as it naturally have a low germination rate – typically, about 65 % of the seed is viable when planted.  However, once established, it grows prolifically and continues to provide a harvest of leaves until the first frost.

I have looked for it in particular as it satisfies three criteria I have been searching for.

As a trellis plant, it will compliment my trellis crop rotation (Vine Beans, followed by “a leaf crop”, followed by a Fruit crop (tomatoes, cucumber, etc).

Another reason I have chosen NZ Spinach is that it is very heat tolerant.  It can provide an additional leafy green to the mid-summer menu, providing a substitute for Spinach should there be difficulties germinating the real Spinach in the hottest part of the season.

The final reason is that, from what I have heard, it is a very tasty.


I have come up with a means of responding to menu requests for the season.  I must emphasize that it is not a foolproof system – field and weather conditions will dictate what I can provide on a weekly basis.  However, I recognize that some way to tailor the menu to each customer should be found (This has been discussed at length in other posts).

When you sign on for a seasons share (or shortly after), I will ask you to fill out a form that grades your preferences for some produce.  I will use this as a guide when filling your weekly baskets.

There will be a few other questions, such as if you prefer your carrot or beet greens left on (some folks like these – I tend to keep some carrot greens for stews), and your approximate quantity for some crops such as carrots and beans (ie 1 Lb / basket, 1.5 Lb / basket, etc.).

For those of you who have already signed on, I will follow up with this in the next week or so.

That’s all for now, I’m off to the farm now to do some more temperature readings, wood working, and another round of flyer drop-offs.  Talk to you soon…

Bob