Sign up for CSA by March 15 and receive 2014 price

Now's the time of year when we all look toward spring.  We're putting winter behind us and dream of warmth, sunshine, and summer harvests.  I've found that this is also the time of year when people start thinking about signing up for CSA shares.

2015 will mark our 10th season operating a CSA and I think we have a long list of reasons why to choose Lida Farm for 2015: 

• Certified Organic: Last year we certified to assure folks that we're "doing it right."  We invest in building soil to produce healthy crops without chemicals and GMOs, 
• Clean Energy : We power our farm with carbon-free wind and solar power.  Our Ventera wind turbine provides a majority of the farm's electrical needs and we recently installed solar thermal panels to heat our winter greenhouse. 
• Small-scale Family Farm:  We're pretty much the opposite of big ag.  All produce which you receive is grown, cultivated, washed, and packed by Ryan and Maree Pesch with some assistance from our friend and apprentice Kelsey Wulf.  Our three children make up the rest of the workforce, but their contributions are hit and miss. We're hoping for 50 shares in 2015.
• Delivered Shares: One feature many of our members enjoy is that their CSA box simply shows up on their doorstep.  We deliver every Friday directly to home or businesses in Pelican Rapids, Detroit Lakes, Vergas, Cormorant, and many lakes in between.  We have limited shares delivered to a dropsite in Fergus Falls on Tuesdays.  
• On-farm Experiences: The fall harvest party may be reason enough to join.  We also invite members to pick peas, beans, tomatoes, and a jack-o-lantern.  

We offer two kinds of CSA shares: a full/family share where you receive a 3/4 bushel box of what's in season every week for 16 weeks and an every-other-week share (8 deliveries over 16 weeks).  We also expect to do fall storage shares and some winter shares with details forthcoming. 

Full share (3/4 bushel box each week for 16 weeks):

• Pick up at farm - $435 (receive 2014 price if sign up by March 15)
• Delivered - $485 (receive 2014 price if sign up by March 15)

Every-other-week share (3/4 bushel box every other week): 

• Pick up at farm - $235 (receive 2014 price if sign up by March 15)
• Delivered - $265 (receive 2014 price if sign up by March 15)

*You will receive a 20% discount if using SNAP benefits to have your assistance go further.  

Sign up: Fill out this order form.  To confirm that you are in our delivery area or whether we have shares still available (especially if you're reading this in May or later), please contact Ryan or Maree at 218-342-2619 or lidafarmer@gmail.com.  

Haying Season

We've finally reached one of my favorite times of the year: haying season.  I was a long time coming because of the rain, which has been messing with everything this year.  This has caused the fields to become overgrown and unruly.  One thing I most appreciate about hay cutting is the feeling I get when all the bales are being driven to the barn loft for stacking.  Looking back over the field, everything look so clean; together with smell of the baled hay, and you really have a rich feast for the senses.  .  I liken it to vacuuming your house or even getting your hair cut.  For just a little while, all is in order and you can sit back and appreciate.

Sylvia's photo of front hayfield

We actually have a lot going on in the fields and pastures this year.  In our front hayfield we currently have 5 pigs who will be assisting us in working up the field.  If there's one thing hogs like to do, it's rutting in the ground.  Since we're running out of space for produce, we need to utilize that field, which probably hasn't seen anything other than bromegrass for about 20 years. I'll first chisel plow the field and later we'll let the pigs loose on it!  Nice thing is that they fertilize while they work.  Starting this spring we now have a family milk cow in the back pasture plus a calf - exciting because bovines are new to us.  Throw in the bees behind the barn and our small flock of sheep, there's a whole lot of life going on out there!  Like the pigs working up the front field, the key to all these animals on a vegetable farm is that they integrate well into the operation to support the fertility of the fields so plants are healthy, and, in turn, the crops feed the animals.  It's a beautiful thing.

In the box:
Basil: Please don't refrigerate unless you like black basil.  There are two schools of thought to keep basil.    One, treat it like a flower; cut the end and put in a shallow vase.  Two, wrap in a damp paper towel and    keep in an open plastic bag to retain moisture.
French Breakfast Radishes
Snap Peas: These are edible pod peas, so don't shell them, just eat them
Strawberries: These aren't the prettiest of berries, but I think the flavor's there.
Dino Kale: A nice dark green kale...my favorite which Mar will make into kale chips - great.  See recipe  below from Simply in Season
Zucchini Summer Squash
Green Onions
Green Leaf Lettuce
Kohlrabi: Funny looking bulb.  Many simply peel, slice, and eat raw...can be added to salads like a radish.

Savory Kale 

(page 203 for those with cookbook)

1 onion, thinly sliced: In a large frypan saute in 1-2 T olive oil over medium heat until brown and crisp, not just soft.  Remove to a serving dish. 

1 bunch of fresh kale or swiss chard: Stack leaves, roll together and slice about 1/4 inch thick.  Saute in frypan for 1 minute. 

Several tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon salt to taste: Add, cover, reduce heat and steam until tender.  Add water as needed.  Kale cooks in 10-15 minutes; swiss chard cooks a bit faster.  When greens are tender, drain in colander.  Return onions to pan and heat to sizzling. 

1 T tomato paste: Add and stir.  When this mixture is hot, return the greens to the pan.  Mix, heat through, and serve.  

Starting a new CSA season

I've been blogging about our farm since 2006 and today marks the beginning of my weekly blogging for 2014.  I'm really off and on during the off-season, but, since this is the first week of the CSA, I consistently write about farm issues and provide news from Lida Farm every week as well as provide information about what's in the CSA box with a recipe. 

Like a teacher looking at the new school year, I'm always a bit apprehensive about a new growing season.  Will first box be ready in time?  How do the veggies look?  Will insect pressure overwhelm us?  How about weeds? Weather?  Stress?  Kids?  Oh, boy, no matter what's thrown at us, the season is started and there's no turning back for the next four months.  

Putting together the box for today, however, a lot of those beginning of season fears fall away as the lettuce looks really good as we're harvesting, there's more broccoli than I thought, and, yes, we actually got a cultivation in with the tractor before this weekend's rain.  A sign which gave me even greater comfort was the garter snake which surprised me this morning near the lettuce patch.  Like any reptile or amphibian, the snake is a sign of good health and I appreciate their presence even though I'm deathly afraid of them.  It was almost as if he made his appearance today to welcome us to a new season.  

In the Box: 

Green leaf lettuce 

Bok Choi (small stalk with round, green leaves)

Green onions aka scallions

Swiss Chard (bunch of greens with colorful stems)

Mizuna (bunch of light greens with jagged edges )or Tatsoi (dark green bunch of greens with round leaves):      These are both Asian green which are great to add to a stir-fry right at the end or simply saute a bit and        top eggs

Broccoli 

Arugula (bunch of greens with elongated oak-like leaves): I like these in pasta or raw in a Italian-style salad with olive oil, balsamic, and parmesan cheese...you can also make an arugula pesto.

Parsley

Recipe of the Week:

Arugula Pesto from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

2 cups arugula

1 clove garlic crushed

2 T. walnuts or pine nuts, lightly toasted in a dry skillet

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

3/4 cup olive oil, more or less

Place arugula in a food processor or blender with the garlic, nuts, salt and about a 1/4 t. pepper.  Add 1/4 cup olive oil and pulse a few times.  With the motor running, add additional olive oil to make a creamy sauce.  Use within a day.

We like to add cheese and use it as a substitute for traditional basil pesto with pasta. You can also throw in some of the parsley to make the arugula taste more mild.  Bittman suggests using the pesto on grilled chicken or shrimp.

Working between the Rains

The veggies are growing, although not at the rapid clip one would expect this time of year.  We were able to cultivate once with the tractor so far just before a rain about ten days ago - that first rain was much appreciated but it doesn't seem to want to stop.  Rain keeps out of the fields and we just stand by and watch weeds grow.  

Mulched High Tunnel Planted to Tomatoes

Still, we are making headway.  Last weekend's heavy rains gave us a nice opportunity to really dive into work in the high tunnel where all our cherry and some specialty tomatoes are planted.  We hoed, weeded, trellised, and mulched all eight rows and things look great.  It's now just a matter of giving them some time, and, in that environment which plants love (they are kind of like couch potatoes in the high tunnel), they will get as tall as me and just pump out tons of perfect tomatoes. I really can't wait.   

A Change of Weather

It a wonder what a change in the weather brings.  The difference between this week and last week is remarkable. Last week we had 100+ heat index and a couple days ago I swear I woke up in October!  Canada sending us some cool temps is a nice change, but I'm surprised on how much it effects the growth of produce.

The beans are one example.  Last week I was looking at our second planting and saying to myself, "That planting will be readily easily by next week" as flowers were turning to small beans.  But when Maree and I went out last night to pick beans for the box, the crop was just not there since their growth slowed in the cool temps, so we ended up scouring our first planting of beans for this week.  On the other hand, the slowdown was really nice for cool-loving crops.  We have a third variety of broccoli called Imperial which has been putting on heads and this weather allows them to mature more slowly so you get a better formed head with nice tight kernals.  This is unlike our second variety of broccoli which went form little buds to loose heads in about 2 days of really hot humid weather.

This change in the weather is just a small example of how vegetable farming and CSA is particular is tough beast to plan for.  We have a lot of well-laid plans in the spring, but generally you have to roll with the punches.  Our trick is to raise a crazy variety of things, which, in the end, save us from bringing you a mostly-empty box one week.  Something is bound to come in well no matter the weather.

In the box:
Radishes: Most got French Breakfast variety (look like long fishing bobbers).  Not unlike the French, Mar and I like these things cooked.  Check out this recipe: http://www.tastespotting.com/features/braised-radishes-recipe
Norland Potatoes
Fennel: I always feel like I'm challenging people on this one.  I can just see people say, "What do I do with that?"  Well, below we have a recipe which is really good.  Still, you'll also see fresh fennel listed in salads and soups.
Fresh Thyme
Green Beans
Beets
A mix of tomatoes: Hey, first of the season, so there aren't a lot of any single variety.  So there's a smattering of different kinds.
Sweet onions

Greek Fennel Skillet

from Simply in Season

Serve plain as a side dish or over pasta.  Can also be served over Italian bread that has been brushed with olive oil and toasted.
2 cloves garlic (minced)
In a medium frypan saute in 2 T. olive oil for a minute.

2 fennel bulbs (sliced thin)
1 large onion (sliced)
Add and saute until tender, 5-10 minutes.

1 T. lemon juice
3 medium tomatoes (chopped)
Add and cook over medium heat until part of the liquid evaporates, 10 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.

1 1/2 cups feta cheese or mozzarella cheese (shredded)
1/2 cup black olives (optional)
Stir in.

When it rains...it doesn't rain that much

There is an old saying that goes something like "When it rains, it pours."  Well, not lately.  When it rains, it sputters is probably a more accurate statement.  As you can imagine, I'm always checking into the NOAA weather website.  When I see anything above a 40% chance of rain, I get all giddy; visions of a tropical downpour fill my mind...I get all excited because I'm getting tired of moving irrigation around.  So, when it comes, it's one big disappointment.  I really am thankful for anything at this point, but my mind builds up every possible rain event to be something it isn't.

I know a couple years time is far from a trend, but I'm terribly worried that the weather pattern of the last two years is our new normal.  Sometime in July the spigot gets turned off followed by weeks of dry heat.  Tomatoes ripen up nice in this, which is a plus, but, if this year tracks last year, the big issue is not having enough moisture in the ground before freeze up.  Typically ground moisture works the ground through freezing, but last year the same big dirt chunk in the fall was just as hard in the spring.

In the box:
Pontiac Potatoes
Napa Cabbage: The big green cabbage.  You can use much the same as you would a traditional green cabbage in a slaw or something, but it's ideal in a stirfry.
Rutabaga: Yes, I know you may have gotten one of these big monsters last week too, but I assure you this will last in your crisper til January.
A mix of Peppers: if you still have a bunch sitting around from previous weeks, you can easily preserve peppers by cutting into strips and freezing in a freezer bag (no need to blanch or anything).
Tomatoes: The end of the line on these guys.
Eggplant
Small Beet Bunch
Parsley
Eggplant
Butternut Squash: The big tan one.  You can bake as you would any winter squash like buttercup: cut in half, scoop out the guts, and bake flesh-side up on a cookie sheet with a little water in the pan. Store all winter squash in a dry, sunny place.  Butternut keeps under these conditions for months, so no hurry (the flavor actually improves with time).  You may try this recipe below for a glazed/caramelized squash recipe.
Delicata Squash: The little stripy ones.  These are also called "sweet potato squash."  The shell is thinner than a lot of winter squash, so you shouldn't put in a water bath like butternut, but bake dry instead.

Caramelized Butternut Squash from food.com 

Ingredients

• 2 medium butternut squash ( 4 to 5 pounds total)
• 6 -8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2-1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Cut off the ends of each butternut squash and discard.
3. Peel the squash and cut in half lengthwise.
4. Using a spoon, remove the seeds.
5. Cut the squash into 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" cubes (large and uniform is best), and place them on a baking sheet.
6. Add the melted butter, brown sugar, salt and pepper.
7. With clean hands, toss all of the ingredients together and spread out in a single layer on the baking sheet.
8. Roast for 45 minutes to 55 minutes, until the squash is tender and the glaze begins to caramelize.
9. Turn the squash while roasting a few times with a spatula to be sure it browns evenly.
10. Adjust seasonings if needed.
11. Serve hot.
12. Enjoy!

Dealing with Bad Weather on the Farm

I swear I spend half of my time complaining about weather on this website, but this week I have good reason. 

Monday night we got some serious hail.  Typically we experience 30-45 seconds of hail when the weather front first comes through, but this time it just kept coming down for a good ten minutes.  You’ll see evidence of this on the produce like white blotches on the peas where they took a hailstone or greens with healed over holes. 

Some of the best advice I got from my mentor on whose farm I apprenticed was “if you get hail, don’t even look at the plants for a couple days.”  Even though hail inflicts a lot of damage, it’s amazing how quickly the plants recover. 

Now, today, I’m sitting in our kitchen writing this because our power’s out after a major streak of lightening tried hitting our house while a rain poured on my head out picking peas.  I can’t even fill the tanks to harvest and wash produce.  But desperate times call for desperate measures, so I fired up the PTO generator just to make some coffee. 

In the box:

• Snap peas: fatter peas, which are edible pod, so don’t try shelling.  You'll see these white marks where hail hit, but I've been eating a bunch in the field and I think they are fine.
• Snow peas: the flat ones
• Kohlrabi: see recipe below
• Red Sails red leaf lettuce: the leafy red green
• Radicchio: the small round red green.  It is often mixed into a mix of other greens in a salad.  It's got a pretty strong nutty, bitter flavor, so it's not for everybody.  
• Small Romaine lettuce
• Broccoli
• Green cabbage
• Basil
• Cilantro
• A couple sweet onions (Alisa Craig variety)
• First cucumber of the year

Honey-Mustard Kohlrabi from St. Paul Farmers Market Cookbook

2 cups kohlrabi, peeled and sliced

2 T olive oil

2 T honey

1-2 T Dijon mustard

Steam kohlrabi until tender, about 10 minutes.  In a bowl, mix together oil, honey, and mustard.  Taste and adjust for flavor.  Toss with cooked kohlrabi.  Makes 4 servings. 

Why Raise Livestock on a Produce Farm?

We mainly raise vegetables, but we have been expanding livestock on the farm.  For the past four years, we have raised broilers (chickens for eating, not laying) along with laying hens and a flock of sheep; last year we even tried our hand at a few pigs.

Why?  Meat is tasty and allows us something else to offer CSA members and other customers, but one really big reason is manure.  Veggies need a lot of fertility, and, when raising produce organically without high-powered manufactured fertilizers, you almost have to have livestock manure.

We keep experimenting with ways to create good compost out of manure.  One thing we have been trying is doing a slow composting method where we let the manure pack break down under a roof and out of the rain for 6 months + which keeps more nitrogen in the compost instead of leaching out in the elements.  

Tools of the trade - a manure fork and a grain shovel

Last week I shoveled out the chicken shed in preparation for this year's batch of 200 broilers.  We let last year's chicken litter break down since last August and we'll spread in a windrow in a shady spot on our hill to break down some more for fall spreading on the fields.    

Filling up the manure spreader

The finished product - half-complete compost

Shed ready for new birds!

A few CSA shares available for 2012 season

Our first CSA delivery of fresh in-season produce will be coming up in a few weeks.  We're a small operation which is totally family run.  Maree and I both the owner/operators and the entire workforce of Lida Farm (plus three kids under the age of 7, but they are not great contributors yet).  Last year I harvested for and assembled about 30 shares each Friday.  We currently stand at about 27 shares, so it's not too late to sign up.

Our season runs for 16 weeks (Mid-June through Mid-October) and we also do every-other-week shares for couples or families which just want to try out a CSA.  The cost is $450 for a full share delivered directly to your home or $250 for every other week.  We also give a $50 discount if you pick up at the farm yourself (at $400/season, this is $25/week).  Besides the produce we will also be hosting a few events on-farm for the 2012 season for our members.  Check out details under "Join our CSA" on this website or get a hold of us at lidafarmer@gmail.com or 218-342-2619.

CSA box from June, 2011

Lida Farm on TV

I spent a good portion of today getting pretty wet and cold.  I was bedding down young chickens in a leaky coop in the pasture, securing a greenhouse in some high winds, and seeding in our greenhouse kept cool so as not to burn too much propane in a spring storm.  To warm everybody up a bit, I thought I'd share this video Lakes Country Living TV program did on us last summer.  It was hot out and produce was peak season.  Try not to pay too close attention to that sea of foxtail in the onion patch!

Looking for a Few Good CSA Members

Well, even though I try to hibernate as much of winter as possible, the stirrings of spring have begun to pull my mind towards the 2012 CSA season.  For those of you who were members of Lida Farm CSA last year, you should have received a brochure and order form to join for this year by mail.  For those of you just perusing the web for a CSA, we serve the lakes district between Pelican Rapids and Detroit Lakes and would welcome your membership in the 2012 season.  Please check out our 2012 CSA Brochure for details.

If you know of others who may be interested in joining a CSA in the area, please feel free to forward the link and materials to them.  We will be adding a few more shares this year, so are looking for new recruits.

Bugs for 2011

Every year we generally see the same kinds of bugs, however, every year brings new variations and the 2011 season is no different.

The big change this season that I have never seen before is grubworms in the potatoes.  Yes, the same ugly white grubs that you may find in your sod when you tear up your lawn.  A potato or two may have gotten past me and into your box where a crater is eaten into the side...that's the grub's signature handiwork.  My neighbor of 70-plus years has never seen this, so it makes me wonder what's going on.  Is it just the hot soil temps which cause them to thrive?

The potato bugs are worse than usual, but cucumber beetles are just not to be seen.  This is a situation I can live with since the cucumber beetles are very tough on a large family of produce from melons to winter squash.  Slugs, on the other hand, have been taking their toll.  It's strange though, since this is the first year I've ever seen them.  They messed with the strawberry crop a bit and I see them in the tomatoes too, but nothing we can't manage.  I hope it stays that way.

News: We'll be hosting a work day for members this Sunday afternoon (anytime between 1-4 - weather permitting).  This is by no means mandatory, but a chance to visit the farm and get your hands dirty.  Come if you can.
 
In the Box:
Purple pepper: always the first pepper for some reason.
Sweet corn: not a dozen yet, but it was typical "hunt and peck" exercise when a crop first comes in.  I always think there's more there than there actually is.
Cherry tomatoes: most are an orange variety I really like called "sungold," but there are also some Isis ans traditional red cherry tomatoes in the mix too.
Cilantro
Parsley
Cucumbers
Yukon potatoes
Red onions

Lurching into High Season

This is always a gear-changing time of the produce season.  We're really done with the early season stuff, but the high season crops like tomatoes, melons, and sweet corn haven't come in yet.  That's why this week's produce box is a bit tough to fill.  I found myself scrounging around for the last of the broccoli and when I went out to pull in the Japanese eggplant, I only found 10 on the plants...bummer.

Still, it's also an good housecleaning moment on the farm.  I'm going to take out the flail mower this weekend and mow all those areas where the early crops grew.  The stawberry patch looks like a small jungle and the spinach area is a solid mass of pigweed...things are ugly and need to go.  They also allow us the room to squeeze in some fall crops like fall cabbage and broccoli.  Also another set of greens and spinach and a big area for fall carrots (I've been talking about planting this for the last 2 weeks, but, like raising the debt ceiling, I NEED to get it done) :)

In the box:
Sweet Onions
Grenoble Green beans
Fresh basil
Red Potatoes
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Red Kale or Swiss Chard
Broccoli
Cilantro

Garden Explosion

Wow...the weather over the last couple of weeks has been crazy.  I remember saying to myself about three weeks ago, "Hey, things are looking pretty good and the weeds are pretty much under control."  But that was before we hit this stretch of heat, rain, and evening temperatures in the 80's.  This cocktail of elements made for a garden explosion where small weeds turned into small trees and produce popped up over night.

This sounds like I good thing.  I would agree it's great for those heat-loving plants like melons, tomatoes, and corn.  However, it does throw off the plan for the season.  I've had the second planting of beans I put in three weeks after the first catch up and start putting on beans at the same time.  That wasn't supposed to happen.  We had our second planting of lettuce go from beautiful to all bitter and bolting over the course of three days.  Lastly, I'm used to spacing out pickings of zucchini and cucumbers every 3-4 days, but when I tried this last week, little zucchini turned into baseball bats in about 36 hours.  Yikes.

Still lots to do.  We're trying to get the tomato trellis up, get fall cole crops, carrots, and other greens planted, all the while rescuing plants that currently buried under 2 foot-high pigweed or lamb's quarters.  Overwhelming, yes, but a situation we've found ourselves in the past.  We always seem to pull out of it.

In the box:
Fennel: The bulb with the frilly frawns on top which smells like licorice.
Dill: Exhibit one of a crop which got overwhelmed by the fast growing weeds.  It isn't as pretty as it should be, but it should work.  I planned it to be delivered with the first potatoes.
Flat-leaf parsley
Norland Potatoes: I like this fresh potatoes, which you can tell are fresh by their tender skins which rubs off easily.
Broccoli
Cabbage: Mostly standard green Stonehead, but some of you received Alcosa, a wrinkly Savoy cabbage variety.
Green Onions
Fresh Garlic: Uncured garlic which is a bit stronger than cured garlic, but also with a fresh, bright flavor.  Use as you would any garlic.
Cukes
Summer Squash
Green Beans

Hot, Hot, Hot

This morning I was out picking peas as a front came in.  The bright sunny morning turned into night-time just before the clouds unloaded on me.  It made me think about how much we're "locked in" this time of year...all year 'round really.  Although picking peas in the rain isn't ideal...the boxes need to go out by the afternoon no matter what.  Looking to next week, it seems like we're in for a hot one.  NOAA weather even has this new picture I've never seen before of this blazing sun (left). It'll be interesting.

In the box:
Deep Purple Scallions: A different color from your typical green onions, but the same flavor.
Gonzales Green Cabbage
A mix of Cucumbers: They are first starting to come in, so there's a motley mix.  Some are squat pickling cucumbers, some are the first regular slicing cucumbers, and the smooth-skinned ones are a Middle-Eastern variety called Socrates.
Zucchini: Everyone has a standard zuke called Cashflow, and most should also have a round zuke called 8-Ball.  Otherwise you got a yellow straightneck.
Salad Mix: Sorry for the over abundance of lettuce, but this stuff needed to be cut or it would all go bad.
Red Oakleaf Lettuce
Romaine Lettuce
Frisee: The really frilly green which is typically found in a salad mix.
Snap Peas: These are edible pods peas, so don't shell them...just eat them.
Red Rubin Basil: Use the same as you would regular green basil.
"Green" Garlic: This is fresh garlic so it's not dried down or cured yet.  You use the same way as any garlic....it's just a bit stronger flavor.

Disaster Strikes Again!

July 4th typically brings some fanfare...fireworks, that kind of stuff. This year I thought I would just get an interesting show of lightning as I
watched the bolts scrawl across the night sky on my driveway. But when I was sleepily moping my way down to feed the chickens just like I do every morning, I had a quite a surprise when I looked past the barn to our high tunnel all torn apart by high winds. This was soon followed by me kicking a couple feed buckets and words I won't repeat here.

Although not the best development of the season, after I cool down, I always find the positive side.
1. The frame of the high tunnel didn't get blown away or damaged.
2. No hail. Maree and I thought hail would be a real possibility when the front hit.
3. Generally the crops are looking good this year-that's what matters. Even the plants in the high tunnel weren't damaged.

I fully expect I can repair the plastic with greenhouse tape, a strong and clear tape used in situations just like these.

Otherwise the rest of the week was fairly normal. I did spend last night haying our few fields with my neighbors even though I really should have rather been picking peas for the box.  But when bales need to come in, they need to come in.  It's all ok with me, regardless, since it's a job I always love doing.  It's one of the toughest jobs on a farm physically, but a person just feels good getting the bales stacked in the barn and nice and dry.  A person also sleeps really well too.  I told my neighbor Marv that I think anybody who currently needs sleeping pills for a good night's rest find some baling party they could help out with.

In the box:
Mammoth Melting Snow Peas
Strawberries
Basil
Arugula: The ones that look like little oak leaves.
Packman Broccoli
Napa Cabbage aka Chinese Cabbage: I thought I'd throw in a recipe video (below)...you really can't go wrong with this by sauteing it.  I like a basic recipe which is only cabbage, sugar, rice vinegar, and cayenne or red pepper flakes.
Green Onions
Red Sails Lettuce
Green Lettuce
Kohlrabi
Zucchini: Hey, first of the year.
Braising Mix (colorful bunch of greens): Some last week, but this stuff is "ready" and wouldn't last another week.

Chinese/Napa Cabbage Video Recipe:

Start of the Produce Season

I was thinking out in the field this morning that today I'm kind of like a baseball player on the first day of spring training.  I'm excited to start another produce season, but, after a winter without the constant game schedule,  I find I'm a bit out of shape and just not into the swing of it.  I remember harvesting, washing, and packing spinach much quicker than I was able to today.  The hands just didn't work as quickly as before.  Oh well, after 7 CSA seasons, I don't panic since I know that it's a matter of adjustment and the season will get into full swing.

The produce is much the same way.  Since it's out of practice, the ground can only produce funky cool-season greens this time of year (Mizuna, anyone?).  This makes for the kind of CSA box which could really freak somebody out.  But, I assure you, the garden will get into the swing of the season too and start kicking out a whole mix of veggies without effort.  I know this is true because I've seen the signs of summer out on the farm like the first strawberries and blossoms on squash.  A rock-solid season may take some cooperation from the weather, but I'm optimistic.

In the box:
Mizuna - A Japanese green which looks like a bunch of Dandelions.  This is commonly used in a salad mix with lettuce or in a stir fry at the end (see recipe)
Bok Choy - a few received a purple bok choy
French Breakfast Radishes
Spinach
Bunch of Red Russian or Lacinato Kale - You have Lacinato or Dino kale if the leaves of your bunch are dark green.  You have Red Russian kale if your bunch is purple and the leaves are big and jaded.
Mint - small bunch of 4-6 sprigs.  I got into Mojitos this year using fresh mint.  Give it a whirl.
Strawberries (some members) - sorry, I know it's completely unfair, but we had just a small portion of the strawberry patch ripening, so I had to "play god" with who did and who did not get a pint.

Bok Choy and Mizuna stir fry 
Ryan's version based on a recipe from Epicurious 
1 bunch mizuna
1-2 bok choy, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 T soy sauce
2 t sesame
2 t peanut oil
1 t rice vinegar

Mix the sauce (2 T soy sauce, 1 t rice vinegar, 2 t sesame oil) and set aside.  Add 2 t peanut oil to pan over medium high heat.  Add the bok choy stalks and saute until crisp tender.  Add bok choy leaves and garlic and saute a minute before adding the sauce.  Once the bok choy leaves start to wilt, add the mizuna for 1-2 minutes.  You can serve over rice or rice noodles.  I broiled some teriyaki-merinated pork which I tossed in at the end.

Consider joining Lida Farm CSA

Looking for fresh produce delivered to your door throughout the upcoming growing season? Well become a member of Lida Farm's CSA program.

If CSA is new to you, check out this neat video a couple members from a different CSA in the cities made last year, explaining CSA and what to expect:

We offer an every week CSA share for between $400-$450, where you will receive a delivery of what's in season each week for 16 weeks. We also offer an "every-other-week" CSA share for $200-250. We deliver to Pelican Rapids, Detroit Lakes, Vergas, and a lot of the lakes in between. Besides the produce we also will be raising whole chickens again this year for $2.85/lb. You have the option of reserving how every many you'd like.

This will be our 9th season operating a CSA in Otter Tail County, so we like to think we know what we're doing at this point. All our crops are grown without any synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. We have a number of new crops we're planning as well as a new high tunnel going up this spring to help us get some peppers and tomatoes to you earlier in the season. We concentrate on the staples like lettuce, tomatoes, and sweet corn, but we also make sure to mix it up with some interesting crops too.

So, if you are interested in becoming a member of Lida Farm, please get in contact with us. Our e-mail is lidafarmer@gmail.com and our phone is 218-342-2619. Call with questions...you won't be bugging us. Our brochure about our CSA program and the order form are linked below. But please make sure we are not filled up for the season and you're in our delivery area before sending in the order form.

Click here for our brochure

Click here for the 2013 order form

The People Behind the Farm Series: Jane

Although I am pretty much the chief cook and bottle-washer around here, there are many others that play a significant part at Lida Farm that you may not be visible to you. I'm going take some time over the next few weeks to feature each, so you get to know "The People Behind the Farm."

Our first snapshot is of Jane Solie, our volunteer "apprentice" of the season. Jane has a real interest in sustainable agriculture and came to us this early summer requesting to help out to learn the craft of vegetable production. Jane has been living in Montana the last few years, but is from Detroit Lakes and is in the area for the season. Jane helps us with general production on the farm, aka "weeding" and helps each Friday harvesting, packing boxes, and some deliveries. She will be working on an 0rganic dairy goat farm this fall and winter-in Hawaii of all places! Sounds good to me.

It's very common for CSA operations like our own to take on apprentices each season. This is how I learned the ropes and it's also how current growers are training the next generation. I know that without Jane it would be much harder for us to produce a quality box each week.

In the box:

A smattering of bi-color corn

Summer Squash

Alisa Craig Sweet Onions

Garlic

A Couple Green Peppers

Bok Choi

Parsley

Basil

Cherry Tomato Mix

Yellow Taxi Tomatoes

Alcosa Cabbage

Specialty Red Japanese Radish

Hail!

Seems like every year I write at least one "disaster" entry. For this season, our biggest disaster came Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. We had hail, serious rain, and a massive wind. Yes, this definately affects the plants, but, on the good side, this came at a pretty good time (if there is one). This is the time of year when tomatoes are not only small and green, but also hidden under a lot of foliage, so it will leave some pitting, but won't leave bid open sores on the fruit. If tomatoes were orange, ripening to red, it would be terrible.

Not that there's no issue with hail.

You will probably notice some holes in the Napa cabbage leaves and maybe some dents. The chicks in the new lean-to also got a bit wet through the whole ordeal too, so I had to carry a few under the heat lamps to get them going again.

FYI: Member workday this Sunday at 2 pm at the farm. This isn't anything mandatory, but if you'd like to get your hands dirty a bit, see the farm, and pull some weeds, please come. I promise to find something for you to do. We'll probably go til 4 or 5, so come for what you can.

In the box:

Napa cabbage

Cauliflower (not the best...it's a bit purple from the heat and sun, otherwise just fine).

Cukes

Summer Squash (the yellow variety called Sunburst and you'd use the same way as Zucchini)

Fennel

Green Beans

Green kale

Bunch of Carrots

Greek Fennel Skillet

(from Simply in Season)

2 cloves garlic (crushed or minced)

In a medium skillet saute in 2T olive oil for 1 minute

2 medium fennel bulbs (the white part of the fennel plant)

1 large onion

Add and saute until tender, 5-10 minutes

1 T lemon juice

3 medium tomatoes (chopped)

Add and cook over medium heat until part of the liquid evaporates, 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

1 1/2 cups feta cheese (crumbled) or mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup black olives (optional)

Stir in.

Mar and I gave this a try last season and really liked it. We served over crusty Italian bread, although it would work over pasta too.