foxlinecityfarm

A fantastic week of garden duties.  We were weeding fools and it feels wonderful to see the nice clean rows of beets and onions.  Our herb area is all spiffed up and the million itty bitty sweet annie shoots pulled out.  I left 2 because I love the way it smells but I bet I will regret this decision next year as it reseeds itself everywhere.

Scott got all the tomatoes tied up on the trellis.  The plants look strong and robust and it seems they are growing several inches overnight. 

Scott trellising the tomatoes. He trims the lower branches off for improved air flow and also dips his tools in a fungicide after each plant.

Another loooooooong row of summer broccoli went in and the hoop house cleared of a huge lettuce bounty.  We have prepped it and will replant several new crops. We feel good to be on top of thing so far and the weeds not overwhelming.  This is the time of year that weeding must take priority in daily tasks or several crops will be quickly choked out and disappear.  Time was spent in the greenhouse seeding in another round of cabbage, dill, fennel, broccoli (again), lettuces, basil and pac choi.

The garden looks good.  Potato plants flowering and peppers beginning to set.  Lots of irrigating day and night and we are wait for rain.

It was an amazing week of harvest and it seemed that every day there was something else saying “pick me!, pick me!” and we were surprised.  We have the big problem of overabundance and it is a good problem to have…..enjoy this weeks maga harvest of garden goodness.

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

248 pounds of garden delights went out the door today…..

SNACK PACK

Pac choi-A favorite of mine this year.  Will hold forever in the refrigerator in a plastic bag.  Enjoy braised with garlic (scapes) in olive oil and a bit of soy sauce. Also, delicious raw roughly chopped in a salad with a soy dressing, oranges and almonds.

Tat Soi-  Our “try something new” item this week.  A slightly spicy asian green.  Crunchy stems and green leaves are all edible.  Can be stir fried or eaten raw as an unique addition to the maga lettuce harvest this week.

Arugula- A snappy peppery bunch.  Adds a kick to fresh green salads or amazing on pizza.  A fellow CSA member makes a tasty arugula pesto to be enjoyed over pasta.

Garlic Scapes-The curly tops off the garlic plants.  Tastes just like garlic cloves.  Use as you would garlic cloves in meal preparation.

Garlic scapes in the plant.

Harvesting the scapes.

The long garlic rows.

Sunflower Shoots-Delicious nutty flavor.  Add to amazing salads this week, top off a sandwich or garnish soups.

Sunflower shoots grown in trays in the greenhouse. Before and after “harvest”.

Lettuce Bonanza-We had several lettuce varieties that were ready to pick.  3 unique types that will make a stunning salad.

Kohlrabi-a few of these snappy snackers.

FULL SHARE

Pac choi-A favorite of mine this year.  Will hold forever in the refrigerator in a plastic bag.  Enjoy braised with garlic (scapes) in olive oil and a bit of soy sauce. Also, delicious raw roughly chopped in a salad with a soy  dressing, oranges and almonds.

Tat Soi-  Our “try something new” item this week.  A slightly spicy asian green.  Crunchy stems and green leaves are edible.  Can be stir fried or eaten raw as an unique addition to the maga lettuce harvest this week.

Arugula- A snappy peppery bunch.  Adds a kick to fresh green salads or amazing on pizza.  A fellow CSA member makes a tasty arugula pesto to be enjoyed over pasta.

Garlic Scapes-The curly tops off the garlic plants.  Takes just like garlic cloves.  Use as you would garlic cloves in your meal preparation.

Lettuce Bonanza-We had several lettuce varieties that were ready to pick.  3 unique types that will make a stunning salad.

Baby Spinach-This was 1 of those crops that shouted “pick me!,  pick me!” to us at 6 last night.  So we did in a flurry of harvest and washing and packaging…..we were hoping it could wait a week but with projected high temperatures we worried it could not make it.  ENJOY! the surprise.

Peas!-a pint for everyone. The harvest has just begun.  An early variety called Sugar Ann Snap peas.  Pull the string and eat pod and all.  Delicious.  More to come…….

Saute Mix-A unique blend of many different greens for fresh eating or stir fries.  Delicious over eggs.

Basil plant-Nice big plants to for basil all summer long.

Strawberries-Baraboo Full Share only this week-1 pint. Our patch is not big enough to harvest the quantity needed in 1 picking for all members.  We will rotate groups each week until all members receive a pint.

Belated Happy Father’s Day wishes to all the Dads in our CSA family. We hope you had a wonderful day with your children.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-Swiss chard, peas, carrots, kale, lettuce, mizuna greens, garlic scapes. strawberries, and more…..

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A good week and a busy week of the last BIG duties in the garden.  The huge pepper planting job is done!  We are excited about our pepper selections this year.  Last year we tested out a few of the mini sweet peppers that are so delicious for quick snacking.  Perfect for single serving and oh so sweet and beautiful.   These plants performed well in the garden and we received a lot of positive feedback from members about how much they enjoyed them in the boxes last season.  We dedicated a nice long row to these colorful minis called lunchbox and bangles.  We also expanded our sweet bell plantings and planted more of those beautiful Bull Horns named Carmen.  In our opinion the best for summer grilling.  Hot Pepper choices we winnowed down to the delicious anchos and jalapeños.  We are also testing a new jalapeño being offered for the first time that has the jalapeño flavor and no heat.  We will see what we all think of this……The remaining pepper plants were donated to the Baraboo Food Pantry Garden and the Baraboo Community Garden Space.

A nice long row of the mini sweet Lunch box and Bangles Peppers.

Our assorted Sweet Pepper row. We plant these on reflective plastic mulch to increase yield. Scott covers the mulch with straw after we first plant to prevent “sunburn” with the intense sunlight. We will slowly brush back the straw as the plants settle in.

The trellis went up for our cucumbers and I was right behind with the seedlings going in.  Long thin skinned European beauties, TONS! of mini thin skinned snackers, those delicious white salt and pepper guys that are my favorites.  We shortened the row of  true pickling/eating cucumbers that we had an overabundance of last year and thought it would NEVER end.

The cucumbers. We grow our cucumbers on a trellis for ease of picking and keeps them cleaner off the muddy ground.  A nice long row of carrots are under the cloth row cover to the left in this photo.

Other big duties checked off the list this week……spaghetti squash in, melons in, edamame in, a second planting of celery and celeriac, a 3rd planting of green beans seeded in,  loooooooooooooong rows of beets and carrots seeded in the hoop house less than 24 hours after the green onions and spinach pulled and ground prepped.  Hustle Hustle…..

This week our gears shift to weeding and maintenance duties.  Our first and second plantings of beets and carrots need attention.  It is difficult to weed too early as the little seedlings need time to develop.  Well, the weeds grow right along with them and they need to disappear.  Fussy and time consuming to thin and weed.  Our organic sweet potato slips arrived on Saturday and they are waiting until tomorrow to be planted as we were focused on harvest over the weekend.  500+ slips will go in the ground for early Fall harvest.

The tomato plants have settled in and now require support on the trellis.  We grow our tomatoes on panels in an espalier fashion.  Wide rows and lots of airflow improves production.

This is a picture from last year. Tying up the tomatoes….This tool is a huge time saver.

Tomatoes already developing on the vines….the plants are loaded with blossoms and we wonder if we will have early tomatoes this year.

The garden is beautiful at this point in the season…..a quick tour…..

Eggplant blooms.

Potato blossoms.

Next week’s Swiss Chard harvest. Gorgeous!

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

176 pounds of garden goodness went out the door today!

Harvest this week went smoothly.  We are comfortable with the volume required and the time needed to clean and process the produce.  Very little “freak out” on my part.  The plants matured as expected and the weather cooperated.

Counting out the green onion harvest.

Bundles of Green onions ready to be banded….it looks like I am a huge fan of the “spray tan” this year!

Major flash glare on the chalk board today……sunlight “issues” by the cooler.

SNACK PACK SHARE

Lettuce-A nice juicy head.  Lettuce is perfect at this time in the season.  Cooler temps and slower growth.

Radish Medley-The last of the radishes for awhile.  We have cleared the beds and waiting to reseed a few weeks…They hold well in a sealed bag in the refrigerator.

Asian Green-This variety is called Tokyo Bekana.  Bright lime green ruffled leaves.  A bit like a loose Chinese cabbage in flavor and texture.  Can be enjoyed raw in salads or sautéed.  Delicious and a favorite in our house.

Green Onions-A nice bunch of mild beauties.  These were started from seed in Feburary and  harvest from the hoop house.

Broccoli-A snack sized bag from our early broccoli trials.  Small head formation due to the quick transition to summer heat but deliciously tender and flavorful.

Mini Basil Bundle-The Basil plants got a haircut.  A sweet treat for a pasta dish or added to fresh salads.

FULL SHARE

Lettuce-A nice juicy head.  Lettuce is perfect at this time in the season.  Cooler temps and slower growth.

Mini Lettuce Heads-Deep green bib lettuce heads.

Radish Medley-The last of the radishes for awhile.  We have cleared the beds and are waiting to reseed a few weeks…They hold well in a sealed bag in the refrigerator.

Asian Green-This variety is called Tokyo Bekana.  Bright lime green ruffled leaves.  A bit like a loose Chinese cabbage in flavor and texture.  Can be enjoyed raw in salads or sautéed.  Delicious and a favorite in our house.

Green Onions-A nice bunch of mild beauties.  These were started from seed in Feburary and  harvest from the hoop house.

Spinach-A BIG juicy bag and the end of this cool loving Spinach crop until Fall. The plants were thinking about bolting and production goes way down too in the heat so we pulled the plants.  We have 2 long rows of baby spinach planted.  This 2nd variety can withstand the heat a bit more and should be ready in the next week or 2.

Kohlrabi-A few early heads in all full share boxes.  A Maeve favorite and several plantings already in the garden.  These will appear again in future boxes throughout the season.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-lettuce, asian greens, pac choi, sunflower shoots, basil plants, peas?????, swiss chard, and more……

Our entertainment during box prep. Maeve practicing  “flower girl duties” for a fictitious future wedding.

Remember to return your share boxes and bags each week for future reuse.  Thanks!

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We’re Off!  Happy First Pick up of the 2014 Summer CSA Season.  It is a beauty!

The garden is in great shape and we are on schedule with our planting.  Our first Spring with the hoop house has been a joy and we are thrilled with the volume and quality of produce we are able to harvest.

Hoop house crops for future food shares.

Organic Sweet Potato Slips arrive this week and the huge job is getting our 200 pepper plants all in are on the “to do” list.

Pepper plants ready to be translated into the garden.

Last Tuesday we planted 200 tomato plants and they have settled in nicely.  Many of the crops seem to double in size overnight with the warm temperatures.  So different than last year’s long cold Spring.

Cabbage Plants the doubled in size in 2 days.

Remember this picture a few post back…….

Here are the baby birds today………

We look  forward to the season and sharing the garden and all it’s surprises with you this season.  Thanks!

It’s funny.  With every weekly share we worry/wonder if there will be enough.  A constant thought that floats through our minds throughout the week- every week of the season.  Holy Cow!  This week’s harvest is over flowing and we even had to hold off harvest on a few goodies for next week’s share so we were not all overwhelmed. A great first share.  Enjoy dinner tonight!

Scott packing up this week’s produce.  255 pounds of garden goodness.

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

SNACK PACK

Lettuce- a delicious juicy variety called little gem.  An early season favorite around here.

Mini Pac Choi- Itty bitty miniatures to eat raw, added to salads, or in a quick sauté.

Baby Carrots-Surprise!  Snappy and nothing better.  Enjoy!  We are thrilled with the harvest.  These carrots were started in large crates in March and April to ensure an early harvest treat!

Harvesting the early carrots.

The bounty!

Radish Medley-2 varieties white icicle and french breakfast.

Scott harvesting the radishes.

Spinach-A Jumbo bag for all shares.  This is the best spinach we have ever grown thanks to the  hoop house.  This crop was started in Mid February.

The official taste tester.

Pink Kitten Spinach-Beautiful.  And such a funny name.  This crop was planted outside last Fall and is one of the reasons we pushed the fist share pick up ahead 1 week.  We were concerned it would decline in the heat and wanted to make sure that the regular season received a portion as the Spring Share Members loved it.

Pea Shoots-We grew these in the hoop house too.  Some of you may even find a developed Pea or 2….use as a garnish on salad or soups or dress up a sandwich.  Eat stems and all if you wish.  Tastes just like fresh peas.

FULL SHARE

Lettuce- a delicious juicy variety called little gem.  An early season favorite around here.

Mini Pac Choi- Itty bitty miniatures to eat raw, added to salads, or in a quick sauté.

Baby Carrots-Surprise!  Snappy and nothing better.  Enjoy!  We are thrilled with the harvest.  These carrots were started in large crates in March and April to ensure an early harvest treat!

Sorting the washed carrots.

Radish Medley-2 varieties white icicle and french breakfast.

Spinach-A Jumbo bag for all shares.  This is the best spinach we have ever grown thanks to the  hoop house.  This crop was started in Mid February.

Bringing in the 37 pound harvest of Spinach.

We FINALLY! invested in a super greens spinner. In the past we used regular little lame kitchen salad spinners and it took FOREVER.
What a time saver.

Greens spinner in action.

Pink Kitten Spinach-Beautiful.  And such a funny name.  This crop was planted outside last Fall and is one of the reasons we pushed the fist share pick up ahead 1 week.  We were concerned it would decline in the heat and wanted to make sure that the regular season received a portion as the Spring Share Members loved it.

Pea Shoots-We grew these in the hoop house too.  Some of you may even find a developed Pea or 2….use as a garnish on salad or soups or dress up a sandwich.  Eat stems and all if you wish.  Tastes just like fresh peas.

Broccoli-REALLY!  We are testing 3 different early Spring/Summer Broccoli varieties….This variety here developed quickly and a bit small for our liking but a nice early unexpected surprise from the garden. More to come.

Rhubarb-A 2 pound bundle for a pie or crisp.  A variety called Canadian Red and my grandfather’s plant that we transplanted here from his garden in Wausau.

The rhubarb harvest.

Please remember to return your bag/box the following week for reuse.

Look what is just around the corner……

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-lettuce, salad turnips, green onions, asian greens, pac choi, and more…..

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Busy activities in the garden last week.  A “focused hustle” was our mantra every day.  The chilly nights of threatening frost caused us a bit of worry.  Scott covered many of the cold sensitive plants with white protective row cover to keep them safe from a harsh chill.  In the morning sun it all had to come off and then back on again in the night.  I think (hope) we are finally past the threat of frost and this duty can disappear until Autumn.  We finally finished the huge job of planting all the onions.  About 4000 starts all went in by hand.  1 at a time. I’m not going to say it was an easy task,  I needed to take a power nap 1/2 way through, rough to stand upright when the job was done after being scrunched over for hours on end. But it is done!!!  Another duty that was floating around at the top of the “to do” list too long and kept getting pushed back by the rain.

The looooooooong looooong row of onions!

The hoop house has been cleared out and transformed with new seedlings.  It amazes me how the crops change so quickly.  We are readying ourselves for the start of the Summer Share Season.  Warm loving lettuces have been planted, a fresh rotation of Asian greens, an experiment with early beans, more radishes and a few more surprises for the summer all nestled in.

We are going to take a few weeks off before the start of the Summer Share Season…..PROJECTED START DATE IS MONDAY JUNE 9th.  We want to give the outside garden plants a chance to catch up with the hoop house growing.  We will keep you posted.

Tomatoes, Peppers and Eggplant growing big and strong in the greenhouse.

Heirloom tomato plants.

Assorted lettuce and celery for the garden.

I gotta say we have a really good feeling about this year!  We are on track and not feeling pulled along or overwhelmed by the work load.  Maeve enjoys her time “helping” in the gardens, hoop house and greenhouse or playing in the sandbox making us imaginary food for our breaks in her “cantina”.  My personal favorite- pretend chocolate cake cooked for 29 minutes at 875 degrees with a dandelion sprinkle garnish.  Life is good.

WHAT IS IN YOUR BOX

Hard to believe that this is the last box of our 1st Spring Share Season…..Thank You!  We loved the experience and are gratefully amazed with the fantastic bounty we were all able to enjoy these first cold weeks of Spring from the hoop house.  After a long Winter fresh greens sure taste delicious and we were happy to share with you.

It’s pretty amazing this week……A 9.50 pound box of culinary delights!

Loose Leaf Lettuce Mix-A big 1/2 pound bag of mixed lettuces.

Saute Mix-A blend of mildly spicy Asian greens.  Perfect for a light sauté or can be enjoyed raw in salads.

Spinach-An absolutely beautiful variety called Pink Kitten.  Isn’t that a funny name?  Honestly, I wanted to grow it just because the name made me chuckle.  We started this variety last Fall and it is a stunning!  1/2 bag of this gem.

Pretty Pink Kitten Spinach after harvest.

Scott double rinsing the Spinach.

Pink Kitten in it’s final rinse.

Red Spring Turnips-Spicier than the white variety.  Again, remember that the greens are delicious raw or braised.

JUMBO bag of assorted radishes-3 varieties in the mix.  Keep in an air tight bag in the refridgerator and they will last until Summer Share starts up again.

Radishes ready to be picked.

Diakon Radish-A big white early variety that we started in the hoop house in February.

Arugula-A smaller bundle.  A delicious Spring and Autumn treat.

Rhubarb-2.75 pounds in every box.  Rhubarb is a favorite of mine.  I love a crisp or pie.  We have the family heirloom rhubarb plants  from my grandfather’s garden.  These plants are very special to me and bring many memories of my grandfather to me each Spring.

Grandpa’s Rhubarb planted near the pond.

Herbs!

Chives-A nice big bundle.

Sorrel-A delicious Spring herb.  A hint of lemon.  Wonderful accent to a radish salad or with strawberries.  I love it with fish too!

Cilantro-The perfect fresh garnish.

Potted Basil- Several little starts in the pot.  Snip and enjoy or divide up and transplant into larger containers for a full summer of basil.

Mysterious winged woodland fairy visitors appeared while we were harvesting in the garden last night.   They danced with magical pixie dust in the breeze and cast enchanted spells with a plastic wand……

Feel free to return your white food box with the start of the Summer Share Season…..if you prefer to return earlier drop it off in the garage at your convenience.

ENJOY this last Spring Box of Goodness and again we thank all of you for sharing this early season with us!

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ANOTHER  rainy day today.  It has been a challenging week of many raindrops, mud and wind in the garden.  Slow progress with the outside garden duties.

We attempted to plant  long rows of carrots between the many rainstorms and each time the wind would blow the seeds from my fingertips.  I did chuckle imaging what the “rows” would look like with the seeds blowing all over if I did not stop.  A week behind our planned schedule on the garden carrots but we are comforted with the fact that we have loads of  March planted carrots happily growing in the hoop house.  They are about the size of skinny pencils and will be ready soon for the early summer boxes.  The crops that are planted in the garden are thriving and definitely getting enough moisture…we are ahead of our last year planting schedule so not getting too shook up (yet) with this week’s delay.

A LOOOOONG row Gorgeous Garlic!

Beets seeded in under row cover to keep the pests out.

Early Cauliflower planted in white plastic mulch. We are experimenting this year with 1/2 the crop in white mulch and 1/2 in black mulch and wondering if there will be differences in the harvest.  I took this photo right as another big dark storm was blowing in.

Snow Peas!

The one advantage to this wet weather is the greenhouse and hoop house jobs are all caught up and both are tidy and well weeded.  We had some big harvests come out of the hoop house this week and we able to successful adhere to our “24 hour rule”.  We garden for many in a pretty limited space.  We attempt to replant an area with a new crop within  24 hours after a harvest.  Scott cleans the area up, tills,  replenishes the soil with a bit of compost and marks the rows for me to come in and replant.

Maeve and Jennifer harvesting head lettuce.

Maeve with a lettuce delivery.

The harvested lettuce area in the hoop house all replanted under 24 hours! Assorted Asian greens for the Summer Share.

Clyde, a Spring Share member stopped in the hoop house with his mom to taste test the delicious spinach.

WHAT IS IN YOUR BOX

Scott packing Spring Share boxes.

Another delicious Spring Bounty!   Over 7.5 pounds of Spring Treats.  Our 1st year of hoop house growing has been wonderful.  We are thrilled with the quality and volume of produce we are able to grow.

Head Lettuce-2 heads for the week.  Juicy, lime green and sweet.

Spring Salad Turnips-The tasty Japanese variety called Hakurei that we love so much.  The texture is almost buttery.  Remember the greens can be sautéed too.

Pac Choi-The end of the pac choi run….finally!  These last weeks in the refrigerator in air tight packaging…. just so you know. Try adding a bit to a light broth soup.

Asparagus-A 1 pound bundle.  Our friend Eydie contributed this treat to the boxes this week.  She will be taking orders for next week if you would like some with your box pick up.  Preorder sign up will be on the cooler door.

Spinach-3/4 pound of gigantic spinach.  Referred to as “donkey ear”.  HUGE!  Really this IS the best Spinach we have ever grown!  I love the hoop house!  Double rinsed and amazing.  This is the crop we planted in February.

Arugula-A peppery gourmet delight.  A nice addition to salads or on pizza.

Tatsoi-The Asian Green of the week.  Dark spoon shaped leaves that can be added to fresh salads, braised or stir fried.

Potted Micro Mix- A new assortment. A growing garnish of mini brassicas, kale, mizuna, and mild mustards.  Snip with a scissors to “harvest”.  Keep on a sunny window sill and water when needed.

Best guess for next week-LAST SPRING BOX

Rhubarb, radishes, leaf lettuce, scarlet red turnips, saute mix, mizuna, chives, cilantro, baby basil + more!

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We found this nest in the rafters of the shed. We took a peek, returned it quickly and Mama Robin was back on it in minutes.

A long week of cold and wet in the garden.  Too wet to get much done outside beside maintenance and catch up jobs so our focus was in the green house and hoop house where it was dry and warm.  Tomato, eggplant and pepper seedlings all transplanted into roomy 4 inch pots!  A big job and pleased it is done. Exciting to revisit all the interesting varieties selected in December and imagine the tasty crops around the corner.

Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplants all in new pots.

Scott laying straw between the potato rows.

We spread straw between all the rows for weed control.  It also helps keep us a bit cleaner with wet and rainy harvests. No trudging through the mud.  Scott spent a few rainy days getting this messy job completed.

Maeve watering in a Spring Turnip crop.

Our Spring is moving along at a controlled organized pace and we are thrilled that the crops are abundant for the Spring Share and Early Summer crops planted and robust.  It feels good not having the catch up frenzy filling our minds.  This year we are able to finally!!!! spend some thinking time on fun artsy garden “embellishments” that have been floating around in the back of our minds for years.

Freshening up a friend’s typewriter with succulents.

AND!!!! Maeve’s vintage elementary school playground has started going up.  I started collecting pieces when she was born and they have sat dismantled in the back of the garden on the tree line.  A summer of fun awaits.

The riding horse swing set going up!

Last week’s box was wonderful and we enjoyed delicious greens with every meal and snacking too.  Pea shoots are a favorite and Maeve ate the whole bag all at once as her “appetizer” before supper one night.

What is in your box

Another fantastic green bounty! 5.5 pounds again this week.   It is important to us that each week has new varieties for you to try and enjoy.  Loads of deliciousness to experience and welcome Spring into your home.

Spring White Salad Turnips-I look forward to these beauties and Maeve and I eat them raw like apples. After testing many different varieties this is our stand out favorite.  Hakurei.  Flavor is sweet and fruity and texture is crisp.  Can also be eaten warmed or sautéed with the flavorful greens which are also edible.

Scott washing the Turnips.

Radishes-Another early variety to try.  Celesta.  Long and smooth.  Maeve calls them “red carrots”.  Flavor not pungent just enough of a bite to enjoy with salads or sliced thin on sandwiches.

Leaf Lettuce Mix-I was very concerned mid week that we all would have an overwhelming pillow case sized bag to eat this week but 3/4 pound for everyone’s salads is how it weighed out. Abundant yet reasonable…. A  sweet mix double rinsed and spun dry.

Mini Head lettuce-A beautiful chartreuse green head called Winter Wonderland with thick juicy leaves like spinach.  Obviously grows slowly and enjoys the cold temperatures of Fall and Spring. This variety was started in February.

Head lettuce growing in the hoop house.

Braising Mix-Great for Sir Fry.  This mix includes Green Mustard, Red Mustard, Kale, Tatsoi, and Hon Tsai Tai.

Pac Choi-White Flash.  Larger than last week’s offering.  Try it as a fresh salad with berries or oranges.  Wonderful!  I have been eating bowls full all last week lightly braised with olive oil, garlic and a bit of soy sauce.

Potted Amaranth Seedlings-Our novelty garnish of the week.  It will absolutely glow in the sunshine on your windowsill. Very pretty and tasty too.  Snip and add a bit of color to your salads.  Nutty in flavor.

Daffodil Bouquet-Just because…..you can never have too many flowers.  A belated May Day to all of you.  An important holiday in our family to celebrate.

Maeve delivering our May Day bouquets this year.

Best Guess for next week.  

Spinach, mizuna mix, head lettuce, arugula, turnips, asian greens, and more!

Next week’s Spring planted Spinach harvest.

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A busy few days around the garden.  250 pounds of seed potatoes were planted last week by hand before the rains hit and we are pleased.  A big job and a huge relief to have it done.  A nice long row of Swiss Chard and Collard greens transplants went in, the outside Wintered over spinach thinned and cleaned up,  outside Spring turnip and radishes were direct seeded and many new leafy greens planted in the hoop house.   Scott tended to the garlic which is up and looks robust.  We planted an even larger crop than last year’s harvest as you can never have too much garlic in our world.  The greenhouse is packed with seedlings ready to go out once the rains stop and new seedlings are coming out of the germination chamber daily.  We are running out of room in there!

Itty bitty cabbage seedling.

Newly sprouted seedlings fresh from the germination chamber.

We are getting use to the busy pace and remembering how to get it all done after a leisurely winter.  It is exciting and feels good to be busy and outside.  Maeve is a big help in the greenhouse and loves staying ahead of me with filling pots and trays.   We transplanted all the eggplant the other day into larger containers and she and I pretended to be the Baldwin sisters- Miss Mamie and Miss Emily from the Walton’s while working.  Maeve wondered (as Miss Emily) if JohnBoy would come and help us and if Ashley Longworth would mind that her hands were “filthy”.  It is a whole different world working with a 5 year old’s help.  It takes a bit longer but also makes it fun.

Our first EVER Spring Box is pretty amazing.   Scott and I wanted to be absolutely sure there would be enough and all would be perfect. Not knowing if it would be a cold, dark Spring or a hot, sunny one we planted for any weather in the hoop house to be “safe”.  The end result is a mother load.….and then some.  Laugh with us over it all, enjoy the bounty, share with your neighbors and friends and know that all will now settle down after this 1st box Spring Green explosion.

Welcome Back and Welcome New Share Members!  We are excited to start the 2014 Season and share the garden again this year.  We had fun these last few days getting back into the swing of things and enjoying the harvest at our table.

WHAT IS IN YOU BOX

A SPRING BONANZA!!!!!  5.5 pounds of green goodness……

All produce is organically grown and chemical free.  All produce is double rinsed and if packaged packed in environmentally friendly packaging and biodegradable “plastic” bags.  Please return your white food box every week for reuse.  Return any packaging/containers/pots that are clean and reusable.  Thanks!

The Extra take it or leave it box will be in the cooler again this year.  Any extras from the harvest will be in this box and you can take as much as you wish.  If there is an item not to your family’s liking feel free to leave it here for others to enjoy.

Mini Pac Choi-Delicious little gems perfect for sauté or even munching raw with hummus.

Tokyo Bekana-An Asian green similar to Chinese cabbage that can be enjoyed in salads to add loft or sautéed or stir fried.

Spinach-The best we have ever grown! This is a wintered over crop that we planted in the hoop house last October.  Wonderful HUGE! and sweet.

Bringing up the Spinach harvest to be double rinsed before weighing out and packaging.  Not sure what the deal is with my “pretty” top hat.

Maeve is the official taste tester.

Serving it up in style.

Radishes-A variety called D’Avignon or commonly called French Breakfast.

Mixed Spicy Greens- Stunning Color! A loose collection of Pac Choi, Red Mustard, Mizuna, and Leaf Broccoli.  A great combination of flavor and texture.  Eat fresh or braised.

Double rinsed and ready to be packaged.

Pea Shoots- Fresh Spring Pea flavor.  Use as a garnish on salads, sandwiches or a surprise topping to soups or stews.

Micro Green Mix- Tiny little shoots for snipping as garnish.

Daffodils- A sweet little bouquet to kick off the season.

Maeve had a great time with her friend Emma while we harvested greens. Thank you Emma!

Best Guess for next week.

leaf lettuce, mini head lettuce, salad turnips, pac choi, tatsoi, braising mix, outdoor garden grown spinach, amaranth sprouts

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The garden is at rest.  The fluffy blanket of snow tells us now is the end of any last minute clean up or tidying around the edges.  Our work is done outside.  Interesting to us that the snow cover is on the last day of our food boxes for the year.  A hard stop to many months of labor.

The rhythm of our days have changed dramatically with the shorter day length and cold temperatures.  A welcomed change.

We spend our evenings going over notes from the summer, taking more notes on our recollections of outstanding crops or those we felt could be better.  We have read over all  returned surveys from the summer season and made adjustments or additions to next year’s growing season based on member’s wonderful feedback. Our seed catalogs are already dog eared….the seed orders will be placed by Christmas and then it starts all over again the beginning of February.  We are enjoying these days.

We hosted 2 holiday evergreen workshops over the weekend and had a fantastic time.  It is one of my favorite seasonal activities and was happy to share our time with so many.  The wreaths created were  beautiful and each unique.

Enjoy the bounty of the 2nd and last storage share of 2013.  Happy Holidays to everyone and thank you so much for sharing the season with our family.

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE (bags)

We put everything in 2 kraft grocery bags so no boxes have to be returned.

Scott and Maeve packing the storage shares.

10 pounds yukon gold potatoes

5 assorted winter squash

3 heads of garlic

Bag of dried rosemary

Bag of dried Cayenne Chili Peppers

2.5 pounds storage onions

1 pint of Honey

1/2 pint of raspberry syrup

2 pounds brussels sprouts

2 pounds parsnips

Mini head of cabbage

Chinese Cabbage

2 pounds carrots

2 celeriac roots

Bunch of leeks

A paperwhite bulb planted in a mason jar.

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It has been a busy few weeks for us around the garden.  Lots of clean up, harvest and Autumn planting.   AND we have a bit to go until all is put to bed for the Winter.  We expanded our garlic planting this Fall and should have a bounty next year for the boxes.  Over 1200 cloves went in on a balmy day a few weeks back.  We planted long rows of Spinach to winter over, and created a wonderful herb area too.  The new hoop house is planted with Winter lettuce and spinach and hopefully a few other Spring Crops will get in before it is too cold.  Our new leaf mulch/compost pile grows whenever Scott has a moment to haul a few loads from the mountain of leaves the city drops off in the front yard for us.  Our evenings are spent planning out the crops and the new planting rotation in the garden for next year.

Our Winter Storage Box is HUGE!!  We are so pleased with the quality and the quantity of the harvest.  Enjoy the Share for weeks to come.

Scott harvesting the cold hardy Broccoli in the snow.

Beautiful Broccoli. A variety called Arcadia.

As I have mentioned in the past one of our biggest goals this year was to have a huge carrot crop.  We were successful with the Summer offering and able to provide carrots many times during the season.  We are thrilled with our Winter Box harvest too.  Beautiful and Sweet Carrots.  We let the frost touch them and they are delicious.  Maeve chomps them down every chance she gets and the other day she said “these are better than candy!”  Roasted they are amazing,  raw a perfect treat, added to soups and even steamed they are the star of any meal.

Scott starting the carrot harvest.

First rinse in the Maytag washer.

Final rinse.

Scott washing the carrots in the cold.

Tons of Brussels Sprouts are out on the stalks and the plants are loaded.  This is a crop that is difficult to harvest when it is too cold.  It is rough to snap the little gems from the stalks with frozen fingers.   We planted 3 different varieties one of which is extremely cold hardy.  A nice sized bag is in each box this week and more to come in the second box.

The brussels sprouts in the garden. We cut the tops of the plants a few weeks back to promote sprout development.

WHAT IS IN YOU BOX

Get ready for this!  It’s a double box day.  We packed all the non refrigerator items in a separate box……weight this week is just over 41 pounds.  WOW!

Parsnips-Will hold for weeks in a zip lock in the crisper drawer on the refrigerator. Wonderful pan fried, roasted in a root crop medley or added to soups and stews.  A favorite winter flavor in our house.

Cabbage-the small Gonzales variety we are so fond of.

Chinese Cabbage-Delicious juicy heads.  These too will store for months in a zip lock in the fridge.   Makes a wonderful fresh slaw or tasty in stir fries or added to broth.

Broccoli-Finally!! A bountiful broccoli harvest.  We struggled with our broccoli this year and are happy to have an abundant harvest.  Very flavorful and sweet.

Beets-A rich robust selection.  We left these in the ground to get a few frosts in order to convert the sugars.

Turnip/Radish Assortment-A mix bag of 4 different varieties.

Carrots-2 varieties-Yaya and Nelson.  SWEET!

Storage Onions-A 2 pound mix.

Potatoes-2 pounds Yukon Gold.

Squash-A collection of acorn, carnival, and butternut.

Pie Pumpkin-For Thanksgiving of course.

Garlic-A collection of Music and German Red.

Spinach-A juicy harvest from the new hoop house.  Maeve helped do the rinsing.

Brussels Sprouts-My all time favorite Fall crop.  Enjoy.

Leeks-2 variety of cold hardy leeks.  A favorite in potato leek soup.

Pac Choi-Mini heads harvest from the hoop house.

Celeriac Root-Delicious added to soups and stews and wonderful raw in salads.  Holds all winter in the crisper in the fridge.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Thanks for sharing the Autumn Garden with us.  We are grateful.

It’s Scott’s birthday today!  A small celebration in between the busy details………

Maeve is on a major Lone Ranger kick……this was our box prep entertainment this week.

NEXT STORAGE BOX PICK UP IS DECEMBER 9TH.

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A frosty morning greeted us on this final Summer food box day.  Seems appropriate on our last day…..as the frost marks the true transitional growing season end in the garden.  Several cold hardy crops remain out in the garden and will thrive in these early Autumn days and the new hoop house is packed with growing treats for the Winter Storage Boxes but the bulk of our crops are out of the ground or done with this cold and diminished day length.  It is a bittersweet feeling to know it is the end of summer and surprises us.  This has been a nine month whirlwind since the first seeds have been planted.

It has been a wonderful season and again we want to thank you for sharing the garden. I was chatting with a good friend that grows flowers in Portage last week and we were discussing the season.  He said it has been an easy year for growing and I had to agree, however I do believe anything would be easier than last year’s extreme heat and drought.  We have had some of our “best ever” this year-a bumper pea harvest, too many cucumbers, tons of  colorful peppers and an abundance of carrots, the never ending zucchini, and weeks of watermelon.  A few crops  have finally matured and we are able to offer them in the boxes.  The blueberry bushes were finally big enough to produce a supply for the  food shares after 7 years of growth, rhubarb plants are finally large enough after several years to put out over 100 pounds, the pear trees hung heavy with fruit and the HONEY!  a favorite treat that we were proud to offer.  A strong season for us and we are already looking forward and planning next summer.  BIG plans and lots of fun additions.

I always chuckle at this time of year as I have this huge sense of relief and am settling into a slower way of life around our house and pondering holiday crafts and cookies.  My big work is done but the opposite is true for Scott…..it is crunch time for him to get the garden all cleaned up, lots of choirs to tend to before it gets too cold,  lots of outside duties and “dirt” work.  Today the city of West Baraboo started hauling in leaves for us to compost for the garden.  We will stir these up in a compost pile for 2 years and then add to our gardens.  8-11 loads will be delivered.  Lots of hauling for Scott.  Hopefully he finishes before the snow flies.

A few fun facts about this season.  We keep track of all that we pack in the boxes.  This season there were 68 different items.  This total just reflects the actual item and not different varieties of each.  For example, cucumbers are counted as 1 even though we grow 8 different varieties of cucumbers.  If we included all the different varieties the number is over 220 different “items” were in your box.  Total box weight for the season was 236.78 pounds of food and this number does not include the weight of the watermelons, tomatoes, or any “extras”.  $24.75 a week for all that goodness.

WHAT IS IN YOUR BOX/BAG

All shares are packed in Kraft Grocery Bags today so there is no box to return.

It’s a jumbo one to finish the season!

Sweet Potatoes-Finally here after a late planting in cool Spring. Store on the counter not in the refrigerator.

Potatoes-Adorandack Reds.

Garlic-A bulb of the variety called Music or German Red.

Pie Pumpkin-A little cutie to decorate or roast to eat.  The perfect size for a pie or use the puree in soups, biscuits, or muffins.

Acorn Squash-A rich nutty variety.

Storage Onions-These are a bit strong then the sweet summer onions.

Brussels Sprouts-My favorite!  A combination bag of 3 different varieties.

Honey-We are so pleased that we were able to get a second harvest off the hives.  Delicious!  We were excited to note all the differences between the Spring and Fall harvest.  This harvest is much deeper in color and has a more robust flavor.

Asian Greens-A variety called Yukina Savoy. Delicious steamed or stir fried.  I love it raw.

Hot Pepper Mix-In a paper bag.  A combo of jalapeño, ancho, chili, and hungarian hot wax

Sweet Peppers- Another combination of bull horn or bells from the final harvest.

Leaf Lettuce-Harvested from the hoop house. A big bag for everyone and a fun mix.  We triple rinse the leaves after harvest and then Scott has a fancy way he “swing dries” the water off and then we spin it all in those lame little home kitchen salad spinners….it takes forever.

Celeriac Root-A variety called Brilliant. Will store up to 6 months in the refrigerator.  Wonderful celery flavor.

Jerusalem Artichoke/Sunchokes-Potato like tubers.  A unique sunflower nutty flavor.  Best oven roasted with root vegetables.  Long storage life in refrigerator.

The tall flowers in the background are the jerusalem artichokes before harvest.

Chinese Lanterns-For Autumn Decor in you home.  A little beauty to feed the soul.

Winter Storage Box Pick up-Monday November 18th and Monday December 9th.  An e-mail reminder will be sent out to all who signed up for a winter box.

We thank you for a GREAT season……

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