Hello Food Farmers!

Storms, heat, Grandma’s Marathon…summer is here! We at the farm wish you a happy summer solstice. Enjoy these beautiful bright days while they last. We certainly are.

A couple quick notes on the box: there are lots more greens this week; lettuce, greens mix, more spinach and bok choi. Along with some sweet and delicious white turnips, the first radishes are ready! A great and simple way to snack on these little red jewels is to butter a slice of nice bread, cut the radishes thin on top and sprinkle with sea salt and a crack of black pepper. Yum!

Farming in harmony with nature, while often romantic, is sometimes a difficult endeavor in reality. A couple of weeks ago we planted our winter squash for the season…Delicata and Kabocha, Buttercup and Butternut, among others. It wasn’t long before Janaki noticed the plants beginning to mysteriously disappear, vanished to the void. Disease? We asked ourselves. Nope. Must be ground squirrels. No again. Turns out, the culprit was our wily and elusive friend, the groundhog. Groundhogs, also known as woodchucks and whistlepigs, are rarely seen here on the farm but can be a heck of a pest in the back field, where the dogs don’t often roam. Janaki and John put their heads together, did some digging around, and thankfully we have lost no more plants. Groundhogs, rabbits, the mouse and the mole… we are grateful for these creatures and value the vibrancy they bring to the farm, despite their sometimes inconvenient (for us) presence.

Over the next couple of weeks we’ll be including short bios of the 2016 Food Farm crew so you can all get to know us a little better. So! To start things off, my name is Sam Karns and I’m responsible for the newsletter this season. I grew up in Minneapolis, have worked on farms in western Wisconsin for the past several years and moved north to join the Food Farm in March. I am SO grateful to be working here, surrounded by such wonderful folks on a spectacular farm. The north country is a truly inspiring place, and I’m loving biking around, running through the woods, the community of good-natured folks in and around Duluth, and the ever-present comfort of the lake. I look forward to getting to know the place better, and getting to know you as well! If you have any questions or comments about the content of these weekly writings, feel free to email me at sam.karns@gmail.com. I appreciate any thoughts or feedback! Thanks, and have a great week.

Summer Solstice moon over the broccoli

Week #1 – 13 June, 2016

Hello Food Farmers!

First and foremost, welcome! To our new members, it’s wonderful to have you join us; to returning members, it’s great to have you back.  All of us at the farm are tremendously excited to be sharing this summer season and its bounty with you.

Despite winter’s quiet, farming in the north country is a year round endeavor. Washing and delivering the abundance in the root cellar from the previous season, field plans, seed orders, hiring, logistical and office organization, equipment repair…all of these things and much more happen when the snow is on the ground and the only green things around are the house plants.  Come March, we find our hands in the soil again, when we seed the very first onions in the greenhouse. So, after many months of anticipation and hard work, the first harvest is here!

We’ve been busy both in the greenhouses and out in the field, thanks to this past week of gorgeous weather. Tomatoes, broccoli, onions, peppers, cauliflower, carrots (of course!) and tons more are all settling in the soil and ready for heat and sunshine.  Things are looking great so far this spring, and what a wonder to have so much food already planted in the ground!

It is a beautiful time of year, full of life and growth, light and green. The Indian Paintbrushes are blooming, the first Monarchs have been sighted fluttering on the breeze, and the Red-Winged Blackbirds have found their way back to the cattails along the farm pond’s edge.

Thanks again for partnering with us, we look forward to the season!

It’s time! The greenhouse is up and running and the first seeds are in the soil. Stimulated by heat and moisture, life will soon begin to stir! Sign up now for CSA shares for 2016. Download an order form here!

Ever wanted a behind the scenes look at how your vegetables are grown, packed, and delivered? Well, you’re in luck–this season we* will be releasing a series of minimally-edited videos that show the farm crew engaged in the repetitive jobs that add up to something beautiful. The first was shot on our February Winter Share packing day. Action-packed? Mmmm, no. Oddly compelling? Well, we think so. Enjoy!

*Who is “we”? Your farmers wouldn’t know the first thing about how to do this, but fortunately our friend (and farm member) Mike Scholtz thinks weird farm videos are mesmerizing (he calls it agsploitation). Mike’s other work finds the heart and humor in subjects like Viking reenactors and competitive jigsaw puzzling.

It’s that time of year again! Click here to download a signup sheet to get fresh certified organic food almost year-round. Mail in your order (yes, the old-fashioned way) or come on down to the Zeitgeist Atrium next Tuesday the 16th. Meet your farmers! Eat some food! Get a free rutabaga!

Howdy folks! I’m a little behind this winter, but CSA signup for the 2016-17 season will begin in just a couple of weeks. If you weren’t a member last year, click here to be added to the mailing list so you find out as soon as shares are available.

Saturday, August 22, 2105

Food Farm: 2612 Co Road 1, Wrenshall, MN 55797
Farm tours and open house 2-4pm (Free)
Operetta 4pm ($10 suggested donation)

On Saturday, August 22 the Food Farm will celebrate the season with an open house and original operetta in partnership with Mixed Precipitation Theater Company. From 2 to 4pm there will be tours of the brand new root cellar, hay rides, farm tours, and family activities. At 4pm Mixed Precipitation will present a guitar-swinging retelling of the 1735 Handel opera, Alcina. Entitled Escape from Alcina’s Island: A Picnic Operetta, this unique blend of music, food, and storytelling is a perfect way to revel in the height of harvest season on the Farm.

Both events are open to the public. The open house is free and the Operetta is a $10 suggested donation and a reservation is requested.

For more on the Operetta visit Mixed Precipitation website 

Directions to the Food Farm – From Duluth:

Food Farm is at 2612 County Road 1. Take 35S to Carlton/Scanlon exit (exit #239). Head south on Highway 45 through Carlton. Through no fault of your own, Highway 45 transforms itself into County Road 1. Take County Road 1 through Wrenshall. About 3 miles out of Wrenshall you’ll look to your left and see a big deer fence – that is the farm!