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3701 S. Schultz-Portage Rd, Elmore, OH 43416
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Farmer Kurt’s Field Notes August 10, 2024

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…
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Understanding Corn Smut: A Culinary Delicacy and Agricultural Phenomenon

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.…
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Farmer Kurt’s Field Update August 3, 2024

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…
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The Difference Between Sweet Corn and Field Corn

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…
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Meet Charlie, Our Electronic Scarecrow

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…
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Farmer Kurt’s Field Notes Week 5 (July 20, 2024)

I started out the week irrigating the farm for two days. Then the farm got 2 inches of rain from the hurricane. Luckily I planned ahead and had our crew preharvest for the CSA boxes a day earlier than usual. That kept us from slogging through the mud and messing up the fields. Corinna always…
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Revolutionizing Organic Weed Control: Our Experience with the Flame Weeder

Watch out weeds. Here we come. This week, we trialed our new Flamewerks Flame Weeder on the back of our tractor. That’s right. We fight weeds by burning them. Want to see how it works? Watch this: Three burner units or baskets are mounted on the back of a steel frame, which hitches up to…
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How to freeze cucumbers so they still stay crispy

In a few weeks, I’ll have cucumbers coming out of my ears on the farm. I get kind of tired of them after 2 weeks — not gonna lie. And my plants just keep producing. But then I always long for them during the winter. Then I learned you can freeze cucumbers. It’s true. The…
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Farmer Kurt’s Field Notes Week 4 (July 1-5, 2024)

This week was “Weeding Week.” Our guys spent a whole day weeding peppers, basil, and eggplant up front. They spend a half day weeding the leeks and kale in the back block. Purslane, red root, and lambs-quarter are our biggest problems — with purslane winning the contest by far. Ironically purslane is a superfood, highly…
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How to dry fresh herbs in your microwave in just 2 minutes

Did you know there’s a fast, easy way to dry your fresh herbs using the microwave? Then you can store them in a Mason jar and use them all winter! Every summer, I plant a few key herbs that I use a lot in my cooking — like thyme, sage, parsley, basil, lemon verbena, mint,…
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