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Farm News from Gretchen-
Greetings dear CSA Members,
Are you as surprised as I am just how quickly the season went?
Market is over. This week marks our 30th, and last, week of CSA (except for next week's bonus share for renewing members!). My nine month apprenticeship will wrap up in a week. And while part of me finds all this hard to believe, another part distinctly remembers each month and how the seasons change the farm; what we plant and harvest, w hen and what we weed, how often and how long we irrigate all depend on the season and the weather we're working with at the time.
Winter brings on drastic changes and the farm has been transformed from even a few short weeks ago. Basil and green beans plants are brown and withered from the frost. Tomatoes, okra, peppers, eggplant and peanuts have all been plucked from their beds and laid to rest in our compost piles. Our chickens are slowing in their egg production, due to the shorter days, and our greenhouse is almost empty. Not much left to plant. (Thanks to some dry weather last week, we were able to get a lot in the ground--finally! We planted strawberries, onions, lettuce, bok choi, spinach and kohlrabi and Justin direct seeded more carrots!) Winter is a time to slow down and rest, for most of the fields as well as the farmer. And boy, is it a much needed and appreciated time!
Though things are slowing on the farm, we still have an amazing share for you this week! More sunchokes, yes, but do not fret if you are still looking for a great way to prepare them. Check out our blog for two killer recipes--both are easy and very good! (Ashley even admitted that the soup was REALLY good, much to her surprise!)
And, there is still work to be done on the farm.
 | | My first tilled beds! |
We have collards, kale, broccoli and other brassicas to harvest (see picture below of our rockin' brassicas), a few things left to plant and we're cover cropping our empty fields. (For a refresher on the many, many benefits of cover cropping, see Paige's explanation in the Oct. 26th newsletter). This time, instead of just spreading the seed, Ashley and I got to spread and TILL IN the seed. That's right folks, we each drove the tractor! And it was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. Sure, I'll have to practice to get really good, but check out these beautiful beds! (They're mostly straight...)
The season's end makes me realize just how much we've done and how much I've learned this year. There's tractor work, planting, seeding, irrigating, pests and diseases, crop rotations, crop planning, cover cropping, record keeping, harvesting, handling, CSA, market, soil health, compost and laying hens are just some of the many areas we covered. Paige and Justin teach us in the field as well as through the curriculum they've put together. (And they really work their tails off, on the farm, in the office and educating us apprentices. Thank you guys!!)
I am so thankful for this opportunity. I know I'm still too close to even realize just how much I've learned and gotten from this experience. I plan to continue my farming education with another apprenticeship next season (location TBD. I'm looking in southern Ohio and western PA) and I hope to find myself farming well into old age, in whatever capacity I'm able.
And, wow, thank YOU. We could not do what we do without your support. All of us at Serenbe Farms are extremely grateful to each of you for your support of CSA, for your feedback, recipes and ideas, for your commitment to local, organic food and for sharing this food with friends and family and encouraging the growth of the sustainable food movement. And, one of my personal favorites, for your joyous exclamations over the sight of your favorite veggie. Isn't it a wonderful thing to get so excited over a vegetable? Serenbe Farms would be a much different place without you. And I doubt that Ashley and I, or any of the former interns, would have had this incredible opportunity without your support as CSA members. It has been a pleasure sharing our harvests with you. Thank you!
Farewell Tidbits/Food For Thought
Even More Reason to Compost
"Not only does composting have agricultural benefits, it also combats climate change. When plant wastes are sent to landfills they turn into carbon dioxide and methane, two of the most common greenhouse gases. When those plants are composted, they lock up carbon from the atmosphere for decades! And when you compost and add that compost to your garden's soil, you are also sequestering additional carbon dioxide."
http://www.foodshare.net/garden13.htm
What's In a Pig
A pig can reach butchering size at about five months and 200 to 220 pounds. This size pig will yield approximately 135 pounds of "retail" meat products: roughly 24 pounds of ham, 20 pounds of bacon, 17 pounds of pork roast, 18 pounds of picnic shoulder, 7 pounds of pork chops, 8 pounds of sausage, 7 pounds of "miscellaneous" cuts, 6 pounds of salt pork, and 31 pounds of lard. That's a LOT of animal!
And a few quotes
Eating is an agricultural act...How we eat determines how the world is used. -Wendell Berry
Agriculture is not an industry on the periphery of modern civilization. It is a fundamental act that determines whether we as a society will live or die. -Lisa Hamilton, from Deeply Rooted: Unconventional Farmers in the Age of Agribusines
A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself.
 -Franklin D. Roosevelt
I know of no pursuit in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture.
-George Washington
To most people, food represents something almost as dear as religion. It represents where they're from, who their ancestors were, how they were raised, how their family gathered around the table.
-Michael Stern
Thank you for sharing our food around your table!
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Find recipes here.
This week's share (prediction):
sunchokes (Jerusalem artichoke)
radishes
Chinese cabbage or bok choi
chard or mustard greens
arugula or braising mix
green tomatoes
head lettuce(s)
TONS of peppers (unlimited amounts!)
sweet potatoes and/or winter squash
and possibly, likely:
garlic
green onions
tomato(?)
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