Where can you buy locally grown produce?

I am often asked about the produce we grow and our CSA program. Consumers are interested in how they can join our CSA or where they can purchase our produce. I am asked what farmers markets we attend. Our CSA program and our local farmers markets are where we sell our produce. We sell our produce directly the consumer.

We love to welcome new members to join our CSA program as it is a great way to experience a variety of produce throughout the growing season! CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and I talk about the program and its advantages here. Our CSA is delivered in weekly shares and I talk about that here. We have a smaller CSA program, but happily deliver about 20 shares each week to our town and surrounding communities. We also encourage consumers to attend our local farmers market. To find a farmers market near you check out Local Harvest, and it will show you all the local markets close to you. 

By selling the produce we grow directly to the consumer it is nice to build a farmer-consumer relationship with our customers. We appreciate when they give us feed back. We love to hear recipes they share with us on how the prepared the produce purchased from us. 

We also grow pumpkins! In the fall we have what we call Fall Harvest Days, about 4-5 weekends the end of September to October depending on how the weekends fall. This is where we invite the public to come out to our farm and pick out pumpkins and join in some of the kids activities. We grow our pumpkins off site, about 2 miles from our farm, so everything is picked and brought to our farm for the Fall Harvest Days. We also sell fall decor that we grow ourselves, such as grouds in all shapes, color, and sizes, straw, shocks, Indian corn, as well as fall produce. We also sell our pumpkins and fall decor to some local shops and stores to sell to their customers. 

We are proud produce and pumpkin growers and look forward to the growing and market season each year! You can support our farm and farms like ours by attending your local farmers markets or looking into a CSA program near you. Also by doing your yearly creative pumpkin carvings and decorating for fall, you are supporting my farm and others like mine! 

Garlic Parsley Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts!

I'll be honest I never used to "like"  Brussels sprouts. Or that is what I said anyways. I had never had them. 

My husband likes Brussels sprouts so we grew them one year for our fall CSA. He made them one evening for dinner and this was the first time I tried Brussels sprouts and I LIKED them! We now have them somewhat regularly and still continue to grow them in our garden and for our CSA/farmers markets. 

                               

              

There are several ways to prepare Brussels sprouts. I think there might be others out there that may think the same as I did as in not "liking" them, but maybe it's because have never had them or unsure what to do with them. Today, I'm going to share one recipe of how we enjoy Brussels sprouts as part of our meal. 

               

Garlic Parsley Brussels Sprouts 

•Clean the Brussels sprouts and cut off the bottoms and cut the sprouts in half. 

•Place the halves in dish with water to just cover sprouts

•Place in the microwave to steam them until just tender 

•Drain 

•Place in skillet with butter, garlic powder or fresh garlic, and parsley 

•Stir until Brussels sprouts are well coated with butter/garlic/parsley.

Simple and easy! Great way to enjoy a green veggie as part of your meal and maybe one you haven't tried before! 

                     

What to expect in your CSA shares?

CSA or Community Supported Agriculture programs are becoming relatively popular across the United States among produce growers and communities. If you are eager to join others who are wanting to eat healthy, locally, and more sustainable, but don't have room to establish and grow your own vegetable garden, then joining a local CSA is the next best thing.

As you may recall in a previous post, I talked about what a CSA is and great reasons why to choose a CSA to join. Today, I am going to answer a question we get asked often when talking about CSAs. I am from a rural/farming community so the community isn't as familiar with what a CSA program is all about.

We often get asked "What all does a member get in their CSA? How does it work?"
Well each CSA is different, depending how the farm wants to run their program. A great resource to see what different CSA's offer is Local Harvest. Some offer CSA memberships for 10 weeks to 25 weeks. Some may add eggs, bread, and/or meat to their CSA. There are so many different options, it just depends on how the farm wants to operate their CSA program.

I can share with you how our CSA works.
Our Spring/Summer CSA is 15 weeks long. It starts roughly mid-May and runs for 15 weeks. Each week our members get a box of 6-10 different vegetables. We offer full shares and half shares. The full shares are designed to feed a family of 4 for a week or a couple that likes to eat a lot of produce. A half share is designed for a couple or a family who doesn't eat as much produce. Both options are popular with our customers. Our weekly CSA are dropped off for home delivery or picked up on the farm.

So what comes in these weekly CSA baskets?
We give an assortment of 6-10 different vegetables based off what is in season at the time.

                                                        An example of a Spring CSA share is :
                              Radish, green onions, spinach, kale, loose leaf lettuce mix, and arugula

An early Summer CSA share:

Red potatoes, kohlrabi, sweet onion, green beans, zucchini, green onions, kale, and broccoli

A late Summer CSA share :

Eggplant, sweet onions, tomatoes, green beans and yellow wax beans, zucchini, yellow squash, radish, green onions, potatoes, sweet banana peppers, pickles, and cherry tomatoes

Each week varies for CSA share based on what produce we have in season at the time. One year there might be several weeks of sweet corn, and another they're might only be a few. The same goes for all produce. We change up each weeks basket to offer a variety, but when potatoes are ready, for example, we provide them every week. 

After our Spring/Summer CSA is over, we open up a Fall CSA that is 7 weeks. Here is an example of a Fall CSA share

Carrots, sweet potatoes, kale, popcorn, eggplant, butternut squash, spinach, and yellow onion

This is our 9th year growing produce, our 6th year offering a CSA, and we are excited about another year. Are you part of a CSA where you live? What are your favorite vegetables to get in your weekly share?

Winter months for produce growers...

Produce growers provide fresh produce throughout the spring, summer, and fall months, but what goes on in the winter months?

The farmers markets may be over for the season, but produce growers still continue to work hard during the off season. Some farms continue to grow greens and other cold season crops in high tunnels throughout the winter. Others end their season around at the beginning of freezing temperatures. For example, our local market ends usually the beginning of October, but our fall CSA continues until mid-November. We then take the winter months "off" until our market and CSA start again. 

When the end of the season is near, our customers generally ask us, what were are going to do this winter or our time "off." As much as we love the busy production and market season, we welcome the end of the season as well. Life slows down just a little. It gives us time to prepare for the next season. So what do produce growers do in the winter months?

-Place the seed order for the upcoming year
-Maintenance on equipment
-The new season's planting schedule
-Maintenance or modifications to greenhouse structures
-Promote their CSA program and accept members
-Start seeds indoors for transplants

These are just a few of the things that goes on during the winter months for produce growers. Then there are the other projects or vacations that they haven't been able to get to during the busy growing season, like giving their kitchen a much needed face lift like we are doing here. More details on that later. 

I'm looking forward to sharing with you more about CSA programs and produce growing. Even on a smaller scale as we are, it is a very busy and fun adventure. 

Why choose a CSA?

A little Q&A today:
Why choose a CSA?

First let me introduce CSA or Community Supported Agriculture. It is a partnership between you and the local farmer. A CSA supports sustainable farming and provides healthy food for your family. Each CSA farm has their own program designed specifically for their farm production, but generally CSA members pay up front, or many have payment plans, providing the farm with working capital during the season of preparation and planning. In return the CSA members will receive a box of fresh, locally grown produce each week based on their farms program. The CSA members share some of the risks of farming as well. For example, they may receive more of one product and less of another depending on the weather and other factors on the farm.

With the beginning of the new year, also brings CSA signups for the majority of produce farms that offer a CSA program. CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, farms provide fresh produce to members during the growing season. We are often asked about our CSA program, so I thought I would start with the benefits of being part of a CSA.

So why choose a CSA?

- You will receive the freshest produce. We pick our produce for the CSA the night before and/or the day of delivery. With a CSA, the members are receiving produce that is picked ripe and fresh. At grocery store chains produce may sit on the shelf maybe up to a week before it is purchased or thrown out. Also, when stores have to purchase produce to be shipped to them, it is often picked before it is ripe, resulting in loss of some nutritional value. When buying from the farmer, you are leaving out the middle man, which is providing fresher produce for you.

One of our summer CSA shares

-You are buying local. You are supporting your farmer and keeping profits within your community helping your overall local economy. We can build up our local economy by supporting local farmers, artisans, creators, and businesses that meet our family's needs. CSA programs have a pick up option, typically at the farmers market, a delivery option, or both.

-Eat healthy. When you are eating the produce that comes in your CSA share, you're providing yourself with high quality, nutrient filled food. Not only is it healthy to eat your vegetables, but also having a wide variety that comes in your CSA shares, is a great contributor to overall health.

One of our fall CSA boxes

-Experiment with new foods. Kohlrabi, fennel, swiss chard, brussel sprouts, eggplant. You may get some vegetables that you haven't heard of or haven't tried before in your weekly box, but that is part of the fun of a CSA. How many times do you eat the same thing over and over. With a CSA, you get what is in season, and with that, you can work with, try new recipes, and eat foods you've never tried before or wouldn't think about using. Make smoothies by adding kale, spinach, or carrots. Change up your omelet by adding a different mix of vegetables each time. Add any of the vegetables to casseroles, salads, every meal. Eat them raw or cooked. So many possibilities.
You might check out these cookbooks to help with cooking farm fresh vegetables.

-Knowing where your food comes from. If you aren't able to grow your own garden or grow enough to meet your family's needs, joining a CSA is the next best thing. When joining a CSA, you know the produce is in good hands from seed to harvest to delivery to you. This also allows you to connect with the farmer, know who the produce is coming from, and learn and see how it is grown.

Picking sweet corn for our CSA shares and farmers market

-Save money. A CSA membership can cost anywhere from $350-$600 for a 15-20 week membership, depending on the farm and their CSA program offered, you end up only spending roughly $20-$30 on vegetables weekly. Since the produce comes directly from the farm, providing fresher produce that last longer, resulting in less waste. Some CSAs also offer meat, bread, egg, and fruit shares that you can choose as part of your CSA. Some may include select fruits as part of their CSA. Some farms may also offer half and full size shares based off of how much your family needs.

-Preserve and store food. By joining a CSA, some weeks, you may receive excess green beans, tomatoes, or pickles, for example, that you know you won't eat before they go bad. By preserving the excess produce when it is in abundance is a great way to enjoy them after the season is over. Canning and/or freezing is also a great way to save money but still enjoy the produce you received from your CSA and all the benefits above.

A productive tomato juice canning day for me.

What better way to start the new year than to join a CSA for all the above benefits! Check out Local Harvest to find a CSA by you.

Gardening with Kids

For those that have followed my blog, you know that we grow produce, have a small CSA program, and are vendors at our local farmers market.

With this comes many hours in the garden! My farmer also works an outside job, so we gather up any available time during the summer months and spend time working in the garden. We have things growing in three different locations. Pumpkins, sweet corn, squash, are over one place. Most of our vegetables are another place, and a mix of things are grown at our house. The kids and I spend many hours of the day being outside, they play and I weed. The kids will go back and forth from playing to help weed for a while, then go back to play.

When we started growing produce in 2006, we started with just a few acres. We have added more every year to where we are now. We have a small greenhouse where we do our seeding to grow the vegetables plants to transplant. We also have a coldframe. We are not large by any means but manageable for what we can handle right now, just the two of us. We grow roughly 4 acres of pumpkins and 6 of produce with hopes to build that up over time.

The kids come with us everywhere and are very much involved with what we do. They are in the gardens with us and attend the farmers market with us. I love how they are seeing the full rotation of the term "Farm to Fork."

The kids help us plant seeds, and transplants

They help weed and maintain the garden

They help pick the produce, clean and package it for CSA, and get ready for the farmers market

They go with us to the farmers market and visit with the customers

They enjoy eating what we have grown.

I love that we are teaching them to grown their own food. I love that they are seeing the complete turn around from planting a seed or plant, to picking the produce when ready, to possibly helping prepare the meal, and then eating it. Even selling the produce we have grown to others for them to eat.

Gardening with your kids is a wonderful summer project. Something for them to get excited about and look forward to. It is always fun for them to check on the garden and see how the plants are growing and if they are producing yet, how produce is growing, and if it is ready to harvest.

Try growing some of these easy vegetables with your kids
-Green Onions
-Kale
-Green Beans
-Lettuce
-Radish
-Carrots
-Peas

Tips for Gardening with Kids

-Let your kids pick out the seeds they want to grow. When you go to the store or garden shop, show your kids the wide variety of seeds they can pick from. Let them help pick some out. Even if it may seem harder to grow, give it a shot. They will be more excited about the plants growing knowing they helped pick them out. Its a great way to get them to try new things as well.

-Let them be a part of the planting and watering process. This is a great time to explain to them how things grow from a tiny seed. Explain to your kids how the seeds need water and sun to grow. They will see how they are helping as the plants grow and start producing. It's always fun to get wet too on those hot days while watering :).

-Let them help harvest the vegetables. This answers that question to "where does our food come from" moment for them. They are able to see that their potatoes come out of the ground and you have to dig to get to them. Or that you wait until the tomato turns red to pick it off the plant. Or that the peppers need to be a little bit bigger. They will feel the sense of accomplishment knowing they helped with the whole process.

-Let them eat the veggies raw and help prepare them for meals. Some kids may not like cooked carrots or cooked peas, but snacking on them from the garden raw they might enjoy them. Let them help you use those fresh veggies they just harvested from the garden and show how you are using them in your meals.

-Let them have fun and enjoy. Let them get dirty :) Get some kid's garden tools and garden gloves. Make DIY garden markers place by the plants in the garden.

Now back out to the garden we go.

This 'Gardening with Kids' series to be continued.......


This post is sponsored by Indiana's Family of Farmers but all opinions, photos, and ideas are mine. 

Who's Ready for Fresh Produce?

Gardening season is well under way on our farm. How is everyone's garden going? Are you all done planting what you want to plant?

We are still working on planting more rounds of a variety of different produce. We still have more rounds of sweet corn to plant, continuing to plant summer crops, and will be planting pumpkins very soon.

Our local farmers market started the beginning of May so we have been cutting lettuce, spinach, arugula, kale, and other greens as well as picking radishes and green onions for our customers.

Today was the first pick up of our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for 2014. Our CSA members will come to our local farmers market and pick up their weekly share of produce. Our shares consist of 6-10 different vegetables/fruit each week. This is our 5th year offering a CSA at the market and although we are not a large CSA, it continues to grow every year. We do a 17 week Spring/Summer CSA and a 7 week Fall CSA. We appreciate the local customers and support.

It is always exciting for the first CSA to start. I think it is one of the highlights to our summer and growing season. When customers come back week from week and share with us how they used particular items from their CSA and what they liked in their weekly shares.

This was today's share. Our members received radish, arugula, green onions, salad mix, spinach, and kale. 

You might look for a local CSA to join where you live. To locate one check out Local Harvest

to find one near you. You can also use local harvest to find a farmers market near you. Why not buy fresh and local produce? Your local produce farmers will really appreciate it.

The Potatoes Are In The Ground!

Have you heard the old rule of thumb for planting potatoes is around Good Friday? This gardening folklore dates back to the Irish potato famine and revolves around the moon phases.

With the Old Farmer's Almanac suggestion, we try to plant around Good Friday every year depending on the temperatures and the weather we are having. Fortunately it was later this year with the long cold winter we had. Glad Spring finally rolled around! We welcomed it with wide open arms as we were tired of seeing the white fluffy stuff and having cold temps. While the old wives' tale may work for some years, it is important to keep in mind that it may not be the right time every year. Depending on when Good Friday falls each year, the ground may be too cold to plant. Potatoes can tolerate cooler temps, but the soil temperature should not be too cold. You can definitely still plant them later in the season also.



Photo courtesy of eBay

This year we purchased an old but "new to us" Champion potato planter. My husband made a few modifications to it. Last weekend we gave it a shot and he said "it works pretty slick." We planted 1,000 pounds of potatoes including, Yukon Gold, Russet, and Red. This weekend we finished up with another 500 pounds of Red and Katahdin. This summer it will get a new paint job.

 

Freshly dug potatoes taste amazing! They store great also. Try growing some yourself or seek out a local farmer or the farmers market for some when they are ready as early as mid June most years. You won't regret it!

Growing Veggies on Our Farm and You Can Too

My husband and I have always been around growing vegetables. Growing up, my mom always had a good size garden that we ate off of all summer long and even enjoyed homegrown produce after gardening season with stuff she had canned. My husband grandparents and uncle also did the same. There is a long history of growing vegetables in both of our families.

Being on the farm has always been a way of life for us, as we are both come from farm families. In our dating years, we had a small garden that we tended too. After college I was working at a local floral shop and the owner was interested in some straw, and corn shocks for her Fall display. We were able to provide those to her. This was the beginning of Walker Farms where we thought the next year we would grow pumpkins to supply garden shops and retail places with pumpkins to sell. With this we also decided to grow some produce. I don't remember what we started out growing for our first season of produce but this was when we also started selling at the local farmers market.
This was in 2006.

2013 Farmers Market Season

We started with just a small section of land and are now up to 15 acres. We seem to add a little more every year. We grow 8 acres of pumpkins and 7 of produce. We are not a large farm by any means but at a good size right now that we can handle. We sell at the local farmers market and some that are about an hour away. It is so rewarding to hear how people enjoyed the produce they purchased from you and interacting with the public with their questions. It is neat to see people comment "Oh I didn't know on onion grew that way with green stuff coming out the top" or "I didn't know pak choi could be grown around here."

2013 Green Beans

Having a CSA is a large part of our business. We enjoy providing our members with produce they are familiar with and some that they may have not tried before. The following week, I love to hear what they did with their eggplant or kohlrabi, etc. It is nice to share recipes!

2013 Kale

Don't be afraid to grow your own produce if you have space that allows. If not you can even try growing a patio tomato! There's nothing like a fresh tomato right off the vine! I love them!! If you have more than you will eat before they start going bad, can or freeze them. It is a lot of work for some of the vegetables, but you wont regret that you did it when you are enjoying sweet corn, green beans, homemade salsa, and beets in the winter time. The list goes on as to what you can freeze and can. The planting season is just starting or hasn't even in a lot of places, why not give gardening a shot?!

Canning pickles 2013

This is part 3 of a 3 part blog series. Read part 1 here and part 2 here.

Find a Farmers Market/CSA Near You

Are you wanting to join a CSA for fresh weekly produce but not sure if there is a farm close to you that provides a CSA program?

Some of our  CSA shares from 2013 season and Indiana corn and Fall Squash from 2013

Being a CSA member is a great way to get locally grown produce that is fresh and provides members a wide variety of produce to enjoy. It shows support to your local farmer and local economy. CSAs or Community Supported Agriculture programs and farmers markets are on the rise throughout the United States as the population is striving to eat healthier and gain more knowledge about where their food comes from and how it is grown.
A great tool to find farmers markets or produce farms near you are some of the search engines geared towards farms. One being Local Harvest. Here you can search for farms and farmers markets that are local to you. You can also search for a certain product you are looking for, rather it be beef, produce, honey, eggs, and the list goes on. Or you can search for farms, CSAs, or farmers markets by location. With this technology, farms can list their products for a small fee every year and gain advertisement for their farm. Farms can list their CSA information and websites. Farmers markets can be listed with details about the market such as times and vendors. It is a great tool for consumers to find what they are looking for that is local. 

The mobile version of Local Harvest

With consumers so interested in where their food comes from and how it is grown, this provides key examples for farmers to show them using social media. Another great tool for consumers to take advantage of.

With this technology the consumer can see close to first hand the ways that farmers produce their crop. Facebook, Instagram, twitter, websites and blogs all provide ways that the consumer can get a inside view at farm happenings and production. Many farms use one or several forms of these to help advertise and share their product. Find the local farm you buy from on these social media sites and follow them. Farmers post about their daily production. For example, I posted on my Instagram and Facebook page about cutting potatoes today getting them ready to plant. Consumers can use these sites to follow their favorite farms and farms they support. Farms that take advantage of these social media sites like putting the information and photos out there also.

 Facebook and Instagram post today

This post is part of a 3 part series. Part one is here. Check back tomorrow for a little overview of our farm in part 3.