farm updates

Farm Update April 2, 2016

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So… it is spring, but it didn’t feel like it this morning when I stepped out into the 30 degree air. The farm looks like spring, though. The blackberries are getting pretty leafed out, the pomegranate trees are greening up, and there are lots of flowers everywhere with bees buzzing around them.

We are in the middle of the spring planting season; yesterday we transplanted our plum tomato seedlings into larger pots and we will be doing that with the chiles and peppers later today. Early next week the Colorado Rose seed potatoes go into the ground. We will also soon be planting green bean, squash, cucumber, jicama and many other types of seeds.

Another harbinger of spring on the farm is the round-tailed ground squirrels; they are out of hibernation and darting from burrow to burrow. So far none have been seen in the field, although they will likely be getting in soon. We maintain a cleared 10-foot no-squirrel zone around the field. There is also a chickenwire fence around the field and a 3-foot-deep rock-filled trench. No squirrels have tunneled under the fence. They get in by scaling the fence. We have had help with the squirrel problem lately by a pair of roadrunners who are amazing rodent predators. We have a little agroecosystem going out here and it seems to be working. As soon as the snakes are active, they also help with the rodent control.

This week we will start the sign-up for the late spring/summer CSA. It will consist of 16 weeks of deliveries to the markets starting the third week of May and continuing into September. The cost will be $250. We will have the signup forms at our farm stands and available online. Please let us know if you’d like to reserve a spot.

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Goat manure composting
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Blackberry bushes
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Composting operation

Farm Update March 19, 2016

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We are pretty excited to announce that we are now supplying produce to AgustÌn Kitchen www.agustinkitchen.com; we made the first delivery this week ! So if you would like to taste some of our ingredients in a prepared form you can now sample them there in addition to Proper and The Coronet.

We will grow Colorado Rose potatoes again this season. They worked very well for us last year and we are looking forward to some delicious spuds in a couple months or so. We are preparing two beds for planting potatoes ñ twice as much bed space as last year.

The blackberry bushes are greening up ! This year we should have a fairly large harvest – last year’s harvest was 38 pounds and we are hoping for about 100 pounds this year. That’s enough for a lot of cobbler !

Our late spring/summer CSA deliveries will begin in mid-May and run through mid-September. We will start signing up shareholders in about 2 weeks. Additional CSA information will be forthcoming in the newsletter.

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French red shallots
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Garlic
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Leeks

Farm Update March 12, 2016

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Yesterday we finished planting the new bed of asparagus crowns, doubling the number of asparagus plants at the farm. The images show some of the stages of the process.

The trench is about a foot deep and 2 feet across. The soil in the trench is a mix of organic compost, peat and native soil. The crowns are a year old, which gives us a head start as compared to seed. In two years we can begin to harvest the crowns we just planted.

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I am hoping to put in additional perennial crops this year. We currently have the asparagus, pomegranate and jujube trees, one fig tree, and blackberries. I am planning to plant about 15 more fig trees, a few more pomegranates and about 30 table grape vines. In a few years we should be harvesting all of these !

Thank you for supporting local, sustainable agriculture !

Farm Update March 5, 2016

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It seems that only a few short weeks ago I was writing about the cold and its effects on our crops. Now it is the HEAT !!

This ongoing extremely warm spell (heatwave?) has most of our greens bolting as you can see in the images. Bolting often occurs due to stress or heat. The plants quickly send up a flower stalk and then seed. Sometimes it doesn’t affect the taste and texture, but often the effects on the plants are negative; they get tough, stringy, the flavor changes.

Most of our greens varieties still taste fine after initial bolting and the flower buds and flowers are good to eat. With Hakurei turnips, after they flower, the roots get woody and bitter and are essentially ruined. If you harvest them before they fully bolt, the taste and texture are fine. Some of ours have started to bolt, but we are hoping that this heatwave doesn’t cause the entire bed to go to seed.

When arugula bolts, the buds and flowers are very tasty. In fact, last summer we sold arugula buds and flowers in the market and Kris Vrolik, the chef at Proper, pickled about a pound of them and they were delicious. The pickling process also preserved the look of the flowers.

OK, I am headed back out to the field to replant some of the greens that have bolted. Probably just in time for the upcoming winter storm and some freezing temperatures – talk about extremes!

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Farm Update February 26, 2016

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We already started some of the summer crops in seed trays and some of the plants have sprouted – tomatoes, chiles and sweet peppers. We will continue to plant apace in the coming 6 weeks or so.

The asparagus is coming up strongly. We will have a little bit of asparagus at the market this week and should have more in the coming weeks. I ordered another 120 one-year-old asparagus crowns which we will be planting next week. This will effectively double the size of our asparagus bed, but we won’t be harvesting any from the new crowns until the spring of 2018 – it takes a while for the crowns to get large enough to harvest spears.

The snow peas are finally blooming ! They made it through the winter and now have a good head start on spring. The cold mornings the last couple of days did no damage to them, so we will soon be harvesting peas. About one-quarter of the plants are a purple variety – these should be easier to see when harvesting.

Farm Update February 12, 2016

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Our spinach crop is finally growing more quickly. What a difference a week makes in the daytime temperatures! The spinach has been basking in the sun and warm air, so we finally have enough to include some in your shares.

I am thinking of offering work trade shares for the late spring/summer CSA program. The idea is that a work trade shareholder would work a set number of hours at the farm in exchange for a share. The work days would likely be Saturdays, since that is our busiest day, but we would have some flexibility. I am interested to know what you think about this idea, if you would be interested, if you think others may be interested and general comments on the concept.

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Spinach

Farm Update February 6, 2016

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The ability of certain plants to withstand cold is pretty amazing. This past week we have had the coldest mornings so far this winter – 12°F Wednesday morning a half-hour before sunrise and 15° Friday morning at sunrise. Thursday felt just as cold, but we didn’t check the thermometer at sunrise. On Tuesday evening, it was already down to 20° by 9:30p so the temperature was way below freezing for over 12 hours Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

Most beds were under 2 layers of row cover (each layer affords about 4° of protection) and I watered the beds late into the night Tuesday; the valves on the driptape manifolds were freezing in position by the time I shut down the irrigation at 11p.

The spinach was one bed that had a single cover and I was worried all day at the market that I would see a freeze-damaged spinach crop when I got got back to the farm. But the spinach is just fine! The only evident damage was to the snow peas – many branches were killed by the cold, but most of the branches are fine and the plants should recover pretty quickly once it warms up. Everything else is fine. I’m thinking that the coldest weather is over now, but who knows??

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Farm Update January 30, 2016

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As I mentioned last week, we are thinking about and planning our spring and summer planting. For early spring we are planning red potatoes, romaine and buttercrunch lettuce, as well as snap peas. The current summer list includes, green beans, tomatoes (medium slicers and plum), corno di toro and lunchbox peppers, jalapeño and poblano chiles, patty pan and Mexican gray squash, cantaloupe, watermelon, and Persian cucumbers.

I am also considering some flowers – likely decorative sunflowers, zinnias and maybe a few other varieties.

This is only the initial list. It will grow as we continue our planning.

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Farm Update January 23, 2016

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The warm weather of the last several days has finally awoken some of our plants from their “long winter’s nap.” Thanks for your patience with our production lull.

Along with the changes in the field, we have some changes in personnel at the farm. Gentry, our farm manager is moving on to other endeavors. He has been with us since early December 2014 and helped greatly in the development of the farm and our markets. We wish him the best of luck in the future !

Two new people started a few days ago and one more is on the way on February 1; more about all of them in upcoming newsletters. Those of you who attend the Rillito market will be seeing all of them in rotation as we move into the late winter.

Also, we are now seeking applications for summer interns ñ so if you know any hearty souls who love working in the summer heat (!), send them our way or ask them to check our our ATTRA website internship listing.

With the promise of spring on the horizon, we have been poring over the seed catalogues and planning our summer crops. We will be putting together a summer seed order soon, so if you have any favorite summer vegetables or varieties that you know to grow well, send along your suggestions and they will go in the mix for consideration.

Farm Update January 8, 2016

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Yesterday afternoon we had a surprise out here at the farm in the form of snow. About an inch accumulated in a little less than an hour. I couldn’t resist the visual pun so I took a few pictures of our snow peas.

It rained off and on all night and the snow was melted this morning. It is still pretty nippy as we are harvesting today.

The broccoli now has small heads; you should be seeing some in your shares within a few weeks.

Our carrots are also growing – very slowly, but they are growing. They will be showing up in your shares within a month or so.

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