As the season progresses and the years advance I start to run out of ideas for the newsletter. It seems like I already have told you everything there is to tell you. So for the next several newsletters I am going to just answer questions. If nobody sends me questions I won’t have anything to write (hey! there is no need to applaud). So send in those questions.
To get the ball rolling, here is a question I was recently asked.
Why do you transplant sweet corn instead of direct seed it? Great question. I thought I had answered it before but I will answer it again. Most farms direct seed their sweet corn – at least the larger, sweet corn farms. It is far more economical and far faster than transplanting. So it would seem we should do this as well. Most sweet corn farms are not organic. The only one that I know that grows a large amount of sweet corn organically is Gardens of Eagan. The primary problem with direct seeding sweet corn is the seed can rot in the cold, wet Spring ground. The way conventional farms get past this is by using chemically coated seeds. The chemical helps prevent rot prior to the seed germinating. We don’t use synthetic chemicals here on the farm so we have to find another way to prevent seed rot. We do this by starting it in the greenhouse. The seeds won’t rot in the warm greenhouse. So by transplanting the corn we can assure a good stand of corn.
The second reason is we can get an earlier start on growing the corn. This is beneficial in a number of ways. We all wait in anticipation of the first sweet corn of the season. Having it earlier is always a good thing. Nothing says summer like the first corn on the cob. The second and more important benefit of early sweet corn is we avoid (mostly) the dreaded corn earworm. Corn earworms are the larva of the Helicoverpa zea moth. The moth does not over winter in our area; it migrates from southern states. It arrives in two flights. The first comes around the middle of June but tends to be fairly light. The second comes in late July or early August and is the one that causes the most damage. The adult moths lay eggs in the silk of corn ears. When the eggs hatch the larva start eating the corn. Most people don’t appreciate having their corn sampled prior to consuming it themselves. Plus their frass is unsightly. So by transplanting the corn we hope to have the corn harvested prior to the earworms becoming a problem. Of course nature has her own schedule and sometimes the moths arrive before we’ve harvested the last of our corn but in general – at least compared to when we direct seeded it – the corn is relatively earworm free.
Send in your questions for the next newsletter!
Now on to announcements.
As we get closer to the First Annual Fresh Earth Farms Fall Film Fest we need to get a better understanding on how many people will be attending. This will be THE social event of the fall season. You don’t want to miss out. Here are the details:
Date: Saturday, September 7th.
Potato harvesting from 2:00 until 5:00.
Pot luck dinner, farm tours, socializing, etc. from 5:00ish until dark.
Film Fest from dark until ??
You don’t have to attend the whole day. Please let me know if you will be attending and how many people in your party. Knowing the number that are children would be helpful as well. Having a reasonably accurate headcount will allow us to plan better. I hope everyone can make it! And again, please let me know if you can attend!
ShroomShare. We are still looking for more interest in ShroomShare. ShroomShare is like all our other resale shares except with mushrooms – oyster mushrooms in particular. These are certified organic oyster mushrooms from a small farm here in Minnesota. We have two sizes: small and large. The small ShroomShare is six weeks of a 4 oz package and is priced at $27. The large ShroomShare is 8 oz priced at $48. Let me know if you are interested. We have a minimum order size so don’t send in any money until we have enough interest.
FruitShare for next week we’ll have a mixed box of blueberries, grapes, nectarines, peaches and possibly other stone fruit.
We have the opportunity to purchase more blueberries. If you’d like a flat of blueberries please let me know via email. The price is $65.
Speaking of blueberries, what goes better with blueberries on a hot summer day than delicious, organic ice cream made from milk from grass fed cows? For a limited time we are offering ice cream from Castle Rock Farm, the farm that provides us with cheese, butter and eggs. The great thing about their ice cream is I can pronounce every ingredient on the label! Here are the specifics:
Half Gallon Size: $12.35
Vanilla, Molasses chocolate chip, Sweet cream, and Chocolate.
Quart: $7.75
Vanilla, Molasses chocolate chip, Sweet cream, Chocolate, Mint chip, Strawberry, Blueberry, Peach and Pistachio.
The ice cream will be delivered the week of August 6th (unfortunately it is too late for the next cheese delivery). There is no minimum order for ice cream so we will do this no matter how many or few orders we get. Unfortunately we can’t deliver it to drop sites due to its perishable nature. Let me know if you would like some!
SalmonShare arrives at the farm on Monday July 22nd. Plan to pick up your salmon that week. There are different options for different delivery sites. The best option would be for you to pick-up at the farm. You can pick-up your produce at the same time if you’d like. Pick-up times are M, W and F from 3:30 to 6:30 pm or Th from 9:30 to 11:30. Another option is for us to wrap the salmon with an ice pack and include it with your produce (please leave the ice pack with your tote so we can reuse it next month). We can’t be sure this will keep your salmon frozen but it should. It is imperative that you do not forget to get your produce that day or your salmon will thaw. For Shoreview pick-ups, the Engstroms have offered the use of their freezer. Ask them for your salmon when you pick up your produce. Contact me if you have any questions or want to come to the farm to get your salmon and produce — we’d love to see you!
CoffeeShare is this week!
Here is my best guess for what we will have this week: Carrots, cucumbers, basil, green onions, garlic scapes, a few tomatoes, a few cherry tomatoes, a few broccoli, a few eggplant, summer squash/zucchini, fennel, kohlrabi, the last of the lettuce, the few remaining peas and maybe a few green beans. We may harvest some chard and kale as well depending on their status.
This is probably a good time to mention that just because something is in the list above doesn’t mean you will receive it. With the delivery boxes we attempt to make them the same over the course of the week. Sometimes there isn’t enough of a specific item to be included in every box. This usually happens at the beginning or the end of its harvest cycle. An example this week is the peas. They are done for the season so there just aren’t very many. We tend to give these out in the tent where people make choices as to what they take. Sometimes though, especially when something is ramping up, we will include that item only in the boxes and not in the tent. Typically this is when there is enough for every box but not enough for everyone. We keep track of everything we put in the boxes so that you get some of everything we grow. People who pick-up at the farm get the same opportunity. I should also mention that we sometimes hold back items so that later arriving farm pick-up members get first crack at some of the items. Being an early arriver doesn’t necessarily give you more selection. Our goal is to make it fair for everyone, or as fair as we can possibly make it. Hope this is clear.
Now send in those questions. Don’t be shy!