Category: Box of Good

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Sweet corn needs more fertilizer next year

 

I just finished planting the cover crop for this winter in time for last week’s “heavy mist,” so we should see germination very shortly. Most of our plantings from June and July are coming to fruition and we should be able to harvest those in the next few weeks, except for corn. Ugh! Corn has been a bummer all season. It really needed a lot more summer than what we got this year.  The joke around here is that I have corn for the end of October, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  In a normal year we would have sweet corn by now, with the second planting close behind and the third planting for mid-October. This year hasn’t worked out as well. We got it in early enough, but it just didn’t get going. I am not giving up on it, but if that acre is going to pay for itself we are going to have to have the most incredible Indian summer ever.
 
If I could have gotten water on my last planting of corn, it might have done the best because of the hot weather that blessed us soon after planting it.  Of course, the third planting is always a gamble.  In hindsight, corn needs a lot more fertilizer than other vegetables, and based upon what I see, it needed a few more nutrients and heat units this season. Oh well, that is farming—not every crop pays the bills. We will have corn and it will be sweet, but a smaller harvest than planted and planned for. 
 
With that said, I participated in a WSU research trial using Cedargrove Compost this season. Here is what I have noticed. In the cover crop trial there was a noticeable difference in the compost areas to non-compost added areas. The potatoes were markedly larger plants and the corn plants are greener and taller where the compost was applied. 
 
Compost definitely works and I would encourage everyone to use it around your flower beds and vegetable gardens. We apply compost in the spring before planting and right now. Appling compost now will mimic nature because fall is the time that nature sheds its summer growth and the microbial and other ground critters make those nutrients available for next spring. In the fall we apply compost more like a mulch and in the spring we apply it more thinly and work it in. So after you clean those flower beds, muster the extra energy to mulch with compost. Your spring growth will be better and your soil happier!
 
 
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I thought summer was my busy time!

At last, fall has arrived, the geese have returned and the mornings are crisp! This time of year is full of hustle and bustle on and off the farm. It seems that during the summer we are busy farming and tossing in a few family outings, but when fall rolls around and school starts up, hang on.
 
It is the convergence of harvest, school and SOCCER! Does anyone else feel like you need a summer vacation to get ready for fall soccer? This year we have three soccer players and one ballerina. Between all the practices and games I can scarcely find a free night. I do love this season though. 
 
This year, I got the “your son’s team doesn’t have a coach” phone call. So I volunteered to coach, after all I was going to be at practices, anyway. It has been nearly 40 years since my parents were coaching my 5 year old teams. Hmmm, is this a generational commitment? Really how hard can it be to coach 5 year old boys? Pretty easy. My motto: keep them moving, ask them if they want to do the drills the big boys do, and take frequent water breaks. We are having a ball with the ball, playing games and scrimmaging. It is so much fun. 
 
But, we still have the farm work to fit in amongst school, homework and soccer. That is why this season is so busy. So for a few months our family will be harvesting crops, doing homework and playing soccer. Then just about the time soccer ends, the farm work will come to an end as well and then we will rest.
 
So, in between coaching, watching soccer or helping with homework there will be more fruits and veggies coming your way.
 
 
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Jeffery Smith is coming to the San Juan Islands.  Jeffery has lead the way in exposing the health risks of GMO’s. “Eating genetically modified food is gambling with every bite.” In his new book, Genetic Roulette, Jeffery shatters the biotech industry's claim that genetically modified (GM) foods are safe.
 
Jeffery Smith on San Juan and Lopez. Jeffery will be presenting on the evening of the September 17th on San Juan followed by an afternoon and evening presentation on Lopez on the 18th. He will also be presenting on September 19th on Orcas.
 
This is a great opportunity to further our efforts to pass Initiative 2012-4 and keep San Juan County GMO-Free.
 
 
 
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Planting & Harvesting

This is the time of year where I want to be done, but all the energy of May, June and July are coming to fruition now. During this season we are mostly harvesting and getting ready for flood season. Flood season???? Yes, I am getting ready for flood season. I realize that we haven’t had any significant precipitation for over a month, but now is the time to start preparing for it. We haven’t had a flood of any consequence for two years, which means this year can be benign or  devastating, so we plan for the worst and pray for the best.

We plan for flooding by planting cover crops on our farm. The cover crops are multi-purposed. If/when it does flood, a good stand of wheat, rye or vetch will help keep unnecessary soil from escaping to the river and also scouring our fields. While that is important, cover crops also hold our soil nutrients from leaching away with the incessant rains we have. Leaching of nutrients from farm fields has huge environmental impacts, from dead zones in bodies of water to contaminated aquifers. Another, advantage to cover crop planting is that the soil stays uncompacted, which makes it easier to prepare for spring crops. If you haven’t noticed, I am a huge proponent of cover crops. 
 
So this week on the farm we will be putting part of the cover crop in the ground and continuing to harvest other crops. Harvesting…what are we harvesting? This week we finished digging the potatoes—I am sorry they are dirty, but they do last longer if they are not washed. We are also bunching beets, picking carrots, zucchini, cucumbers and a splash of fall strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.  This should also be the last week of our green beans—my farm crew is pretty happy about that! They have hand-picked over 3,500 lbs. this season and have bent over those bush beans for what seems like forever.
 
There is still corn, winter squash, cilantro, spinach, beets, chard, some apples, Italian prunes and Bosc pears to come. I better stop writing and get busy!
 
Enjoy the bounty of your local farms, we are in full swing.
 
 
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Experiencing Farm-Fresh Produce

The sun was warm and the kids were ready. Their eager feet carried them out of the car and into the sprawling field, without stopping until well into our drive back home when their weary heads finally succumbed to sleep. A chance to run around, play in the dirt, and to see, feel and taste where their food comes from is such a treasured experience for my little city kids. 
 
Those of you who were at the farm day had a chance to see my two boys eagerly “assisting” me throughout my demonstration. To them it was as if we were at home in the kitchen helping mom with dinner. But this time was a bit different – I was sharing with you all. Not the voice behind a newsletter, but face-to-face and it was such a joy.
 
At the event, I shared three salads that use raw vegetables. I could go on and tell you how eating raw preserves many of the nutrients in your food and that eating raw can reverse or stop the advance of many chronic diseases. But instead I’ll tell you why I love using raw vegetables in salads – it is so quick and easy. In the course of my twenty minute demonstration I made these three salads, while trying to wrangle my “assistants” and talk into a microphone. Making the salads was the easy part. 
 
I also love the taste of raw produce. As I opened up the box of fruits and vegetables that I was to use during the demonstration, I was giddy. There is little better than a sweet carrot just plucked from the earth. Or fresh fennel, so crisp with a soft licorice flavor. With great produce there really is so little you have to do to elevate it. 
 
These salads are also a great way to get a bite of freshness in the dead of winter when you want nothing more than a crisp, bright taste to remind you of summer’s bounty. 
 
Thank you to all who joined me at the demonstration. It was so great to meet a few of you. And for those who couldn’t make it, I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we do.
 
by Ashley Rodriguez
food blogger
 

 

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Your delivery the week of Labor Day

 

Our office will be closed Monday, September 3rd in observance of the Labor Day holiday. Because of this closure, our deliveries for that week are scheduled as follows:
 
For delivery Wednesday:  Tuesday customers. Wednesday customers in Anacortes and Oak Harbor.
 
For delivery Thursday:  Thursday customers, except south Marysville (south of 88th St NE); remaining Wednesday customers.
 
For delivery Friday:  Friday customers; Thursday customers in south Marysville (south of 88th St NE).
                                                      
If you need to skip your delivery that week, please remember to let us know so that you do not return home to find your box of good gone bad. If you’d like to donate a box of good to the food bank in your absence just let us know.
 
If you have any questions about your delivery please do not hesitate to contact us.
 
Wishing you all the best for a safe and happy holiday!
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Teamwork

 

Coming off the heels of our farm festival, I am reminded of how important it is to work together or, more importantly, how important each piece is to completing the puzzle. Our annual festival and our weekly “box of good” only happen because people come together and complete the puzzle.
 
Accomplishing these two things is much easier when it is not the farm season. The farm season, at times, seems like a tidal wave crashing upon us, especially when we are planting, harvesting, weeding and trying to maintain some semblance of family life. As the farmer, I am constantly surprising my team with extra vegetables or fruit that they were not planning for because I happen to discover a patch of strawberries or onions or spinach that is ready earlier than I expected. My team is very nimble and can change menus and directions in seconds. 
 
The other day was a prime example of teamwork. Maleah and I are the flower farmers. We have a system in place when it is time to pick flowers. She runs around and gets the asters, cosmos and dahlias and I get the sunflowers, amaranth, calendula, marigolds and straw flowers. She has quite an eye for picking beautiful flowers. Well, the other day she was at a sleepover birthday party and had left earlier that afternoon. The rest of our family was doing some last minute weeding and harvesting for the festival. Maleah and I always start harvesting flowers about a half an hour before dark. Of course, out of habit, I started the flower harvest like normal. At that moment I thought to myself, “What was I thinking, letting Maleah go to a birthday party during harvest time?!?!?” I ran around cutting my usual flowers and then I ran around getting Maleah’s usual flowers, barely finishing as the sun left the horizon. Then it took twice as long to bunch them.
 
That night, I experienced the importance of my seven year old’s help. I got the flowers harvested and arranged, but pinch hitting for Maleah isn’t nearly as much fun or efficient as working with her. I will still let her go to birthday parties, but I will definitely start earlier next time!
 
Farming as a family and a team, 
 
 
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Now that was a Party!

Over 500 of you came out to the farm on a beautiful, pleasantly cool afternoon and based on the smiles and photos on Facebook, people were having a great time.  The Klesick Family Farm festival is the perfect venue for us to connect with our customers.

From farm walks, hay rides and family games, to digging in the dirt with an excavator, this place was hopping, especially during the gunny sack races J. Kiddos were building wooden boats, felting, searching for lost mice in the haze maze and many were getting a farm makeover (AKA face painting)—oh my, we have a host of talented painters on our staff.
 
During this event, my job is to get the farm looking beautiful and make sure the crops are getting harvested and planted as well, but on the day of the festival my team frees me up to visit with you. I am so thankful for the 45 volunteers who give a Saturday to serve our customers—the  are an amazing bunch of people.  Every year we see a lot of the same families, like the Hopkins, Pappases, Monsefs, Fullers, and Elis, rolling in at 10 a.m. and rolling out at 4 p.m..Their kiddos are getting so big and, my, do they look healthy (I am sure that it has to do with their organic home delivery service J)! The connections are so rich, our customers have become friends and that is beautiful.
 
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the potato digging. It almost didn’t happen this year, but our team, at the last minute, added it back in and, voila, a horde of eager future farmers followed me over to the potato patch. I love that moment when I tell the children we are going to harvest potatoes and to stand back as the tractor begins to unearth the bounty. And all of a sudden, as if by magic, these yellow tubers pop out of the ground and time seems to stand still for an instant as a wave of awe comes over the children and there is this palpable energy. And then the kiddos turn that energy into their own personal harvest and for that moment they have become farmers bringing in the harvest. For me, that is the sweetest moment, when our farm brings back memories of the good old days or introduces the wonders of it all to a future farmer.
 
Thank you to my team and thank you to those of you who could spend a Saturday with us, I am truly blessed to be your farmer and host.
 
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Old-Fashioned Farm Celebration!

You are invited to come out to Klesick Family Farm for our annual old-fashioned farm celebration Saturday, August 18th! A fun and wholesome event for the entire family! Free admission!
 
Meet the people behind your “Box of Good” and celebrate the season with us. We will enjoy a fun-filled day with live music, wagon rides, a pioneer play area, face painting, tug-o-war, a balloon toss, a gunny sack race, a pie-eating contest, volleyball, wiffle ball, raffle prizes, farm walks with Tristan, an espresso stand, and a produce stand. Bring a kite to fly, as we’ll have the room.
 
Please Note: We were unable to secure a vendor to BBQ to be at the event this year, so no lunch options will be provided. Please pack a picnic lunch, picnic blanket, chairs, and smiles!
 
The weather is going to be great, so jump in the car and enjoy the drive to our little spot in the picturesque Stillaguamish River valley!
 
Saturday, August 18th
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
24101 Miller Rd
Stanwood, WA 98292
 
Schedule of Events
10:00     Let the Fun Begin!
10:30     Demonstration: Goat Felt by Holly Barnes
11:00     Raffle  w  Farm Walk
11:30     Games: Farm Olympics, Tug-o-War
12:00     Raffle  w  Music: Ben Booher
12:30     Demonstration: Ashley Rodriguez, food blogger  w  Storytelling: by Eldrbarry 
1:00        Raffle  w  Farm Walk
1:30          Games: Gunny Sack Race, Balloon Toss
2:00        Raffle  w  Pie Eating Contest
2:30        Demonstration:  Juicer & Dehydrator  w  Storytelling: by Eldrbarry    
3:00        Raffle  w  Music: Spencer Clem
4:00        Closing of Event
 
Thank you for coming!
Schedule is subject to change
 
Please call us if you have any questions: 360-652-4663
We look forward to seeing you there!
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“It is not Farmland without Farmers”

I see bumper stickers from time to time with this message. However, this message just doesn't resonate with me. Granted, it takes a farmer to bring the land into production, but the farmer doesn't make it farmland. The bumper sticker is attempting to get at an issue, a very real issue—that we need more farmers, especially younger farmers. The average age of the American farmer is 57. Yikes! That means there is a lot of really old farmers getting ready to retire. For sure this is an issue, but this bumper sticker, directly or indirectly, incorrectly places the focus on the farmer and not on the land. 
 
It is true that the land and the farmer are tied together, but one really is not a farmer without land. And even more important, one is a better farmer with farmland than most other kinds of land. I would contend that farmland is farmland with or without a farmer. It would be more appropriate to say, "It is not farmed land without a farmer." And just because a farmer no longer wants to farm the land doesn't make it any less farmable or valuable for farming.
 
Not all farmland is the same. There is no perfect soil type for all crops (e.g., vegetables, dairy or berries), but there are some good general soil types that support a wide variety of farms. The most valuable farmland is what we farmers call "bottom land" and in Western Washington this is typically found in the flood plains. This land is rich and has been traditionally productive for centuries because of the flooding.
 
Bottom land is the most important land to save for future farmers or “stewards,” if you will. I don't want to conserve this land, I want to actively manage its uniqueness and allow it to feed generations to come. This is the big difference between a conservationist model and a stewardship model. Both have their place, but farmland has a different purpose than a national park or even an industrial park. Each of these uses are important for society and need to be planned for, but farmland is the bedrock of civilization and our nation should work hard to make it difficult to change the use of farmland to other uses.
 
Thoughtfully, raising food in a very wet year,
 
A steward of the land