f2f news june 24 08

Reminder: Please check carefully that you are taking the dairy items that you have ordered. For the shares, it is listed on the sign in sheet and for a la carte it will be listed on your invoice. It is confusing since the dairy items are divided between the three refrigerators, but if you have a question about where your order is please ask us. Thanks!

A La Carte Price adjustment – As you can imagine, there is a lot of time involved in maintaining the a la carte accounts and getting the orders ready each week. When we looked at the amount of time this is taking it became apparent that the mark up for a la carte orders needs to be raised to account for the convenience offered by this service. So effective with orders to be picked up July 1 you will notice a slight price increase on you’re a la carte orders. This cost is automatically figured into the price we list for the items, so your invoice will look no different.

Here at Farm to Folk, we are committed to building a community of eaters who share more than "just" good food in common. Part of our mission is to create connections among participants by building the "community" part of Community Supported Agriculture (despite the fact that we are anything but a traditional CSA). Like others before us, it is our contention that connecting participants creates a stronger, more sustainable local food system. However, creating connections sometimes can be difficult as you try to orient yourself in the chaos of the distribution site (although we prefer to characterize it more as "festive"). It's not uncommon to see some of you trying to jockey for position while browsing the bagels with two gallons of milk perched in one hand and perhaps a child's hand in another all the while eyeing the onions and searching for strawberries or your a la carte order. Lately, it must feel like a scavenger hunt as we rearrange the tables to establish a system that facilitates flow so you can locate your goods quickly and efficiently. (Although to be honest, we are pleased when our efforts fail and flow patterns collide since mild congestion in this group is more conducive to building community anyway.) Another way we intentionally seek to build community is to include a member feature in the newsletter every week from now on so you have the opportunity to "meet" your fellow members. Please consider this advance notice when we approach you with a camera and notepad in hand because we want to introduce you to our membership!

This week, we have the privilege of introducing you to long-time members Dianne and Dave Brotherson. Dianne and Dave both work at Iowa State University in Information Technology Services. They have been members since the first year back when Farm to Folk was organized as the former Magic Beanstalk. Dianne and Dave are true old timers! When queried about why they choose to participate in Farm to Folk, they say it's because the produce is "fresh, local, organic, and safe--there's no salmonella in local tomatoes, and it's a lot easier than gardening!" And while they enjoy chatting with the organizers every week (thanks for the plug), their favorite part about participating is holding all the babies!

Dave and Dianne are also staunch advocates of the community building aspects of the local food movement. We have them to thank for a decision the organizers made several years ago regarding distribution. At that time, we were exploring the possibility of having several distribution sites rather than a central one to make it more "convenient" for members. The Brothersons voiced their opposition to this idea. They felt that without a central distribution site, members wouldn't have a chance to interact and the sense of community would be lost. We couldn't agree more. Their feedback helped us realize that Farm to Folk is not about convenience or efficiency necessarily but rather creating a space where quality is key.

As Laura DeLind, an anthropologist at Michigan State University, writes, "we cannot allow ourselves to get so caught up in the operational mechanics, the official rules, and the ubiquitous econometric calculus that we forget the underlying values that inform our work." Hence, we encourage you to linger at the site when you come to pick up your produce each week. Feel free to get in the way. It's a good excuse for others to meet you. So while succulent, fresh produce may be the magnet that draws you to Farm to Folk each week, we also hope you get a sense of energy and fellowship from participating.

Berry Patch : Will be bringing strawberries this week for shares and a la carte pre-order. Dean explained that strawberries always finish about the same time regardless of the date they begin to ripen. So the season won't be long this year because they started a week or so late.

Grains of Wisdom bread available. Please pre-order to reserve what you'd like. www.grainsofwisdom.com

Full Circle Farm: Brian will be at distribution every week. Pre-orders are necessary.

Our road is finally open to the west, most of our fields are dry enough to walk through, and we are starting to get a sense of what crops will live and what won’t.

As we see the reports come in we feel pretty fortunate overall. Although we just had unprecedented rainfall, many other farmers have been flooded over by feet of water. We know of at least one CSA that hasn’t made a delivery yet this year in eastern Iowa .

I tilled in our arugula, much of our lettuce, and some cilantro yesterday. Today we’ll take out a portion of our radishes. Spinach is dead. A portion of the greens field is very stunted or dead, including the kales, collards, cauliflower and broccoli, along with other lettuce and leafy crops. Those plants on the top of the field’s slope look good.

Winter squash is surviving at about 75 percent, potatoes have been hilled and weeded, the large greens field has been weeded (where plants remain) and is being thinned. Beets seem to be bouncing back, particularly ones that we can keep weeded.

About half our peas are doing well. Carrots look good and so do our first planting of tomatoes (why, I don’t know). Peppers and eggplant are not bad, with a small spot completely dead where water stood.

We are quickly getting the farm back in shape. Yesterday, we planted our second planting of about 275 tomatoes. Although spindly and root bound, patiently waiting for the soil to dry in their trays, we planted them very deep to promote additional root growth. We turned a weed bed into a hilled and clean potato field with the magic of tractor power and my hilling invention. We are weeding and hoeing like crazy. It took me about ten hours to hoe out the greens field. I planted beans (finally) and ordered more cucumber seed yesterday. We mowed our oat cover crop, but I haven’t tilled it in yet.

Stacy’s mother is concerned with Stacy’s dual responsibilities of running the household (and primarily caring for the baby) and working in the fields. Convinced we should have extra help, she has proposed to recruit and hire an employee for us. Rather than explain, again, in great detail, how we already have an employee, I have

given her the green light to act as our employment agent. Fortunately, a new caper has appeared and the subject of additional help on the farm has fallen to the wayside. While at the Savory, Stacy’s mom witnessed an elderly lady stranded as her assistant did not come to retrieve her. Her assistant is a recent immigrant who periodically cares for her and takes her shopping and hobnobbing about. This young care giver is now under the suspicion of Stacy’s mom, who has vowed to investigate her and fact check her proclaimed employment history at Hospice of Iowa.

We attended a meeting and board of supervisors forum concerning the construction of two 7,500 hog factories in Dallas County . We were able to convince the board to vote to deny the permits, but it is ultimately up to the DNR. Concerned citizens are meeting with the DNR tonight. I’ll keep you updated on this.

Finally - Nice weather...

After all the rains and the cool Spring these past few days have really helped to make up for all the rest. A slight briskness in the air in the morning and a whisp of a breeze during the day to take away the "hot" of the day...... you couldn't ask for much nicer weather.

And just in time too. I'm not sure the garden would have tolerated much more. Its put me at a loss to get a handle on it too ... tryin to figure out when they will be ready..... Peas have been blooming for about 2 weeks now but part of that time they were under water - some have succombed to the waters and others fought thru that but still show no furthe growth. They should have been ready a week ago so I guess if they fruit it will just most likely show up some Tuesday.Broccoli is another example. Many of the plants seem dormant- I'm sure due to the stress of all the rain.

The up side to this is there are three gardening seasons- Spring Summer and Fall and in all the years I've gardened I've never seen it where all three were failures. This is one of those years that we will just have to be content to eat whatever presents itself.

With the rains behind us this week we were busy planting once again..... peppers, tomatoes and melons. One more bout of planting and we should just about have all of these planted for the season and then will concentrate back on seeding once again. Of course the weeds need tending to as well...... If only someone could find a market for them- perhaps then they wouldn't thrive in even the most adverse conditions.

For Tuesday:

Spring mix
Spinach
baby boc choi
kohlrabi

Over the Winter I noticed several of the food network tv programs utilizing baby boc.... sometimes as simple a treatment as just slicing in half lengthwise and steaming it. We all enjoy it in stir fry adding it at the end as I like it when it retains some crunch to it. Also chopped it can be added to your salads.

The other day I called my folks in Cedar Rapids to see how they were enduring their ordeal. Dad had an interesting tidbit that he had picked up somewhere: During the flooding of the Cedar River there was as much water passing by as what the Mississippi River normally contains. and the Cedar River is normally only about 6-8' deep and perhaps 100-125 yards wide...... With all that water it probably resembled the Mississippi River as well.

Bruce

The Workspace is partnering with The Octagon Center for the Arts to bring Wisconsin artist Little John to Iowa. Inspired by found objects and Mother Nature's beauty, John makes brooms that express his creativity. With handmade brooms his work is functional yet playful - with each broom having its own personality. www.brooms.moonwiseherbs.com

Discover the art of making handmade brooms! Little John will guide you through this beautiful and functional creation with students learning to make one round or one flat hearth broom (your choice). Handles of various woods have been gathered and cured for you to use, and all materials are provided. Discussion about decorative

In this class we will make a traditional flat wisk and a fantail wisk broom, also known as a turkey wing. All materials are ready for your use. Broom corn has been selected for these unique brooms. Bring a sack lunch to class. Saturday, June 28 from 10am - 2pm at The Octagon Center for the Arts, 427 Douglas, Downtown Ames

Farm to Folk Newsletter June 24,2008