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.