Lots happening on the farm but first a few announcements.
Our past supplier for MeatShare, Ritscher Family Farm, is no longer selling smaller quantities of meat. They are moving to a quarter beef/half hog style of sales. As such we needed to find another meat supplier and I think we found a great match: TC Farm. Here is how they describe their business:
TC Farm is a group of sustainable family farms dedicated to raising the very best meats and eggs. We are excited to partner with Fresh Earth Farms. Our animals live on open green growing pasture with space to roam. We emphasize slow-growth and heritage breeds. We offer well marbled grass finished and dry aged beef and lamb. Pastured, non-GMO and organically fed pork, chicken, turkey and eggs. We make our own sausages using organic herbs and spices. We have monthly deliveries to over 70 neighborhoods across the greater Twin Cities metro area.
That’s right. By purchasing meat through TC Farm you can chose to have it deliver here to Fresh Earth Farms or to one of their other 70 neighborhood drop sites. If you chose to have it delivered here we will keep it frozen in our freezer until your next pick-up; no need to make a special trip.
Joining is fast and easy. Simply pick out what food you want for your first delivery, tell us what you want to spend for your monthly budget and where you want to pick up your deliveries. Be sure to use the 20% off coupon code found on the Fresh Earth Farm article in our newsletter. When selecting a pickup location, choose the one that is most convenient for you: Fresh Earth Farm pickup is listed as ‘Afton – Fresh Earth Farm’
One last quick note: Unlike our other add-on shares, with TC Farm you will purchase directly through their website choosing the products you want! It is more of a partnership than a reseller arrangement, but of course with pick-up here at the farm or wherever you pick-up your produce. If you have any questions you can contact me or Jack at TC Farm jack@tc.farm.
We are still selling VeggieShares! Please spread the word.
We have a new pick-up location in the Highland Park neighborhood. Tell all your Highland Park friends about us!
We are still selling add-on shares like fruit, cheese, coffee, winter storage and flowers. What could be better than sitting at the breakfast table eating some fruit, cheese, bacon and eggs for breakfast while drinking a cup of delicious coffee as you gaze at the beautiful flower bouquet centerpiece and think about all the potatoes and onions you have coming your way this fall? All this could be yours by ordering a few of our add-on shares!
Farm News
Since I last wrote I got a closer look at the hoop house plastic and determined it was a total loss. On the bright side new plastic costs slightly less than $600! Well, maybe that isn’t all that bright. Anyway, we took off the old plastic, purchased the new plastic and are now waiting for a calm day to put it on. Our current plan is to install it on Wednesday morning. So if you are looking to learn how to install greenhouse poly, or are just the kind of person who likes to help out, come give us a hand. Jungle gym skills are highly desirable but not required.
Other than working on the hoop house there has been a lot of movement in the greenhouse. For those new to the farm and to refresh the memories of long time farm members, raising plants is a lot like raising kids. When kids are born you can’t just throw them out into the world and expect them to grow independently (unfortunately). No, you have to guide them by slowly exposing them to new experiences. Much like kids, the transplants we grow in the greenhouse need to be exposed to new things prior to being transplanted into the field. If we took our plant babies out of the warmth of the greenhouse and put them into the harsh environment of the out-of-doors, much like human babies they would freak out and start screaming at the top of their lungs. So much like we do for our children, we need to ease them into being independent.
To start we move them from the warm, nourishing greenhouse into an unheated structure we call the cold frame. This is the plastic covered structure we feared would collapse during the long, snowy winter. This structure has one layer of poly (one less than the two over the heated greenhouse) so we’re slowly acclimating the plants to the harsher sunlight and greater temperature fluctuations. It is similar to how we slowly acclimate our children to the harsher realities of life by exposing them to increasingly heated and harsh political “discussions”.
Once the plants have been in the cold frame for a few days to a week or more we move them outside to tables next to the greenhouse. This exposes them to full sun and the complete temperature range — not to mention the wide range of political civil discourse — they will experience in the field. If these kids can survive this they’ll have a greater chance of surviving their launch into the real world! But much like those helicopter parents, we helicopter farmers will return the transplants to the warmth of the greenhouse if the forecast calls for temperature lower than what the transplant withstand. We don’t want our poor babies to wilt under the pressure of subfreezing weather!
Eventually, once the weather warms and the soil dries we will finally launch them into the real world by transplanting them out into the field. We hope to have our first launch this Thursday as long as it is dry enough to plant them. Of course we don’t just let them flounder out there on their own. We will step in if we see weeds encroaching on their space, or pests picking on them. We are after all helicopter farmers and can never really just let go.
As always, do not hesitate to contact me with questions, comments, suggestions, jokes, brain teasers and share orders!