Monday, April 20, 2020

What's in Store: April 20

Eggs and What's Next

We are entering our most lean season at the store, we still need folks coming to grab eggs during this time! We always have eggs, applesauce, apple butter in stock. 

Willow bark tincture will return this week, fresh from this year's harvest. Willow is a great natural pain reliever. Watch facebook for updates.

Stinging Nettles tincture is out of stock - great for spring allergies it has been popular. I have more tincture brewing and it will be back in a few weeks.

I will have some transplants available in May - basil, sage, kale, chard, tomatoes...and maybe more as time goes on! Stay tuned, watch facebook for updates or holler. Shellee's Greenhouse in Madelia carries some of our transplants as well - check out the greenhouse if you haven't before!

In a month rhubarb season will start, then we'll add in greens - spinach, lettuce, kale, chard, before raspberries kick in at the end of June/early July. 

What's In Store?

Pea Shoots - available until gone!
Applesauce Shares are always in season! A case of 12 for $65
Apple Butter
Eggs - $4/dozen
Herbal Tinctures - $15 each Motherwort (pms/cramps, anxiety, menopause), Holy Basil (adaptogen, stress, system restorative).

Expanded Hours Continue

Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 7:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am - Noon
Sunday Closed


Thursday, April 16, 2020

Prepping & Planting Potatoes!

It's aaaaalmost time to set these spuds in the ground and let them work their magic. I love love love freshly dug taters for dinner! These will keep us eating good from July through to about March! 

My Potato Plans

We will be planting 40 lbs of seed potatoes, or 150' of potatoes. I have 5 lbs of Natascha (new to me, my fav is Mountain Rose, but it was out of stock), as our early variety, which we will dig and eat fresh during the summer. As our mid-season variety we have Kennebec, a standard for us, which we will dig and eat fresh during the fall; at some point digging the rest to cure for storage. Lastly we have Green Mountain, an heirloom storage variety I just love; it does well on our site (clay-loam) and stores great. We'll plant 20lbs of Green Mountain to dig and cure in the Fall, for our winter storage potatoes and for our Winter CSA customers. 

I plant the early varieties at 8" and the late variety at 10", nestled in the bottom of a 6-8" trench. After planting cover with a couple inches of soil, filling the rest of the trench in later, as the plants grow. It's nice to mulch potatoes, if you are able, as they are water hogs and love the extra moisture. While most veggies in the garden like 1" per week, potatoes like 2".

After 17 days waking up/sprouting.

Greensprouting/Chitting Potatoes

The potatoes pictured are just over halfway through the Chitting process - I chit you not this works great. ;) When our potatoes arrived just over 2 weeks ago we began to "wake them up" by bringing them into the basement (60-65°) and keeping them in complete darkness. During this time they start to put out little white sprouts (like taters that sit in your pantry too long).

After 2 weeks they were moved to the spare bedroom to sturdy up for planting. Left open, as pictured, in a space with indirect light, these shoots will begin to green up and get tougher. This get them ready for planting, sturdying up so they are less likely to break off when being handled.

Click on over to our Facebook page, check out the videos section. I have two videos from when the seed potatoes arrived from The Maine Potato Lady, and from their transition to light. I'll post another at planting time.

As you can see in the pics some sprouts are longer than others. You don't want them to get too long, but each variety may act a little different and, of course, it will depend on the temps in your house as well. If you have longer sprouts you just need to be careful when planting.

Nice sturdy little shoots.

Planting Time

After about 4 weeks in the house these guys will be itching to get in the ground (like all of us itching to get our hands in the dirt!). So, in about two weeks, when the sprouts are nice and sturdy and ground temp is around a nice 60° (no need to rush folks) we will plant them out. A good phenological sign is when the dandelions are blooming (not the ones on the South side of the house).

Do you have to greensprout them? No, certainly not, but it has worked well for me. It gives the potatoes a head start in the garden and potentially can create higher yields. I like that, as with our heavier soil, which can somewhat restrict set growth, it's nice to have an advantage.

Well that's potatoes for tonight! I'm trying to post more on facebook, and a bit here, about what we're planting, how were growing and cooking, so follow along on facebook and if there is anything you are wondering about please holler!!


Tuesday, April 14, 2020

What's In Store: April 14th

Last Week of Winter Greens?

The last two containers of microgreens are in the store right now - 1 Zesty, 1 Radish. Pea shoots will be stocked later this week and probably into next week, as soon as they grow a touch more (they don't like the greenhouse heat).

Eggs and What's Next

We are entering our most lean season at the store, we still need folks coming to grab eggs during this time! We always have eggs, applesauce, apple butter in stock. In a month rhubarb season will start, then we'll add in greens - spinach, lettuce, kale, chard, before raspberries kick in at the end of June/early July. It all just ramps up from there! So, calling all egg lovers to support us during the interim, from winter crops ending and summer crops starting!

What's In Store?

Microgreens - last 2 containers!
Pea Shoots - later this week
Apple Cider - $6/half gallon Just pure apple cider, from our organic apples. No preservatives or colorings. A limited number of jugs are available - in stock this week & next. Drink fresh, or freeze for later.Applesauce - $6/quart
Applesauce Shares are always in season! A case of 12 for $65
Apple Butter
Eggs - $4/dozen
Herbal Tinctures - $15 each Motherwort (pms/cramps, anxiety, menopause), Holy Basil (adaptogen, stress, system restorative), Stinging Nettles (seasonal allergies)

Expanded Hours Continue

Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 7:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am - Noon
Sunday Closed


Thursday, April 9, 2020

Sowing Seeds

An update with what we have seeded in the greenhouse, and in the garden!

Many folks are asking about more gardening and food preservation questions - let us know what you're looking for and we'll try and walk you through what we do as the season goes on!

It's good to see all this spring green - inside and outside of the greenhouse.

Onions, lettuce, peppers, basil, pea shoots.

What's Growing in the Greenhouse

onions
celery
lettuce
peppers
tomatoes
tomatillos
ground cherries
kale
chard
herbs: sage, ashwaganda, parsley, basil, rosemary
(Items I don't grow anymore that I would have started by now - leeks, other herbs.)

Some seeds I sow into small pots, then transplant the out into
larger plugs or pots. Sage, rosemary, basil, beet greens, chard pictured.
I still have a couple rounds of pea shoots, the last seeding of microgreens and a last cutting of winter lettuce (personal) growing in the greenhouse as well.

Microgreens, celery, ground cherries, pea shoots.

More pea shoots, tomatillos, early basil, kale, parsley, many tomatoes!

Early Spring Crops

When the soil is ready to be worked, mid-late April, There are many items you can get into the ground to get the garden greening up. If you've planted garlic, or rhubarb, it's already poking up and greening your garden!

Last Sunday, April 5th I planted spinach! This is the earliest I have ever been in the field. Don't despair if you are not ready, you have plenty of time to plant. I never depend on getting in the field before April 20th, and I don't get warm season goodies (tomatoes, squash) in until the end of May. Sunday the soil was at 54° - great for spinach - I'm waiting for 60° for my peas, potatoes, onions. I usually plant onions and potatoes around May 1, but it may be earlier this year! My lettuce is ready to head outside as soon as the real cool temps (20s) pass.

As soon as you can work the soil there are many crops you can plant - cool season crops, root crops, greens. Spinach, lettuce and radishes are nice items to start with, as they have shorter seasons and you can plant another crop after them. It's good to get peas in on the early side, so you get a crop before the heat of the season comes in. Any root crops can go in early too - parsnips, carrots, beets, turnips, etc. Carrots and beets can be planted in multiple successions through July; do a late crop for storage roots.

Here's one reference for you - Minnesota Vegetable Planting Dates Chart

What I plan to seed/transplant in April - spinach (direct seed), lettuce (transplants, but can be direct seeded well), peas (direct seed), kale (transplants), chard (transplants).

I'll have some transplants at the store a little later on - stay tuned for updates. I recommend Shellee's Greenhouse, in Madelia, as a great source for garden transplants! A great small business that supports the community, we also grow organic transplants for Shellee - including heirloom tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, ground cherries, basil, cucumbers and celery.

Lettuce transplants!

Celery plants headed to Shellee's Greenhouse, Madelia.

Hundreds of tomato babies! Some for the farm,
most for Shellee's Greenhouse, Madeila.






Tuesday, April 7, 2020

What's In Store: April 7th

Last Two Weeks of Winter Greens

We've reached that time :(  ...actually we have done pretty amazing! I've never pushed greens production this long! But now you can tell the microgreens aren't growing as well (not as tall and fast) and I'm running out of space with summer transplants taking over!!

We will have enough microgreens and pea shoots in stock this week and next, maybe a little into the next week, but that's the end! Salad greens are now done for the season (back in November). All just in time to start eating fresh field grown greens!

Back in Stock!!!

Apple Cider - $6/half gallon Just pure apple cider, from our organic apples. No preservatives or colorings. A limited number of jugs are available - in stock this week & next. Drink fresh, or freeze for later.

Freshly harvested

Microgreens - Zesty Mix, Radish & Mizuna (mild)
Pea Shoots - 2 oz & 1/2 lb bags (John prefers these for salads!)

Farm Staples

Applesauce - $6/quart
Applesauce Shares are always in season! A case of 12 for $65
Apple Butter
Eggs - $4/dozen
Herbal Tinctures - $15 each Motherwort (pms/cramps, anxiety, menopause), Holy Basil (adaptogen, stress, system restorative), Stinging Nettles (seasonal allergies)


Expanded Hours Continue

Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 7:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am - Noon
Sunday Closed



Thursday, April 2, 2020

Inventory Update 4/2

Morning folks!

It's been a busy last week at the farm store - you were all hungry for greens! We went through last week's greens before the end of last week and started dipping into this week's...now we are out of this weeks micros and peas!

Micros and salad greens need a few days to regrow, so we will be out of greens until this Saturday or Monday, at the latest.

Apple cider is sold out, until we do another pressing.

Eggs are sold out until Friday - we will have eggs for you for your regular or Easter needs!

Applesauce and apple butter are always in season!


Holler ahead if you'd like us to set something aside for you when you make the trip out.


In Gratitude,

Brooke & John