This is my kitchen table.  My husband, Bruce, loves the fact that we cant use it since the seeds have taken over.  Every winter one of my favorite things to do is seed orders.  It is quite the process!  First I must take inventory on the seeds that we already have.  This year we got to add the element of making a spread sheet with all the info about each packet of seeds.  The variety, quantity, certifing agent and date for each and every one.  I guess in the long run it will be beneficial to just be able to go in and update the sheet.  

It is always fun to dig through the catalougs each spring.  Some of them are very entertaning and contain precarious information the items.  FedCo is the best for odd info about seed.  For instance there is a pepper called Beaver Dam.  The following is the description from the catalogue: "Drenched and desolate? Leave it to Beaver! The only pepper to produce for Emily Cates in this challenging season, Beaver Dam set several pendulous shiny horn-shaped 6" red-orange fruits per plant, 3" wide at the shoulders, tapering to a blunt point.  Early for its size and a heavy producer in more normal years.  With Beaver Dam you can have it both ways: sweet or with heat.  Most of its mild spice is in its seeds and ribs so you can excise those if you wish.  Or leave them in to enjoy its nice peppery flavor.  Heirloom brought to Beaver Dam, WI, in 1912 by the Joe Hussli family.  Emily's favorite for roasting over hot coals in the wood stove."  

Such a joy to learn so much about each item while getting the jist of what is to come from the seed.  Seed hunting can be quite time consuming.  I started taking my pile of catalogs with me to great-grandmas, the greenhouse, the car, for when the girls are sleeping or just playing for a few minutes, I can get some done.  Usually its about one or 2 items, but more than I would have if I hadn't brought it along.  Seize the moment! 

When thinking seed, I have to give thanks for our dedicated CSA members who sign up early.  You really are the glue that holds this operation together.  I would not be able to order seed if it wasn't for your early renewals!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  

This is an article that I wrote 2 winters ago.  Nobody ever got the chance to read it so I thought Id share it with you, not much has changed.  

As summer quickly approaches, so does the season for local produce!  Spending the winter eating frozen, canned, or even fresh produce from all over the world makes me greatly anticipate what is coming soon grown right here in our food shed. Becoming connected with the food that is produced in this region can be a great learning experience as well a way that you can support your local economy.

The average morsel of food travels 2000 miles before ending up at the local grocery store.  I spent some time in the local grocery store and took some time to look at some of the origins on those little stickers that are on the fresh fruit and vegetables.  The findings were interesting.  To my surprise there were some Colorado grown products in the produce department. Crimini and button mushrooms are grown in our neighborhood by Rakara Mushrooms in Alamosa. Fresh sprouts are grown in Denver, Osage Gardens in Newcastle, Colorado is the local provider of fresh packaged herbs such as basil, dill, chives, mint and more, and there were packages of dried pinto beans from Dove Creek. Organic greenhouse cherry tomatoes are starting to come in from Denver.  Weather their grown in soil or hydroponically, the package didn’t say.  All of the other produce in the department came from somewhere other than Colorado. 

Naturally some things don’t grow here so if we choose to have the luxury of them, they will have to travel.  Citrus such as oranges, mandarins, and grapefruit are coming from California and Texas.  The citrus growers in California experienced a significant loss this winter due to freezing weather but still managed to have some crops.  Grapes, nectarines, and plums are being imported from Chili, and pears from Argentina.  Produce coming from Mexico is dominating the produce market right now.  Blackberries, cantaloupe, watermelons, avocados, eggplant, organic celery, zucchini, summer squash and several varieties of packaged lettuce blends are all being imported from south of the border. 

Bell peppers of all colors, green, orange, red, and yellow are all labeled Canada, though I’ve recently seen grown in Holland labels on the peppers.  Holland is how far away?  As for the unmentioned fresh produce, it is coming mainly from California and Arizona, a mere hop and a skip away.  Some of the apples are still coming out of storage from Washington state, keep in mind that these were all harvested last fall and kept in pressurized rooms until now.  Start looking for New Zeeland labels on the new crop apples. Strawberries are coming from California and I am thankful that these farmers have a crop after the rains that wiped out the majority of the strawberries last year. 

Local, seasonal produce will be starting to arrive in many areas of Colorado as soon as May. Grown in the back yard or on your local family farm items such as sugar snap peas, carrots, spinach, lettuce, turnips, beets, and radishes are going to be some of the first out of the ground for you to sample this year.  Added to the list in June and July vegetables such as broccoli, zucchini, summer squash, cabbage, garlic, new potatoes, bunched onions, swiss chard, green beans, and the beginning of sweet corn, one of my personal seasonal favorites, will be arriving.  Fresh juicy fruit is always much anticipated as well.  Be ready for apricots, cherries, and the famous Palisade peaches to be juicy sweet, but only for a short season.  Do what you can to preserve these treats throughout the season to savor the flavor throughout the year. In August, September, and early October the produce really continues to be bountiful.  Eggplant, peppers of all kinds including roasted chilies, tomatoes, cauliflower, cantaloupe, watermelon, acorn squash and other winter varieties of squash are keeping the local market steady.

Depending on the location the produce is grown will determine when it will be ready for harvest.  In Colorado this will greatly vary from Pueblo’s long hot summers to Salida’s shorter, cooler growing season.  No matter where you are indulge in pleasures of local produce.  Keep in mind that even if it is from the other side of Colorado, it is still local.  Nearly 90% of transportation costs are spent on transportation of food and a mere 10% is used for the production of food.  Challenge yourself to eat as close to home as possible.  Visit your local farmers market weekly and don’t be afraid to try new foods that you have never had before.  Spend a day canning green beans, or freezing fresh peaches to enjoy throughout the winter.  You will be pleasantly surprised the joy you will get from this.  Also visit your local farmer and volunteer on the farm for a day to really get a hand in the local food production system.  Becoming connected with local food systems is a great way to keep your money local and to make sure that farmers are getting what they deserve for their effort to feed you.  Eat fresh, local, and share in the joy of eating seasonally!     

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Welcome new piggies, our most recent addition to the farm.  They arrived on Saturday and are as happy as can be.  They have a huge pasture that they are housed in.  Zia is absolutely in love with them.  They are pretty friendly and we hope that we can get them used to us so we can scratch them behind their ears.  I had 4-H pigs growing up that were my best friends.  Id even lay down on them and take naps with them, the two I remember most were Siegfried and Tristan. They were Hampshires, black and a white band around the midsection.

Animals have it pretty good on our farm.  The pigs get soaked grains every day (soon will be getting whey from a local dairy), they have a big area to run and root in.  Hoping to get them some pasture to graze on this summer.

The chickens are going to be setting on their eggs.  I figured what better way to get more chickens than to let them raise some of their own.  I think the girls will really get a kick out of the chicks to.  They too have a great home.  We are going to be rebuilding their yard, not so big and alien proof.  Thats what got the last ones you know.  

The cows have 50 acres to run on in the winter.  They have warm water to drink.  We call it the Castleburry, it is ground water that flows into the creek.  This is the sweet spot for them to drink.  In addition to the grass, there is not much left at this time of the year, they get hay that we have grown in the late morning every day.  This also gives us a chance to check them.  Tis the season for them to start having calves, we had one yesterday.  Should have about 30-40 calves on the ground this spring.  The newborns are so very cute.  

On the vegetable side of things, the green house will soon be in full swing.  We have new beds in ground that will be able to produce lots of vegetables.  We will be planting arugula, baby spinach, salad mix, bok choy, and some other early spring additions. I am excited to see how much we can produce in that small space.  

Spring is well on its way and there will be endless new additions!  It is my favorite time of the year with all the baby's and new growth.  I especially cant wait for the first bulbs of spring that add that splash of color the the winter landscape, and those brand new bright green leaves on the trees

I feel safe saying that cleaning is not everybody's favorite thing to do.  Cleaning the farm is different though.  It doesn't involve dirty mop water and cleaners.  It is the time of the season for me when, playing roulette with the weather, is really inspiring and comforting.  I get to know the farm again.  Since I don't live on the farm, there are some days in the winter when I don't even make it down there.  "Dad, will you please take care of the chickens for me?"  When I do get down there and have time in between doing paper work, computer work, and juggling early season meetings, it gives me a great sence of relief.  

I know that spring is just around the corner and that I really have to get my butt in gear.  I start thinking of all the things that need done.  Starting with cleaning up the weeds, yes they never really go away.  The fields and ditches are fine.  The cows either take care of them or we burn them come spring.  Around the greenhouse and buildings it is a little harder to start a raging fire to control the population which seems to get out of hand rather easily.  It feels good to go home after a day on a rake and feel the muscles in your back after getting back at it.  This all depends on the weather of course.  It could be sunny and 55 degrees, just beautiful, and in a matter of minutes be snowing and the wind blowing (not just wind, but the kind of wind that blows right through you and makes the inside of your ears cold).  This was our expierence when we had folks out for garlic planting.  

The greenhouse is the perfect place to retreat on days like this.  If the sun is or was shining it is a safe bet to say that the weather in the greenhouse will be very pleasnt.  It may sound as if the whole thing is going to come down around you if the wind is blowing hard enough, but you are out of the elements.  There is always cleaning and prep to do in the greenhouse.  Anything from watering beds that have dried out after sitting fallow for the winter, to tilling them.  There are also plants that have been in pots in the winter in there that can always use some lovin'.  In addition to cleaning and prepping this is the time of year when we start to think of spring planting in the greenhouse.  We start getting salad mix, baby spinach, and some other cold hardy things growing.  This is our first season with a lot of space in ground, in the greenhouse, that we will be planting for early sales to restarunts and early CSA shares.  

Farm aside, the other perfect thing for me to do in the winter is to get my pottery wheel spinning.  It doesnt pay to have a degree in something unless you are going to use it eh?  I finally got a burner for my kiln and am hoping to have some pots to sell this summer.

I love playing in the mud!

These warm days down at the farm make me want to just jump in to the middle of summer.  I realize there is a lot to do between now and then.

We have been working on the popcorn and it is yielding well, and is really yummy!  

We have a WWOOFer coming in a few weeks that will be really helpful.  He will be here until the end of April or begining of May.  

It is challenging working with both the girls, but manageable.  Zia just plays in the dirt, with sticks and stones and is perfectly content.  Kiana spends some of the time over at Great Grandmas with her and Merna.  Grandma Julia is celebrating her 95th birthday today and is doing great.  Still lives on the farm.  She is my inspiration.  She can still bend and put both hands on the floor!

I am so excited, for today we have our new website up and running.  It is much more user friendly and will make my life easier with the CSA.  Things are great at the farm.  It has been so nice out.  We are almost finally finished with the garlic planting.  Our Saturday planting went from about 50 degrees to snowing and cold, cold in just minutes.  Colorado!  A great big thanks to Sarah, Greg, Ruth and Mary for coming and helping.  For those of you who dont know, yes we are still planting garlic (almost done now).  The seed is holding up great.

This is our 5th CSA year!  We are starting to get the swing of it.  It will always be improving with every season.  

We are also working on our Organic Certification.  It is really time consuming to get all of the paperwork done, field planning, field history, and all the other stuff they need to know.  I am excited to dive into the world of seed production.  

Zia and Kiana are great help and Im sure will continue to be throughout the season.  

Im blogging!

• Eat Well Farm Blog : recently discussing problems with the Med Fly and how they are certifying their packing shed as Med Fly-free.
• Life of Farm Blog : this blog is sponsored by the Mahindra tractor company. Perhaps the writer got a free tractor for writing the blog?
• Tiny Farm Blog : wonderful photos and at least a post a day.
• Rancho Gordo Blog : this popular blog receives 300-500 unique visitors a day (which is impressive for a farm website) and even helped the author secure a book deal.

• Blogging Your Way Into a Business
• Business Blog Case Study: Stonyfield Farm
• Blogging for your customers versus blogging for your business
• How to Write Great Blog Content : Great advice from the #1 blogger.