CSA, July 22nd.

Peas are coming nicely!

A couple of hot days, a couple of cool days, lots of bugs...not much has changed in the gardens since last Tuesday!  However, it's a day of firsts: 1st pick on the raspberries, 1st pick on the shelling peas!  Neither are big picks - but both are coming nicely!  We don't think it's going to be a great year for raspberries, but it will be a decent year!  We had trouble getting into the raspberries early on for pruning and weeding: it was just too wet and mucky!  We're also seeing lots of mechanical damage: berries have been 'smacked' into surrounding bushes and canes by the extreme high winds of some of our recent storms.  Lots of bits and pieces of willow have been blown in, breaking branches.  We're also seeing a bit of 'bloom' on the berries: a whitish tinge to the berry.  That's a cold, wet weather thing, not pretty but totally edible.  Bit of a mess in the raspberry rows!

We got a wee pick on snow peas for Saturday's Global Market.  Got another wee pick today, just enough for the Part Shares.  Shelling peas we got a better pick so enough for a decent share for all the Full Shares.  Sorry, no peas for Single Shares this week, but we'll keep you top of mind next week!

We've got some lovely baby Romaine lettuce for everyone today.  Of course, it's the main ingredient in a classic Caesar Salad!  It's got more crunch that the Grand Rapids, which you're also getting!  We've actually pulled the Romaine lettuce - roots and all.  Stand it in a vase or glass of water like a bouquet, with the roots just covered, for maximum freshness!

So, for the Full Shares:  Small bag of Swiss Chard, shelling peas, Romaine lettuce, Grand Rapids lettuce, bundle of onions, container of raspberries.

For the Part Shares:  Small bag of Swiss Chard, Snow peas, Romaine lettuce, Grand Rapids lettuce, bundle of onions, container of raspberries.

Single Shares:  Small bag of Swiss Chard, Romaine lettuce, Grand Rapids lettuce, bundle of onions, container of raspberries.

If you're looking for volunteer opportunities...we'd love some help picking raspberries the next few weeks.  They are quite labour intensive, so the more help the more berries for everybody.  Volunteers go home with a bonus!  Plus, every Wednesday here is Weeding Wednesday.  Lots of jobs, big and small, day or evening if you'd like to come out and pull a few, we'd welcome you!

CSA for July 19th

We're still having computer problems and I've had to revert to an old computer running Windows XP.  (Some of you are laughing right now...)  Any way, Blogger doesn't like it and it won't seem to allow me to add a picture.  I have a very nice picture of Deborah in the raspberry patch but, I can't seem to share it with you!  It also won't let me spell-check so, even though I have re-read this....it is late.....

 

Harvest interuptus....that was today when a strange, thunder cloud rolled over about noon.  I was in the raspberry patch, Farmer Man was in te potato field, Henry and Derrick had just arrived to help us prepare.  The sound came first: I though they were doing some heavy work in the distant railway yards at first.  The sound increased, a big black cloud loomed and when some lightening appeared directly south, everyone got to a safe place.  Including the goats, who we got out of the pasture and all into the barn safely.  In about twenty minutes it was all over and moving south and east of us.  No rain, just plenty of sound effects!  Then, did it ever get hot and steamy for the afternoon.

I did, indeed, spend the morning in the raspberries.  CSA member Deborah came to help this morning, and what a pleasure to have.  We're a little particular about our raspberries; I pride myself on picking good berries with little debris.  Deborah gets that - and there's no leaves or twigs in her buckets!  The lettuce may be a little dirty some times, but the raspberries we like clean!  I like picking and eating raspberries now, the raspberries have been producing for about a week and there's a good variety of flavor sensations!   There's the  'just barely' ripe red/orange berries with a bit more crunch and texture, the nicely ripe bright red berries just softening and full of flavor and there's the fully sun-ripened deep red berries, a little softer and juicier, with flavors a little more mellow!   Everyone did get some Red Mammoth today - and we are interested in knowing if you have a preference for last week's Boyne or the Mammoth!  Just leave a comment on the blog!  Check Tuesday's post for easy instructions for raspberry vinegar, a great way to keep enjoying your berries for months to come!

Thursday got new potatoes this week: still quite small sizes but absolutely yummy.  There was a mix picked: the red potatoes were Aladin, the white potatoes were Warba.  Nothing like a new potato!  Like much of what we picked today - the babies don't hold well or keep, please eat them promptly!  And you all know not to put potatoes in the fridge, right?  And never in a bright, sunny place, right?  The potato harvest should start to get a little more reliable in the next few weeks but you may have noticed some of the tiny sizes in your bags.  Grow, potatoes, grow! 

Everyone got some arugula or rocket in their boxes this week.  This is a great addition to salads, with a bit of nutty, a bit of astringency, a bit of peppery!  Try a little plain: if you love it slice it into bigger pieces for a salad, if you're not sure dice it fine for a 'hint' here and there in a salad.

So in today's boxes: FULL, PART and SINGLE Shares all, in various quantities, got: Baby potatoes, Romaine lettuce, arugula, green or multiplier onions, raspberries, and a mix of green and yellow zucchini.

CSA for Tuesday, July 17th

Internet problems all day today, and evidence even now that I still have problems.  I'm not even going to try to include a picture, to make sure this gets posted in a timely fashion.

Raspberries are in full swing!  We got a good pick on the Red Mammoth, the big, paler red berry, today. The old stand-by Boyne, which everyone got last week, is smaller and a darker red.  Would love to see in the comments below which berry you prefer!  We've actually had great losses in the raspberries over the winter and will have to re-plant, so we're interested in which you like better!

If you're not going to eat all your raspberries promptly, we highly recommend getting them out of the little container.  Berries on the bottom will get crushed and will be more prone to mold!  Don't want to waste any!  If you'd like to extend your raspberry harvest, how about making raspberry vinegar?  Homemade, fresh raspberry vinegar for salads is incredible, and will keep for up to six months!  Put one cup of raspberries into a sterilized jar (wash well, rinse with hot, then boiling water) and add vinegar to cover.  White wine vinegar is most commonly used, but good old regular vinegar works, too!  Make sure the berries are covered by the vinegar. Tightly cover and let the mixture sit three to four weeks in a cool, dark place.  When the time is up, strain and pour your vinegar  into a clean, sterilized bottle.  Don't discard the raspberries - they'll be awesome as is in a salad or on some fresh, local pickerel or another white fish.  Maybe with pork chops?  To make a vinaigrette salad dressing mix with an oil like canola, sunflower or olive!

Nice pick on baby zucchini and summer squash today!  This is the gourmet size: before the seeds have developed, and the texture is just like butter! The long dark green are ...zucchini, which everyone is probably familiar with.  The long yellow are 'Gold Rush', and the golden zucchini is just a wee bit more buttery and tender than green.  The pale green ovals are known as Moroccan or Lebanese squash.  They're going to be a bit firmer, with a bit more of a nutty flavor.  Anything you would do with a zucchini you can do with any summer squash.  Grated or sliced for salads, sliced and diced for stir fries, cut into strips for veggie plates!  Very versatile, these little summer squash!

So, for the FULL SHARES:  A pint each of Red Mammoth and Boyne raspberries, bundle of radish, bundle of green onions, 'Grand Rapids' lettuce, a bundle of specialty lettuce either arugula, mizuna or mustard greens, assorted summer squash.

PART SHARES: A pint of each of the raspberries, green onions, Romaine lettuce, assorted summer squash.

SINGLE SHARES: A pint of Mammoth raspberries, green onion, butter lettuce, assorted summer squash.!

Enjoy!

CSA for July 10th!

Wasn't exactly easy picking!

Ohhhhhh, it's nine at night and I'm late with this blog post.  I'm kind of mushy....it's sooooo hot.  It's still 29 C with a humidex of 38 C (about 110 F or something, isn't it?)  I had boldly stated that I would have the CSA blog post up by 8:00 PM but, once again, I forgot about the milking of goats!  The Mamas were almost in pain by the time we got home, and the babies were crying for food...so we changed out of our 'going-to-town' clothes and milked then bottled-fed the triplets.  Then we changed or topped up water for all goats, chickens, pigs, cats and dogs.  And fed the doggies, who were also kind of 'miffed' with us.  None of us are in the CSA groove, yet!

However, it's great to have one done, and super-fun to see everyone!  Some of our CSA members are now good buddies, and some we've only met through emails or phone calls, or seen at Farmers Markets but didn't really know the names.  It was so good to see everyone!

For how wrung-out I feel you would think it was a fabulous box today, but it wasn't.  When we got it all together and were ready to load the truck we thought it looked kind of disappointing.  Farmer Man may have spent too much time in the potatoes for not much poundage and I may have spent too much time in the raspberries for not too many pints:  but they're both really yummy!  First pick on the raspberries today and it wasn't easy to find them, but they're pretty darn good!  Our new helper Deborah certainly had a 'trial by fire' today, on her first day!  In this heat she spent time this morning with me in the raspberries, then early afternoon (in the serious heat) cutting lettuce, then getting it into big buckets of water!

In the boxes today everyone got the same things, just different amounts.  In the boxes are garlic scapes - the long, curly things.  If you love garlic you'll love scapes!  They have a mild, fresh garlic flavor.  The flavor is best when they're used raw; on cooking the dish is infused with a little garlic flavor but the sliced scapes themselves will taste a little like asparagus.  We love them crushed then mixed with cream cheese for an awesome spread or filling for an omelet, mixed with half mayo and half sour cream or Greek yogurt for a lovely dip!  They're beautiful on salads or sliced fine and sprinkled on those baby potatoes!

Everyone also got a bag of lettuce greens.  The main component is loose leaf 'Grand Rapids', perfect for salads or sandwiches.  There was also a little bundle of romaine, with the roots, so stand them in a glass of water!  Also included was a little bundle of rocket or arugula: a spice, slightly astringent salad green!  It can also be lightly sauteed or added to stir fries!

So in the boxes today:

FULL SHARES, PART SHARES AND SINGLE SHARES:  Bag of baby potatoes: a mix of red Aladin and Norland, white Carlton and Warba, and purple Caribe, garlic scapes, mixed lettuce bag with loose leaf, romaine and arugula, radishes, baby yellow onions, and raspberries.

The first CSA day wasn't without it's drama, of course.  Apparently, when I created email lists for Tuesdays and Thursdays I totally missed Mary and Brian.  They'd gotten the email about picking a Tuesday or Thursday but hadn't gotten anything further.  When I called them fifteen minutes before we leave the pick up site they were a little surprised, needless to say, but made it over.  Sorry, Mary and Brian!  Then, we have a new delivery for Edith, who is away and her neighbor Tracy is taking the delivery.  When we get out our map, their street is not listed!  I left a message for Tracy, and we start asking CSA members who drop by if they have a street map but the street wasn't listed.  Thank heavens for Marla, with her smart phone and smart ways, who googled it or something, and told me where it was!  Tracy did return my call just before we were heading over there and we had a good laugh about being in a new sub-division!  My favorite, though, has to be Suzanne's son John.  Suzanne was away and John (a lovely young man) was picking up for her.  He didn't have the correct info and when I called he was at our farm, thinking pick-up was there!  Fortunately, we're only five minutes from town, so he hadn't gone far!  We connected and he knows exactly where to pick up from now on!  I hope John didn't mind a wee drive in the country!  Oh, the fun of the first CSA pick up!

Pickle Mania!

Things are always changing at Aagaard Farms - and not just the seasons!  We progress through different things throughout the growing season.  Recently it was raspberry mania; people looking to come U-pick, people looking to have us pick for them, picking for the Farmers Markets, picking for jam.  Lots of people phoning, people coming and going....but that's done now.  Currently, it is pickle mania.  Everyone who wants to make some pickles for the winter is in search of cucumbers and dill.  We custom pick for people, with orders of anywhere from a couple of pounds to seventy five pounds!  The poor cucumbers just can't produce fast enough - and almost everybody would love to get it done before school goes back in!  We were finding this weekend that there seems to be a shortage of dill around; for many people it self-seeds from year to year, but in this odd flood year many people don't have any.  I must have had twelve or fifteen people ask at the Friday Night Farmers Market and another eight or ten at Saturday's Farmers Market at Riverbank Discovery Centre!  Cucumbers are late this year, too.  Like everything, for almost everybody, they got planted late as we waited for the soil to dry up and warm up.

Most of our customers are looking for little cucumbers, no bigger than about four inches long, with a number smaller for stuffing the top of the jar.  Very few people around Brandon seem to be making the big sliced dills anymore, perhaps it seems like more work to cut up the bigger cucumbers.  After picking Thursday and getting small sizes for two customers, I was left with about ten pounds of, well, the perfect size for bread-and-butter pickles, one of my favorites!  So, a quick check of the pantry, had the ingredients and so a batch was made.  It wasn't until I was filling the jars that I realized I was using jelly/jam jars, as it is all that I have around!  Most people would put pickles in a slightly bigger jar but this will be the perfect size for a household that doesn't eat a whole lot of pickles!  Are you making any pickles this year? 

Nanking Cherry Jelly Time!

It's good to have extra hands.  So much is ready, all at once, in this odd growing year.  We're still picking and trying to jam raspberries, and the nanking cherries were soooo ready for picking.  So, put the Sisters to work on a lovely summer evening!  Niece Meg was interested in seeing the process of making jam or jelly so the sisters picked and Meg and I dripped the juice and discussed the process.  Too busy with tonights' Friday Night Farmers Market to actually make jelly, so the lovely red juice got frozen for now!  Next, the Evans sour cherries are just about ready for picking and yes, the raspberries are still going!

CSA for July 19, 2011

Carissa, Lesley and the white cap way at the end, Nataliya,
in the raspberries at 7:00 AM.

So, the weather has gone from too wet to scorching hot!  Priorities change and, for the first time this year, we're concerned about watering!  Always something different on the farm!  Some vegetables have kicked into action with the hot weather: the beans and summer squash are flowering like crazy, the cucumbers are spreading and the tomatoes are setting lots of fruit!  The spinach, on the other hand, not so happy.  So, not a fabulous, laden box this week, but we can see the potential for one soon!

We're getting a good pick on baby potatoes this week.  Included in everybody's box is some fresh cut spearmint.  It is excellent with new potatoes - here's an easy little recipe here.  I prefer spearmint to peppermint because it is not quite so strong.  Excellent for a fresh cup of tea: just a leaf or two covered with hot water is so tasty - and completely natural.  Excellent for mojitos, too......Raspberries and mint over ice cream and yogurt is also awesome - and look!  There are raspberries in the boxes this week!

We are just delighted to have Linda Boys back growing for CSA.  She won't be able to contribute as much this year, as she has suffered greatly from flooding: completely losing her bottom garden, close to the river in Minnedosa.  But she's got some good stuff in her top garden, including some gorgeous fennel bulbs for the Full Shares.  Fennel is kind of like round celery, with layers 'wrapped' around the center; it has a light licorice/anise flavor.  Here's an easy recipe for roasting the bulb, you could do this on the barbecue.  Fennel is also great raw, in salads: here's a neat one with oranges and dried cranberries for 'zing'.  How about a great sauce/dip?  The foliage is also tasty chopped into salads, chopped and sprinkled on your new potatoes!

Gemma of Gemma's Garden is supplying green onions today.  Gemma is growing chemical-free not far from us.  Farmers market aficionados may know Gemma from a few different markets around town for the last number of years.  Not only did the weather affect Gemma's garden but she's on a waiting list for surgery, so she didn't get much of a garden going this year and won't be doing Farmers Markets.  She and her family did, however, get onions in and she's supplied tasty green onions for everyone today!

Also joining CSA today is the Stephenson family of 'Arizona Edibles'.  Who knew there was an Arizona in Manitoba!  Tom will be found at some Farmers Markets this year and right now has an abundance of peas.  We were happy to take some off his hands for our CSA families.  In this odd year our peas are still a ways away, so this is a nice treat!  Nothing like fresh peas!  They are also nice with a little chopped mint. Thanks, Tom!

So, for the FULL SHARES:  3 lbs. Warba baby potatoes, one fennel bulb, large bundle green onions (multipliers), head 'Deers Tongue' lettuce, bag of butter lettuce, bag of Romaine lettuce, spearmint, 2 pints raspberries, 3 lbs.peas.

For the PART SHARES:  2 lbs. Warba baby potatoes, small bunch green onions (multipliers), head of 'Deer Tongue' lettuce, one bag butter lettuce, one bag Romaine lettuce, spearmint, a pint of raspberries, 1.75 lbs.peas.

CSAers: please feel free to add to the comments section to let everyone know what you're doing with the goodies in your box!  Don't forget to Like Aagaard Farms on Facebook or follow @aagaardfarms on Twitter for reminders of pickups and loads of great info on eating well, preserving, gardening and living a little greener!

Enjoy!

Raspberry-o-rama!!

It's raspberry season at Aagaard Farms. That means it's nuts around here! People coming and going for U-picking, our little staff picking like crazy Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays for CSA and the Farmers' Markets. I've been jammin' and jellin' like a person obsessed - more than ever before. And freezing, don't forget the freezing!! The piglets have had a few treats of the pulp left over from the jelly process - and they've decided they like raspberries, a lot! Even Rocky and The Hens are getting in on the act - they get a little of the leftover berries after the Farmers Markets. Only the doggies are kind of left out on this one - they show absolutely no interest whatsoever. However, they do enjoy all the attention they get from the U-pick people!!

CSA - Middle of August!

Hard to believe August is more than half done! It was cool enough last night to make one think is might be the middle of September. We got down to 4 C. (about 40 F.), not cozy for us or the veggies. After all the rain of the weekend, cool temperatures can lead to root rot and other nasty surprises, so we are certainly hoping it warms up promptly! (Will we ever get a ripe tomato?)

We'd like to apologize right now if things seem a little dirty to our CSA members. Things were actually filthy from all the rain and we have washed down everything, some things twice and they still seem gritty. So, careful in your food preparation, please!

Linda has provided the pak choi, snow peas and broccoli today. We foresee some good stir fries! We're pleased to welcome Bryan and Sarah of Creekside Organics as a growing partner today! Bryan and Sarah have provided the lettuce. We're so happy to add their great product to the mix, especially since we've had problems with our lettuce production all season. Farmer Boy has now declared raspberry season finished: we got a pint for everybody but it took a long time!

So, in the baskets this week: Full Shares have 5 lbs. Norland potatoes, 2 lbs. Russian Blue potatoes, one veggie marrow (please see preceding post), 1 patty pan, bundle of pak choi, 2 bags mixed beans, 1 small bag snow peas, 2 bags lettuce, bundle of green onions, 2 bundles of cooking onions, 2 bundles of carrots, 1 pint raspberries, one cabbage, a small bundle basil.

This week the Part Shares have 3 lbs. Sangria potatoes, 1.5 lbs. Russian Blue potatoes, 1 patty pan squash, 1 bag mixed beans, small bag snow peas, bag of broccoli, bundle of green onions, bundle of cooking onions, bag of lettuce, bundle of carrots, pint of raspberries, bundle of basil.

A Berry Hot Tip!

From Ben and Shelagh, CSA members, a recipe for a little dish called 'Eton Mess'. Crush raspberries, crush meringues, add whipped cream and mess it all up in a bowl. Fast and easy and absolutely yummy! Meringues have now made it to the top of our shopping list!

CSA Will Be Berry, Berry Happy!

It is a gorgeous summer day today; an excellent day to be preparing for CSA and the wee Neighbourhood Country Market at Stanley Park. Not too hot, not too windy and veggies looking good. We've started the morning with a BIG pick of raspberries - it's good to be in the prickly bushes in the cool of early morning when long sleeves are possible. The picking is incredibly easy right now: it's a very efficient process when it's this easy! Linda has come through again with some gorgeous snow peas, broccoli, lettuce and, probably new for some of our members, pac choi. This Oriental leafy green is superb in stir fries: chop a little onion, maybe some mushrooms or summer squash, and toss in oil. For a real Oriental taste one could use sesame oil and add a bit of oyster sauce, for a Thai flavour use chili paste instead of oyster sauce. Pac choi can also be used like beet greens or Swiss chard: boiled or steamed. Very nutritious!

We've got a good haul of raspberries for the CSA members. If it seems a bit much for fresh eating, the berries freeze beautifully. We like the method of freezing on a cookie sheet; go through the berries and clean, lay them out on a cookie sheet (not touching, if possible) and throw the cookie sheet in the freezer. Portion into freezer packs or containers later: the berries stay more as individuals rather than freezing in one big lump. We always try to have some of our own raspberries with Christmas dinner - it takes us back to summer in the cold of December! Also in the baskets this week: saskatoons from our neighbours the Webers. They are growing chemical-free and the berries are luscious this year! They are open for U-pick and can do some custom pick; call them at 204-728-0664.

A little something special in the Full Shares this week: nasturtium blossoms. They are very good eating, a light, peppery taste. Take the flowers, swish gently in water, blot dry and then use clean scissors to cut the petals from the heads. A nice little pick of baby summer squashes for everybody, an assortment of Papaya Pear, Golden and Green Zucchini, and Romanesque. Great for sauteing with the Pac Choi!

So, in the Full Shares: broccoli, pac choi, red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, 3 lbs. baby Norland potatoes, bundle of onions, 2 lbs. snow peas, 4 pints raspberries, 3 pints saskatoons, assorted summer squash, nasturtium blossoms, Swiss chard and a bundle of beets.

In the Part Shares: pac choi, 2 lbs. baby Norland potatoes, bundle of onions, 1 lb. snow peas, 2 pints raspberries, 2 pints saskatoons, assorted summer squash,lettuce, Swiss chard and beets.

The Raspberries are On!

For last Tuesday's CSA, we picked raspberries and it was hard work. We were really a few days early; there was one ripe here, a couple two feet down........and so on. Today, the raspberries are ready. Loaded, red, ripe, branches drooping! We got busy and phoned some of the U-pick customers on our wait list and lined them up for the next few days. Then left a message for one of our customers wanting us to pick and we jumped on and started picking. Fast and easy picking compared to last Tuesday. And are they good! It was Boyne getting picked today: juicy, sweet but tart, and warmed by the sun as we were picking.

An Excellent Weekend for Farmers' Markets

Finally, it feels like summer here in Manitoba. Only took until the third week in July! The Friday Night Farmers' Market is developing nicely - it's got its' own regulars now, people we don't see at the other markets. And they are quite enthusiastic about fresh, local food. We're also getting some travellers; drop-ins who see the action from the road and pull in. There is certainly something to be said for a high profile location! Friday night was a bit windy - we took our tent down early, Mann Apiaries had to take theirs down when it started to levitate!

Saturday's Farmers' Market at Riverbank Discovery Centre was perfect! It was a gorgeous day, and the setting is sooooo delightful it just felt great. Variety is improving at all the markets - but vegetables have been slow to grow for everybody. We had a hit with our raspberries and some baby summer squash. Our cucumbers don't want to grow, so were we surprised when Farmer Boy took a stroll in the squash and found some gorgeous baby Papaya Pear, Romanesque and Golden Zucchini. Made some customers very happy!

CSA Day!

It's our first full-on CSA day today! Not the bounteous harvest we might hope for in the middle July, but good, fresh food for all our families. We'll be meeting some of the sponsored families from Samaritan House for the first time, we look forward to it! Special for today was the very first pick on our raspberries - only enough ready for the Full Shares, but next week there should be lots of everybody! Linda Boys made a great contribution for today - Linda has been growing organic veggies for Brandon's CSA for many years now, first with Menno and Evelyn Isaac, who brought CSA to Brandon. She brought the snow peas, gorgeous Deer's tongue lettuce and some of the nicest spinach we've seen in ages.

So, today's harvest for the FULL SHARES: 1 head of Deer's tongue lettuce, 1 large bag of Romaine, 1 small bag of spinach, 1 small bag of snow peas, 4 lbs of Norland baby potatoes, 1 bunch onions, 1 bunch baby beets, 1 pint raspberries.

Today's harvest for the PART SHARES: 1 head of Deer's tongue lettuce, 1 large bag of Romaine lettuce, 1 small bag of spinach, 2 lbs of Norland baby potatoes, 1 bunch of onions, 1 bunch of baby beets.

The baby beets will be delicious, as well as the greens. Many people don't realize that the greens, especially from young beets, are absolutely delicious steamed, boiled or sauteed. Farmers Boy likes his with a sprinkle of vinegar. They are good raw, torn up in salads, although not to every one's liking. The raspberries are absolutely divine! It's always so scrumptious to have that first pick of the season. Nothing like a fresh, sun-ripened berry; they are soooooo NOT like the hard, bland things often found at the supermarket. The baby potatoes are unwashed: they will keep better dirty, and should go in a cool, dark, dry place until they are used.

A new option for CSA this year: the Egg Club! The Girls are producing well enough that we can offer a dozen eggs weekly for CSA members with their pick-up. Members can choose to join The Club, or not; their choice. We can't say that the eggs are completely organic; certified organic feed is hard to find around here. We can definitely say The Girls are pastured, and are not fed any animal by-products, hormones or other medicines. And they seem pretty happy, although we can't say for sure that is reflected in the taste! We're working on making our own organic feed for both the chickens and the pigs; Farmer Boy is looking for sources for organic grains and is pursuing the purchase of his own grain masher or crusher.

Frank gets into the Raspberries!

For his first chore this morning Frank had to wade into the raspberries and continue to prune and dig out weeds. It's not a great way to start the day: the raspberries are quite prickly and they can 'sting' you on the arms and in the face. That's why it's an early morning job, when you can still wear long sleeves! He's doing an excellent job; with his help it may be the first time since we took over the family farm that all the raspberries may get pruned in one spring! It really helps with picking to have them pruned: easier to get in at the berries and less damage on the berries from other, old stems bashing the new fruit. And no, we didn't make Frank do it all day - there's many other things to do and we don't want him to get bored!

Pruning Raspberries...and We Meet Frank!

Cold, windy, nasty day - so a perfect day to prune raspberries!! We have about 2000 feet of raspberries for U-pick, as well as picking for Farmers' Markets and CSA. The picture isn't great but shows all the canes Farmer Boy has cut and then pulled out of the row. Good thing it was cold so we could wear long sleeves because those old canes are prickly! Still, we all got scratched up a bit between our gloves and sleeves and a little bit on our faces.

It was all okay though because Frank was helping!! We were sooooo excited to have Frank here. Frank wants to work for us!! We got connected to him through our acquaintance Blake at the Marquis Project who said Frank was an a great volunteer at the community garden. And Frank WANTS to work here. We always have a ton of trouble finding staff. Most kids want to stay clean and tidy at the mall; they don't want to come out to the farm and get dirty and work hard. Frank seems like an outstanding young gentleman; he's going to college in the fall, already has his mind set on a business after college, loves meeting people and loves learning knew things. He also just seems kind and warm and community-minded. We hope he stays to work the summer! Fingers crossed!!