Eener's Farm

Eener's Farm 2012 CSA Sign Up

2012-01-19T08:15:00.000-08:00

Brrrr! It’s actually winter finally! That’s good I was starting to worry. If we don’t get these good sub-zero temperatures around here I suspect that the potato bugs would form an insurmountable army next summer and just carry away my whole farm.

Anyway…

If you are interested in signing up for the 2012 Eener’s Farm CSA season, please fill out the sign up form at the bottom of this post. I will officially start accepting brand spanking new members on February 1. Alumni members may sign up anytime.

If you are looking for information about Eener’s Farm and the upcoming 2012 CSA season please see the previous post. Or e-mail me at eenermachine@gmail.com or call me at (715)643-2803.

Eener’s Farm C.S.A. Sign-Up Form for 2012
Send this to me in the mail: N12449 220th St. Boyceville WI 54725 or E-mail this information to me at eenermachine@gmail.com and I’ll put you on the list for 2012.

Your Name:____________________________________________________

Which Size Share: Full ($515) Half ($275)

How to Pay: Make checks out to Eener’s Farm or Renee Bettendorf. Pay the whole works by June 1, 2012 or pay half the amount by June 1, 2012 and the other half by October 1, 2012.

Where will you pick up at: (River Market, Hampden Park, Fresh & Natural, Menomonie Market Food Co-op or Aveda in Blaine)

If you are a returning Eener’s Farm member don’t have to fill the rest of this out unless something has changed:

Your Address:________________________________________________________

Your Phone Number:_________________________________________

Your E-mail Address:_____________________________________

Risk Agreement: By signing up I understand that there is risk involved in farming and that I have agreed to share in this risk. Because of factors like weather and pests I understand that I may not get all the produce that Eener has planned on putting in my box. I also understand that I may get more than Eener planned on putting in my box in the event that some produce crops do really, really well.

2012 CSA Info/Meat Delivery This Saturday

2012-01-11T18:21:00.000-08:00

We’ve got a meat delivery happening this Saturday (Jan. 14). We’ll be in Stillwater at 9a.m., in Hudson at 10a.m., in St. Paul at 11a.m. and Blaine at noon. E-mail me if you’d like to order: eenermachine@gmail.com

Here is what’s left (thanks to everyone who bought our meat!):

Goat and lamb meat is $6.00 per pound.
Rack of Goat – about half a pound each
Goat Shanks – about half a pound each
Lamb Shanks – about a half pound each
Goat Chops – very small, about 8 will make a pound

Ground Beef – 1 pound packs - $4.50 each
Beef Liver – 1 pound packs - $3.50 each

2012 CSA Info When is winter going to start? It’s been real weird here weather-wise but we’ve been taking advantage of it by getting an amazing amount of outdoor maintenance projects completed. Yesterday I noticed a daffodil coming up in our front yard which reminded me that the 2012 CSA season is just around the corner.

I’ll start signing up brand spanking new CSA members on February 1. Alumni members are welcome to sign up any time (thanks to all who already have!). Last year we sold out in St. Paul early in March and in Hudson and Stillwater in early April. We have a new drop site this year in Menomonie, WI so I don’t know what to expect for a sell-out date there.

I’ll post new member sign-up forms for the 2012 season and where to send them in about a week.

Without further ado, here is some info about our farm and the 2012 CSA season:

Delivery Locations: We’ll be delivering to River Market Co-Op which is located in downtown Stillwater; Fresh and Natural Foods in Hudson; Hampden Park Co-Op in St. Paul (928 Raymond Ave., fairly near Midway Stadium); Menomonie Market Food Co-op in Menomonie and in Blaine for Aveda employees.

Delivery Days and Times: River Market Co-op in Stillwater: boxes are delivered on Mondays members pick them up between 1:30 and 9p.m.

Fresh and Natural Foods in Hudson: boxes are delivered on Mondays members pick them up between 2:30 and 9p.m.

Hampden Park Co-op in St. Paul: boxes are delivered on Wednesdays members pick them up between 2:00 and 9p.m.

Aveda: boxes are delivered on Wednesdays members pick up anytime after 2:30 p.m.

Menomonie Market Food Co-op: boxes are delivered on Fridays members pick up between 3 and 8p.m.

Box Size: I offer full and half shares, both are delivered on a weekly basis. Full shares come in 1 and 1/9 bushel boxes, half shares will be packed in 5/9 bushel boxes. If you are trying to picture the size of the boxes here are the dimensions: 1 and 1/9boxes are 17.9”X12”X12” and 5/9 boxes are 14.5”X11.6”X8.1”.

How Do Full and Half Shares Differ? Besides getting larger quantities of produce, full share members also receive sporadic eggs from our free-range chickens. Additionally we pick whatever berries we are able to grow for the full shares (last year we were able to do one delivery of strawberries and one delivery of raspberries. Also, if a crop does terribly, it’s almost a given the full shares will still receive it. For example, last year was a bad year for brussel sprouts but we were still able to eek enough of them out of the patch to supply the full shares.

What Size is Best for You? That is an excellent question…sorta depends on how much you eat and cook. The full shares are for roughly four people and the half shares are for right around two people. That being said, a pair of serious vegetarians could probably easily knock down a full share. On the flip side, a family of four with children may be just fine with a half share.

Pricing: Full shares sell for $515 and half shares sell for $275.

Box Contents: Here’s what’s on the list for this year: basil, beans, beets, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, chard, cilantro, corn, cucumbers, dill, soybeans, eggplant, fennel, garlic, gourds, hot peppers, sweet peppers, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, leaf lettuce, head lettuce, mint, melons, onions, green onions, parsley, peas, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, rutabaga, rhubarb, spinach, parsnips, various summer squash, various winter squash, tomatillos, tomatoes, turnips and flowers.

Our Season Length: This year I’ll be doing 18 weeks starting the second week in June and going until the second week in October. This means that for Stillwater and Hudson folks their first box will be on June 11. St Paul and Blaine folks’ first box will be on June 13. Those picking up in Menomonie will have their first box on June 15.

What About Your Vacation(s)? If you leave town or just know you won’t be able to pick up your box we can skip you for that week(s) and double, triple or quadruple your delivery when you get back. Arrangements for this should be made at least 24 hours in advance.

This is all fine and good, but what the heck is a CSA anyway? Basically, a CSA (which stands for Community Supported Agriculture) is a type of direct market farm, meaning the farmer sells food directly to customers. There are a lot of advantages to this kind of farm. For one, customers/members know exactly where their food is coming from (we encourage our members to come visit the farm and we hold a big party at the end of the season for everyone). Secondly, produce from CSA farms doesn’t travel far. As a result it’s better for the environment and members enjoy much fresher produce. Another perk is that CSA farms tend to be really diversified (we grow about 40 varieties of veggies plus herbs) so members get a nice variety of in-season veggies.

Risk: Since farming is so completely tied to the weather, it’s risky business. My goal is to provide my members with an amount of produce that is equal to the money they paid for their share. Over the past three years I think I accomplished this goal. But I can’t promise that this will be true for this year. It’s helpful to think of CSA farms in terms of the stock market; when members buy a share they are making an investment. On a good year they will break even or get an amount of produce that is greater in value than their initial investment. On a bad year, they may end up with an amount of produce that is worth less than what they invested. Also, a well-placed tornado could wipe us clear off the map and put a serious bind on CSA deliveries. In buying a full season of produce, the members of CSA farms share the risk with their farmers.

Is Eener’s Farm Organic?: I’m not certified organic, so I can’t advertise myself as organic. I do advertise as “Chemical Free” which means I don’t use any chemical pesticides or herbicides in my farming operations. I looked into the process to become certified and it does involve an investment, which I’d be willing to make. It turns out that being certified also involves TONS of paperwork and record keeping… not my strong points. So at this point I am not pursuing a certification though I remain committed to organic gardening.

Sheep/Goat/Beef Meat Update

2012-01-04T08:20:00.000-08:00

So it turns out that people really like sheep and goat meat. As a result we have sold out of several cuts. Here is what we’ve got left:

For ordering and delivery info, please check the previous post.

Lamb Shoulder Roasts – about 1 pound each

Rack of Goat – about half a pound each

Goat Shanks – about half a pound each
Lamb Shanks – about a half pound each

Goat Chops – very small, about 8 will make a pound
Lamb Chops - very small, about 8 will make a pound

Lamb for Stewing- a one pound pack of stew meat

Ground Beef – 1 pound packs - $4.50 each
Beef Liver – 1 pound packs - $3.50 each

Lamb and Goat Meat...Got It

2012-01-02T17:41:00.000-08:00

We just got a bunch of lamb and goat meat back from our butcher. These guys were all born last spring at our place and are all 100% grass-fed. They are also very tasty (we sampled some chops…yum).

Check out the cuts list below. Besides lamb and goat we also still have ground beef and beef liver, all other beef cuts are sold out. If you or anyone you know would like to order some meat go ahead and e-mail me (eenermachine@gmail.com)to place an order.

Our next meat delivery will be on Saturday January 14. We will be in Stillwater at 9a.m., in Hudson at 10a.m., at Hampden Park Co-op in St. Paul at 11a.m. and Aveda at noon. If you live in Hudson, Stillwater or Blaine we will gladly deliver to your house. Also, if you live reasonably near Hampden Park Co-op (within five miles) we will also deliver to your house.

What does it taste like? Ooohhh, it’s very good. I think lamb and goat meat tastes very similar. I would describe it as a cross between beef and pork. All of the cuts are bone-in. Got questions about cuts and what to do with them? E-mail those to me too.

Prices: All lamb and goat meat is $6.00 per pound

Here is what we’ve got for cuts:

Ground Goat - 1 pound packs
Ground Lamb – 1 pound packs

Leg of Goat – about 2 pounds each
Leg of Lamb – about 2 pounds each

Goat Shoulder Roasts – about 1.5 pounds each
Lamb Shoulder Roasts – about 1 pound each

Rack of Goat – about half a pound each
Rack of Lamb – about half a pound each

Goat Shanks – about half a pound each
Lamb Shanks – about a half pound each

Goat Chops – very small, about 8 will make a pound
Lamb Chops - very small, about 8 will make a pound

Lamb for Stewing- a one pound pack of stew meat

Lamb Liver – free for the asking

Ground Beef – 1 pound packs - $4.50 each
Beef Liver – 1 pound packs - $3.50 each

Adventures in Farm Maintenance

2011-12-28T17:43:00.000-08:00

First a quick CSA update: I’ll be posting 2012 CSA info here soon. It looks like I’ll be adding a drop site in Minneapolis and Menomonie. Also, lamb and goat meat will be available at the next meat delivery, Sat. Jan. 14. We should have that meat back from the butcher early next week, at which point I’ll post a price list for you to peruse. Also on meat, there is still plenty of ground beef left but we are sold out of all other cuts.

It’s high time for a farm story…don’t you think?

In the fall after the CSA is done, the garlic is planted and the fields are cleaned up we usually set to work on maintenance projects…there is no shortage of those around here! After all, I inherited a rather dilapidated farm. Don’t get me wrong, I think the farm is really cool but it’s definitely a work in progress, my husband Cass says by the time we retire (in like 40 years or so) we should have a real nice place here.

So last winter I enlisted my dad to help me with some structural issues in one of the barns. I wanted to get the barn shorn up so that I could have it roofed the following spring. At that time, the roof was the original tin one and it leaked terribly sending a cascade of water or snow down to the lower level which confused cats, dogs, chickens, cows, sheep and goats alike. Why is it raining inside? I’m sure they all asked that question whenever they came into the barn to get out of the rain and found it raining there too in spots.

The barn I tackled last winter is the oldest structure on the farm. It was already built when my great grandparents moved here in 1927. No one knows who built it or when exactly it was built. Several folks estimate that it is at least 100 years old.

The barn is dug into the ground on two sides. The other two sides have been built onto over the years. In the 1950’s my grandpa built an addition onto the old barn. We call that barn “the new addition” it’s the newest building on the farm.

Also at some point in the 1950’s my grandpa bought a building at an auction and then hauled the whole works to his farm where he deposited it right next to the old barn. That building was used as a milk house and calf pen for many years. I now use it as a packing shed for the CSA.

So if you can imagine it, the old barn (which is also the tallest building on the farm) is connected to two other structures (the 1950’s barn and the auction-bought shed-thing). Because of this situation I felt it was very important to fix up the old barn otherwise it might bring down other buildings as it decayed.

My first step was to clear out the haymow. It had been used as a storage area for old junk…errr, I mean treasures for quite a number of years. Underneath the treasures, was a layer of loose hay about one or two feet thick. The loose hay effectively hid all the holes in the floor and made clearing out the hay mow really pretty exciting. I just never knew if I was standing on the floor or a layer of compacted loose hay that could give way underneath me at any second. Luckily, due to my cat-like reflexes and some strategically places boards I never made the plunge to the lower floor.

Anyway, after hauling away a lot of junk and pitching out a mountain of ancient hay I was ready to assess the situation. I learned that two major beams that ran from the hip in the roof to the floor of the hay mow were completely shot and just sort of dangling there. A section of wall near one of these beams had rotted off at floor level. This 10 foot section of wall waved in the breeze. Additionally, both of the main sill plates (pretty major boards that support the roof rafters and wall studs) had disintegrated in spots as well. And lets not forget the holey floor.

After patching the floor so that I could actually walk around up there, I had my dad over for a consultation. We decided that one of the big beams could be salvaged but the other had to go. The sill plate could be patched and once we had the sill plate patched we could nail the waving-in-the-breeze wall back together.

While all this may seem straightforward, this project took about four weeks. It involved fabricating (from scratch!) several giant metal brackets, modifying a pole jack, the use of several bottle jacks, buying customized lumber at a sawmill and really quite a lot of swearing.

At every turn we had to jack up parts of the barn in order to remove damaged pieces and put new lumber in. If you’ve ever jacked up a building you know how creepy this can be. The building makes all kinds of noises and sometimes you can even see it moving which is really pretty freaky when you are standing inside it! As a result I always get nervous when the jacks come out.

One day my dad and I were working on tearing out the beam that was totally rotten. My dad was up on a ladder prying nails out of where the beam joined the roof. He asked me to go get something out of my garage. I was in a state of nervousness since we had had to jack up a major portion of the barn in order to get this big beam out. So I scampered out of the barn and jogged over to the garage.

While I was rummaging around in the garage, I heard the most peculiar sound…hopefully I never hear this again. It was a series of snaps...real quick like giant dominos falling…about 20 of them or so. At about number 10 I thought “oh my God the barn is falling down and dad’s in there standing on a ladder!!!!”. So I ran out of the garage just in time to hear three big crashes.

As I skidded to a stop in front of the barn, which appeared to still be standing, my dad stuck his head out and said “Holy shit, I think your machine shed just fell over”. Sure enough, it did…damn it. Sometimes it’s like pissing on fires over here…seriously.

We went up to look at the machine shed which had been built by my grandpa in the 1950’s. I had known the shed was in bad shape and also in serious need of a new roof. Cass and I had attempted to stabilize it for the winter by cutting down a tree and bracing the log inside the building. But apparently that was not enough. We’d had plans to restore the building…I sorta wanted to turn it into a party shack.

Even though I was bummed that the building had fallen over, it was interesting to see how it had happened. One wall had leaned out to such a degree that it simply broke free from the rest of the structure. At that point each of the roof rafters snapped in turn (that was the domino-sounding thing I’d heard). After all the rafters snapped the wall that had originally separated collapsed (the first big crash), then the two other walls fell in succession (the other two crashes).

After we finished surveying the damage, there was nothing else to do but go back to working on the barn and hope a similar fate wouldn’t become of it. We headed back up to the hay mow and very soon my uncle, who lives down the road about half a mile, came hurrying up the driveway in his jeep.

He had heard the machine shed collapse. But figured it was the barn that had gone down since he knew we were working on it. We all had a good laugh at the irony of trying to keep up one building while another falls over.

In May I hired two roofers to come put new tin on the roof. It looks great! And doesn’t leak! We put 450 square bails up there this summer…sure feels good to use the old barn. As for the machine shed, the rubble has been cleared and we were able to salvage some pretty nice lumber. Miraculously, one corner of the building is still standing. Perhaps a party shack is still possible….

2011 CSA Survey Results

2011-12-06T12:59:00.000-08:00

It finally looks like winter around here! That means it will soon be time to start thinking about the 2012 garden (I already got a seed catalog in the mail!). Before I start that though, I’m going to spend some time thinking about the 2011 garden. And the best way to start that is to go through the 2011 CSA survey. Eighteen shareholders responded to our 2011 CSA survey. That works out to about 30% of our members. Thanks to everyone who filled these out. They are very educational for me and I appreciate your input. Below you’ll find the questions, the answers, what folks said and some of my insight. - Eener

1. On a scale from one to ten how satisfied were you with your CSA season? One would be not at all and ten would be very much so.
The most popular response to this question was an eight. One person gave the season a five, two people gave it a 10, four people gave it a nine, two gave it a six and two gave it a seven.

2. Was there anything in your box that you didn’t use because you didn’t like it?
The big winner for this question was okra; seven members listed it as something they didn’t like. In second place were melons which received three dislikes. I have a suspicion that some folks got melons that were either too ripe or not ripe enough, it’s hard to gauge when melons are just right.

Several items got two votes these were: hot peppers, kohlrabi, radishes and horseradish. A bunch more got one vote those were: fennel, eggplant, mustard greens, sunflower seeds, beets and very small potatoes. Interestingly enough, six members said there was nothing they didn’t like.

From this question I think it’s clear that there is no need to plant okra next year. It also appears as though we’ll need to work harder on harvesting melons so that they get to the members at the right eating stage.

3. Was there anything in your box you didn’t use because you didn’t know what to do with it?
Ten survey responders said there was nothing in their boxes that they didn’t know what to do with. Okra and horseradish received two votes each. Kohlrabi, seven top, turnips, tomatillos, fennel, sunflower seeds and hot peppers received one vote each.

4. Was your box in a cooler or entryway at your drop site?
This question was split about 50/50 which is good. The reason I asked it is because I’m wondering if there is any difference in quality between boxes that are put into a cooler or those put into an air conditioned entryway (see the next question for that answer).

5. Did your box get to you in good shape? For example, was anything squished or wilted?
All survey responders said their boxes got to them in good shape. As a result, I do not think there is much of a difference between picking up from a cooler or entryway.

6. How did you feel about your pick up time? Would an earlier or later pick up time be better?
Fifteen members thought their pick up time was fine. Three mentioned that earlier pick up times would have sometimes been more convenient.

7. Do you think you got a fair amount of produce for the price you paid for the share?

Fourteen members said yes to this question. Here is what the other four responders said:

“No. Probably weather influenced.”

“It seems we got more last summer than this summer. This may be a result of the difference in tomato output mostly.”

“Would have liked to receive a bit more, including Brussels sprouts.”

“It would have been nice to have larger amounts of an item than small amounts of many items.”

The tomatoes did really terrible this year and lots of folks were disappointed. They are one of those crops that really add a lot to a box and it’s really awful when they don’t do well. In 2010 we had a bumper crop of tomatoes. Brussel sprouts also did poorly this year. Many of the plants didn’t produce any.

Dividing up the crops is always interesting, especially with half shares. A couple of other folks made similar comments about variety versus amount. We want everyone to get everything and sometimes it’s hard to pack everything into the boxes in useable amounts.

8. Here is a list of what I harvested this year. Any major favorites or major dislikes? Suggestions for new things?

Green Onions, Onions, Peas, Beans, Rhubarb, Spinach, Leaf Lettuce, Head Lettuce, Mustard Greens, Herbs, Flowers, Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Broccoli, Kale, Swiss Chard, Garlic Scapes, Garlic, Potatoes, Carrots, Kohlrabi, Turnips, Turnip Tops, Beets, Okra, Tomatillos, Sweet Corn, Summer Squash, Sweet Peppers, Hot Peppers, Winter Squash, Pie Pumpkins, Melons, Soybeans, Shelling Beans, Sunflower Seeds, Green Tomatoes, Horseradish.

On the major favorites side of things tomatoes scored highest with eight votes. I think it’s safe to say that what few tomatoes we had were really good. Garlic scapes came in second with six votes. Winter squash was third with five votes and soybeans were fourth with four votes.

I’m surprised about the soybeans, last year they didn’t get a very good review and I had considered just dropping them for 2011. Now I’m glad I didn’t. Many, many other crops received one or two votes each.

On the major dislikes side of things okra was the clear winner with four votes. Kohlrabi came in second with four votes. Shelling beans and sunflower seeds tied for third with three votes each. Other things on the major dislikes list included: flowers, turnips, beets, mustard greens, eggplant, kale, swiss chard, turnip tops, lettuce, tomatillos and green tomatoes.

Ironically, all the items that received one or two votes as a dislike also received one or two votes as a favorite (funny how that goes).

9. Anything else you would like to add?

Here are some things people added:

“I would suggest less variety per box and more volume per item to make a substantial dish.”

“More squash.”

“This was our first CSA ever and we loved it!”

“Fewer beets.”

“Sure missed the tomatoes. We get things happen though.”

“Even though we got a lot of Kale, I really loved it.”

“I became a convert to kale chips this year. Can’t get enough.”

“It would have been nice to have larger amounts of an item then small amounts of many items.”

New crop suggestions for 2012 included: sweet potatoes, parsnips and raspberries.

I tried sweet potatoes in 2010 and it didn’t go the best mostly due to the type of soil I have. But perhaps with some research I could find a variety to try that might do better here. I think parsnips would be a great thing to try. I’ll put that on the list for 2012. We are starting to grow raspberries. For now they will go to full share members only.

Next Meat Delivery is Sat. Dec. 10

2011-11-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

Our next meat delivery will happen on Sat. Dec. 10. If you'd like to purchase some %100 grass fed beef go ahead and send me an e-mail (eenermachine@gmail.com). We’ll be in Stillwater at 9a.m., Hudson at 10a.m. and St. Paul at 11a.m. If you live in Hudson or Stillwater or reasonably near Hampden Park Co-op (St. Paul) we’d be happy to drop your order off at your house.

Beef, Here's What’s Left – Thanks to everyone who has purchased some of our beef! We’ve still got plenty of ground beef left ($4.50/pound).
Also a few sirloin steaks ($7.00/pound) and three pounds of liver are still available ($3.50/pound). We are all sold out of roasts and rib steaks. Please see the previous post to learn more about the beefers.

Lamb and Goat Meat Coming Up- We will have both within the next month or two. Details will be posted soon.

The Surveys- About half of the 2011 CSA members returned their surveys. I'll post the results next month so (there is still time to send it in). I love getting surveys back, so many great suggestions and wonderful feedback.

2012 CSA Sign Up-We’ll start accepting brand new CSA members on February 1, 2012. We’ll sign up alumni members any time (thanks to all you folks who sent in your sign-up forms with your surveys!)

Grass Fed Beef For Sale

2011-10-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

We’ve got a whole pile of very delicious 100% grass fed beef up for sale. If you or anyone you know may be interested in buying some please let us know!

Prices (by the pound):
Ground Beef: $4.50
Beef Chuck Roast: $5.00
Beef Rib Steak: $7.00
Beef Sirloin Steak: $7.00
Beef Liver: $3.50
Olson’s Woodville Meats of Woodville, WI did the butchering. All the meat is packed in clear plastic.

How this critter lived:
This is a Hereford steer (a.k.a. Whiteface). He was born 16 months ago and spent his entire life out to pasture. In fact he was born out in the pasture and his mom did an excellent job of raising him. During the winter months he was fed strictly hay from round bales set out in the pasture. This animal was never confined and lived a very carefree life. He got to eat as much grass as he wanted, ran around in the sunshine all day and even played in the snow. This type of lifestyle does not require the use of antibiotics as illness is relatively rare. He is a true 100% grass fed beefer and so corn or any other type of feed was not a part of his diet.

How to buy some:
Just e-mail me (eenermachine@gmail.com) or give me a call (715)643-2803 with what you’d like. We’ll be delivering the meat on the first Saturday of each month starting in November. Home delivery will be available for members living in Hudson, St. Paul, or Stillwater. Arrangements can also be made for pickup at your box's delivery site. On farm pickup is of course also available.

Big Fall Harvest Party Fest

2011-10-18T19:29:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun at the party on Saturday! Thanks to everyone who made it out. We had about 80 folks here throughout the day and evening. Here are a few pictures:

A shot of the bon fire.

A hay ride ready to depart.

The barn yard as seen on a hay ride.

The hoophouse as seen on a hay ride.

Random party-goers.

Last Box of 2011!

2011-10-09T19:36:00.000-07:00

Because we are going through and picking whatever is left out in the gardens the boxes this week will be a hodge podge of various produce. One thing is for sure, you will all get some very pretty corn. Technically you could grind this into corn flour (which is very tasty) but most folks use it for decoration.

Don't forget now, next Saturday is the Big Fall Harvest Party Fest. Come collect your Jack O'lanterns, fall decorations from the garden and miscellaneous garden produce. Here are directions to the farm:

From Stillwater: Cross the lift bridge and head into WI on Hwy. 64. Follow 64 for about 45 miles, turn right onto 220th St. Please note that there is another 220th St. that intersects with Hwy. 64 about 20 miles from Stillwater, this is not our road. In order to get to our 220th St. you have to go through Connorsville which is a little town about three miles west of our house. Once you are on the correct 220th St. we are the first place on the right.

From I-94: Go east on I-94 until you hit the Baldwin exit. Take a left off the exit ramp onto Hwy. 63 north. Follow Hwy. 63 until you get to Hwy. 64. Take a right onto Hwy. 64. Head down Hwy. 64 through Connersville and then for another 3 miles until you reach 220th St. Take a right on 220th.. Our farm is the first place on the right.

Looks like we’ll have a nice turn out. Thanks to everyone who has already RSVPed. If you’d still like to go ahead and do that by e-mail: eenermachine@gmail.com.

#17

2011-10-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

The barn is filling up with all sorts of hip stuff for the big party on Oct. 15!

My best guess for this week:

Half Shares: Pie Pumpkin or some type of Winter Squash; Horseradish; Mint; Fingerling Potatoes; Turnips or Kohlrabi; Okra or Hot Peppers.

Full Shares: Giant Zuchini; Horseradish; Mint; Fingerling Potatoes; Turnip; Tomatillos; Parsley or Brocolli; Cucumber.

#16

2011-09-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

Technology has failed us once again...so this week there will not be a photo. Anyway...here are my predictions:

Half Shares: Pie Pumpkin or Winter Squash, Kale, Sweet Peppers, Tomatillos or Eggplant, Green Tomatoes, Sunflower Seeds.

Full Shares:Pie Pumpkin or Winter Squash, Kale, Sweet Pepper, Hot Peppers, Okra, Green Tomatoes, a Ripe Tomato, Sunflower Seeds and maybe eggs.

Please note: I have been called in for jury duty this week. As a result, this will be the first week ever in the history of Eener's Farm that I will not be present for packing up for deliveries...best of luck (I'm sure it will go just fine, Cass totally has this under control).

Box #15

2011-09-18T17:55:00.000-07:00

Best guess for this week:

Half Shares: Winter Squash, Tomatillos or Okra or Eggplant, Thyme, Chard or Kale, Hot Peppers, Gourds and a Tomato.

Full Shares: Winter Squash, Brocolli or Parsley, Flowers or Cabbage, Thyme, Chard or Kale, Sweet Peppers, Gourds, Carrots, Cherry Tomatoes or Tomatoes and possibly eggs.

2011-09-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

My best guess for this week:

Half Shares: Cucumber or Summer Squash, Tommatillos, Sweet Peppers, Pie Pumpkin or Melon, Fennel, Soybeans, Shelling Beans, Onion and Garlic.

Full Shares: Cucumber or Summer Squash, Tommatillos, Hot Peppers, Melon, Basil, Soybeans, Shelling Beans, Onion, Garlic, Cabbage, Winter Squash and Baby Kale.

Box Thirteen

2011-09-04T20:38:00.000-07:00

Folks we are having some technical difficulties so there will not be a picture this week. Deliveries will be the same as usual this week despite the holiday weekend. It's going to go something like this:

Half Shares: Spuds or Green Beans, Tomatoes or Tomatillos, Cucumber, Summer Squash, Pie Pumpkin, Parsley and Hot Peppers.

Full Shares: Green Beans, Kohlrabi, Carrots, Garlic, Tomatillos, Onion, Basil, Cucumbers, Summer Squash, Pie Pumpkin, Sweet Peppers and other hip treats.

Farm Photos

2011-08-30T19:05:00.000-07:00

I figured it was about time to post some farm pictures:

Here's Forest with a nearly-ripe jack o'lantern. Don't forget, Big Fall Harvest Party Fest is Sat. Oct. 15 where a whole lotta these will be here for CSA members/party goers to pick up.

Maybel the mighty racoon dog. She was a little reluctant to pose for this picture since it wasn't quite time for her to be in her house (she's only stationed there during night-time hours).

This is a hoophouse shot. Forest was getting bored at this point hence the ornery face. Notice the great okra plants and the sad tomato plants (boo!).

Here is Cass bringing down the goat ladies Rose and Shirley. We've been really enjoying their milk. I think goat cheese is in our future!

Forest and the sunflower patch.

Number Twelve

2011-08-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

My very best guess for this week:

Half Shares: Green Beans, Cucumbers, Summer Squash, Brocolli or Tomatillos or Cherry Tomatoes, Assorted Sweet Peppers (not in photo), Garlic, Onion and Kale or Swiss Chard (not in photo).

Full Shares: Sweet Corn, Cucumbers, Okra, Tomatillos, Garlic, Summer Squash, Spuds, Carrots, Assorted Hot Peppers, Swiss Chard, Herbs and other hip treats.

Check out these hay making pictures from last week. We put up a whole mess of square bales...it was quite the operation.

Number Eleven

2011-08-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the very late post...it's been a really fun weekend around here. We had visitors all weekend, attended Pickle Fest, a threshing bee, a family reunion and a fish fry. As a result we just got done picking for Monday's delivery. Anyway...

As far as I can tell this week:

Half Shares: Sweet Corn!!!!,Cucumbers, Summer Squash, Golden and/or Pink Beets, Eggplant or Brocolli or Okra, Basil and Baby Kale (note: basil and kale are not in photo).

Full Shares: Big Bag of Beans, Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes, A Few Tomatoes, Garlic, Onions, Peppers, Tomatillos, Dill or Sage, Summer Squash, Kohlrabi, Kale and maybe even Eggs.

Number Ten

2011-08-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

My best guess for this week:

Half Shares: Small Salsa Kit (enough tomatoes, onion, garlic, sweet and hot peppers and cilantro to make about a pint of salsa); Green Beans; Cucumbers; Eggplant or Carrots or Brocolli, Kale.

Full Shares: Big Salsa Kit(enough tomatoes, onion, garlic, sweet and hot peppers and cilantro to make about a quart of salsa); Cucumbers; Carrots; Beets; Turnips; Cherry Tomatoes; Kale and other hip treats.

Number Nine

2011-08-07T16:29:00.000-07:00

Half Shares: Spuds, Beets, Onions, Kale, Carrots or Brocolli or Peppers, Cilantro or Basil, Cucumbers, Tomatoes and Summer Squash.

Full Shares: Onions, Kale, Peppers or Eggplant, Pickle Kit, Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Summer Squash, Kohlrabi, Green Beans, Sage or Basil, Parsley and other hip treats.

Number Eight

2011-07-31T15:32:00.000-07:00

Half Shares: Pickle Kit (Cucs, Dill and Garlic), Green Beans, Peppers or Kohlrabi, a sack of Cherry Tomatoes or a large Heirloom Tomato, Cilantro or Okra, Summer Squash.

Full Shares: Pickle Kit (Cucs, Dill and Garlic), Spuds, Brocolli, Beets, Heirloom Tomatoes, Peppers or Eggplant, Summer Squash, Carrots, Onions, Basil.

We've been curing your garlic in our corn crib. It works great and makes for very organized garlic!

Number Seven

2011-07-24T18:18:00.000-07:00

This is my BEST guess:

Half Shares: A sack of cherry tomatoes or one large heirloom tomato, new potatoes or brocolli, garlic, cucumbers!, swiss chard/kale/collards/seven top, an onion, kohlrabi or peppers or okra or summer squash

Full Shares: Tomatoes, garlic, cucumbers, swiss chard/kale/collards/seven top, an onion, green beans!, cilantro, summer squash and green peppers.

Number Six

2011-07-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

Because we would rather not get heat exhaustion we got up at dawn to harvest today. It was very mysterious out there this morning all foggy and crazy humid…a very interesting environment to pick in. Anyway, we’re done until this evening and are headed to the beach.

Last week my crystal ball failed me a bit and the Wednesday half shares ended up with flowers instead of broccoli. So I’ll switch that this week and run flowers to the Monday half shares. Here’s what we came up with this week (as far as I can tell anyway):

Half shares: lettuce, peas, flowers or broccoli, okra or parsley, beets, seven top
Full shares: lettuce, peas, cherry tomatoes or zucchini, collards or chard or kale, new potatoes, kohlrabi, basil or sage and other possible hip treat(s).

Look at these cuties born last Thursday. Bunny the goat finally had twins. They have really been enjoying their tire.

Box #5

2011-07-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

Half Shares: a big ‘ol bag of peas, broccoli, garlic and leaf lettuce (note: lettuce is not in photo).

Full Shares: peas, broccoli, garlic, leaf lettuce, kohlrabi or okra or cherry tomatoes or zucchini, beets or onions, chard or kale or collards or salad turnips and possibly eggs.

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T10:18:00.001-07:00

Apparently with all the firecracker and sparkler action going on I completely forgot to do the blog update last night! Anyway, we’ll be doing deliveries this week (July 4th and 6th) at the usual times.

I don’t have a photo this week. Your boxes will be similar to last week’s but with the addition of peas.

Box #3

2011-06-26T15:53:00.000-07:00

Half Shares: Leaf Lettuce, Spinach, Salad Turnips, Green Onions, Mint or Parsley, Garlic Scapes.

Full Shares: Leaf Lettuce X 2, Green Onions X 2, Garlic Scapes, Collards, Baby Yellow Beets, Oregano, Eggs and/or Other Hip Treats.

Here are some Garlic Scape Recipes:

Garlic scape parsley basil pesto
1/2-1 c. basil
1/2-1 c. parsley
1-2 c. garlic scapes
2-3 T. pine nuts
1 tsp. salt (or more to taste)
pepper to taste
extra-virgin olive oil, at least 1/2 c.
1/3-1/2 c. parmesan cheese, grated
Amounts are approximate, because we used a ratio: 1 handful basil, 1 handful parsley, 2 handfuls scapes. We went light on the pine nuts and parmesan. Put the scapes, herbs, pine nuts, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Process, adding the oil a bit at a time, until desired consistency. Stir in parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. Makes about 1 1/2 c. pesto.
Naturally, we quadrupled the recipe. Should keep in the freezer up to 6-8 months. No worries that it will last that long.
Garlic Scape Carbonara

This pasta is fantastic as a meal served with a big garden salad and some crusty bread. If desired, add a half-cup of fresh, lightly cooked peas to the mix for a little added nutrition (and sweetness).
1/2 lb campanella pasta, or shape of your choosing
4 slices bacon (about 3 1/4 ounces), chopped
1/4 cup garlic scapes, cut into 1/4 inch coins
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
Set a pot of water to boiling on the stove and cook the campanella pasta (or desired shape).
While it’s cooking, cook the bacon over medium heat until browned. Remove the bacon pieces with a slotted spoon and add the garlic scapes. Cook until soft (2-3 minutes). Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon. (Drain both the bacon and the garlic scapes on a paper towel).
Whisk together the eggs, salt and red pepper flakes.
When the pasta is done, quickly remove it from the stove and set a different burner to low heat. Drain the pasta and add it back to the pot, on the burner set to low. Stir in the garlic scapes and bacon. Add the egg mixture and stir feverishly for 3-4 minutes until sauce is thick and creamy. Don’t let it overcook or it will be gloppy. Sprinkle the romano cheese in, a little at a time, and stir to combine. Don’t add it all at once or it won’t mix through out the pasta as well (since it will clump).
Serve immediately.

The Second Box

2011-06-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

So, my family is out gallivanting around in celebration of Father’s Day and they took the camera with them. Who knows when they will be back! So please excuse this non-photo post.

Anyway, here is what I came up with for the second box:

Half Shares: a big bag of leaf lettuce, a smaller bag of spinach, a bunch of green onions, a bunch of garlic scapes, a bunch of radishes and a bundle of either mint or parsley.

Full Shares: You’ll be getting all the same things as the half shares with double portions of green onions and garlic scapes plus salad turnips, beet tops and eggs/other hip treats.

The First Box

2011-06-12T18:25:00.000-07:00

Every Sunday evening I'm going to try and post a picture of a half share box. I stole this idea from another CSA and I think it’s a really great one. It should give you all an idea of what you’re going to get each week…and maybe help with your grocery shopping. Full share folks, your boxes will have the same things but with bigger quantities and/or extra things too (think eggs for one). But the posts should give you some idea of what will be happening with your boxes too.

In this week's box: Fancy Mustard Mix, Rhubarb, Green Onions and Easter Egg Radishes.

Deliveries Start Next Week

2011-06-07T05:04:00.000-07:00

The CSA starts next week! I’m excited to be doing deliveries again. Here is when and where it is all happening:

Monday, June 13 is the first delivery for:
River Market Co-op in Stillwater: 12:30 p.m.
Fresh and Natural Foods in Hudson: 1:30 p.m.

Wednesday, June 15 is the first delivery for:
Hampden Park Co-op in St. Paul: 1:30 p.m.
Aveda Employees in Blaine: 2:30 p.m.

The times posted above are when I expect your boxes to be fully delivered and ready for you to pick up. River Market Co-op, Fresh and Natural Foods and Hampden Park Co-op are all open until 9 p.m.

More New Arrivals!

2011-05-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

Baby Chickens
Our chick order arrived a week ago Saturday. All 27 of the babies are doing well. This is a mixed batch of several different breeds all of which are laying hens. I built a high-security brooder coop last year for baby chicks but since it’s been pretty chilly the last week with frosts at night we’ve kept the crew in our living room. Later this week they will be moved to the brooder.

Baby Plants
Even though it’s been a rather chilly spring I’ve managed to get quite a few crops in out in the field. So far I’ve got: peas, lettuce, spinach, onions, radishes, turnips, mustard greens, collards, kale, beets, kohlrabi, broccoli and some carrots.

Here are the radishes, mustard greens and salad turnips. In past years I’ve had problems with flea beetles. These little black bugs eat the foliage of certain crops and then lay eggs in certain other crops. I’m trying to keep them off the plants with row covers which are a thin white fabric that lets in light and water but traps out the beetles. So far it seems to be working.

Here’s a shot of the peas. I’ve already run through them with my ultra-hip tractor.

The New Tractor
I’ve really been enjoying the tractor we bought this spring. It’s a Farmall Super A. This tractor debuted in the 1950’s and was specifically designed for market gardeners. The tractor is off-set which means the drivers’ seat is not in the center but off to the side. Being off to the side allows the driver to see exactly what is happening with the belly-mounted cultivator. This feature is called ‘culta-vision’.

The cultivator has pointed shoes attached to gangs. The gangs run on hydraulics and can be raised and lowered with a lever. Right now I have shields on which protect the very tiny plants from being sprayed or buried by flying soil. The cultivator does one row at a time and pulls all the weeds out except for a very narrow strip. It’s been working really well and I think it’s going to save me tons of time in the weed management department.

The New Roof
After doing quite a lot of structural repairs on one of the barns we had a new roof put on it. We are very excited to have this new roof! This barn is the oldest building on our property. No one is certain exactly when it was built but it was here when my great grandparents bought the farm in 1927. The roofer guys guessed it was about 100 years old. Anyway….it works great!

Other Garden News
The hoop house is full of plants. Since it stays warm in there I’ve already got the tomatoes in. This year I decided to plant the eggplant in there too. I also squeezed in a few okra plants, about 80 broccoli plants and as an experiment some pole beans and luffa plants. The hoop house is a really fun place to garden! It’s always fun to see what one can do in there.

Also this year I’ve been working on building the farm’s perennial inventory. I split a bunch of rhubarb plants, put in some more asparagus crowns, planted a new bed of strawberries and put in some more perennial herbs. We won’t see many rewards (maybe a few…cross your fingers!) from all this work in this year’s CSA boxes but hopefully in 2012.

CSA Update
We are on track to start deliveries in a few weeks. Some reminders:

Stillwater and Hudson folks’ first delivery will take place on Monday, June 13

St. Paul and Aveda folks’ first delivery will be on Wednesday, June 15

I’ll be sending out a reminder e-mail which will include specific delivery times to everyone as we get closer

One half of your share amount is due by June 1 the other half by Oct. 1, checks can be made out to Eener’s Farm and sent to Eener’s Farm N12449 220th St. Boyceville WI 54725

I try to be timely about cashing checks and sending out receipts, but sometimes I get behind…thanks for your patience.

Eener’s Farm Maternity Ward – Take #1

2011-04-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

There have been some new arrivals on the farm, with more to come. So far we’ve got a new tractor and three baby goats!

Check out these cuties:

Todd, one of the baby goat twin dudes born on April 19

Rod the other twin. These boys like to hang out in Forest's old play house (it's really funny when they go down the slide).

Momma goat Shirley and her baby girl Layla born the day before yesterday.

Other Babies Coming Up
We've got one more goat slated to give birth any day now. Next month our six ewes (sheep mammas-to-be) will lamb. It appears as though we have two hens sitting on eggs. If it all pans out we’ll have farm-grown baby chicks in about three weeks. On May 16 we will be getting 25 baby chicks from a hatchery (they will show up in the mail, weird huh?).

If you are interested in coming to see baby animals just give us a call (715-643-2803) or e-mail me (eenermachine@gmail.com) and we can coordinate a time.

The baby goats are pet-able. Lambs here at our place are generally not pet-able, they are more wild…something to admire from afar. Farm-grown baby chicks are not pet-able either…the momma hens will attack! But hatchery chicks are totally pet-able. So for maximum baby exposure the end of May would be a good time to take a baby animal tour. By the way, the Farmall Super A is definitely pet-able!

Garden News
The rhubarb is up and so is the garlic. Rhubarb will be a first box item. Garlic scapes (the flower of the garlic plant) will show up by the end of June or so. Actual garlic heads will be happening in July.

It’s been pretty wet but I’ve managed to plant the early potatoes and also the peas. For spuds this year we will have the super-popular ultra delicious all red potatoes known as Mountain Rose; Rio Grand Russets, a standard russet tator; Purple Vikings a purple/blue potatoes and new this year, Banana Fingerlings an heirloom variety that is long and skinny and yellow.

In the past I’ve been able to start putting spuds in CSA boxes in the last week in June. Peas generally show up around that time too. For peas we are going to have Oregon Giant snow peas, Sugar Anne snap peas and Green Arrow shelling peas.

As soon as it dries up a bit I’ll be putting in red, yellow and white onions. Green onions will show up in your first box. Lettuce is another thing to plant soon. I’m going to do a big mix this year so you’ll find all sorts of green lettuces as well as some red kinds in your first box. Spinach will also go in soon. Since I ran short on this last year I’m going to go big on it this year. I’ve selected three different varieties so hopefully the harvest window will be longer and you all will get it for several weeks.

I’m trying a different variety of radishes this year too. They’re called Easter Egg and come in several shades of red, pink and purple. They seem cool…hope they work out. I also bought a new kind of kohlrabi called Gigantic. They are supposed to get really big…we’ll see…I’m also going to plant the standard kind too, just in case.

Current Share Availability

2011-04-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

Here's an update on CSA share availability:

St. Paul: SOLD OUT
Hudson: SOLD OUT
Stillwater: SOLD OUT
Aveda: three shares left

If you are still shopping for a CSA check out the Land Stewardship Web site CSA listing: http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/csa.html

Coming soon: pictures of our new tractor! She's a 1950 Farmall Super A...a very hip ride indeed.

Amuck

2011-04-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for CSA information, please see the previous two posts to find space availability, a sign up form and more information.

I thought it was about time to post a farm story, so here’s one on cattle and what can happen if they get out:

Animals on pasture warrant good fences and well-closed gates. Most livestock fencing for pastures have four main parts which are fence posts, corner braces, wire and gates.

Maintaining a fence is a constant job. Fences are forever heaving with the freezing and thawing cycles, being harassed by domestic and wild animals or being crushed by falling trees.

There are a lot of different kinds of fencing equipment to choose from and of course the type of fence you put up will depend of what kind of animal you’re trying to keep in. One could be working with chicken wire, pig wire, woven wire, electric wire, cattle panels, pig panels or barbed wire. Posts are usually metal or wood and corner braces mark the corners of the pasture and provide a way for fencing to turn a corner.

Gates are perhaps one of the most important parts of a fence and are oftentimes overlooked. An overlooked gate can spell disaster as it did on our farm last fall.

My parents have been raising beef on pasture for about 23 years; they live about three miles from my farm. Every year they bring over some of their stock to take advantage of the pastures here that I don’t use. Last year they brought over seven head of young cattle.

This group lived all summer on the pastures in the back 40 of my farm. A fair piece of the fencing in that pasture runs along State Highway 64. The road is a two lane that is reasonably busy. Also along that particular fence line runs a pretty major power line. The power line and my fence share the ditch along this stretch of 64.

Also along this stretch is located a gate. Periodically, the power company comes and does maintenance on the power line…sometimes they use that gate to access the line….last October they forgot to close it.

It took the cattle a day or two but they did finally notice that the gate was open. Intrigued, six of the seven left their pasture and went on an adventure that lasted 10 days.

While it may not seem like a huge deal that the cows got out….it really was. Anyone with animals is in charge of those animals whether they escape or not. Owners can be fined for animals at large and are held personally responsible for what their livestock do while running amuck.

What can a small herd of cattle do? Well a bunch of things actually. They can damage other folks’ property by eating their corn, tearing up a yard or garden or eating small trees. They also may break down fences to get to other peoples’ animals…unwanted breeding could occur.

The absolute worst case scenario would be if the animals were to cause a traffic accident. Cattle will happily run down a road (I’ve seen this) frolicking and kicking up their heels. Motorists don’t expect to see this. Imagine a car that crashes into a wayward cow who weights between 1500 and 2000 pounds. Not pretty.
Once a livestock owner learns that they’ve got animals running at large, a sort of panic ensues. You need to get those animals back….fast.

After checking all the fence lines, we confirmed that six of dad’s cattle were indeed out at about 6 p.m. on a Wednesday night. We found where the power company had cut a limb out of a tree and had crushed the fence. At first we thought this was where the cows had made there escape.

Dad called the power company. He was told that they did not leave a limb across the fence. The power company called back and said that one of their workers remembered that he had forgotten to shut a gate. Later we would learn that a neighbor had seen the gate open and had gone and shut it. Unfortunately this happened after the cows got out.

We made numerous calls to all the neighbors and the neighbors’ neighbors. We were able to ascertain the general direction that the herd went in.

It gets dark pretty early in October, so my parents and my family and I spent the rest of that night driving up and down the back roads shining spotlights into the nearby fields and woods. We called the search off at midnight with no sightings.

The next day dad called the power company again and they agreed to send out a crew to help with the search. Dad spent the day searching with three power company workers with no luck.

It’s easy to get discouraged when you have animals out and you’re having problems getting them back. There was some speculation that we would not be able to get them back and that we may need to go on a cow hunting expedition. Dad’s cows are not really tame. They live out on pasture and don’t really have much contact with humans. So it was not like we could just call them and they would come back.

The herd had everything they needed while out at large. There was plenty of corn to eat which was like exotic food to them since they are grass fed. There were places to drink water and hang out to chew cud and nap. It was like an all inclusive vacation of sorts for them.

Luckily, the following day a neighbor called to report that the herd was in his corn field, gleefully eating everything in sight. The corn was about eight feet tall at that time and provided excellent camouflage for the amuck bovines.

The neighbor’s corn field is adjacent to one of his pastures where some cattle and horses live. Dad decided he would try to entice his cattle into that pasture with some ground feed, the equivalent of delicious junk food for dad’s cattle

Two of the cows were lured into the neighbor’s pasture and loaded up in a trailer and brought home. Four others were not convinced and chose to continue their adventure. Several days passed with them not falling for the luring trick.

We assembled a crew which included about 10 people, two vehicles, three four wheelers, several cell phones and some rattles. Rattles are plastic sticks with a paddle on the end. The paddle has beads in it that rattle; it drives cattle crazy and sometimes makes them do what you want them to.

So we headed out to collect the final four. My mom stationed herself on the highway with her flashers on, ready to alert passing traffic of road running cattle. Dad and my uncle were in my dad’s truck at the far end of the corn field. The rest of us walked through the rows of corn in an effort to drive the cows out towards the neighbor’s pasture.

Ever walked through a corn field in October? I had before, but not in pursuit of cattle. The corn plants are tall and dry by then. The leaves rustle and you can’t see anywhere except for a few feet right in front of you. If makes you feel really isolated even if there are other people walking on either side of you only 30 feet away. I felt very Children of the Corn-ish.

We did not run across them on our drive of the corn field. It turned out that the renegade herd was up on a ridge along an old logging trail.

Riding four wheelers and armed with cell phones, several folks headed up to find them. Their plan was to flush them down the logging road along the neighbor’s pasture fence all the while using cell phones for communication. Several heated discussions took place on mobile phones that day.

I was to stand at the end of the logging road, which came out to the highway and direct the cattle through a gate into the neighbor’s pasture. So I stood there at the end of the logging road waiting. I heard the whine of a four wheeler in the distance and sure enough here came one of the cows running at full speed down a hill. With a four wheeler right beside her (cows can run up to 30 mph, by the way).

I tried to make myself look big by spreading my arms out with my trusty rattle clenched in a fist. I though I was making a pretty good human gate. She ran right up to me which I expected…but holy cow she got close. I was wowed by her Herford glory as she threw her head to the side (brushing my nose with her ear). Her fur shined in the sun, her eyes spoke of adventure and her neck blubber jiggled.

I though she was going to step on my foot! So I hollered and smacked her in the face with the rattle. She made a graceful turn and dived into the ditch, which was the exact opposite way we wanted her to go. She ran alongside the highway with my mom driving beside her, fretting.

Plenty of swearing and team planning happened as she disappeared back into the corn. The rest of the day was spent attempting to run the other three down the fence and into the pasture, with no luck. At one point one of the cattle decided that he had had enough. He ran back to his home pasture and crashed through the fence apparently happy to be home, his adventure done.

The other three would remain as campers out in the wilderness for a few more days until they decided, what the heck…lets go eat some feed. It took 10 days and 100 man hours to get them back where they were supposed to be. Mom and dad submitted a bill for the time to the power company and they paid it. We went ahead and installed a padlock on the gate.

Share Availability Update

2011-03-21T06:36:00.000-07:00

I’m nearly sold out for the 2011 CSA season. There are a few spots open here is where they are:

Hampden Park Co-op (St. Paul) - SOLD OUT
Fresh & Natural Food (Hudson) - SOLD OUT
River Market Co-op (Stillwater) - four shares left
Aveda Employees - up to six shares left

Thanks to all who have signed up! I can’t wait to start the 2011 season!

If one of the spots mentioned above works for you, please see the Eener’s Farm 2011 CSA Sign Up Form on the previous post.

2011 CSA Sign Up Season Is Here!

2011-01-30T12:42:00.000-08:00

I’m ready to start signing up new members for the 2011 season. If you are interested in becoming a member, please fill out the member sign up form below and either mail it to me (Eener’s Farm N12449 220th Street Boyceville WI 54725) or e-mail it back to me (eenermachine@gmail.com). I will then put you on my 2011 member list.

Half shares are $255 and full shares are $500. No money is due until June 1. You can either pay the whole works by June 1 or pay one half of your share amount by June 1 and the other half by October 1.

If you have any questions about the CSA go ahead and call me at (715)643-2803 or e-mail me. You also could peruse this blog…it has lots of farm information on it.

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Eener’s Farm 2011 CSA Membership Sign-Up Form

Your Name:____________________________________

Which Size Share: Full ($500) Half ($255)

How to Pay: Make checks out to Eener’s Farm or Renee Bettendorf. Pay the whole works by June 1, 2011 or pay half the amount by June 1, 2011 and the other half by October 1, 2011.

Where will you pick up at: River Market, Hampden Park or Fresh & Natural

Your Address:_____________________________________________

Your Phone Number:_________________________________________

Your E-mail Address:_____________________________________

Risk Agreement: By signing up I understand that there is risk involved in farming and that I have agreed to share in this risk. Because of factors like weather and pests I understand that I may not get all the produce that Eener has planned on putting in my box. I also understand that I may get more than Eener planned on putting in my box in the event that some produce crops do really, really well.

Eener’s 2011 CSA Details

2011-01-13T20:18:00.000-08:00

It's been a pretty fun winter for us. We took a vacation to Florida, which was great…we went to the beach, did some hiking and biking, saw some manatees and went to a farmer’s market. Very fun! Lately I’ve been shoveling snow, looking after my livestock and planning the CSA garden.

The 2011 CSA season is right around the corner! Last year we sold out our St. Paul drop in March and our Stillwater and Hudson drops in April. I’ll start taking on brand spanking new members on February 1. Alumni members are welcome to sign up any time (thanks to all who already have!).

Delivery Locations: I deliver to River Market Co-Op which is located in downtown Stillwater; Fresh and Natural Foods in Hudson; and Hampden Park Co-Op in St. Paul (928 Raymond Ave., fairly near Midway Stadium).

Delivery Days and Times:
River Market Co-op in Stillwater: boxes are delivered on Mondays members pick them up between 1:30 and 9p.m.
Fresh and Natural Foods in Hudson: boxes are delivered on Mondays members pick them up between 2:30 and 9p.m.
Hampden Park Co-op in St. Paul: boxes are delivered on Wednesdays members pick them up between 2:00 and 9p.m.

Share Sizes: I offer full and half shares, both are delivered on a weekly basis. Full shares come in a bushel box, half shares will be packed in a half bushel box. I just love to send out boxes that are plumb full…but in the beginning of the season this is not always possible. On the flip side it can be difficult to fit everything in the boxes towards the middle of the season. In the thick of last year’s season I was running 18-20 different types of veggies in the full-share folks’ boxes and 9-10 different types in half share boxes.

What Size is Best for You? That’s a good question. The full shares are for roughly four people and the half shares are for right around two people. That being said, a pair of serious vegetarians could probably handle a full share. Also, a family of four with children may be just fine with a half share.

Pricing: Full shares sell for $500 and half shares sell for $255.

Box Contents: Here’s what’s on the list for this year: basil, beans, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, chard, cilantro, corn, cucumbers, dill, edamame, eggplant, fennel, gourds, hot peppers, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, melons, onions, parsley, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, rutabaga, spinach, summer squash, winter squash, tomatillos, tomatoes and turnips.

I like to try out new things in my garden. This year I’ll be taking a crack at: okra, cauliflower, fingerling potatoes, some new varieties of broccoli, green zebra tomatoes and anything else that strikes my fancy.

Fruit: I’ve been working on this for the past three years. Fruit takes awhile. I’ve got quite a few fruit projects started…but the only thing I feel comfortable promising for this year is rhubarb. However, some of my efforts may come to fruition this year and if they do, they will certainly show up in your boxes.

Our Season Length: This year I’ll be doing 18 weeks starting the second week in June and going until the second week in October. This means that for Stillwater and Hudson folks their first box will be on June 13. St Paul folks’ first box will be on June 15.

How to Contact Eener’s Farm: If you are interested in signing up please e-mail me at eenermachine@gmail.com and I will send you a sign up form. Or you can call me at 715.643.2803 and I’ll sign you up over the phone.

This is all fine and good, but what the heck is a CSA anyway? Basically, a CSA (which stands for Community Supported Agriculture) is a type of direct market farm, meaning the farmer sells food directly to customers. There are a lot of advantages to this kind of farm. For one, customers/members know exactly where their food is coming from (we encourage our members to come visit the farm and we hold a big party at the end of the season for everyone). Secondly, produce from CSA farms doesn’t travel far. As a result it’s better for the environment and members enjoy much fresher produce. Another perk is that CSA farms tend to be really diversified (we grow about 40 varieties of veggies plus herbs) so members get a nice variety of in-season veggies.

Risk. Since farming is so completely tied to the weather, it’s risky business. My goal is to provide my members with an amount of produce that is equal to the money they paid for their share. Over the past two years I think I accomplished this goal. But I can’t promise that this will be true for this year. It’s helpful to think of CSA farms in terms of the stock market; when members buy a share they are making an investment. On a good year they will break even or get an amount of produce that is greater in value than their initial investment. On a bad year, they may end up with an amount of produce that is worth less than what they invested. In buying a full season of produce, the members of CSA farms share the risk with their farmers.

Is Eener’s Farm Organic?: I’m not certified organic, so I can’t advertise myself as organic. I do advertise as “Chemical Free” which means I don’t use any chemical pesticides or herbicides in my farming operations. I looked into the process to become certified and it does involve an investment, which I’d be willing to make. It turns out that being certified also involves TONS of paperwork and record keeping… not my strong points. So at this point I am not pursuing a certification though I remain committed to organic gardening.

Survey Results for 2010 CSA Season

2010-12-23T07:55:00.000-08:00

I sent out a survey to my CSA members again this year. Of the 54 surveys sent 20 came back (a good number I think!). Thanks to all of you who filled it out. I'm about ready to start planning the 2011 garden and these results will be helpful.

Here is how the survey went:

1) How did you feel about the tomatoes? Too many? Not enough? Did you have a favorite type or a kind you didn’t care for (Roma, Brandywine, Yellow Peach, Black Prince, Wisconsin 55, Red Cherry, Black Cherry, Sungold, Green Tomatoes)? Do you have a tomato variety suggestion(s)?

Here is how this question broke down:

Very much enjoyed all the cherry tomatoes = 2
Loved everything related to tomatoes = 11
Could’ve used even more cherries = 2
Had a few too many tomatoes in general = 6

Most folks thought the variety was good and didn’t really have a clear favorite or least favorite. Black Prince (ping pong sized purple cherry tomatoes) received two votes for most favorite tomato and Brandywine (large weird shaped pink tomato) received one vote. The yellow pear tomatoes received one least favorite vote.

I got a bunch of interesting suggestions about tomato varieties which I will be researching including: Green Zebra, Bushel Boy, Grape, Black Crim, Cherokee Purple and Yellow Pear Cherries.

2) Here is a list of new vegetables I tried this year: Kale, Soybeans, Garlic, Musk Melon, Sweet Potatoes, Shelling Beans ….what did you think of them? Do you have any suggestions on other new things to try?

And the survey says:
Didn’t like kale = 3
Liked kale = 7
Too much kale = 1
Impressed by soybeans = 1
Soybeans were too much work = 1
Didn’t care for soybeans = 3
Liked garlic = 8
Not impressed by musk melon = 5
Liked musk melon = 1
Disappointed with the sweet potatoes = 4
Liked the sweet potatoes = 2
Loved shelling beans = 2
Liked them all = 2

Hot peppers got two votes for something new for next year and cauliflower got one as did asparagus. One person thought they could’ve used fewer garlic scapes and more garlic heads. In regards to seeing more of things, eggplant, arugula, purple potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, shelling beans, green beans, carrots, corn and kale all received a vote or two.

3) In regards to herbs, half shares got basil, one round of fennel and a round or two of cilantro and dill. Full shares got quite a few more herbs. Generally speaking, did you think you got enough herbs? Do you have any suggestions on herbs that you would’ve liked to have seen in your box?

Grow their own and don’t need many or any = 3
Were generally happy with the herbs = 11
Had a hard time using them all = 2

Herb suggestions: tarragon, rosemary, mint, thyme, lemon thyme.

4) As far as eggs and flowers are concerned, I’m skeptical that our capability to produce these is plentifully enough to supply the CSA fully. Next year I’m seriously considering only running eggs and flowers to full shares only. Do you think this is a good idea?

Yes = 11
Reluctantly said yes = 8

5) What was your favorite CSA item? Your least favorite?

Most Favorite
sugar snap peas = 2
soybeans = 2
tomatoes = 4
kohlrabi
spuds = 4
garlic = 2
carrots = 3
watermelon
squash = 4
cherry tomatoes
beans = 3
broccoli
corn
kale = 3
pie pumpkins
early lettuce = 2
peppers
herbs
flowers

Least Favorite
Spaghetti Squash = 2
Turnips = 2
Green Tomatoes = 2
Kohlrabi
Swiss chard
Beets
Lettuce
Sunflower
Kale = 3
Summer squash
Tommatillos

6) Do you think you got a fair amount of produce for the price you paid for the share?

Eighteen people said yes to this question, two people were undecided. A couple of interesting points came up with this question. One person pointed out that the early and late season boxes were smaller than the midseason boxes (this is true, the season was a bell curve and oftentimes is). Another person would've liked to have seen more of fewer items in their box. In other words, less variety but bigger quanities...something to think about.

7) In addition to lambs, I had planned on raising a few pigs or cows this year and then offering the meat to CSA members. Unfortunately, by the time I got the hoophouse set up I felt I had run out of time. If I had raised some pork or beef would you have been interested in buying some?

Thirteen people said yes to this question. Six people said no (most of them were vegetarians).

8) Anything else you would like to add?

Ummmm, here is a sampling: “We enjoyed the box – a great supply”; “Thanks for all your hard work”; “Thanks for hosting the parties”; “Loved the pickle kit”; “Thank you for growing veggies for us again this year”; “Great experience for a first time CSA member”; “Thank you for feeding our family”; “Thanks! This was my first year trying out a CSA”; “Beets and onions”; “We loved the variety each week”; “Thanks for a great CSA program”; “Great job, thanks!”.

How to Build a Hoophouse in 136 Easy Steps

2010-11-30T05:50:00.000-08:00

In 2008 I decided I wanted to start a CSA. To get an idea of what I could raise veggie-wise I grew a giant two acre garden and sold the produce at a local farmers market. That year I planted tomatoes exactly the same way I had always planted tomatoes…out in the garden with everything else. My tomatoes that year did pretty well and I got lots of nice compliments on them.

In 2009 I launched the CSA and once again planted tomatoes out in the garden. That year the plants met with total disaster. First they wilted, then the leaves turned black, then the unripe tomatoes turned black and the whole mess died. I felt terrible. Here I was with a brand new CSA and whole slew of rotten tomatoes. And everyone knows that tomatoes are one of the crown jewels of a CSA box.

As soon as I noticed a problem I frantically started doing research on what could’ve caused the collapse. I learned that tomato blight was the culprit. It had blown into my county and obliterated many a tomato crop. The blight is a type of fungus that comes in, attacks plants, spreads, kills and generally decimates.

After that whole debacle, I decided to do everything in my power to not get the blight again. I toured some other local CSA farms and found that it was popular to plant most tomatoes in a hoophouse. A hoophouse is an unheated greenhouse made of big hoops, hence the name. Plants are grown directly in the ground inside the structure which is covered in a giant sheet of heavy duty plastic. The shelter a hoophouse provides keeps the tomato plants safe from wind and rain which are the two main vehicles for blight.

When I learned this I was kinda irritated that tomatoes needed so much fussing with. Here was a vegetable that in most years grows profussly and happily right out in the field with really very little care. Some years the plants will die of blight but most other years they will be fine. Anyway, I decided to not take the chance and put up one of these nifty hoophouses.

Like most things, this endeavor turned out to be easier said than done. The construction took me three solid weeks and I had lots of help from my husband, dad, father-in-law and uncle in addition to a whole bunch of folks that came to help put up the plastic. I’d probably still be working on it if I hadn’t had any help. Here are the steps in case you want to share in my trials and tribulations. Or if you are planning on building one yourself, these steps may give you some insight on what to expect.

1. Figure out where you want to put a hoophouse
2. Learn that you can’t just toss one up anywhere, the ground has to be flat or made to be flat, realize you have no interest in hiring a backhoe
3. Select a new site that’s naturally flat
4. Figure out how big of a structure you can fit on your designated site
5. Select a hoophouse that has a style you like and a size that suits your site
6. Agonize over it a bit, finally realize that you have to shit or get off the pot and pick one already
7. Order the hoophouse
8. Tell the company you’ll come out to the wharehouse and pick it up (it’s cheaper that way)
9. Move any fences that are currently on the site
10. Cut down any brush
11. Burn off all the grass and tall weeds
12. Disk
13. Dig
14. Repeat steps 12 and 13 until the soil is worked up good
15. Drag
16. Eagerly await the arrival of your hoophouse
17. Receive a call from a warehouse employee telling you that your hoophouse has accidentally been shipped to your house
18. Wonder how a semi truck is going to get into your yard, drop off, turn around, ect.
19. Also wonder how you will manage to get a 13 foot pallet off such a truck
20. Freak out
21. Get the bright idea to call the local feed mill and ask if they can unload the pallet with their fork lift onto a hay wagon that you will bring
22. Breathe a major sigh of relief when they say “sure!”
23. Go borrow your dad’s truck and hay wagon
24. Drive it to the feed mill
25. Unhitch it
26. Go home
27. Wait by the phone
28. Get a call from the feed mill telling you it’s in
29. Head back to the feed mill
30. Hitch up the wagon and drive the pallet carefully home
31. Marvel at the pallet which contains a 24 foot by 72 foot hoophouse all wrapped up nice
32. Fully understand the concept of ‘some assembly required’
33. Carefully read the instructions and learn that the manufactures recommends that you hire a contractor to come out to your place and erect this thing for you
34. Congratulate yourself for being so thrifty and resourceful
35. Tear into the pallet
36. Find pipes, rolls of plastic sheeting and bags and bags of important looking hardware
37. Attempt to organize it
38. Give up
39. Begin surveying
40. Locate the four corners of your soon-to-be hoophouse
41. Place stakes at each corner
42. Run string around these to make a rectangle
43. Run string diagonally to get a perfect rectangle
44. Spend several hours fussing with the string and a line level
45. Finally be satisfied that you have plotted the layout of the hoophouse
46. Using your string as a guide, start pounding in pipe stakes with a sledge hammer
47. Pound in quite a few of them
48. Learn you have been pounding the stakes in exactly two inches too far out
49. Swear
50. Pull up all the pipe stakes you have pounded in
51. Repeat steps 40 through 46 until all the hoop stakes are in
52. Start assembling hoops
53. Locate hoop pipes
54. Drill out holes
55. Screw the pipes together
56. With helpers lift the hoop and place it into a hoop stake
57. Realize it’s crooked
58. Take the hoop down
59. Take it apart
60. Rig up a flat surface using a level and some random boards
61. Repeat steps 52 through 56 until all the hoops are up
62. Find or borrow some ladders
63. Install purlins, braces, and wiggle wire tracts
64. Get really tired of standing on a ladder with your arms above your head holding a drill
65. Go buy a pile of untreated 2 X 4s
66. Screw them to your hoops as upper and lower baseboards
67. Run out of lumber
68. Go get more
69. Repeat step 66 until all the baseboards are in
70. Start constructing the endwalls
71. Dig holes for footings
72. Make cement forms
73. Go cement shopping
74. Explain to the hardware guy what you are doing
75. Follow his advice and buy 18 bags of cement
76. Mix up some cement
77. Pour it into your holes
78. Stick some ready rod in there
79. Return 12 bags of cement
80. Make heavy duty baseboard sandwiches using 2 X 4s and plywood
81. Drill holes in these to match your ready rod
82. Install the baseboards
83. Frame out the rest of the end wall
84. Carefully measure a doorframe
85. Build a door
86. Learn it is too big for your opening
87. Remake the door
88. Learn it is too small for your opening
89. Cheat by giving the door to your dad for him to figure out
90. Repeat steps 70 through 89 for the other end wall
91. Start gearing up to install the roof
92. Wonder how wiggle wire works
93. Call the company to ask
94. Become cunfused
95. Go look at someone else’s hoophouse to actually see how it works
96. Call in as many reinforcements as you can for the plastic roof stretching, bribe people as needed with beer and hotdogs (I managed to get 13 folks)
97. Curse the fact that it is windy on the day you picked to stretch plastic
98. Barge ahead anyway
99. When your crew shows up give them a lesson on how wiggle wire works
100. Explain that you will be rolling out huge sheets of plastic that will have to be wiggle wired in on all sides
101. Unroll the biggest piece of plastic you have ever seen
102. Station some helpers up on ladders armed with wiggle wire
103. Finagle the giant expanse of plastic across one of the end walls
104. Have more helpers hold the plastic tight across the end wall frame
105. Slowly and carefully apply the wiggle wire so that the plastic is nice and smooth
106. When the whole side is secured congratulate yourself and your crew for having completed one side
107. Repeat steps 101 through 106 for the other end wall
108. Get ready to do the roof
109. Unrolled an even larger hunk of plastic
110. Tie strings to it on one side
111. Tie something heavy to one side
112. Throw your weighted corner over the hoophouse
113. Station several helpers on each side
114. Use the strings to get the piece of plastic even over the top
115. Put two helpers on ladders inside the househouse
116. Give them lots of wiggle wire
117. When a gust of wind comes up, hang on for dear life
118. See the wind actually pick up some of your helpers as they try to hang on and the wind turns your untethered plastic into what amounts to a giant kite
119. Lose the plastic
120. Swear
121. Repeat steps 112 through 120… twice
122. Get the idea to temporarily secure the plastic with short lengths of wiggle wire after you throw it over and even it up
123. Start at one end and smooth and correct the plastic as you go, with enough people you can get it right
124. Cheer
125. Start a bon fire and enjoy hotdogs and beer with your crew
126. Assemble the roll up side mechanisms
127. Unroll more plastic
128. Wiggle wire it to the long sides of the hoophouse
129. Secure the bottom of the plastic to the roll up mechanism
130. Be amazed at how easy it is to roll up a side
131. Install rope hardware
132. Thread rope through
133. Cut open your doors
134. Wiggle wire the plastic to them
135. Be happy it’s finally done
136. Hang out inside the hoophouse for a bit and admire it before you rototill and plant your tomatoes

Mount Mulch

2010-09-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

We’re going to have plenty of mulch for next year! Since part of my parents’ hay crop ended up being too wet to make into hay bales, my dad chopped the hay and unloaded it in a pile in my garden. It was quite the operation chopping the hay, collecting it, transporting it and piling it. First dad used a chopper to chop up the cut hay. The chopped hay was blown from the chopper into a chopper box.

Then he drove chopper boxes full of the chopped hay to the garden. Next it was blown out of the chopper box (chopper boxes have really neat beaters and conveyer belts for this purpose).

The chopped hay then took a ride on an elevator. The elevator was hooked up to another tractor to power it. After the elevator ride the chopped hay finally landed on Mount Mulch. In the above photo is pictured the very first load. According to my estimations, Mount Mulch is about 30 feet high and maybe 40 or 50 feet around. Mount Mulch consists of eight chopper box loads.

Tomato Identification Guide

2010-08-30T13:52:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering what kind of tomatoes you’ve been eating, check out the photo below.

Back row: Wisconsin 55, Black Prince, Brandywine. Front row: Amish Paste (big), Amish Paste (little), Yellow Peach, Sungold, Black Cherry, Red Cherry.

A bit more info on the tomatoes:

Yellow Peach: has a fuzzy skin kinda like a peach. They will keep longer than most other tomatoes. Yellow tomatoes have lower acidity levels than red tomatoes so they have less of a “bite”.

Brandywine: these pink guys are an old heirloom variety famous for their flavor. They also tend to catface which means the fruits get goofy weird-looking creases in them.

Black Prince and Black Cherry: these two are my favorites. They are of the black tomato persuasion which means they have purple skins and rich, delicious flavor.

Sungolds: are orange cherry tomatoes that are generally described as sweeter than red cherry tomatoes.

Wisconsin 55 and Red Cherry: Your standard red tomatoes.

Amish Paste: These are very similar to Romas. For some reason, mine seem to either be rather small or really quite large so I put two examples in the photo.

The Pickle Pickers

2010-08-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken last Wednesday after a long, hot cucumber picking session. We picked 460 cucs and were a tad worried that our “cucumber carriage” was about to burst under the massive load. We did make it to the packing shed (and even had time to take a picture). I picked something like 200 or so on Sunday and today we picked 375. They just keep rolling in.

Attack of the Tomato Plants

2010-07-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

Here’s a photo of the tomato plants taken in the hoophouse this morning. No red ones yet but soon I hope. I’m expecting the cherry tomatoes to ripen first. This year I planted the standard red ones and also a variety called Sungold which are an orange cherry tomato. Eventually (if all goes as planned) there will be quite a few different kinds of tomatoes including: Brandywine (a big red tomato), Wisconsin 55 (a medium-sized tomato), Yellow Peach (a yellow variety), Amish Paste (similar to Romas) and Black Crim (a smaller purple tomato).

Lettuce this Week in St. Paul
This season I have two farm hands who help me pick produce and pack it for you all. On Wednesday morning they were trying to pick lettuce before a thunderstorm rolled in. Needless to say, they were in a hurry so if you’ve found more grit in your lettuce than usual…that would be why.

Our Newest Farm Residents

2010-06-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

Henrietta is a small, particularly fierce hen who hatched out some baby chicks a few days ago.

Last summer she also hatched out a clutch of eggs but only one chick survived (his name is Lucky). Lucky’s four siblings were viciously attacked and eaten by raccoons or possibly cats. Anyway, after that debacle, I decided that I had better make a special chicken coop especially for brooding hens. Early this spring I managed to build such a coop inside one of our outbuildings.

The coop has a nest box that sits on the floor, which makes it easy for the chicks to get in and out and eliminates the possibility that one could fall and injure itself. Since baby chickens are even more susceptible to predators than full grown chickens, the brooder coop also has extra security.

After I built the coop, I tried to convince Henrietta to live in it. She refused. She then disappeared for a month. I figured she had either been eaten by a fox, raccoon, stray dog, owl, weasel, hawk or skunk. Much to my amazement she emerged from some tall grass in our goat pen with a bunch of peeping baby chicks in tow.

Henrietta is very protective of her chicks. One of the goats got too close to them and she jumped up on top of the goat’s head and pecked it in the face repeatedly all the while squawking murderously. The goat was left terribly confused.

Knowing full well the chicks would probably not survive the night if left outside, our resident chicken catcher (my husband, Cass) caught her later that day. Henrietta of course tried to attack Cass but he managed to wrestle her into the new coop.
Some of the chicks ran away and hid. After quite a lot of searching in the tall grass, Cass managed to catch these little golf ball sized fluff balls.

Garden Fest This Saturday

2010-06-25T05:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday, June 26 we’ll be holding Garden Fest starting at 2 p.m. If you’d like to bring a friend or two, go ahead. At 6:30 p.m. we’ll take you out to the back forty and light a bon fire. We’ll feed you supper.

Here’s what’s on the menu:
Organic beef, turkey and vegan hot dogs; pasta salad; tossed green salad; smores; chips; lemonade; iced tea; beer.

It looks like we’ll mostly be working on weeding the sweet corn and watermelon. We can also tour the gardens and hoophouse and visit with the sheep, goats, chickens, dogs, cats and cows. No need to RSVP, for questions call (715) 643-2803 or e-mail me.

What to Bring
For sure bring good shoes (sandals are not allowed in the garden). Also please bring your own lawn chair. Other things you might find handy but don’t necessarily have to bring with you include: your favorite hoe or garden trowel, gloves, sunscreen, bug spray and a hat

Hope to see you there!

Directions to the Farm: Here is our address in case you like to use Map Quest or have one of those electronic map things: N12449 220th St. Boyceville, WI 54725. A word of caution: Google Maps and those Tom Tom things think we live north of Highway 64 when it’s been proven time and again that we actually live south of 64. Here’s a hard copy of directions to the farm:

From Stillwater: This is the obvious way for Stillwater folks but may also be good for St. Paul people too. Cross the lift bridge and head into WI on Hwy. 64. Follow 64 for about 40 miles, turn right onto 220th St. Please note that there is another 220th St. that intersects with Hwy. 64 about 20 miles from Stillwater, this is not our road. In order to get to our 220th St. you have to go through Connorsville which is a little town about three miles west of our house. Once you are on the correct 220th St. we are the first place on the right.

From I-94: For Hudson and St. Paul Folks...go east on I-94 until you hit the Glenwood City exit (the exit number is 28). Take a left off the exit ramp onto Hwy. 128. Follow 128 for about 10 miles until you get into Glenwood City at which point 128 becomes the main drag also known as Oak Street. A few blocks into town 128 turns off, ignore this and proceed to Third Street and hang a left. Just outside of town Third Street becomes County Road X. Follow Co. Rd. X for a few miles until you come to a stop sign, turn left onto County Road Q (I know, us crazy Wisconsinites and our lettered road names). Follow Co. Rd. Q a short ways to Hwy 64 and take a right. About four miles down 64 you will find 220th St., take a right. We are the first place on the right.

Amenities:
Gas: Gas stations are scarce around here (so is cell phone reception). If you are coming from Stillwater your last chance for gas is at an intersection we call four corners about 7 or 8 miles outside of New Richmond. There are 2 stations here right off 64. If you are coming from I-94 your last gas will be found in Glenwood City.
Food: We’ll feed you around 6:30 or 7 p.m. If you were thinking of stopping somewhere for lunch most of the countryside taverns serve food. You’ll find mostly burgers and pizza.

First Boxes

2010-06-16T21:22:00.000-07:00

Hope you all are enjoying your first boxes! Apparently it’s monsoon season here. The rain just keeps on coming. All this precipitation has prevented us from getting out to the garden to pull weeds as much as we would like. It has however given us plenty of time to work on building an ark. We may need it…depending on how many more inches of rain we’ll be getting. Last night we received two torrential downpours which caused that song ‘Five Feet High and Rising’ to get stuck in my head, briefly turned the hoophouse into a shallow river and gave the lettuce a good splattering of grit.

Of Lettuce and Grit
Last year we had quite a lot of grit in our lettuce and I spent many hours trying to rinse it out. In an effort to reduce the grit, this year I mulched the lettuce with chopped grass. It worked well and I think you’ll find the lettuce relatively grit-free…unless it rains really hard right before your delivery, as it did last night. This morning when I went to pick lettuce for the St. Paul folks it was definitely gritty. If you find yourself with lettuce in your CSA box after a hard rain you’ll want to degritify. A good way to do this is to fill a large bowl with cool water and dump your lettuce into it. Swish the lettuce around a bit then let it sit. The sand grains should sink to the bottom.

Check Out the Hoop House

2010-06-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

A lot has been happening over here. Today I finally got around to taking some pictures:

The hoophouse is up! This was quite the project, luckily we had help from my dad and several other folks.

It's 24 feet wide and 72 feet long.

Its constructed out of metal pipes, two-by-fours and a whole lotta plastic. Its sorta like a giant hot dish pan covered in cellophane.

We planted a whole pile of tomatoes in there. Last year's members probably remember our tomato crop failure. Hoop houses protect plants from all sorts of fungi and diseases. Take that tomato blight!! HA!

The garlic is doing well. I planted it last fall instead of in the spring (which is what I did last year). Fall planted garlic is the way to go.

Kale is something I've never planted before. Several members from last year requested it. I'm surprised by how fast it grows.

Tommatillos, also known as Mexican tomatoes are just starting to bloom.

The chickens found the garden and did some damage to the broccoli patch. As a result, they are on lock down.

Meet Larry, our new billy goat. He's seen here with Shirley one of our young lady goats.

What's Happening in the Garden

2010-04-19T21:31:00.000-07:00

Spring planting is well underway. The potatoes and onions are all in as are the peas.

This year I planted four different types of potatoes. There are two varieties of red potatoes one called All Red which was last year’s favorite. It’s an early red potato that has pink flesh, very pretty and tasty. I also planted some Sangria spuds which are also red but have white flesh and are supposed to have very good flavor too. Purple Majesty is a purple type of potato that is reportedly suppose to retain it’s interesting color better that the blue potatoes that I planted last year. I also am trying out a variety called German Butterball this year which is somewhat like Yukon Gold. Last year was a good year for potatoes. If this year goes O.K. for them I should be able to start digging them at the end of June or the beginning of July. Then I’ll put them in your boxes probably every other week or so until October.

I put in equal parts of yellow, white and red onions. Onions are very tied to length of day, when the days start getting short again in the middle of July the onions sense this and stop growing. Luckily they keep quite well in the ground as long as it doesn’t rain too much so I’m able to pick them as I need them. First I’ll start picking bunches of green onions; these will be in the first four boxes or so. Then I’ll pick scallions which is another type of onion I plant from seed. After the scallions are all out, it should be time to start picking full size onions. Somewhere along the line there we’ll also have leeks and garlic. Really you should get some type of onion thing in pretty much all of your boxes.

I planted a type of shelling pea or snap pea which is the kind that has plump pods that have to be split open. The peas inside are very sweet. Then I also planted the kind of pea where you eat the whole works, called snow peas. It’s hard to say when the peas will be ready, looks like last year we started picking them in early July.

This spring has been unseasonably warm and dry which is making it pretty easy to get everything planted so far. If the weather continues to hold I’ll soon be putting in beets, kale, lettuce, spinach and chard very soon.

2010 Planting Plans

2010-03-29T09:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of everything I’ll be planting this year and also a rough estimate on what you should see when in your boxes.

Early (June and July): lettuce, spinach, green onions, radishes, new red potatoes, snow peas, snap peas, swiss chard, green and purple kohlrabi, yellow and red beets, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, leeks, green, purple and yellow beans, rhubarb, orange, yellow and red carrots.

Middle (August and September): various tomatoes including cherry and roma, eggplant, sweet corn, cucumbers, rutabagas, okra, red, yellow and white onions, pasta squash, fennel, dill, green bell peppers, sweet peppers, cilantro, potatoes, flowers, green and yellow summer squash, tommatillos, basil, kale, water melon, musk melon, collards, sweet potatoes, shelling beans, and turnips (note: with the exception of peas and leeks, much of the early produce should show up again during mid-season).

Late (October): gourds, sunflower seeds, cabbage, arugula, miscellaneous greens, ornamental corn, pop corn, carving pumpkins, pie pumpkins and various types of winter squash.

Garden Update: Since we’ve had no snow this month (very strange) it is already dry enough to start planting. This week I’ll be putting in potatoes and onions. I’ll follow these with plantings of peas, beets, lettuce, spinach, sweet peas, kale and perhaps some radishes. Then I’ll move on to everything else and by Memorial Day I should have everything in at which point I’ll start planting second crops of certain things.

Hoop House - We're Getting One!: We’ve ordered a hoop house (also known as a high tunnel) which is an unheated greenhouse constructed of giant metal hoops and plastic sheeting. Hoop houses are used as season extenders meaning growers can set plants out two weeks earlier and stave off frost for two extra weeks at the end of the season. The one I ordered is 24 feet wide and 72 feet long…quite the structure. I’ll be putting tomatoes, eggplant and sweet potatoes in it.

Sold Out for 2010 Season

2010-03-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

We're sold out folks! If you are still looking for a CSA check out the Land Stewardship Web site or head to the Seward Co-op for a big CSA fair on April 24.

2010 Shares Still Available...But Not In St. Paul

2010-03-04T17:22:00.000-08:00

Today I sold out of shares to be delivered to the St. Paul drop site (Hampden Park Co-op).

We do still have some shares available at the Stillwater drop site (River Market Co-op) and the Hudson drop (Fresh and Natural Foods). If you are interested in signing up please see a previous post entitled "New Member Sign Up Time Is Here". At the bottom of that post you'll find a sign up form which you can send or e-mail to me.

River Market CSA Fair: I’ll be setting up a booth at the River Market Co-op CSA Fair which will take place Saturday, March 13 and Sunday, March 14 from 1 to 4 p.m. both days. River Market is located in downtown Stillwater on Main Street. Should be a pretty fun gig, there will be lots of CSA farmers their hanging out in the produce section.

Coming Soon: I’ll be posting a list of everything I’ll be planting this year. It should be quite the list…guaranteed to kick your cabin fever into high gear.

Pictures From the Farm

2010-03-01T17:49:00.000-08:00

If you are interested in becoming a member of Eener’s Farm CSA see the previous post. We still have some spots left.

It’s looking pretty snowy around here…but there are some things happening. Here are some recent farm pictures:

Throughout this winter we’ve been working on restoring our haymow floor. One half of the haymow is right around 100 years old. The other half is part of “the new addition” put on by my grandparents in the 1950’s. It’s been quite the project and I’m excited to report that we can now walk across the floor without worrying about falling through!

A view into the chicken coop. The ladies are really enjoying all the sunshine we’ve been having. They are still a little apprehensive of our new dog Mabel hence all the bunching up. On the upside Mabel’s presence makes taking their picture as a group way easier.

Phyllis, one of our ewes had triplets! I expect her herd mates, Thelma and Bernece to lamb soon too.

New Member Sign-Up Time Is Here

2010-02-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

Today I'll start accepting brand-spanking new members for the upcoming season. Here's our post that will soon be appearing on the Land Stewardship Project web site (a great place to shop for CSAs), http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/csa.html the 2010 CSA directory should be up soon:

Eener’s Farm is a fifth generation family farm located in Dunn County WI approximately 60 miles from St. Paul. Earlier generations utilized the farm for dairy and beef operations. Eener (that’s Renee backwards) has converted the farm into a CSA.

Full and half shares are available at reasonable prices ($255 for half shares and $500 for full shares). Deliveries are weekly and start the second week in June and continue for 21 weeks through the last week in October. Delivery sites: Fresh and Natural Foods in Hudson (Mondays 3-9 p.m.), River Market Co-op in downtown Stillwater (Mondays 2-9 p.m.) and Hampden Park Co-op in St. Paul -928 Raymond Ave. (Wednesdays 3-9 p.m.).

Each share includes at least 40 varieties of vegetables and a small selection of herbs. Eener grows pretty much all the classic garden veggies plus a few oddities. As an added bonus, members sporadically receive bouquets of flowers, Eener’s free range chicken eggs and other treats. Eener’s goat, lamb and pig meat will be available for sale in the fall. Farmer to Farmer coffee shares also available.

Everything grown on Eener’s Farm is done so in a sustainable manner without the use of chemical herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers. Please see Eener’s website for share rates, more CSA details and whacky farm antics. www.eenersfarm.blogspot.com

Members are not required to work on the farm. They are welcome to visit and encouraged to attend the Big Fall Harvest Party Fest which is held at the farm in October and involves a bonfire, food, farm tours and pumpkins.

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If you have questions don't hesitate to e-mail them to me at eenermachine@gmail.com or call me at 715-643-2803.

Below you will find a sign-up form in case you need it. You may send it via e-mail or to: Eener's Farm N12449 220th St. Boyceville WI 54725. How to pay: one half of your share amount is due by June 1, 2010 (many folks find it convenient to send this in with the sign-up form) the other half is due by October 1, 2010. Of course you can pay the whole works at once if you like. If you send/e-mail me this form, I'll send/e-mail you back a confirmation letting you know you're on the list.

Eener's 2010 CSA Sign Up Form

Your Name:
Your Address:
Your Phone Number:
What Size Share Would You :Like?
Where Will You Be Picking Up Your Share (Hampden/River Market/Fresh & Natural)?

Survey Results

2010-01-23T18:54:00.000-08:00

If you are shopping for a CSA for 2010 please see a previous post entitled Eener's 2010 Preliminary CSA Details (posted in November). More details on 2010 sign-up to be posted here soon.

Check out our new puppy, her name is Mabel. We figured Maynerd, our orginal dog, could use an assistant in his garden/critter protecting duties. He's working on training her in. She's half springer and half hound...seems pretty smart. We've been enjoying her company.

Thanks to all of you 2009 members who filled out the Eener’s Farm Survey! The results were very interesting and I’ve been taking them into account as I order seeds and plan for the coming season. If you haven’t yet filled one out it’s not too late, send it on in if you’d like. Here are the questions and results:

1. Was there anything you would have liked to have seen (or seen more of) in the boxes?
Lettuce/salad mix received the most votes with spinach coming in as a close second. I’ve been researching varieties of lettuce that will retain good flavor as summer temperatures rise. I struggled last summer with the salad mix getting bitter as we got into July. Obviously I need to plant more spinach! Cucumbers, tomatoes, melons and egg plant also received a fair amount of votes. All of these were crops that were not happy campers last year, especially the tomatoes which were hit with a bad blight. I’ll be investing in a hoophouse this year so hopefully we can have better success with these heat-loving veggies. Sweet corn, carrots and broccoli got a few votes too so I’ll plant more of these.

2. Was there anything you found in your box too often?
Turnips were the overwhelming winners for this question. I’m not surprised, every single turnip seed I planted must have sprouted, they really enjoyed themselves last summer. Beets also received a fair amount of votes with summer squash, swiss chard and tomatillos bringing up the rear. I’ll be planting a lot less turnips this year and also plan to scale back on the zucchini and tomatillo production. I’m only going to plant half as much swiss chard this year and I’ll introduce kale which is something many of you suggested I grow.

3. Do you think you got a fair amount of produce for the price you paid for the share?
All of the survey participants said yes to this question except for one who was undecided. I was glad to hear this since it was my first year and I wasn’t certain on how much should be going in the boxes. My goal is to provide members with an amount of produce that is equal to the price they paid for the share, but ideally I’d like to give them more. Of course this isn’t always possible since farming is so tied to the weather. I’ve heard that many CSAs north of here were unable to produce an amount of produce that was equal to share price due to drought. This happens…being a part of a CSA is a gamble and the very same thing could happen here.

4. What was your favorite box item?
We were all over the board on this one… pie pumpkins got the most votes; I would agree they are one of my favorites too. Spuds received a lot of votes. It was a very good year for potatoes and we had a nice crop…don’t worry I already ordered red seed potatoes for this year! Pretty much all of the other candidates in this category got only one vote, obviously a matter of taste. In response to this question one member wrote, “…my absolute favorite box item was dirt. It is absolutely wonderful to wash dirt off of veggies, and not to have to worry about chemicals and wax”. Well put I think, this is a box item I didn’t expect to see mentioned.

5. What was your least favorite box item?
Turnips won here too and rutabagas were not very far behind. I’ll be severely limiting the amount I plant of these two crops. Beets and brussel sprouts also got some votes although many of you said these were on your favorites list so I’ll not cut production back much.

Many of you had some great suggestions! Here are a few I’ve really taken to heart:
More recipes in the newsletter – good call!
Fruit - We’re really working on this. We put in a strawberry bed and a bunch more rhubarb last year hopefully we’ll see some return on that this year. We will continue to plant more fruit but most fruit takes a fair amount of time before you actually get to eat it. Several of you mentioned blueberries….hmmmmm (that was me trying to figure out were I can start a blueberry patch).
More meat – Another thing we are interested in doing. Lamb and goat meat may well be available next fall depending on how the lambing and kidding season goes. We are seriously considering getting some pigs and offering up pork for sale this year.
More herbs – Another good call, I’m expanding the herb selection this year.
Cauliflower – Exactly what I was thinking! It’s on the list for this year.
Cheese – This could happen…but not this year.
Asparagus – I planted 100 of these last year. We may see some this year but really they won’t be at full production until 2011.
More winter squash – I agree and have had a lot of fun picking out some new varieties.

Flail Chopper

2009-12-15T17:55:00.000-08:00

If you are interested in 2010 CSA details, please see the previous post!

Last month I headed out to another CSA farm located just a little ways north of my place for a field day. The farmers at this particular CSA have been farming for quite a number of years and had a lot of good ideas about mulch, building the soil and lots of other things. A bunch of farmers from all over the state met up at their place, we had a tour, drank some coffee and had a really informative discussion not only about soil but also about other odds and ends. It was a very educational afternoon for me.

One pretty big area of discussion involved flail choppers. Flail choppers are pretty nifty pieces of machinery that are pulled behind tractors and used primarily for chopping corn stalks but also for other types of crops too. The chopped plants are then fed directly to animals or used as silage, another type of livestock food that’s sort of fermented. The CSA farmers were saying that they used flail choppers to hack up all the standing debris in their gardens like sweet corn stalks, sunflower stems, pumpkin vines and what have you. The chopped debris broke down faster and was thus a more efficient form of fertilizer.

After hearing all this, I got pretty excited about flail chopping my garden. I knew my parents owned one and went to their house the next day to borrow it. My dad and I drove his pick-up out to an area of his woods were he has all sorts of interesting farm equipment parked. My parents used to grow corn but over the years switched to a more grass based system and so haven’t used the chopper in quite awhile. We located the chopper and found it in working order.

We headed over to my place with the chopper hitched to the pick-up. Once we got out to the garden we hooked it up to my dad’s Allis Chalmers tractor (I borrow a lot of stuff from my parents).

A little about the anatomy of a flail chopper…(I'll try and get a picture up here soon) it’s basically a giant, high powered mower. They have a rounded rectangular body that houses banks of knives that rotate. They also have a good-sized curved metal shaft that sticks straight up off the body. As they are pulled along the knives chop up everything then it all gets sucked up the shaft were it spews into a type of wagon called a chopper box… really a pretty cool system.

Another important detail is that they run off PTO (power take off) shafts. A PTO is a bar that runs from a farm implement into the back of a tractor and provides power for moving parts. These things spin really fast and are incredibly dangerous if they don’t have a guard on them. All farm implements that run off PTO shafts come with guards it’s just a matter of replacing them when they break.

A little PTO shaft side note: One day years ago my grandpa hopped on his tractor to go do some farming with a PTO driven farm implement. A little while later he came walking back to the house in his underpants. Due to the fact that he wasn’t much of a PTO guard maintenance kind of guy the implement didn’t have a shaft guard on it. Sure enough, he got a little too close and the rapid spinning action of the shaft ripped his britches clean off him (if you ever want to launch my mom into a fit of prolonged hysterical laughter, just mention this story to her).

So I’m digressing quite a bit here…back to the chopping of the garden.

It turns out that my dad’s chopper had been slightly modified over the years. It no longer has the long shaft sticking up. So instead of sucking the cuttings up and out his chopper just obliterates everything and shoots it in all directions. I had never run a chopper before so he was giving me some pointers. At the end of his lesson he advised that due to the modifications, I should wear a helmet with a face guard.

Donning my super-hip logging helmet with the metal face guard in place I started the tractor and engaged the PTO. The chopper lurched to life as all the knives began rotating at breakneck speed. The noise the thing made was alarming, it sounded like a chainsaw but more breathy…a sort of menacing whir.

As I started driving around my garden, I noticed myself leaning decidedly to the left. This was because the main body of the chopper was to my right and the second I started chopping I knew why the helmet was necessary. Cascades of vegetable matter spewed out mostly behind me but I found that some of it came directly towards me especially if I was turning a corner.

Sweet corn shredded up nicely as did pumpkin vines, zucchini plants, cucumber vines and pretty much everything else. The kohlrabi bed had quite a few golf-ball sized plants left in it and when the chopper hit it a spray of nickel-sized debris shot out and pegged me in the back. Kohlrabi (a relative of the turnip) can kind of sting when it’s ground up and shot at you.

The only area in the garden that gave the chopper something to think about was the brussel sprout patch. Brussel sprout plants get big and some of my stalks were about the size of baseball bats and incredibly fibrous. The chopper was unable to chop all of these into fine pieces. As a result a few six-inch lengths came flying out. On pegged me right square in the face. That thing was moving! It really tagged me and I was incredibly grateful for my face guard.

A couple of times the chopper picked up small rocks and flung them far distances. At one point it dredged up a rock the size of a basketball which caused the thing to sound as if it was getting ready to explode. I had to get down off the tractor (after carefully disengaging the PTO) and extract the rock which had been hit many times by knives and appeared to be slightly pulverized.

After I was done the garden looked like a scrubby, brown field. It was amazing how in about half an hour I was able to erase pretty much all signs of seven months worth of labor. It’s also pretty amazing how the 2009 garden will be a major part of the 2010 garden in the form of organic fertilizer.

Eener’s 2010 CSA Preliminary Details

2009-11-16T05:29:00.000-08:00

Wow, I’m impressed by the amount of early-bird CSA shoppers! For those of you who are already scouting for next year here are some details on my CSA:

Delivery Locations: I deliver to River Market Co-Op which is located in downtown Stillwater and Hampden Park Co-Op in St. Paul (928 Raymond Ave., fairly near Midway Stadium). I’m interested in adding a delivery to Hudson….but haven’t done any research on this yet.

Delivery Times: If things stay the same as this year (and I expect them to) I will be delivering to Stillwater on Mondays and St. Paul on Wednesdays. I drop the boxes off around 2:30 p.m. and members come pick them up between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. It’s advisable to pick up your box on the day it is delivered; the co-ops may or may not hold boxes for CSA members.

Share Sizes: I offer full and half shares. All the shares come in the same size box (it’s cheaper to buy boxes that are all the same size). The boxes are bushel sized and I try to fill full share boxes and half fill half share boxes. In the beginning of the season this is not always possible, towards the middle of the season this can be a real challenge. In the thick of the this year’s season I was running 18-20 different types of veggies in the full-share folks’ boxes and 9-10 different types in half boxes.

Pricing: Full shares sell for $500 and half shares sell for $255.

Box Contents - Veggies, Herbs, Flowers and Eggs: I grow about 40 varieties of vegetables, some herbs and a few flowers for bouquets. I also have a small flock of chickens and put eggs in the boxes as I get them. Fruit is something I’m working on….I don’t promise any fruit but if I end up with some I’ll put it in the boxes (last year I was able to run apples and a few plums).

Is Eener’s Farm Organic: I’m not certified organic (a process I’m looking into) so I can’t advertise myself as organic. I do advertise as “Chemical Free” which means I don’t use any chemical pesticides or herbicides in my farming operations.

Our Season Length: In 2010 I’ll be doing 21 weeks starting the second week in June and going until the last week in October.

When to Sign Up: The 2009 members can sign up anytime. I’ll start taking brand-spanking-new members on February 1, 2010 (sign-up forms will appear on this blog).

This is all fine and good, but what the heck is a CSA anyway? Basically, a CSA (which stands for Community Supported Agriculture) is a type of direct market farm, meaning the farmer sells food directly to customers. There are a lot of advantages to this kind of farm. For one, customers/members know exactly where their food is coming from (we encourage our members to come visit the farm and we hold a big party at the end of the season for everyone). Secondly, produce from CSA farms doesn’t travel far. As a result it’s better for the environment and members enjoy much fresher produce. Another perk is that CSA farms tend to be really diversified (we grow about 40 varieties of veggies plus herbs and flowers and eggs) so members get a nice variety of in-season veggies.

Risk. Since farming is so completely tied to the weather, it’s risky business. My goal is to provide my members with an amount of produce that is equal to the money they paid for their share. In 2009 I think I accomplished this goal. But I can’t promise that this will be true for next year. It’s helpful to think of CSA farms in terms of the stock market; when members buy a share they are making an investment. On a good year they will break even or get an amount of produce that is greater in value than their initial investment. On a bad year, they may end up with an amount of produce that is worth less than what they invested. In buying a full season of produce, the members of CSA farms share the risk with their farmers.

Meat Inventory Update

2009-10-28T20:17:00.000-07:00

Here's What's Left as of Nov. 7th

For those of you picking up at River Market: Your meat will arrive at 10:00 a.m. pick it up like any other CSA box. They will put it in the cooler but it's still a good idea to pick it up as soon as you can.

For those of you picking up at Hampden Park: I'll be at the co-op at 1:00 p.m. since Hampden does not have cooler/freezer space, I'll stay there until you come to get it.

Lamb Meat:
Lamb Shanks: a.k.a. hocks (good for soup) $5.00 - six left in stock
Lamb Shoulder: Two left, one is $20 (a little over 4#) and the other is $10 (a little over 2#), bone in
Lamb Chops: Ten packs left, they are small and also include bones, as a result I’ve decided to sell 4 chops for $5.00 instead of my original price of 2 for $5.00 (one person could very easily eat two lamb chops in one sitting).

Goat Meat
Goat Shanks: a.k.a. hocks (good for soup) $4.00
Leg of Goat: One left, $20 (nearly 5 and a half pounds)
Goat Shoulder: One left, $20 (nearly 5 and a half pounds)
Goat Chops: Five left, 2 per pack, $4.00/pack

Eener's Meat Sampler Pack: Now includes a mix of goat and lamb meat. Two packs of lamb chops, two packs of goat chops, one pound ground goat, two shanks (one lamb and one goat). $23.00

Meat Prices

2009-10-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

So we’ve had two lambs, a ewe and a goat butchered and are interested in selling some meat to CSA members or anyone who is interested. Here is some information about the animals we had butchered:

The Two Lambs: These were both boys born here this past spring. The reason we had them butchered is because we don’t have a use for any more rams (we couldn’t use these guys for breeding anyway since they are related to the girl lambs). Their mothers raised them out in the pasture so the only things they ate were milk and grass. They were never given any ground feed and were never weaned. Since they didn’t get sick or appear to have any health problems whatsoever they were never given any antibiotics or any other kind of medicine, hormones, ect. They are both Icelandic which is a meat breed that is said to be less greasy than other meat breeds.

The Goat: This goat lived at my place for a year and a half. I decided to butcher her because she is not a good mother. While she was here she spent the majority of her time grazing in the pasture. During the winter she was fed hay that was grown without chemical herbicides or pesticides. Occasionally she was given ground feed as a special treat. She was dewormed (this is standard procedure) with Diatomaceous earth which is a type of sedimentary rock that contains fossilized algae. She never had any health problems (unless you count mental ones) and thus wasn’t given any meds. When I bought her she was a young goat I would estimate her age at two or three years. She is a Boer which is a breed that is known for producing meat.

The Ewe: The ewe also lived at my place for a year and a half and was on the same feeding routines as the goat. She was butchered because she did not lamb last spring; because of this I believe she was pretty old. Even though she was older she was still a very nice looking, slick sheep. She is a hair sheep meaning she grew fur instead of wool. Hair sheep are a somewhat rare meat breed. She was dewormed in the same manner as the goat and also did not have any health problems and so was never given any meds.

Prices:
Lamb Chops- 2 per pack, cuts are 11/4 in. thick - $5.00/pack
Ground Lamb- 1 lbs. packs - $5.00/pack
Leg of Lamb – between 3 and 5 lbs., bone in - $5.00/lbs.
Lamb Shoulder – between 1 and 3 lbs., bone in - $5.00/lbs.
Lamb Hocks- good for stew- $5.00

Goat Chops- 2 per pack, cuts are 1in. thick - $4.00/pack
Ground Goat- 1 lbs. packs - $4.00/pack
Goat Roasts-between 3 and 5 lbs.- $4.00/lbs.
Goat Hocks-a.k.a. stew meat- $4.00

Mutton pricing is the same as goat pricing.

Eener’s Meat Sampler Pack- a good idea if you’d like to try a little of each, 1 pound each of ground lamb, goat and mutton, 2 packs of chops (one goat and one mutton) and a lamb hock - $23.00

The Butcher: We had our meat done up by a family owned butcher shop located in Elmwood, WI. They have a pretty cool meat market if you ever are in town. To learn more about their shop here is the web site: http://www.piercecountywi.com/Sailers.htm. Cass and I have been known to do our own butchering. However, we decided to contract this job out because there are two major advantages to sending animals to a professional butcher. For one, they have professional grade equipment that ensures the meat is weighed and wrapped to perfection. Secondly, all the animals are inspected by a veterinarian to ensure they are healthy and of good eating quality before they are slaughtered.

Deliveries: I’m nearly certain we’ll be able to put meat in the CSA boxes next week. The butcher said the meat should be ready this week, though we haven’t heard from just yet. Another good delivery day would be Sat. Nov. 7. We’re going to stop by both co-ops (River Market Co-op in downtown Stillwater and Hampden Park Co-op in St. Paul on Raymond Ave.) to pick up our last round of boxes. Other delivery dates are very possible since we get into Stillwater and St. Paul quite often to shop and visit family and friends.

How To Order: Just e-mail me eenermachine@gmail.com or call me (715)643-2803 and let me know what you would like, when you would like it and where you would be picking it up at.

Where is Eener's Farm??

2009-10-15T06:08:00.000-07:00

It's been brought to my attention that the web site Google Maps thinks we live north of 64 when in fact we actually live south of it. Map Quest on the other hand seems to have a better handle on where we are. Another important detail is that there was a misprint in the newsletter and Connorsville is actually west of our house and not east like I had orginally claimed.

Here are directions to the farm (free of misprints):

From Stillwater: This is the obvious way for Stillwater folks but may also be good for St. Paul people too. Cross the lift bridge and head into WI on Hwy. 64. Follow 64 for about 40 miles, turn right onto 220th St. Please note that there is another 220th St. that intersects with Hwy. 64 about 20 miles from Stillwater, this is not our road. In order to get to our 220th St. you have to go through Connorsville which is a little town about three miles west of our house. Once you are on the correct 220th St. we are the first place on the right.

From I-94: Go east on I-94 until you hit the Glenwood City exit (the exit number is 28). Take a left off the exit ramp onto Hwy. 128. Follow 128 for about 10 miles until you get into Glenwood City at which point 128 becomes the main drag also known as Oak Street. A few blocks into town 128 turns off, ignore this and proceed to Third Street and hang a left. Just outside of town Third Street becomes County Road X. Follow Co. Rd. X for a few miles until you come to a stop sign, turn left onto County Road Q (I know, us crazy Wisconsinites and our lettered road names). Follow Co. Rd. Q a short ways to Hwy 64 and take a right. About four miles down 64 you will find 220th St., take a right. We are the first place on the right.

Amenities:
Gas: Gas stations are scarce around here (so is cell phone reception). If you are coming from Stillwater your last chance for gas is at an intersection we call four corners about 7 or 8 miles outside of New Richmond. There are 2 stations here right off 64. If you are coming from I-94 your last gas will be found in Glenwood City.
Food: We’ll feed you around 5:30 or 6 p.m. If you were thinking of stopping somewhere for lunch most of the countryside taverns serve food. You’ll find mostly burgers and pizza.

Maynerd: Our dog, Maynerd may bark at you in greeting. He's very friendly and has been trained not to jump on people, though he gets pretty excited at parties. He's a smaller dog (about 40 pounds) and not intimidating.

Box #18

2009-10-01T19:24:00.000-07:00

It froze very hard here on Tuesday night. Before that happened, Cass and I covered the peppers and eggplant. Even with the covers, most of the plants still received frost damage. We’ll see what happens with these. I think we’ll still get some produce out of them but maybe not as much. The basil, summer squash and tommatillos all succumbed to the frigidness. Since those plants haven’t been producing much lately and were all dying back anyway, I let them go. Everything else in the garden doesn’t mind being frozen. Although, I noticed the Swiss Chard seemed kind of limp as I was picking it on Wednesday morning. I think maybe it was still trying to thaw out as it looked more crisp that evening.

Four More Weeks to Go
We still have four more weeks left. If anyone is wondering, the last delivery to Stillwater will be Oct. 26, the last for St. Paul will be Oct. 28. Here’s what’s left: lots more spuds, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, winter squash, pie pumpkins, rutabagas, turnips, pasta squash, swiss chard, hopefully peppers and eggplant, some broccoli, beets, carrots, popcorn, sunflower seeds and horseradish. We also have lots of gourds, ornamental corn and jack o’lanterns which we hope to get rid of mostly at the big party here on Oct. 17.

Farm Pictures

2009-09-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

My dad and Cass enjoying the scenery. The gourd patch is behind them.

My nephew working with Rose, one of our young goats.

A couple of our pumpkins.

Here we are next to the sweet corn. Did you know that you can get 11-year-olds to pick corn quite speedily if you fill them in on some of the gory details from the horror movie Children Of The Corn?

The hired help checking on/sitting on our prize Jack O'Lantern.

Box #13

2009-08-26T14:55:00.000-07:00

Hurray for sweet corn! Corn is one of my favorite things to pick. I go along with a gunny sack snapping off cobs left and right no bending or kneeling required. Additionally, it’s nice and shady since the plants are quite a bit taller than me. I planted corn three different times so that it wouldn’t all be ready at once. Some plants have defied this system and are riper than others planted later. To determine whether or not certain cobs were ready this week we peeled back parts of the husk. So if you have cobs that are somewhat dehusked that was just us taking a peek and not some corn-seeking critter nibbling on your dinner.

Stinky Broccoli Our broccoli plants are mostly producing flowerets right now which are cute little mini heads that form after the main larger head is harvested. These little guys are tasty but also can get quite stinky. The reason broccoli (also brussel sprouts, cabbage and other members of the brassica or cruciferous family of veggies) gets smelly is because it contains sulfur compounds. These compounds help protect the plants from insects and animals. There has been quite a lot of research stating that these very same compounds help prevent cancer. The smell gets stronger when broccoli is cut. Since flowerets require many cuts rather than just the one for big heads they tend to smell more.

Tomatoes
I continue to be disturbed by the amount of mold in the tomato patch. To make matters worse, we got about three more inches of rain yesterday, I’m sure this will not help our situation. Never thought I’d say this but I think I’ve had enough rain…at least for awhile.

Melons
Last year we had a ton of melons in September right at the exact moment that everyone was sick of them. As a result I tried a few new things this year to try and get them earlier. These new ideas didn’t work out and it appears as though we will either have melons next month or not at all. Looks like it’s back to the drawing board on the whole melon front.

Starting to go the Other Way
The cucumbers and beans are starting to show their age and are beginning to die back. We will probably still run these next week and maybe the week after but to a pretty limited degree. On the upside, this will give me more time to start digging spuds again.

Another Round
We'll be pulling beets, turnips and carrots again soon. I'm thinking I may have over planted turnips and under planted carrots...sorry.

Box #11

2009-08-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

The garden is exploding! We really had to move to get everything picked and packed in time this week. Here is a run down:

Green Tomatoes: One of my tomato plants looks as though it may be dead or at least in the process of dying. I think I nicked it with the tiller some weeks ago and ever since it’s been a weak plant. Apparently it couldn’t stand up to the torrential downpour we received here last weekend. Anyway, rather than toss the tomatoes out I put some in the CSA boxes this week. I think something like five or six of you got them. For those of you who didn’t get these, keep the following recipe ideas (from The Encyclopedia of Country Living) in mind. After the frosts start everyone will probably get some.

Fried Green Tomatoes: Slice tomatoes into about ½ inch slices. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a pie tin. Dip slices in the mix to get both sides coated. Fry in hot shortening (or butter or olive oil) on one side then the other. Serve hot and right away.

Baked Green Tomatoes: Cut tomatoes into ½ inch slices and arrange half of then in the bottom of a greased baking dish. Over that make a layer of small toasted bread cubed, salt, pepper and bitted dots. Add a second layer of green tomatoes and than a second layer of everything else. Finally, sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees until tender.

Pasta Squash: These are coming along nicely. If you didn’t get one of these this week, don’t worry, you’ll definitely see probably more of these than you would like by the end of the growing season as they are incredibly prolific. Pasta squash (a.k.a. spaghetti squash or vegetable spaghetti) is a relative of summer squash. It’s a pretty cool type of squash because you actually can make spaghetti out of it. Instead of producing a solid flesh they’re insides are all noodley.
To prepare: snap the stem off and toss the whole thing in a pot of boiling water for about half an hour or poke with a fork and bake for about 90 minutes; slice in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and central pulp; using a fork, rake out the shreds of spaghetti. Once they’re cooked use them like any other noodle (hot, cold, stir fried). Uncooked it’s pretty unpalatable. Also if you want to make stir fry with it, cook it first using one of the methods above.

Box #10

2009-08-05T21:36:00.000-07:00

I hope you all are enjoying your apple pies! Admittedly I got the giggles several times while writing that newsletter. It was based on the experience I had last weekend when I made my own apple pie (which by the way turned out great!).

There were a few misprints in the St. Paul newsletter this week. First most everyone in St. Paul got red onions, not yellow ones as the newsletter claimed. Second, I should have written ‘summer squash’ under the What’s in the Box heading because not everyone got zucchini. Some folks got crookneck squash which is pear shaped, dull yellow and bumpy. Other folks got patty pans which resemble yellow or white spaceships. All of the summer squash is very comparable to zucchini and is completely interchangeable in any recipe.

We ran a lot of different things in the boxes this week. If you are wondering what to do with something here is a run down:

Cool Beans: Beans are starting to come in (finally) and I expect we will be into them in a big way next week. Our beans are of the pole variety, meaning they are the kinds that need to be trellised. They are very easy to grow and pretty easy to pick compared to the varieties that grow in bush form. You’ll find the standard green beans and also some purple, yellow and purple-flecked beans. The purple ones will turn green when cooked, however the yellow ones will stay yellow. When cooking green beans, I’ve found that they can lose flavor if they are boiled in water. So instead I just put them in the pan by themselves and gently heat them until they release some moisture. They cook nicely in their own juice and have amazing flavor.
Green beans (or purple beans or yellow beans or purple-flecked beans) freeze fairly well. I slice them into one-inch pieces, blanch for three to four minutes, put them in jars or bags, toss them in the freezer and enjoy them all winter long. They also of course can be canned and are wonderful pickled.

Cucumbers: Cucs are a bit behind this year probably due to the cool weather. In any case we are starting to run them too. Boyceville used to be a major pickle town. It had a pickle factory that accepted cucs from area farmers. Most folks around here back then planted at least an acre of them as a cash crop. My mom spent many summer days as a youngster picking pickles and still enjoys them! The pickle factory closed down about 20 years ago but the town still celebrates its cucumber roots by holding the Boyceville Cucumber Festival every summer.
Baby cucumbers make the best pickles and may be canned or made into refrigerator pickles. There are many recipes and variations. To make refrigerator pickles simply boil up a brine of water, vinegar and salt (I use 6 cups water, 3 cups vinegar and ½ cup salt), place some dill heads in a jar and maybe a clove of garlic or two, toss baby cucs in jar and dump brine over them. Place this in the refrigerator and wait about 24 hours for the flavors to come through. Then enjoy your pickles, they will keep in your fridge for at least a month.

Tomatillos: This is the first year I’ve tried these and I really don’t know all that much about them. So, according to The Encyclopedia of Country Living: “Tomatillos are also known as Mexican Husk Tomatoes and are closely related the ground cherry. Serve raw in salad, sliced plain, or with dip as finger food. Or use to make slasa verde or dip. Or cook and add to dishes (tomatillos add an herb-lemon flavor). Or slice and add to a veggie soup or bean casserole.” Here is the salsa verde recipe given in the same book: Combine two cups chunked, uncooked tomatillo, one cup chunked onion, ¼ cup dried epazote, maybe a little minced hot pepper and one teaspoon garlic salt. Churn in a blender until smooth. Add one cup sour cream. Serve chilled.

Other things we started running on a small scale this week include: cherry tomatoes, yellow pear tomatoes and broccoli. Peas made their last appearance this week as did the red/pink potatoes (glad so many of you liked these, they are a variety called Red Romance). Beets and turnips also made final appearances this week (though you’ll probably see beets again).

Box #9

2009-07-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

In addition to being behind on broccoli, cucumbers and beans, I’m also behind on blogging (also receipt writing, if you’ve paid me in July and have not yet received a receipt, you’ll be getting it next week in your box). Anyway, here are some recipe ideas and other useful bits of information on your produce:

Basil - There are many types of basil, this particular one is known as sweet basil and is probably one of the more common kinds. According to the Fedco Seed Catalog, which is where I order basil seed, this type is recommended for “drying, all-around great eating and large-scale pesto production”. If you are interested in drying some basil and you don’t own a food dehydrator, place a layer of leaves on a plate and microwave them until they are crispy.

Beets - Beets can be frozen, canned, dried or root cellared (wait for later ones if you plan on doing this). I’ve also heard of people pickling beets, which sounds interesting. Admittedly, beets are not my favorite so I’m not the best resource for beet related recipes.

Brussel Sprouts - These are one of my favorites. I like to steam them and serve with pasta and cheese sauce. They are root cellarable as Brussels sprout logs (these will show up at the end of the season, probably in the last box) or they can also be frozen individually (blanch 3-5 minutes first). The plants themselves are very interesting-looking (see photo above) with thick stocks and leafy tops. They sort of resemble miniature palm trees with the heads growing where the stalks meet the leaves.

Carrots - Carrots are one of those crops that we plant more than once so expect them several times throughout the season. They freeze well after being peeled, chopped and balanced for 2-5 minutes. One of my favorite ways to prepare carrots is to steam them in orange juice.

Cilantro - Also known as Chinese Parsley and Mexican Parsley, cilantro is the leaf part of the plant with the seeds being the coriander part. Cilantro can be used to flavor a variety of dishes including; salsa, guacamole, soups, stews, salads, stir-fries, egg, fish, pork, hot dogs etcetera. Unfortunately, cilantro does not keep well and drying the leaves results in little to no flavor.

Fennel - Fennel is sort of new to me, this is the first year I’ve grown it. It has an anise-type flavor and is good raw or cooked. It really does not keep well and should be used within a few days. According to The Joy of Cooking, fennel can be roasted, braised, grilled or sautéed. The fronds can be used as a seasoning and bulbs can be used as a substitute for celery. Fennel accompanies fish especially well.

Flowers – We’ve started putting zinnia (very colorful) and sweet pea (very fragrant) bouquets in the boxes this week. We’ll have sunflowers later.

Kohlrabi - I think these are best raw (just peel and slice) but they also are good in stir fries, casseroles or toasted in the oven with cheese on top. You can freeze them but they tend to smell like propane when thawed.

Rutabaga – So, I think I may have planted a few too many turnips this year. To add insult to injury, as soon as we’re done picking turnips we’ll head right into rutabagas, which taste pretty much just like turnips.

Spuds – I’m sure you all know what to do with tators. I think you’ll find the blue ones interesting to cook with.

Here’s a great potato bread recipe from The Foxfire Book: Dissolve a cake of yeast in a cup of warm water. Cook up two medium spuds, mash them and add two teaspoons salt, three teaspoons sugar and the yeast water. Put in a jar (or bowl) in a warm place to rise (it’ll get bubbly). Then add enough flour to make a firm dough. Let rise till double, knead and make into two loaves. Let rise then bake at 350 degrees until it tests done.

Swiss Chard – If you didn’t get a bag of lettuce mix this week you got a bunch of swiss chard. The leaves are great as salad greens and the stalks are a good substitute for celery (which we don’t grow).

Turnips – Here’s a recipe involving turnips one of you e-mailed to me. It’s good (thanks Wendy).

Cheesy Turnips and Carrots

INGREDIENTS
3 cups diced peeled turnips
2 cups sliced carrots
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup diced celery
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
•
DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan, combine turnips, carrots, ginger, water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender; drain and reserve liquid. Set vegetables aside. In a skillet, saute onion and celery in butter until tender; stir in flour, pepper and remaining salt. Add milk and the vegetable liquid; bring to a boil. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in cheese until melted; stir in the vegetables and heat through.

Farm News and Pictures

2009-07-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

Hope you all are enjoying box #7. It was a challenging one to pick and pack what with all the varying maturity levels of different crops right now. I apologize to those who had to wait for me on Wednesday in St. Paul. By trying to avoid one area of road construction I got stuck in two other unforeseen areas of construction and ended up not arriving at Hampden Park until after 3 p.m. Thanks to Tameaka and the Sellkes for helping me unload boxes.

Fall Farm Harvest Fest
We’ve decided to hold a fall harvest fest/party here at the farm for all CSA members on October 17. Members can come pick out their pumpkins, gourds and ornamental corn (hopefully this stuff will be ready by then, it really should be). There also will be a corn shock making clinic, tours and possibly a bon fire weather permitting. We’ll post more info as this date approaches.

Other Farm Visits
If you are interested in touring the farm sooner than October, please feel free to come by. Except for delivery days, I’m pretty much always here. Our place it pretty easy to find provided you can navigate through all the road construction between here and the cities. Give me a call or e-mail me if you decide to stop by.

One of the barns with pumpkin patch in foreground.

Tommatillos.

Olaf, our billy goat.

Boxes will not be Early to St. Paul this Week

2009-07-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

As you're all aware, Hampden Park picker-uppers pick up their boxes around 3 p.m. but generally I'm there unloading earlier than that. This week it is very unlikely that I'll be there anytime much before 3 for two reasons. First, my helper is on vacation this week and so I'll be packing boxes solo. Also I've heard that I-94 has a bunch of construction going on right now. I'll probably take Hwy. 36 tomorrow to avoid hang-ups in the construction. By doing this I'll risk getting stuck on the lift bridge in Stillwater which seems to happen about 50% of the time (sometimes I sit there for half an hour, though admittedly it is pretty cool to see the boats go under). I hope none of you end up waiting for me, I’ll do my best to get there as soon as I can.

Spud Fest

2009-06-29T16:49:00.001-07:00

I'm excited to report that we have spuds this week. Half share folks will be getting one pound and full share people will get two pounds. These would be considered new potatoes so many of them are quite small but very yummy. We still have lots more to dig (plus they'll get bigger and bigger) so you'll be seeing them quite often for the rest of the summer and into the fall.

Here are some photos of our spud endeavors:

The spud patch.

A few new tators.

Here I am digging them.

New Lambs

2009-06-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

Here are the new twins born last weekend.

Third Box Notes

2009-06-18T21:43:00.000-07:00

Sad news on the chicken front this week.
The hen that recently hatched out eggs was living in a temporary brooder/shelter with her chicks. I went out there Wednesday morning to check on them and found their set-up completely ripped apart (like, literally ripped apart). I’m certain this was an attack orchestrated by raccoons. Their water and food dishes were strewn about and the chicken wire was totally mangled. The hen lost some feathers but is otherwise O.K. Sadly five of the baby chicks are missing and presumed eaten. The remaining chick survived the attack only because is got trapped in a ball of chicken wire rubble and apparently the coons were unable to extract it. I’ve put the hen and chick in a dog crate which is not really the best because it’s kind of small but a better deal then being savagely murdered by a raccoon.
Once the chick is bigger, I’ll be able to release these two into the chicken coop. It would be nice if I could just put them in the coop now, but if I did that the other chickens would probably attack the chick (chickens are weird that way). Anyway, the chicken coop isn’t exactly the safest place for chickens either. Last summer our coop was hijacked by raccoons who gained access by breaking a window.
It’s really amazing how many predators chickens have. Over the years we’ve lost our fair share of chickens. Here is a list of bad ends that some of our chickens have come to: eaten by raccoons, attacked by an owl, attacked by a hawk, hit by a car, drowned in a stock tank, attacked by a sheep, attacked by a goose, attacked by a weasel. Other predators of chickens include: foxes, dogs, cats, fishers, pigs and other chickens.
Predators are one of the main reasons that chickens on factory farms are raised in cages. If my chickens were all caged I’d still have all those that have been killed by predators. But I’d rather expose my chickens to their predators and take the gamble; I think they like their lives a lot better this way, even though they have an increased chance of living a shorter life.

Actual Garden News
Now that I’ve talked your ear off about chickens, here is some garden news. Everyone is probably thoroughly tired of green onions, it looks as though we’ll be seeing more variety in the boxes next week. I’m thinking we could see the first of the spuds and perhaps beets will make their debut. This is no guarantee since my garden seems to cleverly evade me every time I try and make a prediction about it.
Other new developments in the garden include; I spotted two little tiny green peppers today, all of the cherry tomatoes are blooming and some of the big tomatoes are blooming. Expect the very first peppers and tomatoes in late July. Then expect the majority through August and into September. Approximately 1/3 of the spuds are blooming and maybe ¼ of the peas are blooming.

Second Box Notes

2009-06-10T20:12:00.000-07:00

So second boxes have all been delivered, here are some of my thoughts on them:

Digging Deep
We really had to dig pretty deep to come up with salad greens this week. I’m pretty sure the plants haven’t yet fully responded to all the rain we’ve gotten. I’m hoping next week we can send more your way.
A second thing we really had to hunt for was radishes. This I was not terribly surprised by as radish season has just started. Most of you received a small bunch of a type of radish called Cherry Belle they are little petite things that are generally the first to produce. A few of you got some Easter Egg radishes which are quite a bit bigger (some even resemble turnips) and these should be more prevalent next week. It also appears as though the white radishes, which are a spicier kind, should start showing up next week as well. A handful of you did not receive any radishes and instead got extras of something else, I’ll be sure you get some rads next week.

It’s still Early
If you are thinking the boxes are a tad on the sparse side, you’re right. June is not the most productive month, even though it sometimes seems like it should be especially when the temperature hits 80 degrees. It’s a central Wisconsin/Minnesota fact that most vegetables can’t be planted until right around Memorial Day. As a result, the most productive months end up being August and September (July isn’t half bad either) so be prepared. In the meantime, please bear with us through these lighter weeks.

Weeds
Like all gardens right about now, we are getting slammed with weeds and have been working some long days to clear them. We’ve been getting lots of help from my parents and a few other relatives. Luckily Boyceville Elementary School is out for the summer so my 10-year-old nephew is available for weed picking (he’s really pretty efficient).

Other Farm News
Speaking of my nephew, he found a hen in my haymow with some freshly hatched chicks, very cute. This is the first time a hen has actually hatched out chicks as the brooding genes have mostly been bred out of chickens. I was really concerned about the health and well-being of this particular hen because I hadn’t seen her in a couple of weeks. I’m glad that’s all straightened out and hope the chicks do well.

It's Raining!

2009-06-06T12:42:00.000-07:00

What a great rain we're having. This should really give everything a boost. Here are some photos of our packing shed which is actually the old milkhouse:

We've been working on this building since last winter. At one point we were worried that it was going to separate from the main barn and collapse into a pile of rubble. Luckily we were able to bring it back from the brink.

First Box Notes

2009-06-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

Our first deliveries were this week and I was for the most part happy with what we came up with for all your boxes. I hope everyone found their boxes, if you had problems please call or e-mail me.

What to do with your empty box
Keep your box at your house (if you have space issues they actually break down quite nicely) and bring it with you next week when you come to pick up again. The co-ops will hold them for me and I’ll be reusing them. Please be nice to your boxes they each cost $1.58 and it is my hope that they will last us all season.

Arugula not up to snuff
I have to say that I’m pretty disappointed with the arugula, I had no idea flea beetles could be that hungry. Even though it does still have decent flavor, the texture is all wrong, probably due to the billions of holes eaten in the leaves. Usually I harvest arugula several times, but I’m going to till the rest of this batch down and we’ll take a shot at growing a fall crop of arugula. It is true that I could spray the plants, I do have organic pest spray, but I’m reluctant to spray salad greens since they are a little trickier to wash and even though it would be an organic spray, you’re still not suppose to eat it.

Unwashed
Speaking of washing, I will be rinsing your lettuce and other greens but I will not be washing much else. One reason for this is that many types of produce actually keep longer and retain their flavor better if they are left unwashed. A second reason is that I strive to pick your produce and get it to your drop-off spot as soon as possible and washing would take up quite a bit of time meaning your boxes would sit longer than I’d like them to.

Another word on comfrey
If you planted your comfrey plant and it wilted I can pretty much guarantee that it’s not going to die. I sold many, many comfrey plants at the farmers market last year and at the end of each market, I would dump any plants that didn’t get sold into the woods. Many times these plants would perk up and start growing for awhile until they realized that they were never actually planted and weren’t living in any dirt.

The drought
I’m sure you are wondering about the severe drought that is currently affecting the metro area. We are not as bad off as the Twin Cities. Our area has been classified as in a moderate drought. So even though I would love some rain, we are not in such a bad way yet. We did receive about ¼ of an inch of rain last week, Menomonie (a town about 25 miles from us) got an inch.

More Pictures

2009-06-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

Onions! There are 15,000 of them.

Pumpkins, gourds and ornamental corn patch.

Our perrenial and flower garden.

Garden Pictures

2009-06-01T09:06:00.001-07:00

Part of the tomato patch.

The west half of the big garden. It's nearly two acres and has the majority of our produce.

A stand of comfrey.

Gardens Nearly All Planted

2009-05-25T11:04:00.000-07:00

I can see the end as far as planting the gardens is concerned. In the last couple of weeks we’ve put in: sweet corn, most of the winter squash (we’re doing acorn, butternut and hubbard this year), summer squash, pasta squash, cucumbers, popcorn, broom corn, fennel, basil, turnips, swiss chard, salsify, cherry tomatoes, beans, flowers, basil, other miscellaneous herbs, jack O’lanterns, rutabagas, cilantro, Indian corn, sunflowers, gourds, tomatoes and cantaloupe. We still have watermelon, peppers and eggplant left to put in.

Overall the weather has been cooperating. A couple weeks ago we had patchy frost here, I made sure everything that needed to be was covered up good and we didn’t lose anything. My only complaint is that we could use some rain. So if everyone could just do some rain dancing that would be great.

In other farm news another baby goat and another baby sheep have been added to our growing herd. Speaking of sheep, we sheared them this weekend. This shearing event went much better than last years, read a previous blog entitled ‘Shearing Phyllis’ to learn more. The ease in shearing this year was probably due to the fact that we now own an electric shearer and also because my dad must have been a sheep shearer in a previous life.

Cass did take a hoof to the face at one point and he also got stepped on. My dad and I escaped unscathed probably due to our cat-like reflexes. Anyway, the sheep look much more comfortable and as a result we now have four fleeces on our hands. If you know of anyone who would be interested in them please let us know. There is one white fleece and three black/brown fleeces.

Delivery time is fast approaching! Just a reminder: Hampden Park folks pick-up between 3 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. on Wednesdays (first pick-up will be June 3) and River Market folks pick-up between 3 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. on Mondays (first pick-up will be June 1).

Sold Out

2009-05-09T08:59:00.000-07:00

Eener's Farm is now sold out for the 2009 season. However, if you've spoken with me either over the phone or through e-mail but haven't yet sent in your membership form/deposit, don't worry you're still in.

Another CSA Update

2009-05-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

The gardens are coming along nicely. The weather has really been cooperating, let’s hope it keeps up. Quite a few plants have broke ground including; spuds, onions, lettuce, spinach, arugula, mustard, radishes, kohlrabi, leeks, shallots, peas and pak choi. I’m hoping to see beets and broccoli come up soon.

This week I planted 96 Brussels Sprout plants, a couple more different varieties of radishes and some more beets. Before the week is over, I’d like to get in fennel and another round of lettuce and pak choi.

A few members have inquired about heading over here for a visit. The best time to come depends on what you are most interested in seeing. If you wanted to see the farm in general you could come pretty much anytime (just call ahead,a a day or two notice would be great as well).

Right now we are in the process of planting so there are not a lot of plants up yet (other than the ones I mentioned above). If you were interested in seeing the gardens at their absolute peak July - October would be the best time.

We have several interesting outbuildings which can be fun to take a look at, if you’re into old farm buildings. A word of warning though, we are somewhat under construction right now with our packing shed but if you don't mind seeing a construction zone, we don't mind either.

Of course there are also a variety of critters available for viewing too including; sheep, baby sheep, goats, baby goats, chickens, cats, beef cows, geese and our dog Maynerd.

Obviously spring and summer are very busy seasons for everybody, so if you never get around to stopping by, we won’t be offended. Another thing to consider is that we are kicking around having some type of end-of-the-season party/get together sometime in October.

Spring Planting Update

2009-04-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in joining Eener’s Farm as a CSA member, please see a previous post entitled “Eener’s CSA” written on February 25. As of today there are 10 shares left.

Hi all, thought I’d go ahead and update you on the garden. All of the spuds are in. We planted pretty close to 100 pounds just after Easter. It looks like last year I dug the very first potatoes around the third week in June, so you can probably expect likewise.

We’ve put in 16 pounds of bulb onions also around Easter and they are already a few inches tall. These will be the big globe onions, some of which are great for storing. We just ate our last onion from the 2008 garden a few days ago.

Also on the already-planted-list are seed onions (these will be your green onions or scallions), lettuce, arugula, mustard, beets, pac choi, shallots, spinach, and peas. This week I’m looking to get in the kohlrabi, radishes, leeks and carrots.

In other farm news, I attended the Seward Co-op CSA Fair last Saturday. I met some interesting farmers and farm-shoppers and also signed up a couple of new members.

Our tomato, eggplant and pepper plant starts are looking good. They are all happily living in my canoe which I covered with plastic. During the day they I pull them outside and at night I pull them into the garage.

One of our sheep named Bernice lambed on Easter. She had twins, one boy and one girl (very cute). Bernice is an excellent mother as she dutifully demonstrated to me last week. One morning I went out to the sheep/goat barn as usual to water and feed them. I then continued into the chicken coop which is adjoining the sheep and goat area.

From a window in the chicken coop I noticed that the very high winds we were having that day were about to turn my hoop house into a giant kite. Being that I had planned on planting watermelon in the hoop house I was not terribly taken by the prospect of it blowing into the sheep and goat pasture or possibly on to the road or possibly into the next county. I ran out of the chicken coop and in my haste, neglected to lock the door.

Forest, my one year old, was with me so I got to experience the excitement of trying to run while pushing a stroller though a cow pasture, very aerobic indeed. So we get out there and learn that there's not a lot that one and a half people could do in that situation. The hoop house is something like 10 feet wide, 12 feet long and seven feet high and it's flopping and cracking in the wind. The plastic’s all messed up and one of the pipes is busted.

Luckily my dad randomly showed up at this point and between gusts of wind be were able to take it down accordion style and stow it in my hay mow. There were a few tense moments were I seriously thought I was going to go for something similar to a hot air balloon ride.

So now that we know that the garden is not the best place wind-wise for the hoop house (this is our first year using a hoop house), we have made plans to set it up in our yard where it’ll be sheltered from the wind. It’s good that this happened before I planted the watermelon.

Anyway, back to Bernice the sheep. So after my dad and Forest and I get the hoop house to safety, we hear this big ruckus out in the chicken yard. It turns out that the door I forgot to lock somehow opened (probably in the wind) and Bernice decided to investigate the chicken coop. In our chicken coop there’s this little chicken door designed so that the chickens can walk in and out freely. Well, Bernice managed to worm her way through that and of course her two lambs followed her.

All three of them are in the chicken yard and Bernice must’ve felt that the chickens were threatening her lambs because she started defending. When we found her she actually had a chicken pinned against the ground and was pummeling it with her head.

I shooed her back into the barn as fast as I could but the damage had already been done. There were two injured hens. I tried to nurse them back to health but one died within a day and the other lived for just three days. They most likely both died of internal injuries.

Amazing how fast you can be out two chickens and a hoop house set-up isn’t it? I’m sure it’ll take me longer than 20 minutes (the total time it took for these mishaps to happen) to set up the hoop house in the new spot and locate some replacement hens. Well, could be worse, Bernice could’ve battled with more chickens and the hoop house could’ve blown into the next county.

CSA Update

2009-03-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks! Thanks to all who have signed up for our CSA. We now have 19 members! Since we have a mix of full and half shares, that puts us at about half full. It seems like every day we gain one or two new members. At the rate we’re going we should be sold out by next month sometime.

Deliveries
We’re excited to start delivering. Since most of you are planning on picking up your boxes on your way home from work, I’ve decided to do the deliveries in the afternoon. I’ll be at the co-ops unloading at 2:30 p.m. so come get your boxes anytime after 3 p.m. or so.

For the Hampden Park Co-op shareholders the first delivery will be Wednesday, June 3rd. Your boxes will be in the air conditioned entryway right as you come in the door. So all you’ll have to do is find your box (your last name will be written on it) and you can be on your merry way. You must pick up your box on Wednesday; the co-op will not hold it for you. They are open until 9 p.m.

Since we’ve had more members sign up for our River Market Co-op drop than we had expected, that delivery day has been changed to Mondays. So for the Stillwater folks, your first delivery will take place on Monday, June 1st. River Market puts CSA boxes in their cooler, so shareholders will have to ask a co-op employee to fetch their boxes. They are open until 9 p.m.

For those of you who are doing Huebert delivery (Sarah’s co-workers), you will receive your boxes via Sarah on Thursdays.

Other Farm News
We picked up our seed potatoes on Tuesday. This year we will be planting reds, blues, russets and yellow spuds. Last year we had quite a problem with potato bugs. So this year we are arming ourselves with some spud bug protection. We’ll be spraying the plants with two different sprays; both are approved for organic farming. One is called Monterey Garden Spray and the other is Neem Oil. If you would like to read up on these here is a helpful web site: http://www.montereylawngarden.com/products/insects/

The baby goat is doing really well! She has a lot of fun playing in the pasture; she’s very fast and shockingly adorable. We are open to name suggestions. Our other goats are named: Blanche, Virginia, Jolene and Olaf. Our sheep are named: Phyllis, Marilyn, Bernice, Thelma and Ivan. Let us know if you have any ideas!

Most of our seed orders have arrived and we are working on starting our bedding plants. Since we don’t have a greenhouse, we’ve been doing the best we can with what we have, which is four windows. It’s going pretty good, many of the tomato plants have already sprouted. Since I’m sure we will fall short on what we can start in our house, we will also be buying bedding plants. We’ll be purchasing at least some of our plants from a greenhouse by the name of Prairie Farm Gardens that sells through our local co-op. This greenhouse uses certified organic seed and local potting soil. They also have a lot of interesting varieties, should be a fun order to place.

We’ve also been renovating our old milk house (see photo above) so that it can be used as a vegetable packing space this summer. It’s been quite a project so far. The building was moved onto the farm in the 1950’s from a neighboring farm that my grandparents bought. It was starting to separate from the barn and needed a lot of structural repairs, which we’ve pretty much have solved now. Soon enough we’ll be outfitting the building with new wiring, a sink and snazzy new interior boards. I’m glad so see this building put back into use and think it’s really cool that I’ll be packing my vegetables in the same building that my grandparents shipped their milk from.

It's a Girl!

2009-03-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

March 22 - Baby Goat Update
I'm happy to report that the baby goat is doing good. She's eating well and running around. Blanche is a great mom and Virginia is a devoted grandma. On a related note, we're pretty sure Virginia will have a kid(s) very soon, with Jolene (the former escape artist) to follow. In April or maybe May we expect lambs.

March 20
One of our pigmy goats (Blanche) kidded this morning. Luckily, she decided to give birth in the barn where it’s nice and dry and out of the wind. I’ve heard stories of goats kidding out on snow banks and such. The kid is about the size of a cat and looks just like Olaf, our Billy goat. She’s all white with a little grey on her ears. Her voice it high-pitched and she kind of sounds like a mosquito.

So far everything seems to be going fine, however I'm a little concerned about how the baby is eating. Blanche is really short and the baby seems to have a hard time getting down to her udder. I helped a couple of times, so she has had something to eat, I'm a little worried if the baby will be able to eat when I'm not there to help. I’ll have to keep a close eye on them.

Blanche and Blanche’s mom, Virginia are very interested in the baby and had it all dried off by the time we realized what had happened (at 6 a.m. this morning). The baby is up and walking around on wobbly legs (very cute). Blanche and Virginia have been keeping a close watch on the newborn and the sheep and the other goat are keeping their distance.

Eener's CSA

2009-02-25T06:10:00.000-08:00

Thanks for taking a look at Eener’s Farm, here are some important C.S.A. details:

A C.S.A. definition: If you are unfamiliar with C.S.A.s (or just want to brush up on them) here is the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) definition:

In basic terms, CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community’s farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Members or shareholders of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer’s salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm’s bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land. Members also share in risks, including poor harvest due to unfavorable weather or pests.

How Eener’s C.S.A. works: I’ll pick produce and eggs and pack your box within 24 hours of delivery. After I deliver the boxes to the two co-ops (other pick up points may also be available) you would simply drop by one of the co-ops and pick up your assigned box (your box will have your name on it). Boxes will be delivered on Wednesdays. Next you would enjoy the contents of your box and look forward to next Wednesday’s delivery upon which you will bring your empty box in and exchange it for a full box.

Share prices: Full shares are $500/season. Half shares are $250/season. Full shares are designed for families and half shares would work for couples or single folks. Our season runs from the first week in June until the last week in October.

Regarding risk: Obviously there’s a lot of risk involved in farming: weather and pests sums it up and they can come in a myriad of different ways. I protect myself against most instances of total garden failure by planting a wide variety of plants and also different strains of these varieties. I also employ some tried and true home remedies for pests. While I’m not totally immune (a well-placed tornado could wipe out the whole works for example) there are some safety nets in place.

Regarding eggs: My chickens are free range and basically act like free range chickens meaning egg production is not necessarily constant nor consistent. When chickens are left to their own devices they lay a lot of eggs during good weather that would be favorable to raising chicks (like April through July). When it gets hot some may drastically reduce the number of eggs they lay while others just stop altogether. Conversely, my chickens also lay fewer eggs when the weather gets cold and there’s less day light, in October it starts to really dwindle.

The bottom line here is I can’t promise shareholders a full dozen eggs every week however, it’s likely they will receive a fair amount of eggs through June and possibly July, after that it’s up to the chickens.

Regarding “what do I do with this?”: I’ll be writing a blog for every delivery explaining what’s in the box, recipe ideas, farm news and other tidbits.

How Do I Sign Up for Eener’s C.S.A.?

Please fill out the form below (it may be easier to copy and paste it into a word document) and send to Eener at Eener’s Farm N12449 220th St. Boyceville, WI 54725 or e-mail it to eenermachine@gmail.com

At least $20 is due at sign up time. The rest is due by Halloween. Please make checks out to Eener’s Farm or Renee Bettendorf. Thanks!

Your Name:

Your Address:

Your Phone Number:

What size share would you like?

Where will you be picking your boxes up at?

I’ll see you June 3rd! Please let me know if you would like to stop by for a farm tour beforehand. Also, read my blog to keep abreast of farm news.

For questions please call (715)643-2803 or email eenermachine@gmail.com

A Brief History of Eener's Farm

2009-02-18T16:12:00.000-08:00

I’m the fourth generation to live on our farm and my son, Forest is the fifth. Here is a brief history of the place:

My great grandparents, Fred and Ella Christianson, bought the farm from a couple by the name of Bert and Edith Lockwood in 1928. Before the Lockwoods owned it the land was property of the railroads.

Originally, Fred and Ella were from the Owatonna, MN area. They also farmed for awhile in North Dakota before moving to Connorsville where Fred was a blacksmith.

When they purchased the farm it included about 100 acres of woods and fields in rolling hills, a dwelling and a barn. We don’t know a lot about what the place looked like back then since Fred and Ella apparently didn’t have a camera. We do know that they tore the original house or cabin down since part of the foundation of our house shows this. We also know that the Lockwoods had built a barn on the property which is still standing and in use.

By the time Fred and Ella purchased the farm they had six children, one of which was my grandpa, Forest Christianson, he would have been about eight years old when his family moved here. Fred, along with his older sons built the small house my family and I live in and a second barn. They also milked cows and farmed with horses. They most likely had a garden and chickens.

In 1946 my grandpa Forest and my grandma Anne bought the place from Fred and Ella for about $4,000. Grandma and grandpa milked cows here until the early 1980’s. They raised Jersey and Guernsey milk cows and ran Allis Chalmers tractors. They had two daughters, my mom, Janet and my aunt, Joyce.

Sometime in the 1950’s grandma and grandpa bought a second farm a few miles down the road. They moved several buildings from that farm to this one. They also rented out the house and planted crops there.

After grandma passed away in 1992, grandpa split the farm between my mom and my aunt. Auntie Joyce got the part that was purchased in the 1950’s and mom ended up with the plot that Fred and Ella had originally purchased.

My parents live about three miles from here and so it was pretty convenient for them to utilize the farm for a portion of their beef cattle operation. Mom and dad started planting crops here and using the pastures and barns for shelter and food for part of their herd.

A couple of years ago my parents decided to split the farm and give it to my sister and me. Mom and dad still use some of the pastures, fields and part of a barn. My family and I run our own small farming projects here which currently include chickens, geese, goats, sheep and a C.S.A.

Shearing Phyllis

2009-01-14T14:11:00.001-08:00

Last April I bought two sheep and a goat at a livestock auction. Both of the sheep are interesting specimens. Phyllis is a tall sheep with a grey face and legs, white wool and small horns. She weighed 175 pounds (wool included) when I bought her. Phyllis’ pal, Marilyn is a hair sheep, meaning that instead of wool she grows hair. Marilyn weighed in at 75 pounds when I bought her and is really a beautiful animal. She’s light brown on top with black markings, no horns and big, pretty yellow-brown eyes.

My husband, Cass and I unloaded these three critters into a pen in our barn. With the pasture that we had earlier fenced off for them quickly greening up we knew we had to shear Phyllis reasonably soon (we figured it would be easier to catch a somewhat skittish 175 pound sheep in a pen rather than in a two-acre pasture).

Cass and I had never shorn a sheep before nor had we ever actually observed a sheep being shorn. We started reading up on it. From what we gathered all we had to do was: spread a tarp down in a small pen (this would catch the wool and keep it from getting dirty); get the sheep to stand on the tarp; position the sheep between our knees on it’s back or side; use a clippers or scissors to first trim off any dingleberries or dread locks, discard these; and finally proceed to clipping the fleece starting at the animal’s head and clipping in wide sweeps across the body until you get to the bottom. The fleece should come off in one neat piece leaving a nicely groomed looking sheep in its wake.

The whole procedure seemed pretty straightforward and Cass and I figured we could probably de-fleece Phyllis in maybe 15 minutes (since we were inexperienced, an experienced sheep shearer could probably do it in 5). I thought to myself, hell, I could probably have half a scarf crocheted of Phyllis’ fine wool by the end of this evening.

I called my parents, who live just down the road, to set up some day care for our then seven month old son. They said they’d be more than happy to come up and watch the festivities. They showed up with a camera and an extra pair of scissors.

Cass and I were pretty certain that this was not Phyllis’ first rodeo (according to our readings sheep that have been sheared in the past are not really all that opposed to it). So we sauntered into the pen reasonably confident that we could easily herd Phyllis into the prearranged sheep shearing area that we had prepared.

Phyllis was simultaneously onto us and unimpressed with our herding abilities. She easily side-stepped us, carefully avoiding the open gate that led into the shearing area. As a result, we soon learned that this was going to be a more hands on kind of job than we had previously thought. We commenced tackling Phyllis. My husband and I are not very large people. Phyllis outweighed each of us by about 45 pounds plus she’s a way better wrestler than either of us could ever hope to be.

After some serious wrestling and few choice words that had nothing to do with sheep shearing, Cass managed to secure Phyllis in a head lock (I use the term “secure” loosely here). Really Cass just had a hold of her neck and he was leaning back and trying to put the brakes on while Phyllis, obviously the one in control here, trotted around the pen in apparent denial of her need for a haircut.

I chased this Cass-Phyllis train along with Marilyn and the goat for a few turns. I finally got my bearings and started bringing up the caboose by grabbing onto Phyllis’ hind end. I started pushing her and to the best of my ability also steering her. Between the two of us Cass and I managed to steer/drag Phyllis to the sheep shearing area.

Right away we learned that there were a few problems with our shearing set-up. First off, Phyllis was terrified of the tarp we had spread on the floor and actually started bucking. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,” hollered my husband as Phyllis thrashed him up and down. “Let ‘er go,” I hollered back as I released my end and frantically started kicking the tarp out of Phyllis’ way.

A second problem with out set-up was that Marilyn and Phyllis could see each other through the gate and were experiencing severe separation anxiety. They let us know how distressed they were by adding their deep, sad bleats to the general chaos.

Realizing that shearing Phyllis (wouldn’t ‘Shearing Phyllis’ be a great name for a band?) was going to be more complex than we originally expected, but knowing we had to press on, Cass moved onto the next step which was; position the sheep between your knees. This act of bravery earned Cass more than one sheep ride around the pen.

At this point we decided to discard everything we had ever learned about sheep shearing (which wasn’t much) and develop our own method. Our method was this; hold Phyllis down anyway you can and clip her wool in any manner possible. My dad hopped into the pen and helped us out. Throughout the next hour the three of us managed to hold Phyllis down in many ways (at one particularly hectic point we even had her hog tied) and clip copious amounts of wool off in a willy-nilly fashion.

When it was finally finished, Phyllis looked reasonably shorn. Examining the tangled mass of wool lying haphazardly on the floor I decided that since it was already April I really didn’t need a new scarf after all.

What's Eener Planting?

2009-01-07T17:30:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of most of the veggies I’ll be planting this coming season. I’ve broken them down into early, middle and late categories based on records I kept on last year’s garden. These are estimates and certain produce may be ready earlier or later depending on weather.

Early (June and July): arugula, bok choi, carrots, comfrey, dill, green onions, horseradish, lettuce, new potatoes, radishes and swiss chard.

Middle (August and September): beans, beets, beggas, broom corn, brussel sprouts, cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, cucumbers, kohlrabi, okra, onions, pasta squash, peas, peppers, potatoes, sunflowers, tomatoes and turnips.

Late (October): corn shocks, gourds, ornamental corn, pop corn, pumpkins and winter squash.

Some things, like radishes and lettuce for example, may reappear in your boxes sometime between August and October since I usually plant those types of crops more than once.

Here are some other things I plan on growing that I didn’t have harvest records from last year: luffa, garlic, cockscomb, broccoli, sweet peas, musk melon, fennel, leeks, basil and cilantro.

Raking Dad's Hay

2009-01-03T20:15:00.001-08:00

It’s January 3rd and it’s been windy, damp and grey out all day. It’s now sleeting out. What a perfect time to reminisce about making hay. This morning I fed my goats and sheep some hay that looked about like the day we made it; leafy, a beautiful shade of green, smelled like a breath of summer.

Back in the day, farmers used to cut hay by hand with a scythe (think grim reaper style) it was then left to dry in the sun and finally piled up someplace, usually in a hay mow. They had to salt these piles to keep them from starting on fire since large volumes of organic matter tend to put off a lot of heat and eventually become combustable. Like most aspects of farming, making hay has been mechanized and today their exists all manner of machinery to assist farmers in making hay faster and more efficiently.

Even though a lot has changed in the making of hay over the years one aspect of it has remained a constant, hell hath no fury like a farmer with hay down. This is an understandable constant since many factors have to come together before a decent bale of hay can be produced and most of these factors are beyond a farmer’s control. Besides actually raising a good crop which involves soil maintenance, plowing, seeding, etcetera, you also have to have a fairly lengthy stretch of dry and preferably sunny weather. This is all in addition to having an equally long stretch of no mechanical breakdowns.

If something should go awry, for example unpredictable rain or an impromptu engine overhaul, a farmer could potentially get a sub par crop, a crop that is much smaller than anticipated or worse, no hay at all. As a result, a farmer could end up with little or no grub for their critters in the winter thus they may have to either sell critters or buy hay. In short, there’s a lot riding on a hay crop.

I’ve helped my dad make hay in some capacity for the past 12 years. Over these hay seasons I’ve witnessed a fair share of furies spurred from making hay. I’ve seen my dad get frustrated over twisted twine, busted rake teeth, punctured tractor tires and broken belts. I’ve seen him out run thunder storms by coming down off steep field roads with a full load of hay rattling behind a chugging tractor in top gear. I’ve heard him swear like a sailor and seen him sweat like a butcher over his hay making endeavors.

This past summer, my dad promptly sprained his knee (making it pretty much impossible for him to drive a tractor) right after cutting all his hay. Hay that has been cut should be raked and baled as soon as it’s dry enough otherwise you risk exposure to moisture which is really bad for hay; it can deplete the nutritional value or even ruin it all together. As if my dad wasn’t already pressed for time, I had never raked with his new rake and needed to be trained in. My dad recruited my brother-in-law to run his baler for him and set to work teaching me the intricacies of running a V rake.

For the record, I’m used to running a circular rake (a totally different deal) and my dad is somewhat of a perfectionist plus we had that whole “hell’s fury” thing happening what with all that downed hay. The training session stretched through the better part of two days with my dad trailing me on his four-wheeler pretty much the entire time I was raking.

At first dad hollered out instructions from his four-wheeler perch with a note of gratitude in his voice. He concocted an intricate system of hand gestures which corresponded with the many positions that the rake had to be maneuvered into. But as the day wore on and I struggled with the higher speeds that the rake required and the fact that it doesn’t perform as it should on steeper hills, the hollering stopped and the barking began. I started concocting a few hand gestures of my own. Needless to say, by the time all the hay was raked, tempers were running a bit high as were rpms on the tractor.

Furies aside, making hay is actually a pretty enjoyable part of farming that is if everything goes right. You not only get to be outside in beautiful, sunny weather but you also get to enjoy the smell of fresh cut hay (quite possibly the best smell on earth). Additionally, when it’s all said and done you can look at the pile of bales and know you’ve been a part of producing something really important and tangible. The fun doesn’t stop there; you also get to feed your animals something tasty and green in the dead of winter (hay bales are really bales of summer) and animals get excited about and enjoy good hay.

Christmas Goose

2008-12-22T13:00:00.000-08:00

Two years ago I decided it would be a good idea to branch out from my usual poultry realm (I had pretty much only raised chickens up until this point) and attempt to raise some geese. So I dug out my trusty Murry McMurry hatchery catalog and went ahead and ordered 12 goslings which cost me $80. Looking back on this purchase, I'm a little surprised I went through with it; after all you can get 25 chickens for about $30. Apparently I was blinded by pastoral visions of large, beautiful, stately geese gracing my yard, leisurely munching on bugs with me in the background admiring them lovingly. Little did I know that there would be little leisure and pretty much no love in my efforts to raise these geese.

When the goslings arrived in a box at the post office I got them home and released them into my usual baby chick brooder set-up which involves a children's plastic swimming pool, a heat lamp, straw bedding and food and water. Right away I was shocked by the stupidity of these small, fluffy dinosaur-look-alike birds. The first thing they did was to launch themselves directly into their water source with the apparent aim to get as wet as possible. The chick watering device is specifically designed so that chicks can get water without getting their fluff wet, it’s a mason jar screwed onto a special cap that allows for a constant supply of water in a small trough. Anyone who has raised small birds, whether it’s chickens, ducks, geese or what-have-you knows that a wet baby bird is pretty much a dead baby bird and sure enough I lost several of these birds right away.

To combat these chronic swimmers, I added a second heat lamp to their brooder with the idea that if I couldn’t keep them dry at least I could keep them very, very warm. This stroke of genius worked for the most part and when it was time to put them in their pen/yard I emerged with six healthy goslings (yes, I started with 12).

A side note on this lost half dozen: at this point in time I was pregnant and like many pregnant women, I was somewhat emotional. I vividly remember being very distraught over the deaths of these six birds and telling my husband that I really was not a very good mother goose and had no idea how I would do with an actual human baby. As it turns out everything went fine with the actual human baby and we now have an actual human toddler.

O.K. so then I was feeling better about the whole situation because these six geese were doing well and I actually got to watch them do goose things outside. I especially enjoyed watching them splash around in their “pond” which was actually a children’s swimming pool (did I mention that children’s swimming pools are really handy?).

Unfortunately, this period of goose-bliss did not last long for me because this was about the time that they started getting nasty. I’m talking hissing menacingly, charging at me with their goofy elongated necks stretch out gnashing their goose jaws and flapping their monstrous wings at me (the flap of a goose wing still strikes fear into my heart).

Needless to say I began admiring them from afar. I devised elaborate feeding plans where I’d distract them by flinging something really delicious like leftover mac and cheese into their yard then wielding a sturdy stick, I’d run into their pen and frantically fill their food and water dishes. Believe me, filling/cleaning their pond was no picnic.

Did you know that geese have a wingspan of five to six feet? And that their wings are so strong that they could actually break your arm? Also did you know that geese have serrated bills which are capable of ripping and tearing human flesh? Good info to know for the novice goose raiser indeed.

Additionally, did you know that geese fight ruthlessly and sometimes even to the death amongst themselves? They hit each other with their wings. It sounds like a fist fight except instead of hollering like human fighters they honk in a very loud and obnoxious manner (did I mention that they honk in a loud and obnoxious manner pretty much every waking second of their lives?). As a result of their aggressive nature, I spent many a tense moment out in the goose yard breaking up fights with a snow shovel. You can imagine how unsurprised I was one day to find a goose laying out in their yard dead, the obvious loser of a particularly ruthless fight.

Not only were the geese mean to people and themselves but they also were mean to other animals, especially the chickens. In one particularly snow shovel worthy incident, a gander had the neck of one of my hens clasped in his bill while he proceeded to bash her into the ground and then flip her up so that her nearly lifeless body smacked against his back. Miraculously, this hen survived the attack, sadly another did not. At this point in my goose-raising endeavors I was pretty much convinced that I had raised some sort of devil-spawn-type strain of geese.

Even after the chicken murdering incident and all the fights, I still was interested in raising geese. I’m not exactly sure why, maybe it was the initial investment, maybe it was because of the challenges of raising the goslings or perhaps I just like to sit back (pretty far back) and enjoy their bad-assness.

My husband and I butchered two of the geese and served them for Christmas Eve dinner at our house. It was a long and sordid affair raising these geese and luckily they tasted great. We did keep one gander and one hen, perhaps we’ll get some goslings out of the deal.

A goat tail

2008-11-14T18:02:00.000-08:00

One of our critters is a Boer goat named Jolene. Boers are a meat breed. Jolene is mostly white with a long brown head that sports floppy ears (shockingly adorable). Jolene is reasonably naughty.

I bought her at an auction last spring along with two sheep. When I got them home I unloaded these three critters into what I thought was a goat-proof pen in our barn. After hanging out with her sheep companions for about an hour, Jolene jumped out a rather small window (maybe two feet by two feet) which was located in the pen about four feet off the floor. I was shocked to look out my kitchen window and see her sashaying around the yard in nervous little goat jumps.

After her escape, my husband, Cass and some of our family members spent three days chasing and tracking her through the woods by our house. She never went very far (actually she never left the property except for that one time when she was spotted hanging out under the neighbors' kid's swing set). She was a very frustrating goat to chase (not that any goat is unfrustrating to chase) in that she would hide in the brush, then when you spotted her she would sense you (I think perhaps goats have an extra people-sensing sense just for when they escape) and then run away again and hide.

So after the whole chasing and tracking thing didn't pan out for us, I decided to take a different approach and dumped large quantities of grain all over our yard in little piles. My husband was at first skeptical, but it did lure her in and she started sneaking into our yard for treats. This seemed like progress to me; however our first attempts to apprehend her failed miserably. During one of these attempts I actually had her cornered in the barn, certain I could catch her I flung myself through the air in an effort to land on top of her. She let out an ear-splitting blaaaa! , sailed over a five foot tall gate and sprinted off into the woods for another night of camping.

We finally caught her one night and it was a joyous occasion indeed. When we got home that night at about 9:30 it was dark and raining pretty hard. Cass decided to take a look around and see if she was hiding out any where on the farm. When he spotted her in the milk house he lunged for her. Used to being lunged at by now, this did not phase Jolene in the slightest. She easily side-stepped him and made a break for the doorway with Cass close on her heels.

She got to the driveway and was headed for the woods. All the frustration caused from chasing this goat for the past three days had built up in my husband and gave him super-human fastness. He actually managed to run fast enough to cut her off, forcing her to change directions. Obviously panicked, the goat ran into our garage.

Cass stormed in after her, closing doors and barricading her in as best he could. In a fit of desperateness, Cass armed himself with a fishing net that happened to be hanging on the wall and charged her. Cornered against two solid walls and being approached by a somewhat crazed man wielding a net Jolene let out a bellow that must have come from the depths of her little cloven goat hooves. Cass remained steadfast and unperturbed. He tackled and hogtied amongst bleats of complaint and flailing legs.

Meanwhile, I’m totally oblivious to all these momentous events (and Cass’ earnest calls for help) and am engrossed in putting our small child to bed. When I come out of the house to investigate, I find Cass holding a netted Jolene in a wheel barrow.

Needless to say, we covered the window in the pen with wire. A few days later we came across two pigmy goats, which we sent into the pen to live with Jolene and the two sheep. A few weeks after that their pasture was ready, so with quite a few reservations about whether the fence would hold her, we released her into two acres of lush grass ensconced in a four foot high fence (really the equivalent of not really a fence at all for Jolene).

It’s now coming into winter and Jolene has never escaped nor tried to escape. We think it’s the pigmy goats that saved us that headache. Jolene bonded with the pigmies and would never want to leave them, and since the pigmies are way too little (at least I think they are) to jump the fence, Jolene doesn’t jump it either.

I’ve got to say that while I’m happy that we found a way to keep her in, I am a tad disappointed that I never got to see Cass coral and net that goat.

Gardens are Put to Bed

2008-10-23T15:15:00.000-07:00

Last week I put my gardens to bed. It's always kind of sad to do this, after I've spent hours and hours out there tilling, planting, weeding, watching things grow, harvesting ect. Now I've picked everything and plowed it under. It looks bleak, one of my good friends calls fall "the season of death".

However, there is one last hoorah of sorts in the end of the growing season; the cover crop. A cover crop is grown for it's fertilizing properties, it's also known as green manure. Green manure is not to be confused with it's cousin, regular manure, which is of course animal poop. Not that there's anything wrong with regular manure it's just stinkier though some folks would argue it's a good stink.

This year I've planted winter wheat as my cover crop. So now I get to watch it sprout and turn green as the leaves and snow fly. Then next spring I'll till it under and thus revitalize the soil, and then it all begins again.

I plant approximatly 40 different varieties of vegetables plus some flowers, herbs and a few berries. Growing a big variety helps protect me from total crop failure. After all, every year is a good year for growing some things and every year is a terrible year for growing other things.

The only downfall of planting a whole lotta different veggies is picking them all out, it's gets a little daunting. But it's a good daunting. Let the seed catalog season begin!

Chickens!

2008-10-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

We raise chickens for eggs, meat and entertainment. Chickens are hilarious animals! It's really a lot of fun to watch them peck, scratch, coo, cackel, crow, roll in the dirt and get into spats with each other.

Our chicken eggs are really delicious. They have a very dark orange yolk which is due to them being mostly free range. I've observed that chickens that are left to their own devices spend a large part of their day wondering around finding things to eat like bugs or different kinds of grass and weeds. I think their eggs taste better when they are allowed to be free range. The only times our chickens are not free range is when there's something extra-yummy for them to eat in the garden, like cherry tomatoes or kohlrabi then they have to live in their yard. When they are living in their yard and eating feed, their egg yolks get lighter in color and the eggs taste more like store-bought eggs. Well, not quite that bad, I think store-bought eggs have very little flavor, have unaturally white shells and disturbinbly yellow yolks.

Chickens are very social and like to hang out with each other. If one finds a treat, like a virgin vine of ripe cherry tomatoes, he or she will alert other chickens near by, then they all desend on the plant and happily eat every single red fruit. They also have little spats and disputes and sometimes cluck menacingly at each other. At one time we had nine roosters who constantly had arguments and occasional all-out brawls. That didn't last too long though as they were nearly butchering weight.

We generally eat all roosters once they get to butchering weight, which takes them about a year around here. We do like to keep one rooster on hand though since it's nice to hear them crow. Right now our token rooster is a very pretty, somewhat petite, really colorful fellow that I named Pioneer. I got Pioneer at last year's Pioneer Day which is a winter-time town festival held in Ridgeland, WI. At noon the good people of Ridgeland toss chickens off the roof of their post office and if you catch one, you get to keep it. It's really a lot of fun and Pioneer is a great rooster.

The only problem with raising chickens is that everything likes to eat chicken. This includes (but is not limited to); racoons, skunks, dogs, coyotes, owls, weasels, chicken hawks, eagles, geese, pigs and of course humans.

The night before butchering day, which is generally in the fall or spring, we put all the chickens that we plan to eat in one of those big plastic dog kennels. We do this at night because chickens sleep really hard and thus are very easy to catch when they are roosting. Then in the morning we chop their heads off one by one and hang them by their feet from our clothes line. After that we dunk them in hot water, pull out all their feathers, chop off their feet, wrap them in freezer paper and toss them in the freezer. Delish!