The farm in in full swing. We are finally caught up on all of our summer plantings and we have a couple week break before we will begin transplanting some of our fall brassicas. We seeded our first succession of Fall carrots before what we thought was going to be rain on Saturday night. Another 3/10 inch of rain fell which was just enough to wet the surface of the ground but not provide anything substantial or satisfactory to the plants or new seedings. Farmer Adam continues to irrigate day after day keeping everything in a rotation now which is a time consuming and a laborious effort
On these long, warm, sunny days on the farm we are enjoying the full length of a summer day. The heat has felt enjoyable thus far although I may feel differently by the end of this week. We’re drinking bottle after bottle of water and I notice sweat on the brows of the crew as we work now even when movement is minimal.
In our second full week of June your farmers have been having a hard time thinking of much else other than the very, very concerning drought conditions we are experiencing. We are in a moderate drought zone here in Southwest Wisconsin.
The Small Family Farm is beginning its 18th growing season as a CSA farm and we’re so thrilled to begin sharing with you the bounty from yet another fruitful growing season on the farm! An impressive 70% of you are returning CSA members who have been with us for several years returning to the table like faithful family members who journey together through another unpredictable Midwest growing season on our little small family farm!
We’re feeling the shift on the farm this week from the summer weather to the cool, fall weather. The crew is coming to work with their long johns, stocking caps and layers of warm clothing. We are excited to be harvesting some of our favorite fall crops these next couple weeks.
September Twenty-First As we officially approach Fall on the farm with the weather transitioning from warm to cool this week I am reminded that we are in a time of transition. Back to school season, tomato sauce canning season, apple-picking and cider pressing season and craving-for-pumpkin-bars season. The colorful harvest, these stunningly beautiful, misty, shadowy […]
September Fourteenth This week on the farm we are feeling the transition into Fall. The cool, misty mornings turn into sunny, warm afternoons and then the temperature drops again into cool, dark, sleepy evenings. I’m dreaming of pumpkin bars, apple cider and tomato soup with fresh baked bread. The darkness in the evenings, the sound […]
September Seventh On Week 15 out of 20 Summer Share deliveries, your farmers are aware of their bodies. It is interesting to watch how a farm-worker’s body changes throughout the season. When a season is young and new our bodies are rested and seem to contain a storage reservoir of energy and agility that will […]
August Twenty-Fourth I would like to take a moment to speak of gratitude. A subject I like to touch on throughout the season from time to time. I am reminded of it at meal times when my family sits together around the table and we allow a moment for us each to recall something that […]
August Seventeenth A magical evening was had by all at the Summer Evening Farm Dinner this last Saturday night! We were so excited for this event that celebrates local, seasonal, and organic food on a Community Supported Agriculture farm! We had over 60 guests on Saturday night dining with their farmers and getting to know […]
August Tenth This week on the farm we finished up our onion and garlic harvest which are always two large harvests that take a lot of time and labor. It feels very good to have the onions all tucked away into the greenhouse curing and laid out to dry safe from the heavy rains, drizzle […]
August Third I want to take a minute to celebrate you! The home cook! I want to celebrate your daily practice of preparing nourishing food for your families using fresh, local, organic vegetables. Your decision to source your vegetables from an organic vegetable CSA farm is applaudable and has far-reaching effects that go beyond your […]
July Twenty-Seventh I felt a slight shift on the farm this week when I heard the cicadas sing for the first time. Their whining, buzzing sound that only comes on the hottest of summer days to begin with. I am also noticing more monarch butterflies and flys! The cool nights and the shadowy evenings reminded […]
July Twentieth High Summer on the farm feels hot and muggy. We received a perfect rain last Friday with exactly one inch that fell in the morning. We were planning on getting some weeding done that morning, but were happy to find a little inside work to stay out of the lightning and thunder and […]
July Thirteenth In these full summer days of endless to-do lists with the demands of the farm getting heavier and stronger, our bodies begin to feel like they’re moving with less briskness and pep. All the stored energy from a winter’s rest feel like it was used up already somehow. The broccoli, zucchini and now […]
July Sixth CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. One of the foundational concepts of CSA farming is how farmers and community members share the risks and the bounty of farming with the community. We share the bounty when the harvest is plentiful and the crops are abundant. We also share the hardships when there is […]
June Twenty-Nineth This week I feel especially appreciative for our farm helpers. We have had a difficult time finding helpers to help on the farm this year. But this week we had an expanded crew of people from the community show up to help get the work done in tandem which relieved pressure on your […]
Week 4 June Twenty-Second This week on the farm has been hot! A breezy hot so far. A humid hot. A hot that makes it feel like Summer. As Summer is officially here now, she is making her presence known with the 90 degree temps! As long as there is a breeze, we can usually […]
June Thirteenth I’m reading a book, or listening to a book while I work, right now by Robin Wall Kimmerer called Braiding Sweetgrass that seems to have come into my life at an appropriate time. Robin is a Native American woman who is a biologist, writer, teacher and mother. There are many profound lessons in […]
June Eighth The second week of CSA harvest and field work is going smoothly. We received about 1 inch of rain over the course of the weekend which was a blessing on the newly transplanted sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants. The farm activities are heavy on transplanting this time of year. Our goal is […]
