For more information about this week's share, click HERE.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
An August 23rd share.
For more information about this week's share, click HERE.
And here's a photo of the carrots sent in by one of our CSA members:
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Rest in peace Moonbeam.
This past Thursday we lost one of our hens: mean ole' Moonbeam. True to her character, she didn't go down without a fight; she hung in for about a week battling a condition that caused fluid to pool up in her abdomen. Moonbeam earned her name for being the sweetest little chick we'd ever met. Then somewhere along the way, as she grew up, she developed a bad streak that lent her a depth of character any chicken would envy. (In the photo below, Moonbeam is the chick on the far left, no stripe.)
This sad loss offers us a reminder of the extent to which hens are givers: they pour so much life and energy into making eggs, nearly one a day, which they must then labor to pass. With so much of themselves going into their eggs and out into the world, they are truly generous creatures. Moonbeam, too, was such a saint--albeit with a rough edge all around. Her quirks, her pecks to the back of our calves, and her unique personality will live on in our memory.
We'll miss you Moonbeam! The coop just won't be the same without you.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Hens eating fresh pasture.
On February 15th of this year we sowed vetch and rye grass seed in the vacant of our two 'hen zones'. That was followed by a sowing of perennial rye on March 10th. Last week we finally introduced the hens to that area, now a verdant jungle with blades of grass as tall as they are. They've been loving the change of scenery!
A May 13th share.
From left to right: ruby streaks mustards, easter egg radish, red round turnip, habitat's hens' eggs, sunday mix, oregano sprigs, and assorted thyme.
We think it was the quick snap into summer about a week ago that has caused most of our broccoli family crops to send up flower stalks (called "bolting"). That's why we decided to pull the Red Round Turnips and include their greens in this week's shares, even though the roots were too small to use yet. The resulting vegetable is like a gourmet treat: a whole plant, comprised of tender leaves with the occasional floret. The red of the roots shows in the bright pink stems. Enjoy!
For more information about this week's share, and to find out what 'sunday mix' is, click HERE.
Monday, May 7, 2012
May 6th harvest.
A portion of yesterday's harvest: endive, carrots, mustards, bunching onion, thymus oregano, radishes. Not shown: eggs (in the fridge) and braising mix (in cotton bags). Find more details about the full basket HERE.
A brief tour of Habitat Farm, spring 2012.
We left 8ft. each of upland cress and arugula to go to flower, to attract beneficial insects. The yellow cress flowers and white arugula flowers are not only doing good; they make us feel good!
We recently completed a long-planned project to expand our rainwater harvesting capacity by adding additional barrels. We've had five more barrels for some time; we just added spigots to each and found them homes in reach of our disconnected downspouts. Now, as of the past month or two, we've expanded our rainwater storage capacity from just 60 gallons to 360 gallons. Here are two of the barrels next to some logs inoculated with shiitake mushroom; the overflow from full barrels keeps the logs pretty moist.
Here are three of our five compost piles, and the cans that we use to steep batches of compost tea. We compost weeds, straw and chicken manure, vegetable material discarded during harvest, kitchen scraps from our home, and sod removed in the course of making vegetable beds. We also have one experimental pile (at the the left of this shot, in the background) of blackberry vine and chicken manure.
For our entire first year at our Raymond St. home, the back border of our yard was covered with invasive himalayan blackberry--an area roughly 17ft by 60ft, or about a thousand square feet altogether. Today, that section of our yard is home to four beds of onions with room for another four beds to be planted this weekend. It didn't come easily; it took time, effort, and good friends. Big hugs to Maureen, Laura, Emily, Matt, Chris, and Jay for all their help at our work party!
Here are some shots of what it looked like that day:
And here's what it looks like today. The same compost pile in the shot above appears in almost the same position in the photo below. Now, it's just had it's covering of leaves removed to become mulch elsewhere on the farm, and the pile is going to be divided in the coming days to build up some new beds.
And here's a shot from the opposite corner. At the top of the frame are two beds of Dakota Tears fall storage onions, and in the foreground are two beds of Rossa Lunga di Tropea onions.
If you're having a tough time seeing onion transplants in these photos, consider how quickly the spring weather draws the greenery up out of the earth; already things are looking different out here. Come on by to check it out in person!
We recently completed a long-planned project to expand our rainwater harvesting capacity by adding additional barrels. We've had five more barrels for some time; we just added spigots to each and found them homes in reach of our disconnected downspouts. Now, as of the past month or two, we've expanded our rainwater storage capacity from just 60 gallons to 360 gallons. Here are two of the barrels next to some logs inoculated with shiitake mushroom; the overflow from full barrels keeps the logs pretty moist.
Here are three of our five compost piles, and the cans that we use to steep batches of compost tea. We compost weeds, straw and chicken manure, vegetable material discarded during harvest, kitchen scraps from our home, and sod removed in the course of making vegetable beds. We also have one experimental pile (at the the left of this shot, in the background) of blackberry vine and chicken manure.
For our entire first year at our Raymond St. home, the back border of our yard was covered with invasive himalayan blackberry--an area roughly 17ft by 60ft, or about a thousand square feet altogether. Today, that section of our yard is home to four beds of onions with room for another four beds to be planted this weekend. It didn't come easily; it took time, effort, and good friends. Big hugs to Maureen, Laura, Emily, Matt, Chris, and Jay for all their help at our work party!
Here are some shots of what it looked like that day:
And here's what it looks like today. The same compost pile in the shot above appears in almost the same position in the photo below. Now, it's just had it's covering of leaves removed to become mulch elsewhere on the farm, and the pile is going to be divided in the coming days to build up some new beds.
And here's a shot from the opposite corner. At the top of the frame are two beds of Dakota Tears fall storage onions, and in the foreground are two beds of Rossa Lunga di Tropea onions.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Photos: Habitat Farm Sunday.
From right of grassy path: Ruby Streaks mustards (ready for harvest next week!), a shy row of Shungiku, and a row of rainbow beets-- all sown under cloche February 22nd.
White Egg Turnip, sown 6 days ago. First appearance!
White Egg Turnip, sown 6 days ago. First appearance!
Salada Musume burdock root, aka gobo, sown March 26th.
Annual and perennial rye grass in "hen zone 2", first sown February 15th, last sown March 10th. Almost ready for the girls.
Big ol' bumble on a blueberry flower.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Photos: Habitat Farm Saturday.
Fenugreek seedlings, sown April 2nd. First germination noted 6 days later. Just now showing true leaves.
Oregon Giant snow peas at the top, Red Round turnips on the bottom. Both sown March 7th; the turnips showing first germination after 11 days, peas showing after two and a half weeks.
Frog Island Nation fava bean, in flower. Sown December 2011.
About 250 Dakota Tears fall storage onions, sown in flats March 9th, transplanted @ 6" in-bed spacing to these ~3'x16' beds on April 16th.
Friday, April 20, 2012
April 22nd harvest a no-go.
The mustards are looking great, we have one row of leeks still in the ground (about 3 per share), and the escarole is growing by the day. But everything we have in the ground right now would benefit from another week of growing time, and so we have decided to make the tough call of cancelling this Sunday's harvest and resuming with our second of ten harvests on Sunday, April 29th.
So far, spring CSA has been a different animal from our fall season. We appreciate our members' understanding that this is a learning opportunity for us, and part of that process is discovering when and how to make the right call. We believe we have a chance to do this right, and if we harvested this Sunday it would set a tone for the entire season-- a tone of just barely catching up and scraping the share together before the plants are quite ready. By waiting this week, we can let the frisee head up as it should, the overwintered carrots and beets size up, etc. By extending the harvest that one week later into June, it means you'll be more likely to get some warmer weather crops you mightn't have otherwise. Plant growth is exponential, and the warmer soil temperatures we are starting to see also spur things into more rapid growth-- so just one week can make all the difference.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
New options for spring 2012.
Members, we'd like to offer some options for your share....
Namely, the options of cut flowers, starts like strawberries or poblano peppers, seeds saved from our garden, and others as yet unknown. These items would be substituted right into your share, when available. Opt in (or out)HERE.
Namely, the options of cut flowers, starts like strawberries or poblano peppers, seeds saved from our garden, and others as yet unknown. These items would be substituted right into your share, when available. Opt in (or out)HERE.
An April 15th 2012 share.
A share from the first week of our spring 2012 season!
For more detailed information about the April 15th share basket, click HERE.
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