August 31, 2024 Two rain storms surprised us this past week, leading to 5 tenths of an inch of rain! That took the pressure off of running irrigation for a few days, and allowed me to catch up on my sleep. You see, when I run irrigation at night, I have to get up every…
Read more
Ever heard of “pollinator melons?” Neither had I, until I married a farmer. Our parents raise the melons for the CSA fruit share, and my mother-in-law shared with me an interesting science lesson on how seedless watermelons come to be. It’s all thanks to something called a pollinator melon. But let’s back up. Seedless watermelons…
Read more
Hi everyone. What a crazy week. Many of you got an email from Corinna the other day, asking for help with our generator fix. This is the 100 kW generator that powers our 300 foot well. Our generator went down 3 times this week, and when that happens in the middle of a drought, it…
Read more
Getting more vegetables into your daily diet doesn’t have to be boring, and it certainly doesn’t mean you have to give up your favorite foods. Even for those who love veggies, it can sometimes be a challenge to meet the recommended servings or use up the entire CSA box each week. That’s where our recent…
Read more
This week I was spinning a lot of plates. This is normal for this month of the year, and it’s just part of the gig. In addition to the “usual” heavy harvest days for CSA boxes on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I had to fit in time for my crew to harvest 2 big wholesale…
Read more
We said good-bye to our old Elmore site cooler this week. Sonya from Tatum Park has been wanting to buy it for months now, so they have a place to store their veggies from their urban garden project. It felt really good to load it up onto a truck and drop it off at her…
Read more
As you wade through all the sweet corn in your CSA share this year, you may discover that one of your ears has corn smut growing on it. If you do, don’t freak out (even though it looks pretty gross!) This fungus is actually a delicacy and highly prized in some cultures. And totally edible.…
Read more
August 3, 2024 Well howdy everyone. We got some much needed rain this week. I haven’t had to irrigate quite as much. The birds are really bad right now in the sweet corn patch. My dad is getting frustrated. Those birds are looking for water, and they will land on the corn and peck on…
Read more
Many people don’t realize the difference between sweet corn and field corn, despite both being staples in the American diet. A few years ago, while vacationing in Illinois, we saw a car pulled over by a field corn field. Two people were sneaking around, stealing a dozen ears of corn, and rushing back to their…
Read more
If you visit our farm, you’ll notice an audible screeching noise coming from behind our barn at regular intervals. This noise originates from a dark green speaker box situated in our cornfields, which we affectionately call “Charlie.” Charlie is our state-of-the-art electronic scarecrow. How Does Charlie Work? Birds have always been attracted to Big Dave’s…
Read more
