Farm Photo Gallery

2010 CSA Newsletter, Week 12 – fall is here

Just a quick late post this week. The field has begun its slow decline, with just 5 more weeks of CSA delivery! This week we started picking new potatoes (these have tender skins and won’t store for very long) – marble/carbondale/redstone – well have yours next week) and the cauliflower is starting (orange and purple, farm pickup next week). I also picked the first winter squash this week – delacata, acorn and festival – these will taste best if you let them sit on the shelf for a week or two.

In The Box

Kale – bunched, multiple types- 1bu
Chard – bunched & colorful – 1bu
Salad Mix – 1 bag
Italian herbs- oregano, sage, thyme, marjoram – use fresh or dry them
Carrots – big yellow Ya-Ya types, soma orange as well – new crop – half 1/full 2 bu;
Leeks – large sized, time for potato leek soup!
Beets – 1lb/2lb. – these store extremely well in the produce bin if you can’t use them right away. we have a strong beet crop this year!
Cucumbers – still coming in!
Tomatoes – lots more coming in!
Winter Squash – 1 each
Summer Squash – 2lb/4lb
Peppers – Ancho, yellow, jalapeno, bell
Potatoes, new – delicious, more next week –
Orange cauliflower started this week, purple starts next week. Farm pickup ran short, we’ll have plenty next week.

Fruit

First Fruits – the best Paonia peaches continue.
Peaches, Nectarines, White Peaches, Early Akami Apples

Box Value

Half – $38.00; Full –  $61.50

2010 CSA Newsletter, Week 11 – tomato ripening heat

On The Farm

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The heat kicked in this week and the tomatoes are responding. both the hoop house and the field tomatoes are in full production & ripening well. One large section has a disease that is causing poor quality fruit (nearly all the tomatoes in this section are ‘seconds’), these can still be used for sauce but don’t work well for eating. The other tomatoes look great and have minimal damage. you will see some ripe tomatoes in your box, but mostly we try to pick most of the tomatoes at the pink stage when they are still firm enough to take some handling. Avoid refrigerating these pink fruit, just let them sit out until they ripen.

It was the apex, now its the long decline. You will see some decrease in the box content variety and quantities as the season wanes. Don’t be surprised or disappointed, its all part of the natural progression of the year! We do have lots of yummy winter squash and potatoes still to come.

In The Box

Tomatoes – everyone gets at least one nice slicer, fulls get two, plus look for lots of #2 quality tomatoes in your box or in the pickup area – cut off the bad parts and make a sauce with what you have left. look for extras at delivery locations.
Scallions – delicious, tender, mild
Flavored Basils – Lime, Cinnamon & Thai Basil (you get one)
Olathe Sweet Organic – new crop, tender ears – possibly the last corn this season!
Salad Mix – an especially flavorful (and a little spicy) mix this week.
Yellow Fresh Beans -half – 1 bag (1/2lb.)/ 2 bags for full – second bag green beans
Squash – still a few more weeks of squash… 2/4lb. email me if you want a stuffing sized squash!
Beets – half  1lb, full 2lb.
Eggplant or Peppers – look for some hot Jalapenos coming in, plus very dark green sweet Ancho chilies, and lots more of the hungarian hot yellow peppers (not really that hot). i have to rotate these crops around.

Cucumbers – an over-abundance this week – please make some cucumber salad – 3lb. half/ 6 lb. full – look for extras in the pickup area
Chard – bunched & colorful – 1bu half/ 2 bu full – blanch and freeze if its too much!
Kale – bunched, multiple types- 1bu / 2bu – lots of dino kale this week – blanch and freeze if its too much!
Carrots – bunched – 1bu / 2bu – bigger sizes

Fruit

First Fruits – the best  Paonia peaches continue.

This week we have Red Globes – expect greatness!  I don’t think the nectarines will be ready until next week.
Early apples and hopefully plums coming soon.

The Box Value

Half – $34. Full – $61.50.

2010 CSA Newsletter, Week 10 – the apex!

On The Farm

Most of the time is filled with harvest, but in the other time available a few things are getting done. I planted what I think will be the last salad mix last week. The last patch always lasts a few weeks as the cooler days of late september slow the growth down. We are also tackling some final weeding projects – the salad beds, and the giant pigweed! Soon we will shift into fall cleanup and projects – cleaning up the leftover planting trays from the greenhouse, mowing & weeding the berries & orchard & setting up the berry trellising.

What’s Coming Up

As we head into the last 7 weeks of the season, I wanted to let you know what the expect!

Many of the crops we have now IN ABUNDANCE will continue for several or many more weeks: salad, carrots, beets, kale, chard, onions, squash, cucumbers & broccoli. Leeks a few more times, plus some scallions soon. Tomatoes are ripening very slowly in this cool summer, I will have some for you in the next few weeks, but  the supply will be limited. Eggplant look great, I will have more, plus more peppers.

Potatoes look good and we will start digging some next week. We will have more green cabbage, plus red cabbage and crinkly leafed ‘savoy’ cabbage (i think), plus white, orange and purple cauliflower. Beans are almost done, but winter squash is almost ready – delacata comes in first, there will be plenty, then acorn squash and small blue hubbards. the rest of the larger squash – spaghetti, butternut, buttercup come in at the very end of the season, usually at the end of september or the beginning of october. We also have a fall beet crop, and we should be able to get sweet corn one or two more times.

Fruit is limited this year, but early apples and nectarines are in so we will have those next week, then plums, pears and fall apples – we will have more peaches, several different varieties over the next month.

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A Winter Box

It looks like we will have an abundant enough harvest to offer a winter box to members, full of onions, garlic & a variety of winter squash – you get all these things during the season, but the winter box will be a stockpile to store and use over the winter. It will cost a little more but still represent a great deal for what you will get. More details in an upcoming newsletter.

In The Box

Leeks – delicious, tender, mild
Onions – more of the early crop, half 1/full 2
Salad Mix – more to come
Green Beans -half – 1 bag (1/2lb.)/ 2 bags for full – french filet beans, slightly oversized but yummy!
Cabbage – 1 head
Beets – .75lb half / 1.5lb full

Squash – more and more… 2/4lb. email me if you want a stuffing sized squash!
Cucumbers – lots, 3lb. half/ 6 lb. full
Chard – bunched & colorful – 1bu half/ 2 bu full
Kale – bunched, multiple types- 1bu / 2bu – lots of dino kale this week
Parsley  (some of ou got peppers) – use fresh or hang and dry for later.

Carrots – bunched – 1bu / 2bu – big ones in 2-3 weeks
Broccoli – 1.5lb half/3lb. full – lots coming in now!

Fruit

First Fruits – the best  Paonia peaches continue. new varieties of peaches soon.
Early apples and nectarines coming soon.

The Box Value

Half – $31. Full – $52.50.

Farm Pictures 2010 (from facebook)


From Round Earth Farm – 2010 part 2, posted by Adam Silverstein on 8/14/2010 (27 items)

chard, kale and sunflowers.
heading down to the farm, late evening light on the raggeds
the view into the orchards, sunflower bed visible


beans
one of many cauliflower beds
the view across the main field


a bit blurry, herbs and leeks
chard, broccoli
the end of the peas, in the weeds


the long, thin skinned cucumbers come from this bed, thats 300′ of cucumbers!
another row of cucumbers, beside dill, witer squash also visible
more cauliflower – we grow white, purple and orange varieties!


fall beets, late cabbage; corn on left
the winter squash has completely taken over this zone!
LOTS of basil, scallions in the middle, they will be ready in 2-3 weeks.


can you make out the rutabega leaves buried in this carrot/weed bed?
carrots – thinned, weeded, and untouched!
mowed beets – ready for beet hunting!


the beans await pickers, SO MANY beans!
a recent repair job – i mowed a riser!
squash, flowers


the main field, mowed edges help keep the bugs down
this is what the sky looks like in Colorado!
potatoes, hilled!


MORE cauliflower
old salad beds
carrots in the weeds, let the hunt begin!


Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher

2010 CSA Newsletter, Week 9 – harvest, harvest, harvest

On The Farm
Its about all we can do to keep up with the harvest on the farm. Everything seems to be doing its thing at once, and the row of beans looks mighty long!

Still no ripe tomatoes to speak of, but we are getting some more heat in the last few days, so hopefully that will change.

New boxes: we are introducing a new box for half sizes this week – the boxes were a little crammed, please let me know if everything transfered intact.  please be a little careful when opening these boxes, they are still brand new and the edges are a little sharp.also, please remember to return all your totes and these new boxes to the delivery point each week. thanks!

In The Box

Olathe Sweet Corn – Certified Organic – more yummy, local, organic corn – half/full -5 ears/10 ears
Onions – more of the early crop, half 1/full 2
Salad Mix – its back for another run (limited to fill boxes)
Romaine heads – last head lettuce of the season

Green Beans -half – 1 bag (1/2lb.)/ 2 bags for full
Squash – more and more… 2/4lb. email me if you want a stuffing sized squash!
Cucumbers – lots, 2lb. hals/ 4 lb. full
Chard – bunched & colorful – 1bu
Kale – bunched, multiple types- 1bu / 2bu – lots of dino kale this week
Italian Herbs – Sage, Oregano, Thyme, Marjoram in mixed bundles – perfect for sauce or dressings – use fresh or hang and dry for later.

Carrots – bunched – 1bu / 2bu – big ones in 2-3 weeks
Broccoli – 1.5lb half/3lb. full – lots coming in now!

Peppers/Eggplant 1lb/2lb.

Fruit

New this week – Paonia peaches from First Fruits, delicious picked very close to ripe.
Early apples coming soon.

Veggies Coming Soon

There are still a few things we haven’t started picking, and lots more of what we have had. The green and red cabbages look great, the greens will be first in a week or two. the cauliflower crop looks good, but is still a few weeks off. the melons are setting fruit but who knows if many will ripen, it all depends on the weather! lots of eggplant and peppers coming in soon, also the potato crop is looking good – we hope to pick a little bit for the csa in the next week or two.

Not in the Box (but available for special order, call or email)

Basil – special order at $12/lb. for pesto – plenty available now
#2 peaches for canning
Gladioli – stunning beauty for your home – $10 for 5 – email to request

The Box Value

Half  $30.00. Full $54.00.

2010 CSA Newsletter, Week 8 – mid-season bounty

Click image to enlarge and see if you can make out the turkey in the grass! When I took this picture there were a group of twenty wild turkeys winding their way thru the grass.

On The Farm

Big shifts at the farm as we enter the thick of the harvest season. Our crew has changed – Leonie returned to France, Jeane returned to Denver and Charlie crashed on his bike and is missing in action (but recovering). The crops are shifting as we pick the last of the head lettuce, and peas and shift to beans, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplant. Also the sweet corn is coming in and the Paonia peaches are almost ready.

It must be summer!

In The Box

Olathe Sweet Corn – Certified Organic – yummy, local, organic – half/full -6 ears/12 ears
Leeks – early crop, many more to come
Salad Mix – its back for another run, romaine heads next week will be the last of the season’s head lettuce
Peas – last of the shelling peas, yum, eat them and remember spring -half – 1 bag (1/2lb.)/ 2 bags for full
Squash – lots of varieties coming in, more and more over the next few weeks. 2/4lb. email me if you want a stuffing sized squash!
Cucumbers – lots more coming in, still more to arrive soon. limited this week, 1-3lb. each
Chard – bunched & colorful – 1bu / 2bu – plenty!
Kale – bunched, multiple types- 1bu / 2bu – more and more…
Carrots – bunched – 1bu / 2bu – big ones coming soon.
Beets – bulk 1lb/2lb. – we are topping these now, i figure you have enough greens!
Broccoli or Eggplant 1lb/2lb. not enough of both to go around so you will get one or the other this week, hopefully the opposite of last week!

Fruit

Redhaven early peaches from Domingez Canyon – these are a little firm and need to be left out for a day or two until soft, then eaten or refrigerated.

Not in the Box (but available for special order, call or email)

Basil – special order at $12/lb. for pesto
#2 peaches for canning
Gladioli – stunning beauty for your home – $10 for 5 – email to request

The Box Value

Half  $34.60. Full $58.20.

2010 CSA Newsletter, Week 7

This newsletter is a little late because everything is SO hectic this week.

Here are some recent pictures:

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Whats in the Box?

Onions (well, 1 early onion)
Basil – small bag
Beets (full members)
Baby Carrots – Half 1, Full 2
Chard Bunches – Half 1, Full 2
Cilantro – 1 bunch
Dill – 1 bunch
Kale – (not everyone got kale this week, but we will have plenty by next week.
Napa Cabbage
Cucumbers (Farm) or Broccoli (Deliveries) also, Full delivery customers got Eggplant.
Squash – 1lb/2lb
Peas – 1 bag/2 bags (deliveries got beans, more beans for everyone next week)

Fruit
Apricots – last of the season
Peaches – first of the season, from Palisade Peach Company, Certified Organic

The Box Value

Half $26, Full $48.50

2010 CSA Newsletter, Week 6 – heat & rain!

On the Farm

Harvest season is in full force at the farm and everything is coming in! Some beds still need weeding, and I still have a couple more salad plantings to go, but really harvest has taken over our free time. We are starting to pick squash, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant and more. Here is a slide show that tells the story in pictures:

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All the Crops, A-Z

Here is a word on the status of each major crop (I may leave out a few), how does it look, when will we have it?
Basil –  a great crop, in the box every few weeks, special order for pesto soon
Beans, Green, Yellow, Purple  – great crop – huge , starts next week, lasts 3-4 weeks – consider canning!
Beets – plenty more to come, we will take a break for a few weeks soon, then have some more in the fall. consider canning!
Broccoli – just started, this will trickle on and off for the rest of the season
Cabbage, Napa, Red, Savoy, Green – a good crop, we should have some cabbage every few weeks, regular red and green cabbages start in 3 weeks.
Carrots – starts next week with baby carrots, then goes for a long time, usually 8 weeks, starting with bunched, then topped carrots. a good crop in the field, but the first planting failed so our first harvest is later than usual.
Cauliflower – a good crop of purple, white & orange cauliflower – an early planting was frozen so our first harvest is later than usual, but we will have plenty.
Celery – a small crop, we will have for 1-2 weeks in late september
Chard – early crop frozen, but we’ve made up for that with row grown bagged baby chard, we will have bunches starting next week and have nearly every week for the rest of the season
Chois – we had bok choi one week, that was it!
Collards – i think we have these in the field, but its possible they were lost in the early freeze
Corn, Field & Sweet – we will have our own corn at the very end of the season. i will buy organic olathe sweet corn for the csa boxes for 4-6 weeks once it starts in early august.
Cucumber – an unbelevievably large crop, prepare your cucumber salad recipes. a bit this week, lots starting in 2-3 weeks and lasting until the freeze. picklers available by pre-order @ $1.50/lb.
Eggplant – starts soon, a nice solid crop this year
Flowers – a good crop of gladioli, sunflowers, snapdragons and other flowers for sale
Garlic – a modest crop that will show up in your box all season long to keep you well supplied with garlic
Kale – bunches start soon, lasts a long time – into fall
Lettuce – head lettuce is now peaking, we will have it for just a few more weeks
Melons – a nice looking planting, but we often have poor ripening on this crop, so don’t expect it unless i say otherwise! lots in the ground, but may not ripen before it cools in the fall.
Onions – a HUGE crop, including MANY leeks, early, late etc. we will start with some leeks soon, then early onions, then onions in the box nearly every week until the end.
Onions, Bunching, Pearl we have one bed of these and should have bunches in 3-4 weeks (we already had one round)
Peas – nearly gone, these have lasted a long time; more shelling peas still coming in
Peppers, Hot & Sweet – starts soon, a nice looking crop
Potatoes –  a big crop that has been struggling in the weeds this year, we will start with new potatoes by mid-august, then pick the main crop at the very end of the season
Pumpkins – looks like we will have a good crop this year!
Salad Mix – plenty more to come, we are taking a 1-2 week break until the next patch is ready.
Spinach – its gone for the season (other than some appearing in the salad mix at a baby size.volvo for sal
Squash, Summer – lots of variety coming in starting next week, green, yellow, zucchini, crook neck, starburst, round, etc…
Squash, Winter – looks like a solid crop!
Tomatoes – growing very well, just waiting for them to start to ripen! a solid looking crop this year.

In The Box

Basil – Farm boxes get these this week, we didn’t get them in the cooler last week.

Beets – Lots more coming in, this is the last week of bunched beets, we will switch to topped beets next week, fulls 2 bunches

Broccoli – starting to come in this week, everybody gets a little bit, lots more to come

Chard – last week of bagged chard, fulls get 2 bags

Cilantro – still tender, this is the end for Cilantro!

Kale, fulls get 2 bags

Lettuce, head – no salad mix this week, but lots of yummy head lettuce – green & red butter, red romaine, green leaf & more

Garlic – almost fully cured now, this is our standard ‘early while’ soft-neck garlic

Cucumbers – Just starting, we will have TONS of cucumbers this year, pickling cukes available, please order ahead.

Summer Squash – Just starting, we have a nice looking crop and will have lots by next week.

Peas – shelling peas this week, one more week as we transition to BEANS!

Spinach – full shares got the last of what we picked last week – use 1st!

Fruit

Apricots – last of the season

Cherries, Rainier – just a bit, all I could get from Paonia

It was a bad cherry season, but I will make it up in Peaches – starting next week with Early Glohavens from the Palisaide Peach Company (Certified Organic)

The Box Value

Full Box – $53, Half Box $30

2010 CSA Newsletter, Week 5

On The Farm

Lots more coming in this week on the farm. The summer squash are starting to fruit and we picked a handful this week, we’ll have squash for the boxes in 1-2 weeks. We also picked a few early eggplant and peppers, these will show up soon too. The main weeding is now complete, and all thats left is a little more weeding on long season crops like carrots and onions, plus a little more salad planting, and a LOT of harvesting. Harvest is a busy, slightly chaotic activity on the farm.  Everything has to get out of the heat and the field by around 10am, then everything needs to be washed, bunched and bagged, orders and CSA boxes need to be packed etc. Its always a bit crazy in the harvest area, but we make it enjoyable with a team spirit. As I like to say, “many hands make light work”.

Delivery Notes

A quick note for Crested Butte drop-off: If you meet the truck at 11-11:30am we will hand you your box, if you come later or send someone to take your box off the porch, please make sure you take your tote – each tote is labeled with a bright label with your name on it, followed by a code – the code indicates your veggie box size and fruit size (if any). Please make sure you take the correct tote! If you feel you missed your box, or didn’t get something – please call or email!

A Word on #2 Fruit

Last week included some #2 cherries in the boxes. I usually pack only  the best #1 fruit, but in this case I thought this might be my only chance to get Rainier cherries for the year. This week, plus more apricots from Domingez Canyon, a new, larger type called ‘Supreme’

Special Orders

Winter squash in the orchard…

We have a few items available for special order, this week we have #1 and #2 cherries or apricots by the box, please call for pricing and availability. We will have shelling peas available in bulk for freezing in the next few weeks, and basil for pesto later in the season.

In the Box

NEW: Napa Cabbage, tall ‘Michelini’ type
NEW: Italian herb bundles – marjoram, oregano, sage, thyme

Chard & Kale –Half 1, Full 2
Parsley, 1 bunch
Lettuce –  speckled romaine, red crisp, red butter, green butter,  – halfs 1 head, fulls 2 heads
Peas – shelling, snow & sugar snap, some shelling (new) – 1 bag (1/3 lb.) Full, add 1 1/2lb bag snow peas
Salad – 1 bag – new crop
Radishes –  1 bunch
Beets – continuing to size up – half 1 bunch, full 2 bunches
Bok Choi – full box
Scallions – full box
basil, bagged -= lime, cimmaron or thai basil

Friut

Half/Full amount
Apricots 2lb/4lb.

Coming Soon

Green Beans
Cucumbers
Summer Squash
Broccoli
Carrots, baby
Soft Neck Garlic
Organic Olathe Sweet Corn

The Box Value

Half – $21.50, Full  $36.75 – fruit is usually right at the cost: this week half $6.00, full $12.00