Tiny Farm Blog Organic micro-farming with two acres and some tools ~ a daily photo journal...

The Friday harvest finally included winter squash, and a tiny little harvest it was. These guys were on their own when it came to water, we just didn’t have time and gear to irrigate—given a bit of a rain break, they’ve tended to make out. Unfortunately, the timing of this year’s drought caught the plants later on in the season, late July into August, as they tried to fill out. Bottom line: super low yield and small squash this year, drip irrigation a must…next year. In any case, we did get enough for two rounds of CSA. Typically, the acorn squash came through best (Table Ace, Table Gold, Cream of the Crop), the butternut (Early Butternut) are…minuscule. Delicata was a first this year, I’m not sure how large they are usually, but likely bigger than this. And so on. Even the usually prolific and reliable, bright orange Uchiki Kuri, a Hubbard-type (Japanese Kabocha), didn’t do so well. Only the Sweet Mama buttercup came through with some decent dry weather size! So, off to the farmers’ market with an assorted 50 or so, none for sale, all for the CSA shares!

After the long holiday weekend, I did a quick new harvest for the handful of usually-on-Monday CSA shares. We have three CSA pick-up days, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and harvest for the last two can be mostly combined on Sundays. With kinda cool and cloudy weather today, veggies could be left outside on the table for a few minutes—in full summer heat, they’d quickly start to get toasted. I’ve tried to reduce PLASTIC to a minimum (tiny farming has somehow made me averse to much packaging, especially with plastic). The tomatoes need to be kept together, they’d be crushed if let loose in the final shopping bag. And the greens, well, no other easy solution (I’m looking into reusable cotton salad bags that could be put in the fridge, another future project; I’ve moved to paper bags this year for potatoes). As for the shopping bags, I’m considering reusable tote bags, two per shareholder, that could be swapped empty-for-full each week, but the extra BAG MANAGEMENT I know would be fairly, let’s see…time-consuming. Details…

A specially Thursday-picked Large share, tiny farm flexibility in action for a shareholder who missed the weekend pick-up. A Large is a bit less than twice the size of the standard Single share. This week: carrot (Touchon), beet (Golden Detroit, Scarlet Supreme), tomato (assorted heirloom), mesclun (9-lettuce), spring onion (Ramrod, Red Baron), summer squash (Sunburst, Golden Dawn III, Ambassador), potato (Gold Rush), pepper (Ace), onion (Stuttgarter), garlic (Music). The shares have been pretty good this year, not over the top (in a superabundant way) as they have been at times in the past, but definitely solid value for the fresh, local, organic dollar!

This single printed sheet is the other farming thing on my mind this time of year. It’s the CSA sign-up form, filled in by new members and past shareholders renewing their stake in the harvest. I don’t do any advertising, just word of mouth and leaving off sheets at a handful of local spots. The goal is to have near 100% renewals, but we’re still expanding, aiming for 50 shareholders this season. I don’t think of this as the “business” end. Like the farm stand and farmers’ market stall, it’s another equal part of tiny farming, same as planting, cultivating, harvesting, sharing, eating. By buying into the whole season in advance, and picking up their weekly shares, CSA members become as much a part of growing veggies as if they were out weeding in the field (which some of them are planning to do as well this year). More »

By mid-August, the CSA shares are nearing their peak. Here we have eggplant, carrots (including a new purple addition, Purple Haze), onions, beets, potatoes, yellow beans, summer squash, tomatoes, rosemary, plus salad mix out of sight. Still waiting on melons, winter squash, main season broccoli, fall cauliflower. And there’s more! :)

Here’s part of a weekly CSA share. There are about 25 members this year. A third pick up here, the rest on Saturday mornings at the farmers’ market 15 miles away. It’s all local! In the pic, this week’s washed: carrots, beets (red, golden and striped), mesclun (the bag’s in the top left corner), green onions, baby beets for cooking greens. These go in with cucumbers, string beans, baby potatoes, zucchini and other summer squash, garlic. Still waiting on early tomatoes, but the main season harvest is picking up! (I’m still thinking over the what-to-wash question. Washed veggies look nicer and are less messy when you get ‘em home, but there are various arguments for not washing, like longer storage and even better nutrient retention. Not to mention, saving lots of post-harvest time. I do know it’s a lot more work)