Farm Update

Hello from the farm,

Is it spring yet? No, but it sure seems like it--the greenhouse is filling up with trays of seeds and seedlings, we're watching the soil for it to dry out, the new spader is adjusted, greased and ready for action, the trainees are pleased and smiling about the seeding and planting...everything is picking up speed to an inaudible but present cadence.

We seeded several thousand cabbages and broccoli and are getting into Cherokee and Tropicana lettuce today, as well as hot peppers, which need a long time to get established. Some of the hot pepper varieties are Tabasco peppers and Pepperoncini. The flower seeding will start with snapdragons, zinnias and herbs begin with basil and stevia.

If you haven't yet signed up for a share:

Visit us at http://goodwillathomefieldsfarm.csasignup.com/members We offer credit card payments for your convenience--we are charged a percentage for their use, so we prefer payments by check, but want you to have options, please do what works best for you. After you've signed yourself up, let others know that we are accepting members if you wish to help us. Thank you!

When should I pay? You can pay the deposit ($50) or up to the full amount. We request that the share be paid in full by the date of the first harvest


Looking forward to sustained warm weather and the harvest season ahead!

Your farmers

Yes we have shares available!

We are welcoming new shareholders (and returning ones who haven't gotten to it yet :-)

Go to: http://goodwillathomefieldsfarm.csasignup.com/members/

to sign up for fresh vegetables and fruits this year

Shares Available and What's New?

Hello from the farm,

It is spring-like today and very welcome indeed! We are looking forward to the ground drying out and we are gearing up for getting started with greenhouse seeding. The shop is wonderfully organized, and we are preparing the transplanter for planting. Packets and bags of seeds are abundant.

So What's New This Season?

We will be planting an additional fifty blueberry plants here on the Berry Hill, and are ready for rhubarb with 75 plants ordered. The rhubarb will take at least a season to come into fruition and the blueberries, probably three seasons. For the real long-term propositions, the pawpaw trees are now five years old and should start to bear lightly this season or next. The persimmons are now about three years old and still a few years away from bearing. We've got outstanding varieties of vegetables, strawberries and melons queued up for the season and lot of determination and grit to make it happen :-) Strawberries will be ripe sooner than you think!


Ready to sign up for a share?

We are opening it up to brand new shareholders this week, so to ensure that you get a share, please visit us at http://goodwillathomefieldsfarm.csasignup.com/members/returning . We offer credit card payments for your convenience--we are charged a percentage for their use, so we prefer payments by check, but want you to have options, please do what works best for you. After you've signed yourself up, let others know that we are accepting members if you wish to help us. Thank you!

When should I pay? You can pay the deposit ($50) or up to the full amount. We request that the share be paid in full by the date of the first harvest.

Enjoy the beautiful day,


Scott

Scott Breneman
Farm Manager

Notes from Your Farm ---Final Harvest

Hello from the farm!

Hard to believe, but six months of harvests are coming to a close this week. From the poring over of catalogs and spreadsheet calculations of winter, to the seeding of the farm in miniature in March, to the transplanting of all the young seedlings in April and May and then the intense weeding, harvesting and succession planting into the fall and almost winter, it's quite an adventure.

Reflecting back on the season...we grew a lot of food this year--five acres of vegetables. The ergonomic cart was a huge help with certain crops, especially cucumbers, as they weren't trampled by our feet as in the past, the crop lifting bar promises to lift a lot of weight for next season, meaning that we will be able to grow and harvest a lot more carrots in particular, but also garlic and potatoes, a core group of trainees did very well here at the farm and prospered greatly, Elizabeth, Law Reh, and Kim as staff were outstanding, each bringing great talent and thought to their roles, and an historic event was the purchase of the farm next door, knowing that we will have land for crops and rotations in the future.

Looking forward to next season, we anticipate a great farm team once again, the excitement of planting, expecting a great harvest, and then harvesting and eating. Carrots are clamored after by most of us, so look to see more of them, as well as an expansion of the blueberry patch. We will be cover cropping and starting to use some of the new farm land as well, so we won't be cramped for getting the things planted in time in the best rotation possible.



Self Harvest Starts Next Week: Keep the Good Food Coming

Mon-Sat. 9am-dusk as long as the season permit--possibly into the new year!
--maps of remaining crops will be posted here at the distribution table
--pruners and bags will be available.
--LIMITS--the amount you will use in a week/ or for a batch of pickles, kraut, etc.
--also: if abundant, take more abundantly, if scarce, take less as guideline


Time to Sign up for next season: as a current shareholder, you have first chance at getting a share for next season. To sign up, go tohttp://goodwillathomefieldsfarm.csasignup.com/members/returning. You'll be able to sign up and send a check, or pay partially or fully with a credit card online.



Thank You

Thank you to each one of the trainees who made this season bountiful and fun, to Elizabeth, for excellent work with the trainees, field, office and beyond, to Law Reh, for great work, morale, and perception, to Kim for harvest days skill and bringing the farm community together, and to you, as a shareholder for encouraging us, enjoying the vegetables, and being a part of the farm!

--Your Farmers

Notes from Your Farm-2 harvests to go

Hello from the frosty white farm fields,


The fields were coated with frost yesterday morning, creating a tranquil and beautiful scene as the sun came up. This week we started planting garlic, always the final crop planting of the season. Each bulb is broken up into cloves and each clove is planted about six inches apart. The roots will grow during the winter and then the top will emerge in early spring. The plants mature in late June or July when it turns yellow and dries.

Elizabeth mowed down the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, and I planted barley in their place to improve and hold the soil for the winter. Looking around at the vibrant green and textures of the cover crops creates a wonderful feeling of satisfaction and contentment that the soil is covered and cared for in anticipation of great season next spring.


Gift Boxes Coming Up

After the harvest season is all wrapped up, we will be making gift boxes for Christmas. There are two sizes, small and large. Pictured below is the small box, which costs 17.50. It contains Wilbur Buds, College Coffee Roasters coffee, Kauffman's orchard apple butter, and Peanut Butter Nuggets from S. Clyde Weaver. Your purchase directly benefits our farm program.



To order, send us an email or give us a call. Pickup is Dec. 15, 16, 17, and you can pay for them at that time. To ship personalized small boxes to friends, please order online, or for more information, check out: http://www.yourgoodwill.org/farm/homefields_giftboxes.php Order by Dec 6th.



Recipe for Making Sauerkraut from Turnips!
Haven't tried this, but it looks interesting...
check out--http://www.ehow.com/how_4589729_make-turnip-kraut.html


Brrr..cold water, but we've come up with wearing thin cloth gloves under plastic ones--not bad at all.


The Final Harvest is Next week Nov 11,12 and 13
There is one more harvest after this week, and then there will be self-harvest available to interested shareholders in the weeks that follow. Enjoy these last two fall harvests, there is a lot of tasty produce.

Scott

Notes from Your Farm

Hello from the farm,

November draws near, as does the end of our regular harvest season. My wife refers to our CSA season here as the "seven month sprint," and it is bittersweet as the crops slow down and the fields are tucked in for the winter under a thick blanket of cover crops. Over the next few weeks we will be cleaning up the remainder of the fields, putting on late cover crops, and getting into making gift boxes for Christmas. Gift box ordering information will be in next week's newsletter.


Final Harvest Week is Nov 11, 12 & 13 (self harvest will follow)


The last straw--Brad tucking in the strawberries for the winter.

Electric Tractor?

We are looking for a working electric forklift to be used for making a "green tractor"--in this case "green" does not mean John Deere :-) If you could help in getting one donated to us or at low cost it would be much appreciated. The electric tractor would be dedicated to staying ahead of the weeds and add our crops immensely.

Survey Says:

Look for the end of season survey on the table and a box to put it in. We value your thoughts and perspective on the season. As best you can, try to think back over the whole season as you fill it out. The feedback we receive sometimes has large of people saying "more garlic please" and an equal amount of people saying "less garlic please" for example, so we gather all input and do everything we can to please everyone and honor the requests. Thank you for your feedback!


What is Self-Harvest?

After our final harvest season, there is still fun to be had, and tasty veggies to be gleaned from the fields if you would like. Freezing weather will be the limiting factor, but in the past there has been something to glean almost all the way until Christmas. Many of these vegetables laugh at the cold: turnips, beets, cabbage, arugula, cilantro and others.

Squash Dip Recipe

Shareholder Catherine Candiello shared a few wonderful recipes...here is one of them:

Squash Dip

2 cups cooked butternut squash
3Tbsp. olive oil
1 head roasted garlic
8oz goat cheese
Lemon juice from one lemon, or to taste

Put all of these in a food processor and blend until nice and creamy.

Notes from your Farm Oct 22

Hello from the Farm!


This week finds us without the accompiment of banjo music at lunchtime, no spader running in the fields, and an empty seat at Scott Breneman's desk. Our farm manager is finally taking some time off after the peak of the busy growing season. We miss him this week, but we are so thankful for all the color that Scott brings to the farm everyday, both in spunk and spirit as well as his farming talents that bring us red beets, yellow squash, orange carrots, green beans, blueberries, purple peppers, plus a whole lot more. As his farm crew, we all feel lucky to work for such an inspired farmer. This year he has dreamt up and designed tools for better harvesting, better vegetable processing and better irrigating, not to mention all his efforts that made the acquistion of the new land possible.


In mid-October, we are dividing our time between harvesting and fall clean up. On Monday, Patrick put away all the PYO signs, Brian bundled up irrigation and stowed it away on our new shelves, and the whole team pitched in to spruce up some of the landscape beds. On Tuesday, Matt took down the last of the tomato stakes and Eric worked on drip tape removal. Wednesday found Shawn and Eric in rubber rain suits braving the fog, harvesting root crops, and putting our new bunching tool to good use. Today, Brad and Scott C have been busy harvesting greens.

We still have a few more weeks of harvesting to come, but the last harvest is approaching!

***Our Final Harvest will be November 11, 12 and 13***


Spaghetti Squash Mexicana, from shareholder Robin Beazley
This was a big hit at the potluck!
2 1/2 lb spaghetti squash
1 can refried beans
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup salsa
cilantro
dried oregano
hot sauce
1 red pepper, chopped

Pierce squash with fork several times. Mirowave on hight 15 minutes (6 minutes per pound). Let stand 5 minutes. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and microwave for 4 minutes, stirring once. Halve and discard seeds from squash. Scrape squash from skin with a fork and mix with other ingredients.

Happy Cooking!
Elizabeth

Elizabeth Swope, Assistant Farm Manager