Survey Results for 2010 CSA Season

I sent out a survey to my CSA members again this year. Of the 54 surveys sent 20 came back (a good number I think!). Thanks to all of you who filled it out. I'm about ready to start planning the 2011 garden and these results will be helpful.

Here is how the survey went:

1) How did you feel about the tomatoes? Too many? Not enough? Did you have a favorite type or a kind you didn’t care for (Roma, Brandywine, Yellow Peach, Black Prince, Wisconsin 55, Red Cherry, Black Cherry, Sungold, Green Tomatoes)? Do you have a tomato variety suggestion(s)?

Here is how this question broke down:

Very much enjoyed all the cherry tomatoes = 2
Loved everything related to tomatoes = 11
Could’ve used even more cherries = 2
Had a few too many tomatoes in general = 6

Most folks thought the variety was good and didn’t really have a clear favorite or least favorite. Black Prince (ping pong sized purple cherry tomatoes) received two votes for most favorite tomato and Brandywine (large weird shaped pink tomato) received one vote. The yellow pear tomatoes received one least favorite vote.

I got a bunch of interesting suggestions about tomato varieties which I will be researching including: Green Zebra, Bushel Boy, Grape, Black Crim, Cherokee Purple and Yellow Pear Cherries.


2) Here is a list of new vegetables I tried this year: Kale, Soybeans, Garlic, Musk Melon, Sweet Potatoes, Shelling Beans ….what did you think of them? Do you have any suggestions on other new things to try?

And the survey says:
Didn’t like kale = 3
Liked kale = 7
Too much kale = 1
Impressed by soybeans = 1
Soybeans were too much work = 1
Didn’t care for soybeans = 3
Liked garlic = 8
Not impressed by musk melon = 5
Liked musk melon = 1
Disappointed with the sweet potatoes = 4
Liked the sweet potatoes = 2
Loved shelling beans = 2
Liked them all = 2

Hot peppers got two votes for something new for next year and cauliflower got one as did asparagus. One person thought they could’ve used fewer garlic scapes and more garlic heads. In regards to seeing more of things, eggplant, arugula, purple potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, shelling beans, green beans, carrots, corn and kale all received a vote or two.

3) In regards to herbs, half shares got basil, one round of fennel and a round or two of cilantro and dill. Full shares got quite a few more herbs. Generally speaking, did you think you got enough herbs? Do you have any suggestions on herbs that you would’ve liked to have seen in your box?

Grow their own and don’t need many or any = 3
Were generally happy with the herbs = 11
Had a hard time using them all = 2

Herb suggestions: tarragon, rosemary, mint, thyme, lemon thyme.

4) As far as eggs and flowers are concerned, I’m skeptical that our capability to produce these is plentifully enough to supply the CSA fully. Next year I’m seriously considering only running eggs and flowers to full shares only. Do you think this is a good idea?

Yes = 11
Reluctantly said yes = 8


5) What was your favorite CSA item? Your least favorite?

Most Favorite
sugar snap peas = 2
soybeans = 2
tomatoes = 4
kohlrabi
spuds = 4
garlic = 2
carrots = 3
watermelon
squash = 4
cherry tomatoes
beans = 3
broccoli
corn
kale = 3
pie pumpkins
early lettuce = 2
peppers
herbs
flowers

Least Favorite
Spaghetti Squash = 2
Turnips = 2
Green Tomatoes = 2
Kohlrabi
Swiss chard
Beets
Lettuce
Sunflower
Kale = 3
Summer squash
Tommatillos

6) Do you think you got a fair amount of produce for the price you paid for the share?

Eighteen people said yes to this question, two people were undecided. A couple of interesting points came up with this question. One person pointed out that the early and late season boxes were smaller than the midseason boxes (this is true, the season was a bell curve and oftentimes is). Another person would've liked to have seen more of fewer items in their box. In other words, less variety but bigger quanities...something to think about.

7) In addition to lambs, I had planned on raising a few pigs or cows this year and then offering the meat to CSA members. Unfortunately, by the time I got the hoophouse set up I felt I had run out of time. If I had raised some pork or beef would you have been interested in buying some?

Thirteen people said yes to this question. Six people said no (most of them were vegetarians).

8) Anything else you would like to add?

Ummmm, here is a sampling: “We enjoyed the box – a great supply”; “Thanks for all your hard work”; “Thanks for hosting the parties”; “Loved the pickle kit”; “Thank you for growing veggies for us again this year”; “Great experience for a first time CSA member”; “Thank you for feeding our family”; “Thanks! This was my first year trying out a CSA”; “Beets and onions”; “We loved the variety each week”; “Thanks for a great CSA program”; “Great job, thanks!”.

How to Build a Hoophouse in 136 Easy Steps

In 2008 I decided I wanted to start a CSA. To get an idea of what I could raise veggie-wise I grew a giant two acre garden and sold the produce at a local farmers market. That year I planted tomatoes exactly the same way I had always planted tomatoes…out in the garden with everything else. My tomatoes that year did pretty well and I got lots of nice compliments on them.

In 2009 I launched the CSA and once again planted tomatoes out in the garden. That year the plants met with total disaster. First they wilted, then the leaves turned black, then the unripe tomatoes turned black and the whole mess died. I felt terrible. Here I was with a brand new CSA and whole slew of rotten tomatoes. And everyone knows that tomatoes are one of the crown jewels of a CSA box.

As soon as I noticed a problem I frantically started doing research on what could’ve caused the collapse. I learned that tomato blight was the culprit. It had blown into my county and obliterated many a tomato crop. The blight is a type of fungus that comes in, attacks plants, spreads, kills and generally decimates.

After that whole debacle, I decided to do everything in my power to not get the blight again. I toured some other local CSA farms and found that it was popular to plant most tomatoes in a hoophouse. A hoophouse is an unheated greenhouse made of big hoops, hence the name. Plants are grown directly in the ground inside the structure which is covered in a giant sheet of heavy duty plastic. The shelter a hoophouse provides keeps the tomato plants safe from wind and rain which are the two main vehicles for blight.

When I learned this I was kinda irritated that tomatoes needed so much fussing with. Here was a vegetable that in most years grows profussly and happily right out in the field with really very little care. Some years the plants will die of blight but most other years they will be fine. Anyway, I decided to not take the chance and put up one of these nifty hoophouses.

Like most things, this endeavor turned out to be easier said than done. The construction took me three solid weeks and I had lots of help from my husband, dad, father-in-law and uncle in addition to a whole bunch of folks that came to help put up the plastic. I’d probably still be working on it if I hadn’t had any help. Here are the steps in case you want to share in my trials and tribulations. Or if you are planning on building one yourself, these steps may give you some insight on what to expect.

1. Figure out where you want to put a hoophouse
2. Learn that you can’t just toss one up anywhere, the ground has to be flat or made to be flat, realize you have no interest in hiring a backhoe
3. Select a new site that’s naturally flat
4. Figure out how big of a structure you can fit on your designated site
5. Select a hoophouse that has a style you like and a size that suits your site
6. Agonize over it a bit, finally realize that you have to shit or get off the pot and pick one already
7. Order the hoophouse
8. Tell the company you’ll come out to the wharehouse and pick it up (it’s cheaper that way)
9. Move any fences that are currently on the site
10. Cut down any brush
11. Burn off all the grass and tall weeds
12. Disk
13. Dig
14. Repeat steps 12 and 13 until the soil is worked up good
15. Drag
16. Eagerly await the arrival of your hoophouse
17. Receive a call from a warehouse employee telling you that your hoophouse has accidentally been shipped to your house
18. Wonder how a semi truck is going to get into your yard, drop off, turn around, ect.
19. Also wonder how you will manage to get a 13 foot pallet off such a truck
20. Freak out
21. Get the bright idea to call the local feed mill and ask if they can unload the pallet with their fork lift onto a hay wagon that you will bring
22. Breathe a major sigh of relief when they say “sure!”
23. Go borrow your dad’s truck and hay wagon
24. Drive it to the feed mill
25. Unhitch it
26. Go home
27. Wait by the phone
28. Get a call from the feed mill telling you it’s in
29. Head back to the feed mill
30. Hitch up the wagon and drive the pallet carefully home
31. Marvel at the pallet which contains a 24 foot by 72 foot hoophouse all wrapped up nice
32. Fully understand the concept of ‘some assembly required’
33. Carefully read the instructions and learn that the manufactures recommends that you hire a contractor to come out to your place and erect this thing for you
34. Congratulate yourself for being so thrifty and resourceful
35. Tear into the pallet
36. Find pipes, rolls of plastic sheeting and bags and bags of important looking hardware
37. Attempt to organize it
38. Give up
39. Begin surveying
40. Locate the four corners of your soon-to-be hoophouse
41. Place stakes at each corner
42. Run string around these to make a rectangle
43. Run string diagonally to get a perfect rectangle
44. Spend several hours fussing with the string and a line level
45. Finally be satisfied that you have plotted the layout of the hoophouse
46. Using your string as a guide, start pounding in pipe stakes with a sledge hammer
47. Pound in quite a few of them
48. Learn you have been pounding the stakes in exactly two inches too far out
49. Swear
50. Pull up all the pipe stakes you have pounded in
51. Repeat steps 40 through 46 until all the hoop stakes are in
52. Start assembling hoops
53. Locate hoop pipes
54. Drill out holes
55. Screw the pipes together
56. With helpers lift the hoop and place it into a hoop stake
57. Realize it’s crooked
58. Take the hoop down
59. Take it apart
60. Rig up a flat surface using a level and some random boards
61. Repeat steps 52 through 56 until all the hoops are up
62. Find or borrow some ladders
63. Install purlins, braces, and wiggle wire tracts
64. Get really tired of standing on a ladder with your arms above your head holding a drill
65. Go buy a pile of untreated 2 X 4s
66. Screw them to your hoops as upper and lower baseboards
67. Run out of lumber
68. Go get more
69. Repeat step 66 until all the baseboards are in
70. Start constructing the endwalls
71. Dig holes for footings
72. Make cement forms
73. Go cement shopping
74. Explain to the hardware guy what you are doing
75. Follow his advice and buy 18 bags of cement
76. Mix up some cement
77. Pour it into your holes
78. Stick some ready rod in there
79. Return 12 bags of cement
80. Make heavy duty baseboard sandwiches using 2 X 4s and plywood
81. Drill holes in these to match your ready rod
82. Install the baseboards
83. Frame out the rest of the end wall
84. Carefully measure a doorframe
85. Build a door
86. Learn it is too big for your opening
87. Remake the door
88. Learn it is too small for your opening
89. Cheat by giving the door to your dad for him to figure out
90. Repeat steps 70 through 89 for the other end wall
91. Start gearing up to install the roof
92. Wonder how wiggle wire works
93. Call the company to ask
94. Become cunfused
95. Go look at someone else’s hoophouse to actually see how it works
96. Call in as many reinforcements as you can for the plastic roof stretching, bribe people as needed with beer and hotdogs (I managed to get 13 folks)
97. Curse the fact that it is windy on the day you picked to stretch plastic
98. Barge ahead anyway
99. When your crew shows up give them a lesson on how wiggle wire works
100. Explain that you will be rolling out huge sheets of plastic that will have to be wiggle wired in on all sides
101. Unroll the biggest piece of plastic you have ever seen
102. Station some helpers up on ladders armed with wiggle wire
103. Finagle the giant expanse of plastic across one of the end walls
104. Have more helpers hold the plastic tight across the end wall frame
105. Slowly and carefully apply the wiggle wire so that the plastic is nice and smooth
106. When the whole side is secured congratulate yourself and your crew for having completed one side
107. Repeat steps 101 through 106 for the other end wall
108. Get ready to do the roof
109. Unrolled an even larger hunk of plastic
110. Tie strings to it on one side
111. Tie something heavy to one side
112. Throw your weighted corner over the hoophouse
113. Station several helpers on each side
114. Use the strings to get the piece of plastic even over the top
115. Put two helpers on ladders inside the househouse
116. Give them lots of wiggle wire
117. When a gust of wind comes up, hang on for dear life
118. See the wind actually pick up some of your helpers as they try to hang on and the wind turns your untethered plastic into what amounts to a giant kite
119. Lose the plastic
120. Swear
121. Repeat steps 112 through 120… twice
122. Get the idea to temporarily secure the plastic with short lengths of wiggle wire after you throw it over and even it up
123. Start at one end and smooth and correct the plastic as you go, with enough people you can get it right
124. Cheer
125. Start a bon fire and enjoy hotdogs and beer with your crew
126. Assemble the roll up side mechanisms
127. Unroll more plastic
128. Wiggle wire it to the long sides of the hoophouse
129. Secure the bottom of the plastic to the roll up mechanism
130. Be amazed at how easy it is to roll up a side
131. Install rope hardware
132. Thread rope through
133. Cut open your doors
134. Wiggle wire the plastic to them
135. Be happy it’s finally done
136. Hang out inside the hoophouse for a bit and admire it before you rototill and plant your tomatoes

Mount Mulch

We’re going to have plenty of mulch for next year! Since part of my parents’ hay crop ended up being too wet to make into hay bales, my dad chopped the hay and unloaded it in a pile in my garden. It was quite the operation chopping the hay, collecting it, transporting it and piling it. First dad used a chopper to chop up the cut hay. The chopped hay was blown from the chopper into a chopper box.



Then he drove chopper boxes full of the chopped hay to the garden. Next it was blown out of the chopper box (chopper boxes have really neat beaters and conveyer belts for this purpose).



The chopped hay then took a ride on an elevator. The elevator was hooked up to another tractor to power it. After the elevator ride the chopped hay finally landed on Mount Mulch. In the above photo is pictured the very first load. According to my estimations, Mount Mulch is about 30 feet high and maybe 40 or 50 feet around. Mount Mulch consists of eight chopper box loads.

Tomato Identification Guide

In case you were wondering what kind of tomatoes you’ve been eating, check out the photo below.



Back row: Wisconsin 55, Black Prince, Brandywine. Front row: Amish Paste (big), Amish Paste (little), Yellow Peach, Sungold, Black Cherry, Red Cherry.


A bit more info on the tomatoes:

Yellow Peach: has a fuzzy skin kinda like a peach. They will keep longer than most other tomatoes. Yellow tomatoes have lower acidity levels than red tomatoes so they have less of a “bite”.

Brandywine: these pink guys are an old heirloom variety famous for their flavor. They also tend to catface which means the fruits get goofy weird-looking creases in them.

Black Prince and Black Cherry: these two are my favorites. They are of the black tomato persuasion which means they have purple skins and rich, delicious flavor.

Sungolds: are orange cherry tomatoes that are generally described as sweeter than red cherry tomatoes.

Wisconsin 55 and Red Cherry: Your standard red tomatoes.

Amish Paste: These are very similar to Romas. For some reason, mine seem to either be rather small or really quite large so I put two examples in the photo.

The Pickle Pickers

This photo was taken last Wednesday after a long, hot cucumber picking session. We picked 460 cucs and were a tad worried that our “cucumber carriage” was about to burst under the massive load. We did make it to the packing shed (and even had time to take a picture). I picked something like 200 or so on Sunday and today we picked 375. They just keep rolling in.

Attack of the Tomato Plants

Here’s a photo of the tomato plants taken in the hoophouse this morning. No red ones yet but soon I hope. I’m expecting the cherry tomatoes to ripen first. This year I planted the standard red ones and also a variety called Sungold which are an orange cherry tomato. Eventually (if all goes as planned) there will be quite a few different kinds of tomatoes including: Brandywine (a big red tomato), Wisconsin 55 (a medium-sized tomato), Yellow Peach (a yellow variety), Amish Paste (similar to Romas) and Black Crim (a smaller purple tomato).

Lettuce this Week in St. Paul
This season I have two farm hands who help me pick produce and pack it for you all. On Wednesday morning they were trying to pick lettuce before a thunderstorm rolled in. Needless to say, they were in a hurry so if you’ve found more grit in your lettuce than usual…that would be why.

Our Newest Farm Residents

Henrietta is a small, particularly fierce hen who hatched out some baby chicks a few days ago.

Last summer she also hatched out a clutch of eggs but only one chick survived (his name is Lucky). Lucky’s four siblings were viciously attacked and eaten by raccoons or possibly cats. Anyway, after that debacle, I decided that I had better make a special chicken coop especially for brooding hens. Early this spring I managed to build such a coop inside one of our outbuildings.

The coop has a nest box that sits on the floor, which makes it easy for the chicks to get in and out and eliminates the possibility that one could fall and injure itself. Since baby chickens are even more susceptible to predators than full grown chickens, the brooder coop also has extra security.

After I built the coop, I tried to convince Henrietta to live in it. She refused. She then disappeared for a month. I figured she had either been eaten by a fox, raccoon, stray dog, owl, weasel, hawk or skunk. Much to my amazement she emerged from some tall grass in our goat pen with a bunch of peeping baby chicks in tow.

Henrietta is very protective of her chicks. One of the goats got too close to them and she jumped up on top of the goat’s head and pecked it in the face repeatedly all the while squawking murderously. The goat was left terribly confused.

Knowing full well the chicks would probably not survive the night if left outside, our resident chicken catcher (my husband, Cass) caught her later that day. Henrietta of course tried to attack Cass but he managed to wrestle her into the new coop.
Some of the chicks ran away and hid. After quite a lot of searching in the tall grass, Cass managed to catch these little golf ball sized fluff balls.

Garden Fest This Saturday

Saturday, June 26 we’ll be holding Garden Fest starting at 2 p.m. If you’d like to bring a friend or two, go ahead. At 6:30 p.m. we’ll take you out to the back forty and light a bon fire. We’ll feed you supper.

Here’s what’s on the menu:
Organic beef, turkey and vegan hot dogs; pasta salad; tossed green salad; smores; chips; lemonade; iced tea; beer.

It looks like we’ll mostly be working on weeding the sweet corn and watermelon. We can also tour the gardens and hoophouse and visit with the sheep, goats, chickens, dogs, cats and cows. No need to RSVP, for questions call (715) 643-2803 or e-mail me.

What to Bring
For sure bring good shoes (sandals are not allowed in the garden). Also please bring your own lawn chair. Other things you might find handy but don’t necessarily have to bring with you include: your favorite hoe or garden trowel, gloves, sunscreen, bug spray and a hat

Hope to see you there!


Directions to the Farm: Here is our address in case you like to use Map Quest or have one of those electronic map things: N12449 220th St. Boyceville, WI 54725. A word of caution: Google Maps and those Tom Tom things think we live north of Highway 64 when it’s been proven time and again that we actually live south of 64. Here’s a hard copy of directions to the farm:

From Stillwater: This is the obvious way for Stillwater folks but may also be good for St. Paul people too. Cross the lift bridge and head into WI on Hwy. 64. Follow 64 for about 40 miles, turn right onto 220th St. Please note that there is another 220th St. that intersects with Hwy. 64 about 20 miles from Stillwater, this is not our road. In order to get to our 220th St. you have to go through Connorsville which is a little town about three miles west of our house. Once you are on the correct 220th St. we are the first place on the right.

From I-94: For Hudson and St. Paul Folks...go east on I-94 until you hit the Glenwood City exit (the exit number is 28). Take a left off the exit ramp onto Hwy. 128. Follow 128 for about 10 miles until you get into Glenwood City at which point 128 becomes the main drag also known as Oak Street. A few blocks into town 128 turns off, ignore this and proceed to Third Street and hang a left. Just outside of town Third Street becomes County Road X. Follow Co. Rd. X for a few miles until you come to a stop sign, turn left onto County Road Q (I know, us crazy Wisconsinites and our lettered road names). Follow Co. Rd. Q a short ways to Hwy 64 and take a right. About four miles down 64 you will find 220th St., take a right. We are the first place on the right.

Amenities:
Gas: Gas stations are scarce around here (so is cell phone reception). If you are coming from Stillwater your last chance for gas is at an intersection we call four corners about 7 or 8 miles outside of New Richmond. There are 2 stations here right off 64. If you are coming from I-94 your last gas will be found in Glenwood City.
Food: We’ll feed you around 6:30 or 7 p.m. If you were thinking of stopping somewhere for lunch most of the countryside taverns serve food. You’ll find mostly burgers and pizza.

First Boxes

Hope you all are enjoying your first boxes! Apparently it’s monsoon season here. The rain just keeps on coming. All this precipitation has prevented us from getting out to the garden to pull weeds as much as we would like. It has however given us plenty of time to work on building an ark. We may need it…depending on how many more inches of rain we’ll be getting. Last night we received two torrential downpours which caused that song ‘Five Feet High and Rising’ to get stuck in my head, briefly turned the hoophouse into a shallow river and gave the lettuce a good splattering of grit.


Of Lettuce and Grit
Last year we had quite a lot of grit in our lettuce and I spent many hours trying to rinse it out. In an effort to reduce the grit, this year I mulched the lettuce with chopped grass. It worked well and I think you’ll find the lettuce relatively grit-free…unless it rains really hard right before your delivery, as it did last night. This morning when I went to pick lettuce for the St. Paul folks it was definitely gritty. If you find yourself with lettuce in your CSA box after a hard rain you’ll want to degritify. A good way to do this is to fill a large bowl with cool water and dump your lettuce into it. Swish the lettuce around a bit then let it sit. The sand grains should sink to the bottom.

Check Out the Hoop House

A lot has been happening over here. Today I finally got around to taking some pictures:


The hoophouse is up! This was quite the project, luckily we had help from my dad and several other folks.



It's 24 feet wide and 72 feet long.



Its constructed out of metal pipes, two-by-fours and a whole lotta plastic. Its sorta like a giant hot dish pan covered in cellophane.



We planted a whole pile of tomatoes in there. Last year's members probably remember our tomato crop failure. Hoop houses protect plants from all sorts of fungi and diseases. Take that tomato blight!! HA!



The garlic is doing well. I planted it last fall instead of in the spring (which is what I did last year). Fall planted garlic is the way to go.



Kale is something I've never planted before. Several members from last year requested it. I'm surprised by how fast it grows.



Tommatillos, also known as Mexican tomatoes are just starting to bloom.



The chickens found the garden and did some damage to the broccoli patch. As a result, they are on lock down.



Meet Larry, our new billy goat. He's seen here with Shirley one of our young lady goats.

What's Happening in the Garden

Spring planting is well underway. The potatoes and onions are all in as are the peas.

This year I planted four different types of potatoes. There are two varieties of red potatoes one called All Red which was last year’s favorite. It’s an early red potato that has pink flesh, very pretty and tasty. I also planted some Sangria spuds which are also red but have white flesh and are supposed to have very good flavor too. Purple Majesty is a purple type of potato that is reportedly suppose to retain it’s interesting color better that the blue potatoes that I planted last year. I also am trying out a variety called German Butterball this year which is somewhat like Yukon Gold. Last year was a good year for potatoes. If this year goes O.K. for them I should be able to start digging them at the end of June or the beginning of July. Then I’ll put them in your boxes probably every other week or so until October.

I put in equal parts of yellow, white and red onions. Onions are very tied to length of day, when the days start getting short again in the middle of July the onions sense this and stop growing. Luckily they keep quite well in the ground as long as it doesn’t rain too much so I’m able to pick them as I need them. First I’ll start picking bunches of green onions; these will be in the first four boxes or so. Then I’ll pick scallions which is another type of onion I plant from seed. After the scallions are all out, it should be time to start picking full size onions. Somewhere along the line there we’ll also have leeks and garlic. Really you should get some type of onion thing in pretty much all of your boxes.

I planted a type of shelling pea or snap pea which is the kind that has plump pods that have to be split open. The peas inside are very sweet. Then I also planted the kind of pea where you eat the whole works, called snow peas. It’s hard to say when the peas will be ready, looks like last year we started picking them in early July.

This spring has been unseasonably warm and dry which is making it pretty easy to get everything planted so far. If the weather continues to hold I’ll soon be putting in beets, kale, lettuce, spinach and chard very soon.

2010 Planting Plans

Here is a list of everything I’ll be planting this year and also a rough estimate on what you should see when in your boxes.

Early (June and July): lettuce, spinach, green onions, radishes, new red potatoes, snow peas, snap peas, swiss chard, green and purple kohlrabi, yellow and red beets, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, leeks, green, purple and yellow beans, rhubarb, orange, yellow and red carrots.

Middle (August and September): various tomatoes including cherry and roma, eggplant, sweet corn, cucumbers, rutabagas, okra, red, yellow and white onions, pasta squash, fennel, dill, green bell peppers, sweet peppers, cilantro, potatoes, flowers, green and yellow summer squash, tommatillos, basil, kale, water melon, musk melon, collards, sweet potatoes, shelling beans, and turnips (note: with the exception of peas and leeks, much of the early produce should show up again during mid-season).

Late (October): gourds, sunflower seeds, cabbage, arugula, miscellaneous greens, ornamental corn, pop corn, carving pumpkins, pie pumpkins and various types of winter squash.

Garden Update: Since we’ve had no snow this month (very strange) it is already dry enough to start planting. This week I’ll be putting in potatoes and onions. I’ll follow these with plantings of peas, beets, lettuce, spinach, sweet peas, kale and perhaps some radishes. Then I’ll move on to everything else and by Memorial Day I should have everything in at which point I’ll start planting second crops of certain things.

Hoop House - We're Getting One!: We’ve ordered a hoop house (also known as a high tunnel) which is an unheated greenhouse constructed of giant metal hoops and plastic sheeting. Hoop houses are used as season extenders meaning growers can set plants out two weeks earlier and stave off frost for two extra weeks at the end of the season. The one I ordered is 24 feet wide and 72 feet long…quite the structure. I’ll be putting tomatoes, eggplant and sweet potatoes in it.

Sold Out for 2010 Season

We're sold out folks! If you are still looking for a CSA check out the Land Stewardship Web site or head to the Seward Co-op for a big CSA fair on April 24.

2010 Shares Still Available...But Not In St. Paul

Today I sold out of shares to be delivered to the St. Paul drop site (Hampden Park Co-op).

We do still have some shares available at the Stillwater drop site (River Market Co-op) and the Hudson drop (Fresh and Natural Foods). If you are interested in signing up please see a previous post entitled "New Member Sign Up Time Is Here". At the bottom of that post you'll find a sign up form which you can send or e-mail to me.

River Market CSA Fair: I’ll be setting up a booth at the River Market Co-op CSA Fair which will take place Saturday, March 13 and Sunday, March 14 from 1 to 4 p.m. both days. River Market is located in downtown Stillwater on Main Street. Should be a pretty fun gig, there will be lots of CSA farmers their hanging out in the produce section.

Coming Soon: I’ll be posting a list of everything I’ll be planting this year. It should be quite the list…guaranteed to kick your cabin fever into high gear.

Pictures From the Farm

If you are interested in becoming a member of Eener’s Farm CSA see the previous post. We still have some spots left.



It’s looking pretty snowy around here…but there are some things happening. Here are some recent farm pictures:



Throughout this winter we’ve been working on restoring our haymow floor. One half of the haymow is right around 100 years old. The other half is part of “the new addition” put on by my grandparents in the 1950’s. It’s been quite the project and I’m excited to report that we can now walk across the floor without worrying about falling through!

A view into the chicken coop. The ladies are really enjoying all the sunshine we’ve been having. They are still a little apprehensive of our new dog Mabel hence all the bunching up. On the upside Mabel’s presence makes taking their picture as a group way easier.


Phyllis, one of our ewes had triplets! I expect her herd mates, Thelma and Bernece to lamb soon too.

New Member Sign-Up Time Is Here

Today I'll start accepting brand-spanking new members for the upcoming season. Here's our post that will soon be appearing on the Land Stewardship Project web site (a great place to shop for CSAs), http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/csa.html the 2010 CSA directory should be up soon:

Eener’s Farm is a fifth generation family farm located in Dunn County WI approximately 60 miles from St. Paul. Earlier generations utilized the farm for dairy and beef operations. Eener (that’s Renee backwards) has converted the farm into a CSA.

Full and half shares are available at reasonable prices ($255 for half shares and $500 for full shares). Deliveries are weekly and start the second week in June and continue for 21 weeks through the last week in October. Delivery sites: Fresh and Natural Foods in Hudson (Mondays 3-9 p.m.), River Market Co-op in downtown Stillwater (Mondays 2-9 p.m.) and Hampden Park Co-op in St. Paul -928 Raymond Ave. (Wednesdays 3-9 p.m.).

Each share includes at least 40 varieties of vegetables and a small selection of herbs. Eener grows pretty much all the classic garden veggies plus a few oddities. As an added bonus, members sporadically receive bouquets of flowers, Eener’s free range chicken eggs and other treats. Eener’s goat, lamb and pig meat will be available for sale in the fall. Farmer to Farmer coffee shares also available.

Everything grown on Eener’s Farm is done so in a sustainable manner without the use of chemical herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers. Please see Eener’s website for share rates, more CSA details and whacky farm antics. www.eenersfarm.blogspot.com

Members are not required to work on the farm. They are welcome to visit and encouraged to attend the Big Fall Harvest Party Fest which is held at the farm in October and involves a bonfire, food, farm tours and pumpkins.

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If you have questions don't hesitate to e-mail them to me at eenermachine@gmail.com or call me at 715-643-2803.

Below you will find a sign-up form in case you need it. You may send it via e-mail or to: Eener's Farm N12449 220th St. Boyceville WI 54725. How to pay: one half of your share amount is due by June 1, 2010 (many folks find it convenient to send this in with the sign-up form) the other half is due by October 1, 2010. Of course you can pay the whole works at once if you like. If you send/e-mail me this form, I'll send/e-mail you back a confirmation letting you know you're on the list.


Eener's 2010 CSA Sign Up Form

Your Name:
Your Address:
Your Phone Number:
What Size Share Would You :Like?
Where Will You Be Picking Up Your Share (Hampden/River Market/Fresh & Natural)?

Survey Results

If you are shopping for a CSA for 2010 please see a previous post entitled Eener's 2010 Preliminary CSA Details (posted in November). More details on 2010 sign-up to be posted here soon.

Check out our new puppy, her name is Mabel. We figured Maynerd, our orginal dog, could use an assistant in his garden/critter protecting duties. He's working on training her in. She's half springer and half hound...seems pretty smart. We've been enjoying her company.

Thanks to all of you 2009 members who filled out the Eener’s Farm Survey! The results were very interesting and I’ve been taking them into account as I order seeds and plan for the coming season. If you haven’t yet filled one out it’s not too late, send it on in if you’d like. Here are the questions and results:

1. Was there anything you would have liked to have seen (or seen more of) in the boxes?
Lettuce/salad mix received the most votes with spinach coming in as a close second. I’ve been researching varieties of lettuce that will retain good flavor as summer temperatures rise. I struggled last summer with the salad mix getting bitter as we got into July. Obviously I need to plant more spinach! Cucumbers, tomatoes, melons and egg plant also received a fair amount of votes. All of these were crops that were not happy campers last year, especially the tomatoes which were hit with a bad blight. I’ll be investing in a hoophouse this year so hopefully we can have better success with these heat-loving veggies. Sweet corn, carrots and broccoli got a few votes too so I’ll plant more of these.

2. Was there anything you found in your box too often?
Turnips were the overwhelming winners for this question. I’m not surprised, every single turnip seed I planted must have sprouted, they really enjoyed themselves last summer. Beets also received a fair amount of votes with summer squash, swiss chard and tomatillos bringing up the rear. I’ll be planting a lot less turnips this year and also plan to scale back on the zucchini and tomatillo production. I’m only going to plant half as much swiss chard this year and I’ll introduce kale which is something many of you suggested I grow.

3. Do you think you got a fair amount of produce for the price you paid for the share?
All of the survey participants said yes to this question except for one who was undecided. I was glad to hear this since it was my first year and I wasn’t certain on how much should be going in the boxes. My goal is to provide members with an amount of produce that is equal to the price they paid for the share, but ideally I’d like to give them more. Of course this isn’t always possible since farming is so tied to the weather. I’ve heard that many CSAs north of here were unable to produce an amount of produce that was equal to share price due to drought. This happens…being a part of a CSA is a gamble and the very same thing could happen here.

4. What was your favorite box item?
We were all over the board on this one… pie pumpkins got the most votes; I would agree they are one of my favorites too. Spuds received a lot of votes. It was a very good year for potatoes and we had a nice crop…don’t worry I already ordered red seed potatoes for this year! Pretty much all of the other candidates in this category got only one vote, obviously a matter of taste. In response to this question one member wrote, “…my absolute favorite box item was dirt. It is absolutely wonderful to wash dirt off of veggies, and not to have to worry about chemicals and wax”. Well put I think, this is a box item I didn’t expect to see mentioned.

5. What was your least favorite box item?
Turnips won here too and rutabagas were not very far behind. I’ll be severely limiting the amount I plant of these two crops. Beets and brussel sprouts also got some votes although many of you said these were on your favorites list so I’ll not cut production back much.

Many of you had some great suggestions! Here are a few I’ve really taken to heart:
More recipes in the newsletter – good call!
Fruit - We’re really working on this. We put in a strawberry bed and a bunch more rhubarb last year hopefully we’ll see some return on that this year. We will continue to plant more fruit but most fruit takes a fair amount of time before you actually get to eat it. Several of you mentioned blueberries….hmmmmm (that was me trying to figure out were I can start a blueberry patch).
More meat – Another thing we are interested in doing. Lamb and goat meat may well be available next fall depending on how the lambing and kidding season goes. We are seriously considering getting some pigs and offering up pork for sale this year.
More herbs – Another good call, I’m expanding the herb selection this year.
Cauliflower – Exactly what I was thinking! It’s on the list for this year.
Cheese – This could happen…but not this year.
Asparagus – I planted 100 of these last year. We may see some this year but really they won’t be at full production until 2011.
More winter squash – I agree and have had a lot of fun picking out some new varieties.