Posts Tagged ‘squash’

Farm Update

July 3rd, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

Now we have completed week nine of the CSA.  This week we offered: tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, squash, carrots, lettuce mix, turnips, garlic, sweet corn!, kale and bulbing fennel.

It was a good week, and next week is looking great also, with potatoes and leeks on the menu.  It seems a little out of season to have potatoes and leeks, because I love potato-leek soup a lot, but, hey, those will be ready.

Out at the farm, the tomatoes are really productive, yet could be looking better.  We have side-dressed this week with bone meal and feather meal, because it seems like, in this situation, that is what they need.  We’ll see.  The peppers are looking nice, and we are going to stop picking off their flowers because the plants are quite large by now.  The first patch of corn was delicious and I look forward to the next patch in a couple of weeks.

The cucumbers are fruiting really strong now, with the armenian cucumbers giving the best cucumbers out of anyone.

Squash is doing great, except 1/2 row of yellow zucchini (about 50 ft) has become stunted and I don’t know why.  We have lots of squash for our needs - about 500 row feet - so no worries.

The first bean planting, in the greenhouse, has been prolific and continues to produce, even after 5 weeks, and now the temps are consistently 120 degrees in there.  The second planting was good, but the growth was a little weak, so it hasn’t lasted that long—only a couple of weeks.  The third planting is coming on and looks great - just in time also, because it looks like the third planting is leaving us soon.

We have good carrots now!  That is exciting because they took so long.  I planted the first patch on March 1st, and we have had small harvests from it, but now it is looking really nice.

Eggplant is fruiting really well.  The winter squash (kabocha, acorn, delicata) looks healthier than any winter squash patch I have ever seen - it looks alien - it is humming with energy.

So, many, many success stories.  And also, I need to learn to grow better tomatos.  I need to help build up the soil fertility and create a great soil for them to grow in.  I really want to grow excellent heirloom tomatoes.  Brandywines like John Drew’s at Backbreakin’ Acres is my goal.  This is the beginning of a long journey.  It’s nice to have a goal.

much love,

Andrew


Help!!!

June 26th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

So Andrew and I were on the farm mostly by ourselves for the past two months, except for the weekend visits by Andrea. I was working about 50 hours a week and Drew was working much more. And than all of a sudden in one week we have four more people on the farm. Andrea is back for good with our good friend Zoe, and our other good friend Cristen is working on the farm for a good portion of the summer. It is amazing how quickly things can change.

The farm is now filled with the vibrant energy of four more souls. It almost seems like I’m not even working anymore because we are working less and our time on the farm is more exciting. It is amazing how much you can get done with 5 people. Yesterday we worked about 5 hours in the morning, got a lot done, and then went to the river for a few hours. Than came back to the farm for another couple of hours to harvest for the next days market. It was one of the best days on the farm yet for productivity and fun.

The joys of working with your friends and producing food feels so good and right. If the rest of the summer turns out to be like this last week, I think I could be a farmer for a long time. It has also been exciting for me to share my experiences with our new help and I actually feel like a seasoned vet at farming, which is not the case. There is still so much to do on the farm, and there won’t be a loss of ideas for a while to come.

We still have more winter squash, corn, toms, cucs, zucs, and many more things to plant and the harvest is getting bigger and better. I am really excited about he rest of the season.

CHOW


A Transition

June 13th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog
So much has changed in the past 5 months. Of course the physical layout of the farm has changed dramatically…going from virgin meadow to cover crop to intense/intensive vegetable cultivation.  Alike, my mind is wrapping around and becoming comfortable with the ever-changing dynamic of the farm. We have completed six weeks of the CSA, a quarter of the season, with 18 more weeks to go.  We have had broccoli every week, buy now that we are approaching consistent mid-90 degree temps at… Read the rest of this article »

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… Read the rest of this article »

Freeze

April 21st, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog
Andrew labels varieties of tomatoes I haven’t been to the farm yet this morn.  It got cold last night, even colder than Saturday night.  We lost a few tomatoes to the frost on Saturday night, but not many.  We had them covered with Agribon, and last night we put a double layer over every row.  It seems like that was prudent.  I don’t know the temp, but it feels like it got below 32 degrees. I have a couple of friends with me this week, so that eases the work load. … Read the rest of this article »

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

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About the Farms

Coyote House Farm
Palermo, CA
Daily Grace Farms
Crescent City, 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
Freestone Family Farm
Vernal, UT
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
Wise Moon Farm
Redding, CA

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