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Posts Tagged ‘broccoli’

More CSA

May 12th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

The first boxes had:

Daikon radish, salad radishes, kale, tat soi, baby stir fry mix, lettuce mix, broccoli, rosemary, oregano, dill and baby spinach.

Next week it will be very similar, yet much more broccoli. Carrots are still a couple of weeks away, as are beets, peas, cabbage, cauliflower and chard.

We are gearing up for a maha (great) week at the farm, with many hundreds of row feet to be direct seeded. We are getting 50 yards of compost to bolster the tilth and nutrition of the soil. That will make 75 yards total this year to supply a farm about 1.1 acres. That is a lot, but I feel it is necessary to grow the quality of crops that we want. This also means a lot of work, wheel-barrowing it around and mixing it into the rows.

Fortunately, it isn’t just myself at the farm anymore. Ryan is here for the rest of the summer. Very happy am I about this.

We were going to start attending a farmer’s market in town this last week, but our application has to be approved by the board, so we’ll be there this upcoming saturday. We need that market to sell our extra radishes, lettuce mix, stir-fry mix, dill, broccoli and cilantro.

adios,
drew

Tags: baby spinach, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, daikon radish, dill, kale, lettuce mix, oregano, peas, rosemary, salad radish, stir fry mix

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First CSA Boxes!

May 11th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

Whew. That was a busy week. I harvested, packed and delivered for 18 families this week, in addition to the madness that is May.

This is prime planting season right now, because the soil has warmed to a suitable 70-75 degrees. So, now we can direct seed corn, cucumbers, melons, watermelons, basil, squash, winter squash, and a great many other vegetables.

So, throw the CSA into Monday and Wednesday, and planting, and maintenance, and that makes me a busy boy.

We are getting nice, huge heads of broccoli…the early work of prowling for cutworms has payed off!!! The interesting thing is…the broccoli I planted in March had a lot of cutworm action…the broccoli I planted third week of March got harassed by the birds, but the broccoli planted end of March was problem free and it looks like that planting (about 110 plants) is going to be the best of all.

Tags: basil, broccoli, corn, CSA, cucumber, cutworms, may, melons, squash, vegetables, watermelons, winter squash

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Retooling

April 16th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

About 15 or so people have committed to the CSA by paying me. Up until yesterday I was dilligently working to get that number up to 30. However, yesterday it occurred to me that I was feeling quite a bit of pressure to feed 30 families, so I’m going to start the season with about 15, and accept more members as we roll on into June, when the abundance of summer starts to flood in. I feel better. Financially, this probably isn’t a wise move. I don’t care. It feels better to… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: broccoli, CSA, finances, members, potatoes, sugar snap peas, tomatoes

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Part 3 - Challenges

April 2nd, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

[display_podcast] Part 3 of the video series out at Andrew’s farm was fun to make. And it was difficult. I feel that it is important that we not romanticize the job of farming to much. As we highlight Andrew’s journey into the healthy, positive role of local CSA farmer, it is important to let everyone know: 1. It is not easy to grow food 2. There are many lessons to learn along the way! Andrew has already run into several issues which he talks about in this video. I hope that this will… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: broccoli, challenges, CSA, damping off, farmer, garden, irrigation, loneliness, organic, video

Posted in: Videos

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How to support local farmers (and save the world)

April 2nd, 2008
Peaceful Valley

Reposted at InTheLoop.GrowOrganic.com I am pretty new to the “Buy Local” or “Know Your Grower” concept, I joined my first CSA only last year. In that short amount of time I have become a huge supporter of the local food movement. Joining and volunteering on a CSA farm was so influential in my life that since becoming enlightened to the movement I have changed my career path, my eating habits, and my leisure activities to align with the movement, even my politics have been… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: broccoli, buy local, crop failure, CSA, farmer, grower, invest, local food, preserving, rain, risk, sun, work

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In The Big Field

March 26th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

If you come out to the farm you’ll notice first an area filled with Agribon hoophouses, and then some rows of (robust, thankfully) garlic. Then, you come to the great abyss. We did the first round of tilling last week. It took out about half of the cover-cropped area, half left to go because it’s still too wet. Well, I was out in the great abyss - me, the sky, and an acre waiting to be planted. It was time…to plant the sacred lettuce mix (and spinach). Now, this… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: agribon, broccoli, crops, CSA, leeks, lettuce, onions, planting, shallots, spinach, tilling

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Heed The Weather Forecast

March 17th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

I’m learning it’s wise to heed the weather forecast. Here I am today, planting more broccoli and cabbage, it’s sunny as can be and my eyes cast down into the bed, oblivious to the changing sky. The forecast called for showers. The sun was shining through the clouds. Showers…ha! Under a banner of sun I decided to head to the greenhouse to prepare the ground for planting beans. Ten minutes later it’s hailing and I’m running around yelling: “no, God,… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: agribon, broccoli, cabbage, hail, hoophouse, mother nature, preparation, showers, weather

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Newer entries »

Three farms are starting from scratch.

They are turning the dirt and hoping to be successful enough to turn a profit, and to become a valuable part of their communities as suppliers of organically grown food.

Peaceful Valley is giving them a head start by offering them special pricing as part of this Freshman Farmer program.

The Farm Blogs

Freshman:
New Farms Coming Soon!
Sophomores:
	Daily Grace Farms Crescent City, CA
	Freestone Family Farm Vernal, UT
	Wise Moon Farm Redding, CA
Graduates:
	Coyote House Farm Palermo, CA
	DeepSeeded Community Farm Arcata, CA
	Driftwood Farm Fort Bragg, CA
	EarthDance Farm St. Louis, MO
	Ellwood Canyon Farms Goleta, CA
	Four Frog Farm Penn Valley, CA
	Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm Poulsbo, WA
	Home Plate Organic Farm Orleans, CA
	Honey in the Heart Farm Nevada City, CA
	Willow Springs Farm Penn Valley, CA