Deep Winter Greenhouse Kick Off!

Well our deep winter greenhouse (DWG) is up and growing! We had a fantastic turnout for our open house on October 29 and the first seeds were planted by DWG pioneer Carol Ford, Garden Goddess Greenhouse. Thank you so much to all our partners, supporters, contractors and members! This is thrilling and so important to our farm. We are full of gratitude.

Here is the open house and latest from the greenhouse in a photo update!

The greenhouse pre-landscaping around the exterior.

At the open house engineer Dan speaks about how the passive solar structure works. 

Here's a view of the air outtake at the front of the building, the circulation fan is in the middle, the intake (for hot air) is at the peak (black tiling).

We talk about how the DWG fits into our farm goals and what we plan to grow in it. Winter CSA here we come! Fresh greens during the winter - YuM!

Farmers John and Brooke.

Farmers John and Brooke, Greg from UMN RSDP.

Ribbon cutting time! Farmer John, bro-in-law Andy (construction helper, plus representing Carroll Distributing), Larry (construction helper supreme), farmer Brooke and CSA members Yvonne & Lee.

Thank you to the University of Minnesota Regional Sustainable Development Partnership for making this program possible and helping us move into the future of our farm!

Thank you to our CSA members who have supported us on our journey! We were thrilled to have members Yvonne & Lee sharing the excitement of the day and cutting the ribbon with us!

Brooke, Yvonne and Lee.

Time to talk about planting and sow the first seeds! DWG pioneer/veteran Carol Ford, Garden Goddess Greenhouse, talked about how she plants in her greenhouse, the soil mix she uses and a little bit about growing. Then she planted the first planter with arugula seed! Video on facebook.

Thanks to all who shopped our mini market, came to enjoy the festivities and learn and celebrate with us! The event was very energizing and exciting. Live music was enjoyed by all, courtesy of Dick Kimmel and Stacey Watje. Live entertainment provided by farm cat Loki.

The first planting of arugula is up and off the germination mats! Seeding will occur about every other day until the greenhouse is filled up. Right now there are baby greens and microgreens growing, as we finish setting up the growing space in the greenhouse.

Gutter planters and plastic trays on the germination mats. We are working on setting up the inside structures, farm dog Odin likes to help (in comfort, of course).

The back room will be for storage and soil mixing, etc.

Below you can see some of the gutter planters underneath the germination/planting table.

Thanks go out to event organizers:
UMN Regional Sustainable Development Partnership and the Sustainable Farming Association.

Shout out to our local contractors:
Cedar Hill Homes (Glenn Hauser, general construction); Darin Portner Trucking (excavation/grading work); Nosbush Glass Co. (plexiglass install); NU Current Electric; Pat Faerber Masonry (block work); Searles Well Drilling (water work, directional boring); Heiderscheidt Digging (tiling suppies for air circulation system); Carroll Distributing (construction supplies); Larry Knisley - what would we do without your construction help! Thank to Frandsen Bank for financing the project!

None of the big wigs came, but we got this nice letter from Senator Amy Klobuchar! :)

Cheers! We'll keep sending out updates on facebook and here, as we grow!

Where can you find us next?

Mankato Winter Farmers' Market
Saturday, November 11th 10:00-12:00am, at Drummers Garden Center

2017 CSA Sign Up is Open!

We invite you to join us for our 6th season of CSA at Alternative Roots Farm! We will again be offering Full and Half CSA Shares, as well as Farm Shares (sold out). Apple Shares, Fall Shares and new Winter Shares, will be available later in the season.

What is CSA?  We love CSA because it connects us directly with you, our customers, but there are many reasons why CSA is a great model for food production and delivery!

2017 CSA Details  Veggies, apples, weekly newsletters - we work to support you and your use of your weekly/bi-weekly deliveries.

Email us at alternativerootsfarm@yahoo.com to reserve your share today!

What our Members are Saying...

"We have been doing this for a couple years now and the quality and service has always been exceptional! We love trying the new items and enjoy the old favorites. I like how it helps to get us to eat a little more healthy than normal. You both are so nice and always answer any questions that we have! I love being able to eat locally sourced organic food!!"

"We loved being a part of the CSA share! We did the half share and looked forward to fresh organic produce with new recipes from the newsletter. It was worth every cent. Thank you!"

A few photos of last year's boxes:

Early season CSA box: yellow cucumber, parsley, beans, celey mini, shell peas, radishes, 2 kohlrabi, green cucumber, spring onions, snow peas, garlic scapes.

Mid-season CSA box: mixed tomato quart, zucchini, red cabbage mini, basil, yellow & green cucumber, bunching onions, shallots, round summer squash, carrots, mixed heirloom beans, swiss chard, mixed wax beans, oregano, beets.

Late season CSA box: carrots, potatoes, trio sweet peppers, swiss chard, leeks, mixed quart specialty tomatoes, shallots, red & yellow onion, garlic bulb, green pepper, 2 slicer tomatoes, bunch mizuna salad greens, apples, ground cherries.

Sponsor-A-Tree Shout Outs!

Sponsor-A-Tree Shout Out

A Huge Thank You! to our 2016 Sponsor-A-Tree supporters, who made a capital investment in our growing orchard. Later this month we will be purchasing 1 acre of land, adjacent to our home farm, where we will be expanding our organic orchard. Sponsor-A-Tree folks are a support with this investment and will be honored with a sign by their heirloom apple tree when these trees are planted out in Spring 2017.

Joan & Robby Doss
Anne & Andy Biebl
Yvonne & Lee Weber (pear)
Steve & Jessica Lindee
Kristin & Dale Anderson
Anonymous Awesome Apple Crew
Anita Prestidge & Aldean Hendrickson
Kellie & Chris Newman

2015 young apple tree planting at our home orchard.

We are deeply grateful for your investment and enthusiasm in our apple orcharding adventures!!

If you are interested in making a Sponsor-A-Tree donation, please contact us at alternativerootsfarm@yahoo.com.

Mature apple tree at our off-site orchard.

CSA Partner :: Moody Bees Honey

We are excited about our partnership with Moody Bees Farm this season - CSA and Farm Share members can now sign up for a "CSA Add-on Share" of their honey products, for delivery with our produce! The link to order form is below and we'll send it out with the next pre-season newsletter as well.

Moody will have four hives out at Alternative Roots Farm this year - how awesome! We are thrilled to work with other beginning farmers and to bring more local, sustainable choices to our membership.

Members - Moody Bees Honey CSA Add-On Order Form.

More...

Check out the new Moody Bees Honey website:

Follow Moody Bees on Facebook.

2014 Shares Now Available!

2014 CSA and Farm Shares are available now! 

Fresh • Sustainable • Organic methods • Local

:: CSA ::
Full and Half Shares are both available--Full Shares are delivered every week for 18 weeks, and Half Shares for 9 weeks, every-other week. Home or workplace delivery is available. All CSA Shares will be delivered on Mondays and Wednesdays. New this year, we have added a couple of "boosters" to enhance your experience, as optional add-ons to your traditional CSA Share.

CSA Box Week 3, 2013

In 2013 CSA members received 122% of the value invested at sign-up!

For full details head over to our 2014 Shares page.

Note quite sure how CSA works? Check out more information on what CSA is all about.

2014 Order Form

:: Farm Shares ::  

Available in limited quantity, Farm Shares are available in $100 or $150 amounts. Farm Shares are delivered at Monday or Wednesday CSA pick-up and operate sort of like a Farmers' Market that comes to you! We send you a list of available produce, you place an order and we deliver. As an additional perk you can shop at the Saturday Farmers' Market, with no need to bring cash.

For full details go to our 2014 Shares page.

2014 Order Form

:: Other Offerings ::  

Budding Farmers Program :: 10% off Sign-up during January. You sign up with Budding Farmers and ARF simply distributes the materials. This is a great program we are happy to offer to CSA and Farm Share Members for delivery with their Shares, or non-members to pick up at Saturday market. See our blog post for more details.

CSA Home//Workplace Delivery :: Get your CSA Share delivered right to your door--literally! We are happy to make a custom delivery for any CSA member for just $25 Full Share or $13 Half Share.

CSA Boosters :: For CSA members only, a couple options to expand your CSA Share, or enhance your CSA experience. Try the Herb Booster if you are wild about herbs. Choose the Apple Booster if you just can't get enough apples. All CSA Members do get herbs and apples, this simply gives the option of getting larger amounts. See our 2014 Shares information for full details and cost.

Apple Shares :: A few of you participated in our first Apple Shares last year. We will be doing them again for 2014. Sign-up for Apple Shares will be in August. Shares will again be limited.

:: Farmers' Market ::  

You can find us at the Saturday Farmers' Market again this season! We're still waiting for details about the market location, as Runnings has moved, so stay tuned. Saturdays 9-Noon, July-October.

Brooke and John at the New Ulm Farmers' Market

P.S. We are applying for Organic certification this year! Super awesome. It's a three-year transition time and our three years is up in October! It's a very exciting time for our farm, and organic agriculture as a movement.

Budding Farmers Sign Up Open!

Alternative Roots Farm is once again partnering with the Budding Farmers Program for the 2014 season. Materials can be delivered directly with CSA and Farm Share deliveries, or for non-members pick up will be available at the Saturday New Ulm Farmers' Market (no purchase necessary). Our goal is to provide this great program to as many people as possible, regardless if you are a member or not. 

This is a great program to consider for your children, grandchildren, day care kids, classroom and more!

The Budding Farmers program teaches children (Budding Farmers) about the fruits and vegetables we grow. It is perfect for Pre-K through Elementary aged children. For 8 weeks during the season, you will receive take home nutrition information, fun facts, growing guides, science projects, recipes, creative activities, and more with your CSA box, or Farm Share order. Each week features a new seasonal fruit or vegetable that is found in your box that week. The program also includes a “Fun Book” binder where weekly materials can be clipped in and organized and a kids-sized tote bag.

Cost is $48 for the season (just $6 a week!).

It’s never too early to teach your kids about healthy seasonal food- through Budding Farmers they will cook, grow, learn, taste, smell, feel, and get creative with the fruits and vegetables we grow just for you!

You can find more information about the program and sign up at www.buddingfarmers.com. To sign up simply fill out their Program Sign Up form and select “Alternative Roots Farm”.

Feel free to pass this information along to anyone you think would be interested!

-Brooke