July 8, 2013

Good Morning Everyone-

 

As I write this the familiar sound of pitter patter is coming from outside my window - wish it was little feet playing outside - but the rain hits again.  We have flash flood warnings going into effect as of 11am until midnight tonight. My new "smartphone" texted me a flash flood warning on the 4th of July for Grand Isle County - what we live on an island how could we flood?  Well, the ground is very very very saturated as you all well know.

Our little farm is doing ok - crops are growing but at a snails pace, some crops (beet, peas and some lettuce) rotted in the field because of it being too wet and some fields we can not get into to replant into because they are way too mucky.  Clay soil + loads of rain + not enough sun= a bog and easily damaged soil structures. Usually on the fourth of July we are planting our third planting of potatoes.  we have one planting in so far (and knock on wood they look beautiful). The hoophouse tomatoes, eggplant, and pepper plants  are looking beautiful, they only need more sun to ripen the fruit. The lettuce was doing great - our third planting ready to pick - the deer came along Friday night and ate it all along with some chard - luckily they did not find the 4 th planting.  That third planting was looking gorgeous - ok, I have already cried about that - moving on. Everything is just wet. It is hard to believe it is July 8th - feels more like May 8th.

So..for pickup today - we are going to do out best for you.  We will pick everything that is ready - might be less than usual - but this is out of our control - Your bags may seem a little less full - but know that you are getting everything that is available on the farm right now.  This is all weather related - the stuff is out there - it just needs some sun and dryness. Funny - we, will get about 4 or 5 days of sun and then we will be wishing a bit of rain again. The season will catch up again and your bags will be overflowing.

Today We will have summer squash, zucchini, thai or Italian basil, maybe green onions, maybe lettuce, and maybe a potluck selction of veggies. We are going out to pick shortly. pitter patter pitter patter

One of the silver linings to all this rain, is that we have all of you here with us - to ride the weather out together.  We appreciate our CSA members sticking it out with us - we are not the only ones out in the rain. Thanks for thinking of us. 

Your farmers,

Adam, Christine, Sadie and Delia, Alicia and Yard

Journal Post for June 24, 2013

Volume VIII, JOURNAL I,2,3                                                            June 24, 2013

Blue Heron Farm Journal

So what’s happening on the farm this week?

This journal we put out once a week and is available in paper form on Mondays and electronic form email and website the rest of the week.  It is a place to get recipes, know what was going on with the farm,  and Christine's love affair/ramblings with the food we grow, the animals we caretake,  the land we farm, and our kids:) If you have a recipe you would like to share or something for the journal - feel free to pass it along to us. If you can not make a pickup you can send someone else to pick up your food or give us a call and we will pack it up for you and leave it for you in the fridge.  The best is to call before pickup time so we know to pack it up for you.  If we don't hear from you we will donate it to another family. At pickups, you will be able to purchase bread, eggs and lamb (when available).

 

So this journal entry has taken awhile to get going - the season has been so busy seeding, transplanting, weeding, building, repeat -  but the crops are slow getting out of the ground due to this wacky weather.  Sorry this has taken awhile - things get so busy here - and sometimes there is a choice between getting veggies picked or this journal - so...I am starting in the wee hours of the morning - hoping to have it done before we go picking for today's veggies.

 

We grow most of our crops in the ground from seed or transplants we start in our greenhouse.  Our nightshades we grow under cover in the hoophouses - those are some of our tomatoes (our heirlooms grow in the field), peppers, eggplant and basil.  At the beginning of spring things were dry which is great to get the fields dried out but then it was too dry - and we only have drip irrigation to some of our fields (these our hoses that weep water when full).  The it rained and rained and was cloudy and plants need water and sun to grow.  When we speak to other growers in the area - their crops are slow this year too - this wacky weather - or is this the norm now.  Each year we try to anticipate and plan on how we can adapt our growing practices to the weather.  Each year there is a wave that we are not quite ready for - but when that wave comes - we just need to ride it out.  There is no use getting mad over it - sure getting frustrated is ok - but to let it linger - it just eats you up.  We have clay soils - they are heavy  and hold onto water - so we are ever so careful not to do too much damage while it is wet.  We try to stay on the paths - minimizes compaction.  You have probably played with clay before - you smoosh it together and its smooshed - well clay soil is like that too - when you smoosh it when its wet - it doesn't unsmoosh - and all those miniscule air pockets made by worms and all the work the macro and micro organisms have done to create the soil in to soil and not just clay get smooshed too.  Clay is great during a dry patch because even though the surface is dry - underneath is still moist.  Clay soil is rich in minerals, calcium and organic matter which help all the organisms thrive in the soil that promotes happy veggie growth. Another key ingredient  - in all of this farming stuff - is patience and a handful of sugar snap peas.

 

With that all said, we always keep our CSA members in mind when we are picking - we will hold back cutting a field for farmers market to keep for Monday's pickup.  You entrusted us to grow your veggies back in those late winter/early spring months the least we can do is make your veggies for the week a priority.  With that being said - you are in for the wave of a ride too with the weather.  The first few weeks seem light - but as the season cranks up - things will be heavier and more diverse.  And don't worry we will not overload you with too many of this or too many of that. There will be times you can have pick your own and also take as many tomatoes as you like :)  I think we may have zucchinis and summer squash in the next couple of weeks.  The spinach is done for now and the peas are starting to come in strong. The head lettuce starting to get bigger and I think basil is right around the corner.  The early potato plants are gorgeous!  Our crew did an amazing job tilling and hilling them.  The hoophouse veggies are doing well too - nice and green- a little behind but very strong plants.  We did many plants as transplants this year (cucurbit family (squash,cukes, melons, winter squash) because of the weird weather. This week we are getting the winter squash transplants in the ground and the fourth round of lettuce (but wait a second - why is the first round not picked yet - oh yeah the weather:))

 

We are incredibly thankful for the wonderful crew we have this year.  We have two apprentices, Alicia and Yard.  They were both currently from Burlington so they knew the area.  Both believe in small organic farming and wanted to learn more about it more in depth.  We have known Yard for a few years thanks to our friend Sophie (our first year apprentice back in 2010) and he has come up and volunteered on numerous occasions.  Yard graduated from UVM  with a degree in art and religion and is originally from New Jersey.  This year, he wanted to fully immerse himself in small diversified organic farming.  We met Alicia through the NOFA-VT apprentice program.  She graduated from UMASS Amherst with a degree in architecture a few years ago and is an avid biker - having biked across the US last summer helping building homes along the way.  Her skills of carpentry have already come in very handy of the farm.  Alicia also has a passion for local food systems  and small scale farming.  They will be with us for the season - and they are eager to meet all of you. 

 

We are also thankful for the many volunteers we have - our Monday morning weeding crew, our Saturday volunteers, we are so blessed.  Thank you all for making this an amazing farm.  If you would like to come over and help out let us know and we will put you to work. 

 

We are working on 3 farm dinners - eat in the field among the veggies and animals - one in July and 2 in August.  Our farm dinner will be August 18th from 3-5pm.  It will be by suggested donation and will have our lamb, chicken and tons of veggies including our heirloom tomatoes.  The other two dinners are at Savage Gardens on July 21 and Pomykala Farm on August 11th.  More information to follow.

 

We look forward to farming with you this season.   

Peace, your farmers, Christine, Adam, Sadie and Delia, Alicia and Yard

 

 What’s in the share this week: Lettuce Mix, Garlic Scapes, Baby Napa Cabbage, Baby Bok Choy, Sugar Snap Peas, Maybe Pea Tendrils

 

Eggs for sale We have the pretty girls’ eggs for sale – these are free-range, certified organic chicken eggs that are brown, green and blue – with the brightest yellow/orange yolks you ever seen.  The eggs are $5.00 a dozen. 

 

Recipes

 

Garlic Scapes are the false flowers of of hardneck garlic.  They are totaly edible. Chop and put in eggs, pizza, stir fries, anything.  You can roast  them or grill them.  You can throw them in a food processor with parmesan cheese, some nuts or not, olive oil and ta da - scape pesto - our favorite in this house.  Smeared on and make grilled cheese sandwiches - yum

 

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 part  maple syrup

1 part balsamic vinegar

1/2 part of olive oil

salt and pepper

and shake:)

It keeps well in the fridge - the olive oil may separate in fridge - but just shake and everything mixes together again.

Bok Choy is eaten the whole plant  - leave and stem.  You can sauté them, stir fry them, chop them and add them to anything you would put greens in.  You can eat them raw too.  The other night I chopped pea tendrils, bok choy and cabbage and mixed them with eggs, cheese and pepperoni - yum.

Pea tendrils can be eaten raw or chopped and saute in olive oil and eaten.

2013 CSA Farm Shares Available

Here it is the long awaited CSA signups and letter.  They are a google doc.  Feel free to share:)

Blue Heron Farm 2013 CSA brochure: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0By3U03bbE9hiOFpjLW1UVkFyRlU/edit?usp=sharing

February 26, 2013
 Hello to all returning and potential CSA members, neighbors, friends and family!
I opened the door to the hen hoophouse this morning, and there it was - it was time - I could smell the earth warming in the hoophouse - I hadn't smelled it since the fall - the earth is waking up - it's time, it's time ..Here we are - at the end of February - seed starting time and CSA sign up time!

 We are in our 10th growing season and we are excited to be now the permanent stewards of these 30 acres here on Quaker Road.  If you haven't heard, we were finally able to purchase and conserve our farmland back on Halloween - what an amazing 2 year process with Roy, VT Land Trust, South Hero Land Trust, and many other state and federal agencies. We are incredibly blessed to have all the support we do. 

So here we are, we own this land.  Our name is on the deeds, we pay the property tax, the mortgage, upkeep the buildings and the land - really owning is such a strong word - maybe we should be considered caretakers who are paying the caretaking of this land... In the world, we are seen as landowners now.  Who really "owns" land - we like to think of it as stewards, because this land will last longer than us and our children and we are lucky to be here for this time.  Anyways, here we are.

 This year we hope to successfully graft tomatoes using organic , non-gmo root stock to have more rigorous growth in our hoophouse tomatoes,  incorporating all the compost that the chickens, cows, and sheep have made us, grow more heirloom varieties of vegetables and Sadie's Flower bed, have a interactive website that takes online payment for veggies, build a barn for CSA pickup, a permanent wash/pack area for produce, put water in at the farm (where the hoophouses are), and maybe build a small milk house for our little dairy herd.   With your continued support, we can keep feeding you and your family, our family and our community at large. We continue on working our dream of growing a diversified family farm with produce, grazing sheep for fiber  and meat, sweet cows for raw milk and beef,  poultry for eggs and meat, apprenticeships, and an educational & therapeutic youth farm worker program. We strive to have our farm have a symbiotic relationship with the people, land, grazing animals, and produce of the farm.

We will be offering 50 shares again  this year.  We will have the Individual, Full and Salad Share available. There is still the sliding scale, financial aid is available(through NOFA-VT and the farm), we will take EBT for payments, payment plans, possible bartering and prices will not go up.  We are discontinuing our CSA delivery - unless there are at least 10 + Individual or Full shares in one pickup location that is created by a member. The deliveries are really hard for our family to do - with only 2 or 3 people per site - and have to deliver to 5 or so sites- it is not sustainable for our small farm.  We are sorry for those this will effect.  We welcome you to the farm for pickups.

We also have 1 CSA Individual share membership to barter to 1 person or family that can commit to working 8 hours a week.  Please get in contact with us if you are interested in this. We will also have CSA member work days scheduled once a month where you can come out to the farm and help us with big labor projects that are family friendly. Also, this year we will continue to work on and post on our farm blog www.blueheronfarmvt.com and we are pretty active on facebook too - please "friend" us.

 We want to continue to make organic produce affordable to all and be able to pay our costs. With members buying upfront their vegetables for the season, it helps our costs immensely and we can budget for the rest of the season. We would like to get payment by April 15th. If any of you can pay sooner than that, that would be great since most of our buying is right now through March (I know, I know I should have mailed this in January). Shares will start the first or second week in June. **For those who pay by March 15th – you will be entered to win 5 dozen of eggs or a skein of our organic yarn or those who refer someone to our CSA, you will be entered to win also - the more you refer - the more chances to win.  Just have those people write your name at the bottom of the 2013 membership registration.

We value your support and friendship. If these costs are a hardship, please call us and we can come up with a payment plan. We are also hoping to provide 5 supported shares for families who are in need of this. If you are in need of financial aid this year please let us know and we will get you the financial aid info for a  supported share.  Also we are accepting donations for the Farm Share program that supports our farms supported shares. Last year we were able to give financial support to 4 families from our community and provide extra food to the Round Barn through generous donations from our members. Our goal is to raise $500 for supported shares so NOFA-VT will match it and make a share more affordable to families in our community. If you would like more info, please give us a call. You can send the donation in with your registration form or send it directly to NOFA-VT with “Blue Heron Farm supported share” in the memo.

Because of you, our CSA members, we are able to outreach to our community here in Grand Isle County with food and goodwill.

Last year, we had our fourth year with the Senior Shares at the Round Barn here in Grand Isle. We delivered fresh veggies to 15 residents for 10 weeks and have had community dinners with them once a month since October. We are looking to expand this for this upcoming year and look forward to having them out at the farm with us. If you would like to join us for our monthly lunches, just let us know and we will let you know when they are.  We will continue this program again this year with the hopes of expanding it.

Also, we donated and sold, at a reduced rate, a bunch of food for the Food for Thought program last year, which fed over 125 children in Grand Isle County for 12 weeks. Each week, Blue Heron Farm was able to donate or sell  fresh veggies. Our farm plans to help out again with this year by donating veggies and if any of you would like to help with volunteering on those Sundays, delivering food to families, growing veggies here at our farm or your own place, buy a CSA share for this program, donate money (see our registration form) or with financial support please call Kaight at 372-5843 or give us a call.

We will also be working on growing certain crops for the food shelf here in the county.  If you would like to help with any of this, let us know.  There are times - for example - last summer, a bunch of lettuce mix came up that was ready and we had way too much to sell or give to you all.  We called a few people and folks came out and we harvested over 75lbs of lettuce mix, that we washed, spun, and bagged and brought to the Grand Isle Food Shelf.  None of it went to waste, it didn't get plowed under, it went right to people in our community.  We are always looking for folks who would like to help come glean veggies for the food shelf - let us know if you are interested.

Thank YOU!

We couldn’t do this without all of you. It is because of you, we made it through last year with the hope for this growing season. Adam, Sadie, Delia and I look forward to walking out to the chickens with you and your children, meeting our sheep and their lambs in the pasture, mooing to Miss Annie, Annabelle and Miss Maggie, picking ground cherries, uncovering treasures of potatoes and carrots from the earth, and enjoying that you know where your food comes from.

When we sit and plan this year and reflect over the last 9 years(!) – we are truly blessed to have this as our work. We are honored that we are one of your farmers and you are our community. Hope you are all well. We have enclosed this year’s CSA brochure. Please pass to a friend if you are going to fill out the electronic version. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you walking in the fields - smelling the basil, having tomato juice run down your cheeks and eating fresh sweet peas again .

Your farmers at Blue Heron Farm,

 Adam Farris, Christine Bourque, Sadie and Delia Farris

 

Winter Market tomorrow

We will be at the Winter Champlain Islands Farmers' Market at the Congregational Church in South Hero from 10-2pm on Saturday (tomorrow). We will be taking orders for certified organic lamb (ready next week)- you can order pieces, half or whole lamb. We will aslo have available yearling mutton cuts and mutton sausage.  We also be selling potatoes, garlic, eggs, yarn, dried tomatoes and serrano peppers - all make great gifts for this holiday season.  We will ship any farm products including lamb for an additional shipping charge within the US.

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Blue Heron Farm Announcement

Happy November-

The last newsletter will be out soon - but wanted to let you all know that we finally closed on the the 30 acres on Halloween!!! We are now the stewards of this beautiful land forever! and Blue Heron Farm is now secure for years to come. After we purtchased the land we sold our development rights to the whole 30 acres to the Vermoint Land Trust so it will always be farm land for generations to come. Maybe our daughters will farm it or your children or your childrens children - it is exciting to know this land will be here for next generation of farmers.

Thank you all for your love, support and prayers in theis 2 year process. No words can describe how grateful we are to Roy and Ev for inviting us here 8 years ago to farm. Hope you are well and look forward to seeing you over the winter months. We still have veggies in the farmstand.

First Winter Champlain Islands Farmers' Market tomorrow- Saturday from 10-2pm at the South Hero Congregational Church on South St. The market will be taking EBT/Debit cards. We'll have certifed organic eggs, sweet carrots, potatoes, dill, cilantro, thyme, red and green tomatoes, peppers, arugula, baby kale and chard, yarn and more and 2 cute farm girls who can't wait to see everyone again:)

PS those CSA members who missed the last pickup - feel free to come pickup your share at the market:)

Your farmers,

Christine, Adam, Sadie and Delia

Inside Farmers Market in Burlington Today

We've been quiet on the internet but busy in the fields..We will be at the Fletcher Allen Health Care Farmers Market today 11-3pm with fresh just picked organic carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, arugula, dill, cilantro, greens, peppers, cherry tomatoes, eggs, yarn and wool, and more. Our farm friend Julia will be sharing our table with her knitted woolen creations. We will also be taking orders for whole or 1/2 shares of organic pastured mama raised lamb - available mid December :)