last csa

i read where lincoln will be spending 29 million dollars to combat the dreaded ash tree borer. i wonder how many of those dollars will be allocated to hugelkultur response teams. ash is great for that. sweet potatoes did very nicely in a hugelkultur without irrigation. made them as hashbrowns last night - really good, after sungazing probalby my favorite food.  thanks again for all the fun this year.

top 5 disappointments in 2015 csa.

5  carrots. usually they dont grow well for us. this year they didnt even germinate.
4  cantaloupe  need to be planted at the base of the, or hump as my friend calls hugelkultur now.
3  broccoli  justin jones has stopped planting these in the. spring weather is too weird for brocs
2  Lloyd  hard to be disappointed in lloyd for dying but i still am. teh female llamas do not protect goats.  teh only protection they had was "rock" teh old wether who did a good job until mabel killed him a month ago. i am getting out o fteh goat biz i think and back to cows. sure teh neighbors are going to love hearing that.
1  carpula.  still dont have a rough put together to show anyone willing to watch. looks like a winter project and maybe a spring finish. sure barb is going to love hearing that. 

back to the future II predicted the cubs would win the series in 2015.  go cubs!

CSA Extra Innings!

This will NOT be the last week of CSA. We are going to give your sweet potatoes one more week so the last one will be October 15th. Kind of a hodgepodge this week of winter squash, radishes, green, tomatoes and hopefully some watermelon. Eggs are very light this week. The hens must know "Winter is Coming"

See you tomorrow!
Barb

csa prewicket

i don twant to ruin anyones day tomorrow but im not gonna be at csa. i will be giving last looks on the croquet course. might be fast. will slow up considerably if it rains. alternative plan is to tarp the course, and or move it in to the barn but it looks like theyve called off the rain.  eggs are better this week.  no clue what happened the last month. it had to be a secret nest but i never found it.  tomorrow is Jos birthday - Jo i will see you saturday. have a great one! wheres rick poore?

csa

the lettuce did not bolt so its coming again. is it bitter? if it is dont you be. had some last night that was pretty good.  barb thought that sugar pumpkins were baby jackolanterns that were still growing. (?) she says bring bags and that she will see you guys next week as she is off to a crops fundraze.
farm keeps getting skunked on these big rains it better rain tonight. 

csa THZ

the L and the T are coming in tomorrow. pick up some B!  read where russia is giving one hectare of land to any citizen that wants to farmstead. at this point of the summer so will I.  september very quiet on the market crash and asteroid fronts so far.  if the honey bears arrive tomorrow there is honey. if not - next week. mellifluous last saturday. might be an early halloween.  pretty good pumpkin crop but the vines are finished.  these are cooking "sugar" pumpkins.  honey is good in pumpkin pies.  

csa

big storms with a bunch of downed trees?  goosebumps driving around town for a hugelkultur farmer. if you lost a tree grab a shovel it is go time. eggs might be a little light this week - chickens have a secret nest and i cant find it.  eggplants go good with peanut sauce. what doesnt? hope everyone got invited to the sticky wicket on oct 3rd.  augo says he is coming and teh trip from texas pays for itself when he wins it. as always 5 dollar buy in for the croquet tourney and 10 dollar "buybax" -  theme is pizza parlor -made some a while back in teh new clay oven and it works. 

csa TH

grasshopper population is climbing. have to pick teh tomatoes just as they turn or its over.  makes me mourn for the baby turkeys lost to some asshole raccoon a few months ago - they would be gorging right now. of course they would also be eating all the tomatoes off the vine. i need a livestock manager. i think the move would be to get a couple hundred turkeys in june and pay some kid 25 cents an hour to walk them through the farm every day. is that slavery?  reading all kinds of creepy predictions for this month on the interwebs.  might be best to just party out this month. bring bags to barb.

csay

csaers whats going down besides the stockmarket?  i hope this doesnt affect my stockmart idea for discount stocks and bonds. had a filipino woofer this week who has also spent a lot of time in teh oregon woods say that these shitakes were among the best shes had this summer. don tknow how many there are but full shares for sure.  barb needs bags. stay dry tonight - gullywasher alert. 

CSA

this is not a drill, we have cucumbers tomorrow.  hopefully beans. i havent really checked teh beans as that is barbs dept and she gets frustrated if i dont let her pick them all.  movie is coming along but i need two chinese voices. does anyone know a chinese woman or man that would be willing to read a few lines that would be used on teh other voice only/ telephone call?  tell them there is veggies eggs and a goat in it for them. barb says bring bags back.  less thasn two months away from hugelkultur workshop. sign up today to reserve a spot. (its free)

csathir

hey csaers
for your horseman out there barb likes Pizzaman in the arlington million stakes this weekend. she makes a pretty good case i may have to go out to the mattcave saturday.  insomnia cure of the week - fingertip pushups.  eating too many tomatoes and have an upset stomach? teaspoon of baking soda.  you should eat a tsp of that everyday anyway as we are all acidic. thats one of those cheap cure-alls. barb applied it to some nasty looking scab on her back that shed had for months and it was gone in three days. best spaghetti sauce - roasted tomatoes, add basil after the sauce is turned off.  mr ask me anything siging off.

csa thur

todays radar is shaping up for another huge miss at the farm. have a feeling the corn and soybeans are looking pretty good north of lincoln. not sure whats going on with our beans - possible blossom drop in the high heat last week. barb says next. she also says she needs bags returned. barb, co-founder of the lincoln irish society, also suggested this week that you guys "need a break from potatoes." that is not a misquote or print.  thinking of the mcginns today. the judge bernie away yesterday.   

csa

80 mph gusts last friday pulled whole zucchini and yellow squash plants out of the ground completely (terminal).  some were blown thirty feet away. the big leaves probably had a parachute type effect. except for a few tomatoes everything else fared okay.  we are gearing up for the folk and roots festival at branched oak farms this saturday. kill county goes on at 5 30.  t mac we're going right?  lizbet is back from belgium and is looking forward to her first csa tomorrow. 

csa IVAN

that is very nice work doran. and travis of course. he looks like a deep thinker. dont overthink it ivan.  no one really knows whats going on anymore.  farm is getting "carpy."  if you have ever dreamt of being in a bad b, possibly c film, come out and we will walk you through. we would love to have you, especially if you have an idea of what the movie is about.   tomatoes begin pouring in tomorrow.  tomorrow looks like a cant miss, especially if ivan is there.  kimchee is hot but pretty tasty. eat at least a few bites and you will feel your stomach thanking you. we had a woofer from korea who tasted it on the way out and said it was ready to serve and that it was "really good."

CSA 7.16

There is good news and bad news....the bad is that the cabbage still isn't ready. Perplexing but hopefully worth the wait. The good news is the first tomatoes of the season arrive today. Just a few but enough for the long-awaited BLT. Most are just turning so put on your counter to ripen. More potatoes, of course and greens. When life hands you potatoes and kale...make colocannon! Trust me... myriad of new vegetables coming your way soon.
See you this afternoon....
B.

csa

just me tomorrow as very dadly,  barb is going to nikki buchanans rosary- nick lost her two year battle with pancreatic cancer this week. sucks. id like to see the potato harvest coming out of the hugelkulturs go into some kind of hugelkultur quarterly but i dont think there is one. not yet anyway.  i hope you guys are using up the potatoes because we are just going to add a few more each week til slowly you guys will be eating potatoes for every meal.  im basically 2 meals a day but i did all three the other day and it wasnt bad. mash em. i like them raw with salt too.  tomatoes are going to be the same kind of thing. no red ones yet.

csa potato salad

miss turkey cracked 18 of 20 eggs! nice rains this am. lots of things planted this week and its always nice when the rain germinates instead of watering them up. we realized how far behind things are this week as we usually have cabbage for fourth of july cole slaw. this year you will have to settle on csa potato salad (throw in immature dill seedheads). i think you are a half a cup of mayonaisse away from a batch. good sweet corn at Lees chicken veggie stand.
good watermelon there as well. potatoes were dug and were still moist (hugelkultur) so we dried them out but didnt clean becasue they rot. if you dont use right away you could wash but dry completely.
barb needs bags bad. see you this later

csa

mathias (pictured above) left yesterday. that guy could flat out eat hot dogs and will be missed.
augo is also gone now but returns for folk fest at branched oak farms august 1.  potatoes are not green this week.  barb took a cheesemaking class last night and is talking caprese csa in the near future. 
im eating her first two mozzarellas right now and with the right tomato, heavy basil, salt and very cold beer i think she might be on to something. she needs bags.

csa Thurs

it has been a very challenging year for gardeners unless of course you are in to hugelkultur. hugelkultur is drought proof but also excellent in flood. exhibit one in the case for H K comes tomorrow in the form of small potatoes. probably going to cut all lettuce tomorrow as it is going sideways. some nice heads - some ugly heads - all good.  dill will be option only for a while.  barb has just cancelled the baby turkeys for tomorrow.  youll have to ask her about it shes not saying why.
kittens still available!

csa

hey csaers!
mixed predictions about the weather tomorrow but come rain or shine, especially if you like lettuce.
ive ben eating a lot of lettuce and i like it almost as much as the chickweed. we planted 500 but lots of extra tomato plants and some eggplants if anyone wants one - text barb with that and well bring some in.  also kittens!!!! i sent that email seperately.  some of you have been asking about the new carpula and is it any good. there is a few new twists but i doubt it. see you tomorrow.

CSA 6.4

This week's blog is especially for the ladies. Augo is back in town and will be at CSA.
Tomorrow there will be a ton of lettuce plus radishes and young beet greens that you can just throw right in your salad raw. We are bringing the baby turkeys into town so you can meet them and perhaps name them.  See you tomorrow!  Barb

CSA 5.28

Hey CSA'ers!
Tomorrow will be lettuce, radishes, cilantro and maybe beet greens.
Our 2 new additions to the farm are awfully cute. No names yet, but we will bring them
to CSA next week and have a christening party of sorts. We would bring them this week
but our good friends, and long-time CSA'ers, Teri and Steve are getting married. If you come after 6, your bag will be waiting for you. That is, if I get some back. In desperate need-- so please return.
See you tomorrow!  Barb

CSA 5.21

Hi Kids. We are in a harvesting holding pattern until we get some heat and sunshine. Today is more salad mix, radishes and onions but with some rhubarb and dill to add a little variety. Salad mix again will contain some wild edibles...chickweed makes its debut. (see info on right).
The good news is baby turkeys are currently hatching in our incubator (photos next week). The bad news is that it is supposed to rain for most of next week. If we are lucky enough to get a few dry days, we are hoping for lettuce next CSA. Enjoy the sunshine today and, as always, please bring your bags back!  Barb

csa thurs

pictured above is lewandowskis garden in his backyard. nice going lou. maybe plant something in it?
more rain coming!  why not?  most things are growing well.  preakness pick - firing line. probably the favorite. have a black eyed susan.  mushrooms did not blow up but i think they will when it warms.  see you tomorrow

Stormy CSA

Hey Guys. Not sure what this storm will bring, but if the hail stays away, we should have some beautiful spinach for you tomorrow. Either way, it will be delicious, albeit not so beautiful. More onions, eggs, kale and hopefully radishes- but it may be too wet for them to have finished out. Please bring your bags back tomorrow, as I am running low. Ross reports that shitake and pearl mushrooms are beginning to appear so that is something to look forward to. See you for more storms tomorrow afternoon! I think I just heard sirens......
Barb

csaers - i am thinking about getting out of the goat biz. tired of feeding them to coyotes. my time would be better used focusing on feeding chickens to foxes. with the death of lloyd, the goats are without their security out there. eggs are in good shape this year. great flock going and an even bigger in reserve.  mabel posted an article on dandelions - eat them up they are delicious. kentucky derby this weekend. we can handicap it tomorrow. see you then.

csa 2015

here we go. had a hoophouse this winter filled with greens - mostly kale. been eating kale all winter - weird to be sick of kale at the start of csa. im in the process of eliminating food altogether - see article at right - sungazing. gonna take 9 months it sounds like. by the end of csa this year i should be winding down this whole eating thing.  ill probably still have a few beers with everyone on thurs and maybe a green bean or two during the week. see you tomorrow.

Happy Spring! We are busy planting seeds indoors and out for the most fantastic CSA yet. We are planning on starting April 23rd.  Same prices as last year $450 for standard share/$300 for small. Pick-up will be Thursdays from 4-6pm.  All I need from you is an e-mail stating you are participating again this year. You can e-mail me at BBrockley@gmail.com.

Also, if you have any friends that you think would enjoy this CSA experience, send them my way and I will fill them in on all the details. We can't wait to see you!
Barb