Shared Legacy Farms

Farmer Meet and Greet on May 20 in PBurg

corinna96 — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:31:22 +0000

Don’t forget… we have a Meet and Greet Orientation session at the Perrysburg Library on Louisiana Ave, on Monday, May 20, from 5:30-6:30 PM in Meeting room C and D downstairs. We’ll be reviewing the CSA Survival Guide, and be available to answer questions. If you have already read your survival guide, and you’re clear on how it works, then no need to come. The meeting is not mandatory.

Kohlrabi and Carrot Slaw

corinna96 — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:07:44 +0000

Found a new recipe for KOHLRABI this week from Farmer John’s Cookbook: Kohlrabi and Carrot Slaw. It’s a great “cole slaw” type recipe. Would go great with fish tacos or in a pulled pork sandwich. Makes a lot — easily 6-8 servings. Tastes even better the next day. A food processor makes easy work of the grating.

Ingredients:

1 pound kohlrabi (about 4 medium bulbs), peeled, grated;

2 medium-large carrots, grated; 1 red bell pepper, diced;

1 small red onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup);

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme;

1 large clove garlic, minced (about 3/4 teaspoon);

1/2 cup sour cream;

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil; 1/4 cups wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar);

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder,

1/2 teaspoon salt,

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Toss the kohlrabi, carrots, bell pepper, onion, thyme, and garlic in a large bowl.

2. Whisk the sour cream, oil, vinegar, chili powder, salt, and pep- per in a medium bowl.

3. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Frost Danger

corinna96 — Mon, 13 May 2013 03:18:13 +0000

In anticipation of a frost warning, Farmer Kurt called in the recruits to head out to the field this evening and cover the plants. Frost would damage our lettuces and delicate squash transplants. So using a tip from his mother, Cindy Bench, he covered each squash plant with an upside-down green tomato hamper to protect them from the nip of frost. The lettuce beds were covered with rows of Agribon. It’s just a precaution… but a necessary one! Our fields look great! We can’t lose them to frost. Let’s keep our fingers crossed, and hope it doesn’t nip the fruit trees….

Seeking Bin Washer — Work for Vegetables

corinna96 — Mon, 13 May 2013 03:07:15 +0000

We are looking for one more work share position on our farm. We need a bin washer! This position would come to our farm on Tuesday evenings and on Friday or Saturday (anytime) to wash out our plastic totes. It takes about 5 hours total for the week (2.5 hours each day). In return, you would be paid with a half vegetable share for 19 weeks. Job starts the first week of June. Contact us if you are interested, and we can set up an interview. Job requirements are being consistent, dependable, and a fast worker. The Tuesday evening time would start around 6:30 pm. Our email is sharedlegacyfarms@gmail.com.

Equipment Review: What’s a Transplanter?

corinna96 — Mon, 13 May 2013 03:05:50 +0000

A transplanter is a machine that attaches to the back of a tractor. We use it to plant our greenhouse seedlings into the field. (Remember: not all veggies get their start by directly throwing seed into the soil bed. We start some of our vegetable plants in seed trays in the greenhouse, because they wouldn’t survive germination out in the cold soil in March. These are plants like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons, and cucumbers. Once they have reached a certain size in the greenhouse, they must then be transplanted into the field in May. This is where a transplanter helps).
Ashleigh was working a RJ carrousel transplanter in our newsletter’s picture. She’s facing backwards towards the field with a small wheel in front of her. In the wheel are 6 slots. As the tractor drives over the raised bed, Ash drops transplants into the slots. The wheel slowly turns and drops them into the soil, and the transplanter splashes the seedling with water before it rolls on. The machine is timed so that it will only drop a seedling a certain number of inches apart — whatever the farmer sets.
It’s actually a pretty fun job, but it can be stressful too. Sometimes you get behind filling the holes. Or sometimes the machine messes up and plants them too close together. To solve this, there is usually a second person walking behind the transplanter, fixing the mess-ups by hand.
So for example, when we planted Swiss chard this week, we used 7 flats of chard, planting 3 rows per bed, eight inches apart. Each flat has 128 plants in it. Do the math, and that’s 896 plants to drop! Then we had to do cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and shallots too! Of course this whole process could all be done by hand, but with that many transplants, it’s more efficient to do it by machine. It’s a necessary tool for farmers. For large-scale farmers, you often see large-scale transplanters that seat 3-6 people at a time, transplanting 3 beds at once!

What’s a Blood Spot in My Eggs?

corinna96 — Mon, 13 May 2013 03:04:41 +0000

Every now and then you may crack open one of your farm fresh eggs from our CSA egg share, and find a little red spot. You may be wondering, “What is this spot and is it safe to eat? And why don’t I see this in the eggs I buy at the store?” Don’t be alarmed. There is no health hazard from eating eggs that contain red spots — also called “meat spots.” If you find it unappetizing to look at, you can remove it with the tip of a knife.
The meat spot is caused by a rupture of a blood vessel on the yolk surface during the egg’s formation. It does NOT mean that the yolk has been fertilized (contrary to popular opinion). Less than 1% of all eggs have meat spots. As the egg ages, the yolk takes up water from the albumen to dilute the blood spot, so in actuality, if you see a blood spot, you know it’s a very fresh egg.
The reason you don’t see blood spots in eggs from the grocery store is because inspectors at poultry plants called “candlers” will shine bright lights at eggs to look for and discard any eggs with blood spots in them. (We Americans have been trained to expect perfect eggs every time). Our egg farmers, Prakash Thombres and Jason Nissen candle their eggs too, but they may miss a few from time to time. If you ever have a LOT of blood or streaks of blood, you should discard that egg, and let us know if this occurs.
As for what causes the different colors of the egg shell?… It’s the breed of hen.

Meet our Cooking Consultant: Christine Angevine

corinna96 — Mon, 13 May 2013 03:04:06 +0000

This season, one of the new additions to our staff is Christine Angevine. She will be acting as our “cooking consultant” for the season. Each week, she’ll prepare the portion of our newsletter and website that deals with recipes, menu plans, and how to use the veggies in your box. We are really excited about her gifts in this area and how she will be able to equip our members with food education in the kitchen! So let’s meet Christine…
Q: Tell me about your family.
My partner Ed and I met at BGSU, and we’ve been married since 1997. We have three children: Eliot (6), Anika (4), and Leah (1).

Q: What is your training/education background? And where have you worked?
-BS in Chemistry, Bowling Green State University
-PhD in Biochemistry,
University of Wisconsin-Madison.
As an adult, I have worked as a research scientist at the University of Wisconsin and GWC Technologies of Madison, WI. Currently I work as a full-time at-home parent.

Q: What is your history with CSAs? How’d you get interested in them?
From 1999-2010, we were members of of Harmony Valley Farm CSA, based in Viroqua, WI. I was interested in access to high-quality, local, and organic produce. I was also interested in increasing my exposure to new and different vegetables. In our first CSA season, we ate burdock root, stinging nettles, ramps, celeriac, and sunchokes for the first time. Tasting the Earliglo strawberries we picked at our first farm event was very nearly an out-of-body experience. I was sold on the high quality of produce in our box each week. After a few seasons, my feelings about my CSA grew deeper. I got to know and care about the people growing my food, and I learned more about how much better local and seasonal food is, not only for our bodies, but also for the planet. Over time, my commitment to eating locally spilled over into an interest in supporting other local businesses to help create a healthier community.

Q:Where did you learn how to cook?
My dad was usually the one to cook dinner for the family. From him I learned how to cook quick, simple meals to nourish a family, and the importance of meal planning. My mother is from a farming family, and she taught me about canning and preserving. We had a large kitchen garden when I was young, and I learned about eating seasonally. I didn’t start really cooking on a regular basis until I started graduate school. I subscribed to several cooking magazines and learned a lot from them. Currently, I find inspiration from many sources, including blogs, cooking shows, magazines and cookbooks. I’ve been known to read cookbooks like novels!

Q: Why are you excited about working as SLF’s cuisine consultant? What do you think you can bring to the table?
I hope to be able to help members make better use of their produce from SLF, and convince them that eating seasonally is the healthiest and tastiest way to live!

Q: What are your favorite foods to cook?
With three small children, I tend to favor dishes that require minimal effort, or can be prepped largely ahead of time, but still pack significant nutritional and taste punch. I love to cook Mexican and Indian dishes, and I dabble in what I call “microbiological cooking”–sourdough bread baking, yogurt and cheese making, sauerkraut fermenting and pickling.

Q: What are some ideas for getting kids to eat more veggies?
Try a new vegetable raw or lightly steamed first. Our family’s rule is that we have to try at least one bite of each thing on their plate. Try to serve one familiar vegetable when introducing something unfamiliar. If all else fails, try coating it with ranch dressing!

As the season progresses, you can share your culinary questions or comments with Christine at the following email address: Christine@sharedlegacyfarms.com

Field to Table Event — Fine Dining Experience Announced

corinna96 — Mon, 13 May 2013 03:03:27 +0000

It has been one of our dreams to offer a fine-dining experience on our farm property. And we have finally done it! On Friday, September 6, Chef Edward Brody and his staff will arrive on our farm to prepare a 5-course, fine-dining event for us. Our guests will be invited to stroll the grounds, sipping wine and sampling hors-d’oeuvres, starting at 6 pm. This will be followed by a sit-down meal under a giant tent, including soup, salad, main course, and dessert, featuring produce from our very own fields.
Tickets for this adult-only event will be for sale in June through our online store, and we expect them to sell out quickly. Details are still being worked out to help us determine cost, so we don’t know exactly how many tickets we’ll offer, but somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-75. We’ll let you know when the tickets are for sale via email.
We are so excited to offer this new event, and to have a relaxing evening to connect with our guests. Put it on your calendar, and get ready! This event is for CSA vegetable customers only.

What is Agribon?

corinna96 — Mon, 13 May 2013 03:02:37 +0000

If you drive down our bike path adjacent to our property, you’d see several rows in our garden covered with what looks like giant, white bedsheets. But it’s actually something we call “row cover.” One of the most common brands of row cover to buy is Agribon, so you might hear us use that term instead. But they can be used interchangeably.
Row cover has become a vital part of our operation. In our first year, we didn’t know much about it. And then we went out to cut our arugula lettuce greens, and they were riddled with holes! (Or as Kurt likes to say, “mowed down.”) We had discovered the wonderful world of flea beetles! In one night, they had eaten through our crop. So we soon learned to cover the beds with this breathable cover, and it kept pests out!
But row cover is also used by farmers for shade. Some vegetables like lettuce will “bolt” in higher temperatures. When lettuce bolts, it start to grow very tall, shooting out its seed stalk; and the lettuce turns bitter. If we cover the lettuce with Agribon, it provides enough shade to keep the temperature lower and prevent bolting. When it’s time to harvest, we have to roll back the row cover, harvest, then cover it back up again. It’s a bit time-consuming to roll it up neatly, but it’s worth it.
It’s not cheap though. A 7’ x 200’ roll costs $150. We buy the heavier weight so it can last us several years.
Our only challenge is keeping our dog Sienna (and our two little boys) from walking on it. Sienna has been known to punch holes in it, rendering it useless for pest prevention.

Sienna Writes about Jed’s Birthday

corinna96 — Mon, 13 May 2013 03:02:10 +0000

Hello everyone! Well, I have a new red Frisbee. Actually it’s Jed’s from his birthday. But I have confiscated it and placed my territorial bite marks on it. Whoever thought of that, thank you. Jed turned 5 years old on April 24. Happy birthday, little buddy! He had five different celebrations — two at home, one at Grandma’s, one at preschool, and one outing to Sauder Village. So it was more like a birthday week! One of his unique gifts was this homemade trailer to pull behind his pedal tractor — made by Mr. Mike and Ashleigh. He and I have been using it to haul compost and mowed grass (and Josiah). Farm-wise, we have been transplanting fools. I told Kurt he better start getting things out in the field this week before the next rain events hit. Remember, we had that big wet spell? Just when our fields would dry out enough to plant, another rain shower threw an inch on the field. But we finally had a whole 5 days of warm weather that really dried us out nicely. We got in onions, broccoli, cauliflower, chard, Chinese cabbage, shallots, cucumbers, and squashes. We had one dicey moment two weeks ago where we rushed to get in our onions before a storm hit. There were dark lines of ominous clouds. Kurt wasn’t even going to risk it, but then changed his mind. So we threw everyone we could on a transplanter and got to work! Corinna was literally praying a shield over the farm, and it worked! We got it in, except for a short 2 minute rain burst. Our worms are doing great. Kurt and Uncle Nick built a new worm bin to start making our own worm castings. These make great fertilizer for our greenhouse seedlings. So we’re starting produce our own colony ourselves. They are enjoying our kitchen scraps. Thanks to everyone who came out to plant potatoes! It was quite a crew! We had two different events. That’s a LOT of potatoes. Kurt’s a bit worried that the last batch was too wet, but we’ll just have to cross our paws. We’ve got a mouse problem in the greenhouse. Kurt found a whole flat of Armenian cucumbers eaten! (They dig for the seeds). They are sly ones. The mousetraps are not working. I keep telling him to let me in there, but he’s not buying it. Does he think I’d make a mess?! Well, only 4 more weeks til we start. This will be my last diary until then. We’ve only got about 8 shares left to sell! We are almost there! -Sienna