2011 CSA Sign Up Season Is Here!

I’m ready to start signing up new members for the 2011 season. If you are interested in becoming a member, please fill out the member sign up form below and either mail it to me (Eener’s Farm N12449 220th Street Boyceville WI 54725) or e-mail it back to me (eenermachine@gmail.com). I will then put you on my 2011 member list.

Half shares are $255 and full shares are $500. No money is due until June 1. You can either pay the whole works by June 1 or pay one half of your share amount by June 1 and the other half by October 1.

If you have any questions about the CSA go ahead and call me at (715)643-2803 or e-mail me. You also could peruse this blog…it has lots of farm information on it.

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Eener’s Farm 2011 CSA Membership Sign-Up Form

Your Name:____________________________________

Which Size Share: Full ($500) Half ($255)

How to Pay: Make checks out to Eener’s Farm or Renee Bettendorf. Pay the whole works by June 1, 2011 or pay half the amount by June 1, 2011 and the other half by October 1, 2011.

Where will you pick up at: River Market, Hampden Park or Fresh & Natural

Your Address:_____________________________________________

Your Phone Number:_________________________________________

Your E-mail Address:_____________________________________

Risk Agreement: By signing up I understand that there is risk involved in farming and that I have agreed to share in this risk. Because of factors like weather and pests I understand that I may not get all the produce that Eener has planned on putting in my box. I also understand that I may get more than Eener planned on putting in my box in the event that some produce crops do really, really well.

Eener’s 2011 CSA Details

It's been a pretty fun winter for us. We took a vacation to Florida, which was great…we went to the beach, did some hiking and biking, saw some manatees and went to a farmer’s market. Very fun! Lately I’ve been shoveling snow, looking after my livestock and planning the CSA garden.

The 2011 CSA season is right around the corner! Last year we sold out our St. Paul drop in March and our Stillwater and Hudson drops in April. I’ll start taking on brand spanking new members on February 1. Alumni members are welcome to sign up any time (thanks to all who already have!).

Delivery Locations: I deliver to River Market Co-Op which is located in downtown Stillwater; Fresh and Natural Foods in Hudson; and Hampden Park Co-Op in St. Paul (928 Raymond Ave., fairly near Midway Stadium).

Delivery Days and Times:
River Market Co-op in Stillwater: boxes are delivered on Mondays members pick them up between 1:30 and 9p.m.
Fresh and Natural Foods in Hudson: boxes are delivered on Mondays members pick them up between 2:30 and 9p.m.
Hampden Park Co-op in St. Paul: boxes are delivered on Wednesdays members pick them up between 2:00 and 9p.m.

Share Sizes: I offer full and half shares, both are delivered on a weekly basis. Full shares come in a bushel box, half shares will be packed in a half bushel box. I just love to send out boxes that are plumb full…but in the beginning of the season this is not always possible. On the flip side it can be difficult to fit everything in the boxes towards the middle of the season. In the thick of last year’s season I was running 18-20 different types of veggies in the full-share folks’ boxes and 9-10 different types in half share boxes.

What Size is Best for You? That’s a good question. The full shares are for roughly four people and the half shares are for right around two people. That being said, a pair of serious vegetarians could probably handle a full share. Also, a family of four with children may be just fine with a half share.

Pricing: Full shares sell for $500 and half shares sell for $255.

Box Contents: Here’s what’s on the list for this year: basil, beans, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, chard, cilantro, corn, cucumbers, dill, edamame, eggplant, fennel, gourds, hot peppers, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, melons, onions, parsley, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, rutabaga, spinach, summer squash, winter squash, tomatillos, tomatoes and turnips.

I like to try out new things in my garden. This year I’ll be taking a crack at: okra, cauliflower, fingerling potatoes, some new varieties of broccoli, green zebra tomatoes and anything else that strikes my fancy.

Fruit: I’ve been working on this for the past three years. Fruit takes awhile. I’ve got quite a few fruit projects started…but the only thing I feel comfortable promising for this year is rhubarb. However, some of my efforts may come to fruition this year and if they do, they will certainly show up in your boxes.

Our Season Length: This year I’ll be doing 18 weeks starting the second week in June and going until the second week in October. This means that for Stillwater and Hudson folks their first box will be on June 13. St Paul folks’ first box will be on June 15.

How to Contact Eener’s Farm: If you are interested in signing up please e-mail me at eenermachine@gmail.com and I will send you a sign up form. Or you can call me at 715.643.2803 and I’ll sign you up over the phone.

This is all fine and good, but what the heck is a CSA anyway? Basically, a CSA (which stands for Community Supported Agriculture) is a type of direct market farm, meaning the farmer sells food directly to customers. There are a lot of advantages to this kind of farm. For one, customers/members know exactly where their food is coming from (we encourage our members to come visit the farm and we hold a big party at the end of the season for everyone). Secondly, produce from CSA farms doesn’t travel far. As a result it’s better for the environment and members enjoy much fresher produce. Another perk is that CSA farms tend to be really diversified (we grow about 40 varieties of veggies plus herbs) so members get a nice variety of in-season veggies.

Risk. Since farming is so completely tied to the weather, it’s risky business. My goal is to provide my members with an amount of produce that is equal to the money they paid for their share. Over the past two years I think I accomplished this goal. But I can’t promise that this will be true for this year. It’s helpful to think of CSA farms in terms of the stock market; when members buy a share they are making an investment. On a good year they will break even or get an amount of produce that is greater in value than their initial investment. On a bad year, they may end up with an amount of produce that is worth less than what they invested. In buying a full season of produce, the members of CSA farms share the risk with their farmers.

Is Eener’s Farm Organic?: I’m not certified organic, so I can’t advertise myself as organic. I do advertise as “Chemical Free” which means I don’t use any chemical pesticides or herbicides in my farming operations. I looked into the process to become certified and it does involve an investment, which I’d be willing to make. It turns out that being certified also involves TONS of paperwork and record keeping… not my strong points. So at this point I am not pursuing a certification though I remain committed to organic gardening.

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.