abundant fall harvest

Box Day!

In case you have ever wondered what "box day" is like...here is an idea:

We wake up early, just like every other day to get the kids on the bus to go to school and the youngest to Grandma's.  Craig takes a last walk through the farm to observe what is happening, usually with a hot cup of coffee in hand.  Today, for example, the tomatoes were wet in the morning so we waited to pick them until later morning.  A lot of the tomatoes that went out today were picked green last week before a threatening frost that we dodged gratefully!  Judith and Bumpa arrive to help.  Judith is a worker share and comes every other Wednesday for box day.  In exchange for her help, she receives a free share, any extra produce that she wants and lots of laughs throughout the day and a free lunch.  Bumpa is my dad and just loves to work and loves to help.  He also gets a free share and we learn a lot from him too-he grew up on a farm and did a lot of the work as a young boy.  He also knows bees and we are learning that skill from him.  We split up sometimes and each pick a different item, or work together on the same project.  Veggies are brought to a central area where they are "field washed" which is basically a soak in cold water to get the field heat out of them.  They aren't cleaned-this is your job at home :)  then set to drip dry in the breeze.  We sort through removing veggies that don't make the cut.  After all items are harvested, we line up the boxes and start to fill them.  After all boxes are filled, we load up for the various drop sites and hope to leave the farm by 2:30.  Judith runs to Family Natural Foods and I go to Stoiber HealthCare.  Craig goes to Blue Heron Brew Pub and delivers there and then goes in for a work shift.  It is a busy, fun-filled day!  There is a lot of work that goes into the finished product that doesn't happen on box day too and for all of that, I would need a much longer blog....

Jill-the farmer's wife

BOX 9

An eighty degree harvest day full of peppers and tomatoes... it's hard to believe that this is October!  Besides the absence of brussell spouts and kale, we are very happy with what we're harvesting this fall.

For the last box (10/16)  look for carrots, broccolli, cabbages, jack-o-lantern pumpkins, and lots more squash namong other things.

BOX 5

With the cooler and dry weather, the veggies have been slowing down a little here in our gardens.  While we still have tons of green tomatoes, they are really slow to redden.  Most people are having this issue, from the funky year.  I've never seen tomato season start so late.  Same for our sweet corn and peppers.  While our pepper plants are loaded with small peppers, we need some moisture and more of this heat to push them the rest of the way.  

     We grew our combo of green and purple snap beans again like we always do.  The purple beans do lose their purple when you cook them.  

     The garlic has cured nicely in the garage, and we will continue to slip some into each box.

     It looks like we'll be doing our make-up box in September, so stay tuned for that.  Also plans are shaping up for the big farm party on the 14th of September.  Bring a dish to pass,  we will provide beer and hopefully some live music.

Box 4

Cruisin' into August we've got the first peppers, cucumbers, and zucchini for you.  Don't worry, there will be plenty more of these to come along with lots of tomatoes, eggplant, corn, and beans!
We have green and yellow zucchini, you will start out getting one or the other this week.  This year for our green zucchini I'm trying an Italian heirloom variety: Costata romanesca, known for it's supreme flavor.  As you'll see it has light and dark green stripes and is slightly more bulbous than it's hybrid cousins.
This box should complete our egg rotation, so everyone should have received a dozen by now.  We plan to continue this rotation so you should be receiving eggs every third box or so.
Blueberry season is peaking out real heavy so I couldn't resist picking them one more time for you. This time we went to Trachte's Blueberry Farm where we usually go on County Trunk A outside of Pittsville.  They also have ice cream to reward you for a good pick, bring the kids!
I also found some fat heads of cabbage for your box from Sunny Sky Farm.  Mark Anderson has been a great friend and mentor to me over the years. Like us, Mark grows everything organically on his farm, as he has for almost 20 years in Amherst Junction.  This would be the last of our rained-out summer crops, and look forward to get started on the fall plantings of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and more.
I'll conclude with a couple of reminders.  Sept 14th is this year's annual harvest party.  This year's theme is "Virgo"  so there will be a special nod to Virgos!
At this point I am going to switch over Chicken pick-up here on the farm to a more open schedule. Email us when you'd like to get some or all of your chickens, and we will work out arrangements on an individual basis.

Box 3

Well it feels like we are at a couple of crossroads here in the season.  We've gone from extreme wet to suddenly quite dry since the last full moon, and this week (at least) it has switched from hot and humid to cool and dry.
Fall crops are progressing  nicely.  Thanks to the helpers that have come out to weed this week, the squash, melons and pumpkins have been freed from their grassy bondage, and are off to the races.  We should be getting ripe tomatoes, zucchini, peppers and lots of cucumbers for the next box! yeah!!
I have picked the first fresh garlic for this box, and was quite happy with what we found.  We have a LOT more where this came from.  Once it has been all picked we will cure it for six weeks so it should last well into the winter.  Notice how the fresh garlic is wet and crunchy unlike the cured product that we usually consume.  The fresh flavor is slightly milder when the garlic is just picked, so it will get hotter as the winds get colder.
Blueberry season has just begun.  This year I picked these at Malek berry farm in Nekoosa.  Their season runs for maybe two more weeks.  We also suggest Trachte's Blueberry farm on Cty A between Pittsville and Marshfield (715 884-2495).
The Maleks have been big potato growers for a long time in our area, so I couldn't resist when I saw Joe Malek's baby red potatoes.  He agreed to dig them fresh for you on Wednesday morning, enjoy.  FYI neither the potatoes nor the blueberries are organic, but Joe is growing on a small scale, and says he gets by with minimal spraying.
Looking ahead: we have set a date for the annual harvest party, Sept 14th.  Mark the date.
Just a reminder that we field-wash most vegetables before we box them, but we always recommend washing everything well before you eat it.
ciao,
Craig

Box 2 Perspectivve

Well things are really rebounding around here after a couple weeks of hot, dry weather.  And with a few freezers full of plump chickens, things are looking up here at VG for the second half of the season.  The weather has claimed a few casualties and a few battles, but the war goes on, and reinforcements are on the way.
The season changes quickly with a bi-monthly CSA, and we are going to be getting into new stuff for box 3 like carrots, zucchini, cucumbers and blueberries  as well as more basil and chard. Next comes salsa season and the prime veggie time of the year!
Saturday, 7/20 we will be hosting a weeding extravaganza at the farm after dinner until sundown.  Arrive after 6pm and help fight the war on weeds for a couple hours.  Refreshments will be available, as well as a chance to socialize with other members and their families.  This would be another chance for you to pick up some of your chickens too if you'd like. Please call or email us with any questions.
Craig

Box 2 Farmer's Perspective coming soon...

The Farmer's Perspective

Ok first box of 2013 here we go!   I won't bore you with a salty and owly grumble on the weather, because I know you are all just as sick of hearing about it as you are of dealing with it directly somehow or another. I'll just leave it that this season has been very challenging on the farm due to the wet conditions...

One bright spot through the past month has been the formation of the murals being painted on one of our cabins by member Amy Noonan and a few of her High School Art students from Port Edwards.  Amy has been a trooper through the sloggy conditions, and has really decorated our farm with a beautiful set of images representing our family and the farm.

So besides flowers, I do now have most of our plants into the garden.  Better late than never!

We have a huge garlic crop all growing in elevated beds which is nearing maturity.  The scape is the flower stalk that each head of garlic sends up in June.  Picking it not only provides you with your first taste of fresh garlic for the year, but also forces the plant to redirect it's energies back into the bulb for the final month of maturation.

Also doing well and reaching maturation are your broiler chickens!  These guys (and gals) look like they are enjoying all the mud as they scratch for worms and bugs.  It looks like Ill have to wait until July 10th to get them in to butcher at Sonday Produce Waupaca.  An extra week should mean some bigger birds!

Thank you all for participating in Vespertine Gardens.  I look forward to the rest of the season!

Craig



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Ready to grow 2013

When the seed catalogs started arrive in our snow covered mailbox...in December...we laughed and started a pile.  We were happily welcoming the rest that comes for farmers such as ourselves who live in an area that experiences a frozen season a.k.a. winter.  After the new year, we slowly started picking out our favorites from the pile, a new one being Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and old time stand-by Seed Savers and Johnnys.  The dreaming couldn't be kept in fallow any longer and the 2013 season has begun on paper, in our dreams and will be put into seed trays in 4 short weeks! Reserve your spot soon as we fill up by April.