2020

Last pick up of the 2020 season

Dear KCSA community,

Yes, this is the final week of the 2020 harvest season! Twenty-six weeks of delicious, nutrient-dense vegetables from Kimberton CSA is over for yet another year.

A big thank you to all our 2020 members. Without you this would not be possible! An extra special thank you to all those members who have already signed up for 2021. For those who want to take advantage of our December online store, please sign up before Thanksgiving.

WHAT'S IN THE SHARES THIS WEEK!
SALAD MIX, YUKINA SAVOY, CABBAGE, ONIONS, DILL, SORREL, MINUTINA, NAPA CABBAGE, CARROTS, KOHLRABI, BEETS, SPINACH, & SWEET POTATOES

Next year will be Kimberton CSA’s 35th growing season, however, the end of the CSA’s 34th season is quite a benchmark for me. At the end of this week, I will have completed my tenth full season farming.

As a little promise to myself, I will be celebrating this momentous occasion by wearing my new Carhart jacket. This idea stems from a training course I went on many years ago where an experienced farmer and educator exclaimed that you could only earn the right to wear a Carhart jacket after having farmed for at least 10 years. Although I think he was being a little facetious, this thought has stuck with me and has often led to some interesting conversations about what farming is, who should call themselves a farmer, and who, in fact, farms.

Now, for full disclosure, I did purchase the aforementioned jacket (see above) in Spring 2020, in anticipation of this moment, as there was a 70% off winter Carhart sale in ACE Hardware. Plus, I am not a stranger to the Carhart brand. I have a few pairs of Carhart socks, hats, and long underwear and currently wear a Carhart hoodie but I have never worn that quintessential Carhart farmers’ jacket! I feel like I haven’t deserved it until…well…maybe…now!

Ten years in a job is quite a long time. But the interesting thing about farming is that having only “farmed” for 10 seasons, I have actually only been involved, in say, growing tomatoes 10 times in my life! To be fair, over that time I have probably harvested close to 100,000 tomatoes (not including cherry tomatoes), clipped and trellised close to 10,000 plants. There can’t be too many jobs that you’d place your faith in a service that had only be done 10 times before. Haircuts? Surgery? Dental appointments!

But such is farming! Experiential learning—problem solving—followed by experimental learning! Thanks for putting your faith in us to grow those veggies for you! Technically, Frank, Becky and I have an amalgamation of 23 years, so you are in good hands! Speak to you in the New year.

Cheers,
Andrew

Partial Group A Members’ last pick up

Dear KCSA community,

There are only two weeks left of the season. This week will be the last pick up for our Tuesday and Friday Partial Share Members Group A.

Despite us winding down for the season, you will find we are still packing those boxes with nutrient dense veggie goodness! In fact, new on the share this week are bunched carrots, yukina savoy, napa cabbage, and kohlrabi! Just in time…

WHAT'S IN THE SHARES THIS WEEK!
LETTUCE, YUKINA SAVOY, CABBAGE, ONIONS, DILL, SORREL, MINUTINA, NAPA CABBAGE, CARROTS, KOHLRABI, BEETS, SPINACH, & SWEET POTATOES

It has been a great season, despite being brought to you under some trying circumstances. Hopefully the farm has offered our members some consistency and a little respite during their pick-up days in what has otherwise been a very emotional year. Taking the time out of a busy schedule to pick up and u-pick the summer bounty and being intentional about where your food comes from is very important.

As announced last week, we are running an online store in the lead up to Christmas to entice early sign ups. No purchase is necessary (in the December store), however, anyone who signs up before Thanksgiving will have access to our online store. What will be available will really depend on the weather. Chard and kale are very slowly regrowing, as is the spinach. Other fresh greens will include minutina and salad mix, and we should also have some herbs available. At this time, we feel this is the best way to extend our season and get some early sign ups true to the CSA model. Thanks to all those members that have signed up already. We will be in touch!

Next week will be the last week and the last newsletter of the season. Speak to you then!

Cheers,
Andrew

Shares for 2021 on sale now!

Dear Kimberton CSA community,

We are pleased to announce that we have opened up KCSA membership share sales for the 2021 season! To encourage early sign ups, all members who sign up before Thanksgiving (11/26) will have access to our online store through the month of December.

The store will include fresh greens, plus a few other treats that can be purchased online and picked up at the farm on Tuesday’s between 4pm-7pm. The store’s official pick-up dates are:

  • 12/1

  • 12/8

  • 12/15

  • 12/22

Orders will need to be submitted via our online store by midnight the Sunday before your intended pick up date, so we have time to process the order.

There will be a limit on what we can harvest and this will be reflected in the store inventory. The store will operate on a first come first serve basis. We feel the online store is the easiest way for us to extend our season, meaning you as members have access to fresh, wholesome produce through the month of December whilst encouraging early sign ups - true to the CSA model!

WHAT'S IN THE SHARES THIS WEEK!
LETTUCE, ARUGULA, CABBAGE, SCALLIONS, CILANTRO, DILL, MIZUNA, MINUTINA, MUSTARD GREENS, KOHLRABI, BEETS, SPINACH, & SWEET POTATOES

A few things to note about 2021 shares.

All shares will continue to be harvested and pre-boxed, except for u-pick items, obviously! The configuration of the pick-up shed will probably change in 2021 but the pre-boxed shares will remain.

As all the shares will be boxed in 2021, we have rechristened the box share the half share. So, our 2021 shares are:

As you know, the full share runs for 26 weeks, the partial share is essentially the full share picked up 50% of the time (13 weeks) and the half share is approximately half of the items in the full share picked up every week (26 weeks). In 2021 half shares will have access to our u-pick herbs and flowers only. The 2021 season will start the week beginning on 5/23 and finish the week ending on 11/20.

Our current farm hours will also remain in place. The farm is open to all members on Tuesday 1pm-7pm, Friday 1pm-7pm and Saturday 9am-12pm during the season. This means members can come and u-pick their weekly share during these hours even when it is not their pick-up day.

Members will note there is also a modest increase in the full and partial share prices. I’m not sure when the last price increase was at KCSA, but there has not been one for at least 5 years. As we try and maintain the integrity of the CSA model, we also have to maintain the operation of our farming business. Not only do we want to be able to offer a living wage to our crew (and selves) but production costs also increase year after year. Please remember, sustainability is the cross section of social, environment and economic considerations.

We hope you take the opportunity to sign up early for the 2021 season and take advantage of our online store through December. And as always: THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Cheers,
Andrew

Damp, dreich and dreary...weather

Dear Kimberton CSA community,

It’s going to be a damp, dreich and dreary week at the farm with our first proper hard frost scheduled for Friday night/Saturday morning. We knew it was coming and, luckily, we have been preparing for it! There are four more pick ups for full and box shares and two pick ups left for partial shares. Thanksgiving is only a month away!

Our butternut squash is finished for the summer season, as is the bok choy, collards, tomatoes and peppers. Summer is officially…officially over!

Broccoli is still chugging along. Unfortunately, with this mild, wet, weather it is struggling a bit, similar to to the collards, with the last hold over of the summer bugs causing some damage. Its growing though! I’m not making anymore predictions on this crop.

WHAT'S IN THE SHARES THIS WEEK!
LETTUCE, ARUGULA, CABBAGE, SCALLIONS, CILANTRO, DILL, MIZUNA, MINUTINA, MUSTARD GREENS, CHARD, BEETS, SPINACH, & SWEET POTATOES
U-PICK:
BLACKBERRIES & HERBS.

Lettuce, dill and cilantro are going strong. These are susceptible to the hard frost, as cold temperatures can cause some superficial damage on the leaves. We’ll be wrapping them up tight at the end of the week and we’ll see what the damage is, if any, next Monday. Cabbage will remain on the share this week and chard, mustard and mizuna are back from a little hiatus.

Our spring spinach was a bit of a flop, but we have some nice winter hardy spinach on the share this week. We have some growing outside and in one of the tunnels. We’ll start with bunching the outside spinach and then we’ll be bagging the inside spinach. Spinach is one of the few crops that actually continues to grow in really cold weather.

Beets are another cold hardy vegetable and they will also be on the share this week. We’ll be bunching them for a while, until we need to top and get them out of the field. They are a pretty decent size. I always look forward to having beets.

In lieu of butternut squash, sweet potatoes will be making their first appearance on the share this week. They have been harvested, cured and are already in storage! This is the first time we have grown sweet potatoes since we took over KCSA four years ago and we are pretty happy with the results. Members should note that not all sweet potatoes were created equal! Some are much bigger and smaller than the ones you’ll find in the store. Also, the crew were literally on their hands and knees digging through the dirt for these festive treats.

And finally, we have a new green for our members: Minutina. Last year, we attempted to grow this and didn’t quite get the timing right. When it was ready to harvest in March (?!?) it very quickly became my favorite winter green! It is delicious sauteed with oil, onions and garlic and braised in stock with a splash of vinegar and hot sauce. It maintains a nice bite after cooking. MINUTINA…remember you had it here first!

Cheers,
Andrew

Star maker, dream breaker, soul taker

Dear KCSA community,

 

The planets and the stars were in alignment Saturday night. The new moon and clear skies made Jupiter, Saturn and Mars all very shiny and bright. Looking through a 100x telescope made those lights into planetary bodies, with moons of their own (Jupiter), rings (Saturn) and a bright red glow (Mars). I must confess that I didn’t get to see Saturn but this was my first time seeing anything through a telescope and it was pretty spectacular. Thanks, Marylin!

 

Saturday was primarily a root day on the biodynamic calendar and the roots on the share this week will continue to be watermelon radishes! Our beets will be ready soon. We’re still hanging in for the carrots. Although summer is over, the weather this fall has been quite favorable, so we are hopeful they will be ready before the end of the season. We are enjoying this weather whilst it lasts. Just as summer was late, so is winter…but it’ll be here and we need to be ready!

Over the last few years we have grown Romanesco in the winter. Romanesco AKA Roman broccoli is a cross between cauliflower and broccoli that looks like it has been printed on a 3D printer. Anyway, every year a few would be ready in time but for the most part they’d take forever to size up during November leading to quite a bit of wastage.

 

This year we have swapped the cauliflower-esqe Roman broccoli for just plain old regular broccoli. It’s been on the share, but we are now faced with the same issue where basically all the plants have started to head up but are taking their sweet time to size up. The good news is we are three to four weeks ahead of the Romanesco curve, but for this week, at least, we’ll be swapping out the broccoli with sweet red cabbage. Broccoli will be back!

 

Cheers,

Andrew

A year of extremes

Dear KCSA community,

 

There are six pick-ups left for our full and box shares, and three pick-ups for our partial shares. Where did all the time go?

 

As most members know, our u-pick items have been magically disappearing from the board over the last few weeks. This has been partially due to the weather, but also because we need to sow some winter cover crop. We have had three light frosts already this season, and although there is no hard frost predicted in the 10-day forecast, summer crops such as tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, basil and cut flowers have run their course. Our perennials, on the other hand (i.e., herbs and blackberries), should continue until it gets proper cold but in a limited supply.

I’ve read that it has been a tough tomato year in PA. It has been a year of extremes. A late frost in spring, lengthy dry spells followed by torrential rains in a hot and humid summer and then early frosts in fall have taken their toll. Although we can mitigate dry spells with our irrigation system, we have faced the other issues mentioned….if I do say so myself…rather successfully! Plus, if you remember, we lost all our heirloom transplants in spring!

 

Now I must confess, this has been in part down to having covered growing spaces. The abundance of green tomatoes (and peppers) left on the plants are evidence that it has been a strange year. It is a little frustrating, as even in the greenhouse, these won’t vine ripen in time. However, we have harvested them, so if members keep the green tomatoes and peppers that they will be getting in their share over the next two weeks on a counter top or pantry (not the fridge), they may ripen off vine.

 

To speed this process up, you can put them in a paper bag with an apple. Apples release a lot of ethylene gas as they ripen, which encourages other ethylene emitting fruit, like tomatoes, to ripen quicker. In fact, this is how most tomatoes are ripened commercially. They are harvested when they are green and then gassed in a warehouse. It makes them much easier to transport over long distances. Unfortunately, there is a trade off on taste as there needs to be about a 40% blush on the tomatoes before they are picked to maintain their maximum taste levels. Alternatively, you could try Green Fried Tomatoes.

 

Cheers,

Andrew

KCSA's Enormous Turnips

Dear KCSA community,
 
One day some farmers sowed some turnip seeds. Using a notoriously finicky seeder and a recently purchased turnip seed roller, the drop rate ended up being a little inconsistent, leaving small gaps in the rows between the turnips. Nevertheless, the seeds that were sown, grew…were hoed…then grew and grew until they reached the right size for harvest.
 
After all the white Hakurei salad turnips were harvested for the CSA, the farmer moved onto harvesting the scarlet Hirosaki salad turnips. Now, having been sown at the same time and with only a few extra days maturity time between them, the Hiroskai turnips grew…and grew and grew even more…until some were enormous!
 
The farmers went to harvest one of these enormous turnips. They pulled and pulled and pulled, but the turnips would not budge. So, they called Assistant Manager Becky to give them a hand. Together, they pulled and pulled and pulled. Still, the turnip would not budge.

After a while, they shouted to this season's crew to give them a hand. Together, the farmers, Becky, Mandi, both Sara’s, Miriam, Leo, Jake and Dana all pulled and pulled and pulled. Still, the turnip would not budge. The farmers then called the workshares: Line, Renee, Carrie, Coleen, Isabella, Al, Ashlie, Mary and Kathy for help. All together they pulled, and pulled and pulled, but the turnips would simply not budge.    
 
Finally, they called KCSA's apiarist friends Erik and Emmett, and birder friends Marylin and Gretchen. Together they all pulled and pulled and pulled, until…POP…out came the turnip. The farmers were very pleased and invited everyone round for a turnip dinner.
 
Thank you!
Andrew

Heathy Soil = Healthy Food = Healthy People

Dear KCSA community,
 
The Rodale Institute recently published a white paper called Regenerative Agriculture and the Soil Carbon Solution. It states that at a “minimum regenerative agricultural practices that support carbon sequestration include:

  1. Diversifying crop rotations

  2. Planting cover crops, green manures

  3. Retaining crop residues

  4. Using natural sources of fertilizer, such as compost

  5. Employing highly managed grazing and/or crops and livestock

  6. Reducing tillage frequency and depth

  7. Eliminating synthetic chemicals”


Here’s a quick run-down of us sowing triticale cover crop in Field C on Sunday. As you’ll see, KCSA checks all those boxes…and more…

Primarily, at KCSA, winter hardy grasses, like triticale (and winter rye), are used to make sure we have some sort of vegetative cover on the ground over winter. They germinate at low temperatures, so they can be sown late into the fall. Even with a little growth above the surface, their extensive root system holds the soil together, reducing any potential run off. Further, these roots aerate the soil, which helps reduce the depth of tillage needed in Spring. Due to the timing, the triticale that was sown on Sunday is in early enough that it will provide some nice green manure for next season's onions. The onions follow the butternut squash that you’ll find in your share this week. Tomatoes will follow the onions in 2022!
 
Knowing that we will have additional green manure in Spring didn’t deter us from spreading our own biodynamic compost. The compost will help the triticale grow, making some of the nutrients in the soil even more bioavailable when we mow and incorporate the cover crop in Spring. Our compost primarily constitutes manure sourced from our next-door neighbor—Seven Stars Farm—and our own crop residues. Plus, biodynamic preparations 502-507.
 
All crop residue that doesn’t make it into the compost pile, like the green manure, is mowed and incorporated back into the soil. This is more frequently done than not. After spreading the compost yesterday afternoon, we lightly disced the field to break down the bigger chunks of compost, which in turn helped break down some stray butternuts and non-flail mowed squash vines still lying on the surface.
 
For expediency, we sowed the triticale by hand. We have a couple of pieces of equipment that are quicker at sowing the seeds (and natural fertilizer) but we figured by the time we had got them cleaned up, we’d have ultimately saved time by being able to get stuck in straight away doing it the old-fashioned way! Plus, you can control the rate of the application a little better.
 
Anyway, after sowing the seed, we gently harrowed the triticale into the soil—to a depth of about half an inch. Our harrow, the Perfecta II, is our most commonly used tillage equipment, along with our discs, and although we go a little deeper that a half inch when we are preparing beds, neither implement is particularly intensive or deep! We rotate chisel plowing, so it is not done every year. And, over the last four years our tractor’s rototiller has essentially become obsolete.
 
Our systems are not perfect, but we do the best we can with what we got! And we aim to improve them year after year to help build the soil and sequester that carbon. Healthy soil = healthy food = healthy people.
 
Cheers,
Andrew