regular season final csa

may not see you guys for last reg season csa as i am putting finishing touches on the croquet course and am hoping to see you all saturday. we have the game on and pork and beans. thanks for all the fun this year.

top 5 disappointments of the 2016 csa:

5  AQUAPONICS
     the first time the pump came on at least half of the fish flushed in to the beds - about a week later a big frog jumped in the tank and ate the rest of them.  the next batch did a little better and the plants started to grow with some of the kales reaching about 6 inches and then the turkeys broke in to the greenhouse and ate everything. just gave the fish to my friend bill to overwinter and will try again next year.

4  MABEL
    broke thru a screen door and killed a woofers rabbit on day 2 of his stay at the farm. pretty much  barked all night at who knows what all summer and this weekend received a lifetime ban from one of the neighbors property.

3  SPINACH BROCCOLLI EGGPLANTS
   vanished or went sideways.

2  ME
    it was close between me and the g hops for number one. i gave it to the g hops because they just  chowed everything. my problem was too much focus on new gardens and "big picture".

1  GRASSHOPPERS
    disappointed is the wrong word.  for the brandywine tomatoes there are no words.  i thought i could handle them with chickens, turkeys......and the astralorp chickens dont hunt. they should be on this list. worst g hop hunters ive ever seen in a poultry breed. i am scheming my plan for next season and right now it includes  200 chickens in an eggmobile that is more mobile - just drop in and shock and awe for a day or two and keep moving becasue if this winter is mild again i see the sky going dark. guinea hens are the best grasshopperers but they dont shut up all day and i dont think i could take it with the mabel thing all night.

csa

jared the woof took the orange kitty that he named "rabbit" back to colorado with him. so we now have three, a striper and two gray black numbers. first three kids to the sticky wicket next saturday get a kitty! tomorrow - sweet potatoes - not a great harvest - the grasshoppers defoliated them early but they grew back. most were pretty lame though except some of the whites. the whites are the best. not going to plant anything else. red sweet pots from japan did not make at all - and the plants looked pretty good.
we will have to cut out tomorrow around six for lincoln calling comedy show at the zoo.

CSA 9.29

This is a very special birthday edition of CSA. Happy Birthday to John Keeling!
To celebrate this hot, sweet guy.... you get honey and hot sauce.
More butternut squash as well...and of course tomatoes.

This is the second to last CSA-- so for those of you on installment plans, plan on installing.

Don't forget the croquet party and pig roast on the 15th.

See you tomorrow!

Barb

CSA 9.22

Lots of important updates to pass along:
1. Due to inclement weather Saturday, the croquet party has been moved to the 15th. I hope you all can still make it.

2. 4 kittens at farm (see photo). CSA member Angela held all four and can vouch for their high levels of cuddle. They will be available, for a special CSA member rate of free, at the party.

3. Augo hits town tonight and, rumor has it, will be at CSA tomorrow. For those of you who haven't met Augo...he was, and continues to be (even from Austin), our right hand man at the farm...and Mabel's best friend.

4. Brangelina broke up! (This one is just to add a little Ross flavor to the post).

Butternut squash, more hot sauce, tomatoes, peppers and melons for those that have not received one yet. Eggs are light this week...so will probably just wait until next week to give those. If you are in dire need, let me know, though, and I can get you some.

 We plan on just a few more weeks of this (finishing Oct 6) as apparently the grasshoppers signed up for our CSA and ate all our fall plantings. We plan on planting the hoop house this week and having a few special editions of CSA later this fall when we harvest the greens and lettuce. Honey will be coming before we end, however. Our bees were late in capping it so we are a little behind.

Really need bags tomorrow.

See you soon!

Barb

csa

loads of tomatoes  - make one of those oven roasted tomato sauces its ridiculous.
prez campaign is getting kind of surreal. the main political issues of this campaign are hillarys health and trumps ego. croquet course is shaping up - more cayenne if your out. its more health tonic than hot sauce.  next batch we will go for more of a hot sauce.  its barb and my golden anniversary - 14th on the 14th.  barb will probably be warn out tomorrow from the ballroom dancing. go easy on her.

csa TH

i wanted to have a "very special csa" tomorrow at the farm and we were going to sit around and watch the chickens eat grasshoppers.  its a great show.  tomatoes are pretty good tomorrow thanks to thirty five plants i put in a hugelkultur and have never watered.  they are killing it. they are also bushes and the g hops cant get to the fruit like they can on the strings.  grasshoppers like the big tomatoes. watermelons are starting to ripen.  they have a thick rind but its pretty sweet as well.  tabasco sauce - will stop a heart attack in less than two minutes, palpitations in 30 secs. your heart problems are in the rear view mirror.  cayenne on all herbalists top five.

csa

might bring in some winter squash as the grasshoppers are devouring the plants but they somehow produced some fruit. invites to the 12th annual stickey wicket went out yesterday if you didnt receive one here is a party link ----we are burying a whole pig so come and bring friends. kids and dogs welcome.  Im not going to enter the croquet tourney this year because if i did i would just win it again. or i might enter and play left handed.

csa

continually spraying the tomatoes with garlic - grassshoppers are very self conscious about their breath - but this weekend i think they all decided that if everyone eats them........still quite a few some may have some nicks. if it wasnt for the grasshoppers we would probably be overrun with them. i am turning the chickens loose out there this week - chickens eat tomatoes too but most of the big ones are off the ground now. spinning honey this weekend if anyone wants to observe the miracle of bees. good swimming still out there.  

csa thurs

as if tomorrow wasnt enough of a cant miss csa we have now learned that it is also matels birthday.  tomatoes are in - finally.  we are spraying them with a garlic soapspray to discourage the grasshoppers from eating them. you might rinse them before eating though theres not much soap on them.  barb needs bags. see you guys tomorrow.

CSA WEDNESDAY

I would love to promise you that this very special episode of CSA will contain tomatoes. I am not saying it won't , but it doesn't look great. Pretty sure there will be beans, and of course, squash.
I won't know until I get out there. Sorry to be so vague,
 but it makes your bag rather an enigma this week and that is fun....

CSA

august starting out with an inch rain is great but brockley pharmo in early august without tomatoes is.......well.....i want to put up a link on making onion and banana pepper sandwiches. tomatoes are starting to ripen and should be thick by next week. i hope everyone gets one tomorrow. barb is saying csa is still going to be good tomorrow.  stranger things have happened. tim is having a beer tasting if you are looking for post csa
Hey guys-Barb here. We will have green beans, onions, basil, squash, peppers and hopefully get everyone a cabbage that has not yet received one. There are potatoes for those of you that miss them. Just let me know. Tim is hosting a cool beer event tomorrow. Link below. See you soon.  And as a reminder, CSA will be WEDNESDAY next week.

https://www.facebook.com/events/597657293748150/https://www.facebook.com/events/597657293748150/

csa

the second planting of beans are starting to produce. the first round was eaten to the ground by a groundhog. ditto for the cukes. the only bad thing i can say about hugelkultur is it attracts super lazy groundhogs that dont want to dig a hole for themselves.  mabel finally got onto them and i havent seen them since i bought a can of groundhog scram. read the riot act to the tomatoes a few days ago  but they wont turn red until they are ready to i guess. saw on the internet that jumping into cold water is one of the most healthful things you can - cools down your organs. so come out and swim - for your organs if nothing else. last call on potatoes tomorrow.

CSA 7.21

 Most, but not all, of the cabbage is ready so if you don't get one this week, you will next week. We are going to have a serious talk with the tomatoes this weekend to tell them it is time to ripen up. I am looking forward to my first BLT of the year.

Green beans have been slow but if they can survive this heat, I predict them next week.

CSA scheduled for August 11th will actually occur on Wednesday August 10th,

We will remind you numerous times, but thought I would mention it now.

See you tomorrow!

Ross sends his regards from the pond.

Barb

csa thirz

beets coming again for the last time for a while. eat them and the greens. kimchee again - eat it its good for you.  tomatoes are going to be a bumper crop if they will start turning red.  korbelik came out to the farm to do a story on hugelkultur that drops sunday in the journal.  if you are  building yours you might want to get the wood together before that story breaks - could be slim pickins for a while.  we have a kitten- black and gray if anyone wants. nice temps this weekend - still great swimming weather - see you guys in the pond.

CSA 7.7

Hey CSA'ers...hope you had a great 4th and made many potato dishes for your BBQs. More potatoes tomorrow, along with a ton of beets, kale, and a thai kimchi that is a twist on the traditional with limes, peppers and vinegar. Tomatoes are forming nicely and green beans and cabbage should be arriving next week.

I am running low on bags, so please bring those along with you!

Thanks!

Barb

csa thurs

hey guys.  liz wilson has this new diet where she can only eat things if they are on a pizza. ask her about it.  wish we had fourth of july cabbage for cole slaw but it is a week or two off. go big on the potato salad. kimchee is vegetarian - no fish sauce.  an old indian guy told me it was gonna rain last night and not a drop. hurts that much more from an american indian. maybe tonight? i need it to rain so i dont have to remember what needs water the most. need a clean slate. see you guys in the pond.

csa

beets are coming in hot tomorrow. eat the greens - pretend they are swiss chard - they basically are.  dearth of swimmers this summer so far.  the pond is happening - i think it was all the snapping turtle stories - yes there are snapping turtles - no snapping turtles do not bite you when youre swimming. it is barb and tims birthday weekend we are starting to celebrate tonight by making kimchee.  see you guys in the pond.

csa

csaers - its getting hot. that means things are growing!  lettuce is coming in tomorrow in quantity.
potatoes also coming tomorrow and probably wont stop for the foreseeable future. heard common good farms is building hugelkulturs and loving them.  zipline is officially open for the summer. belmont stakes saturday around 5 pm. see you all trackside.

csa thurs

lettuce took some hail - not pristine but tasty. i like the potatoes raw. with salt. eat more salt.
you need salt. dont skimp - especially if its good salt.  things are growing and germinating except swiss chard.  cant seem to pop any chard. augo comes to town this wkd and hopefully we can get some real photos for the blog - barbs have been......well - you see them above here.  for instance the turkey one is not one you would expect to win a pulitzer prize.  

csa

fish open house is on rain or shine friday 5 - 8. this could be good timing if you want to see the farm this spring as mosquito season opens next week. right now the only people coming for sure are me and besty. the address is southwest 70th and saltillo.  if its not pouring i will have the grill lit. tomorrow some new items. barb wants me to pick baby lettuce but i cant do it. massive amount of radishes tomorrow and should be juicy. get some good salt - "Real Salt" at open - harvest also while youre there pick up a bag of canyon something barbeque potato chips.

csa Th

tomorrow is a good csa. notice how i didnt say great. maybe the most nutritious though. the key to the pesto is cooking the pasta right. if the bag says 10 minutes that means around 7 take it out and let it finish on the counter with a little olive oil. you can cool it down by stirring in pesto and shredded parm. this one has all the best tasting plants (nettles wood sorrel cleavers and chickweed - links to the right) on the farm. should be a "wow" type moment if you dont blow the pasta.  aquaponics open house next friday afternoon.  come out and meet the tilapia. no gifts. would have been this friday but hallz n oat are at the zoo. keeling is now the bass player-worth a look.

csathurs

 im not sure exactly what will be in the box tomorrow - a little muddy to dig the artchokes, (jerusalem). lets see what happens. heard there might be music.  aquaponics system is almost up and running and that will almost certainly be a party, at least an FAC.   mabel is probably gonna be there tomorrow she doesnt really like the mud. so she would want to remind teddy butch woo and mack to come over if theyre not too busy.

csa

nettle pesto. mix into warm pasta add parmesan cheese - pretty tasty.  eggs might be light - we will be great on eggs in the near future as a flock of astralorps gears up for egg season. okay lets get down to business: i like creator the 3 horse to hit the board. my long shot as of 5 39 wednesday is majesto the 18. that is subject to change  - good luck to all the horsemen and women out there. see you tomorrow if i am not on scramble. rain coming - first quarter planting on the full moon friday.

csa blastoff

which came first the chicken or the egg? answer at csa tomorrow: both. we got a bunch of meat birds this winter and they were  professionally butchered (USDA) they are big 5 lb roasters. they are primo.  
i hope there are not too many vegetarians but also a bag of greens -if some of the greens look odd they are "wild edibles."  it was suggested this year be the year of less kale.  eat less kale! is the motto this year.  we sold the goats so no baby goat pics this season. feeding the goats fruit trees so that they could produce babies to feed the coyotes did not fit in to our budget this year.

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