tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77155379107160440492024-02-20T10:00:04.763-08:00-----Pearson's Melon Farm----- ---Quiet Springs Farm---From our fields to your tableSteffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00501972090692135448noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-10372745781758898162011-10-05T09:42:00.001-07:002011-10-05T09:42:33.134-07:002011 Season: Marketing the harvest.<div class='posterous_autopost'><p>Marketing the harvest.</p> <p> </p> <p>Photo 11: Ken and Patsy promoting our markets at a local event.</p> <p>Photo 12:<span> </span>Our fall display in Tilton, IL</p> <p>Photo 13:<span> </span>Up close view of fall offerings at Tilton stand.</p> <p>Photo 14:<span> </span>Debbie, Patsy and Norma, our marketers at Tilton farm stand.</p> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times New Roman;">Photo 15:<span> </span>Fall offerings at our Howard (Sandtown), IN stand <span> </span></span><br /><p /><br /> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/YfxpXxUO4JgD9vrvW1Q1j4oBx2l4mYjcJfVAmMbRE5B9zuzYBLPSsubeBCDd/IMG_0228.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0228" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/9xC6S6r07oz1Q2iRRzN26UQheaDtJGwDSoXg1y007l5QMyJyMFFeE188Yw1V/IMG_0228.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/rlnjS6CpBiY70MADC1IvogrYVoegvES55C3NKidTutY9f78thuw44gPwXhtm/IMG_0251.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0251" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/E5fLKkQZcQJg5THkV1gqWjzHDg3DINDnwj8ckoNpfa3hdzsCiYilS15tj5zv/IMG_0251.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/v7PfbaLyHFpYO1R6fN0VMr1tkAMKpQvhSFoVhGH9DpMQSRL0o4EQ6cfgiYjg/IMG_0242.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0242" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/rq5ssAPje5TGFjmvpJXTTdSx8EzIIEuwCy60I60Ry3GYqhJzqQVk105WFA4I/IMG_0242.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/x2nISvU4kZtxoKX1I4vwnj4lMDqss8QBeWWHOYI827Gs6nb1QaSzhtQ8eE60/IMG_0245.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0245" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/kXNR4zqFsf0omGBCfduh8qEA6sZadSrG4uEivJC8FKDtv1RMVpp7kw8XkKCD/IMG_0245.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/aOBccp9TvLn8C1j2A8lzqtXEEkJFU8QkCukqh060AXp5NXpm8vjc8CnhIYyR/IMG_0259.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0259" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/Mp1y1MtBC7lB7cnIp9YO7SX3I5VcLeSbrXSWp2uQPdu1LNoj6CsEU7PIpq0p/IMG_0259.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/2011-season-marketing-the-harvest">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> </p></div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-33468427160468255432011-10-05T09:33:00.001-07:002011-10-05T09:33:07.842-07:002011 Season: Bringing in the harvest.<div class='posterous_autopost'><p>Bringing in the harvest.</p> <p> </p> <p>Photo 5:<span> </span>Benny and Jason getting the melon harvesting conveyor ready.</p> <p>Photo 6:<span> </span>Adrian and Jason harvesting watermelons.</p> <p>Photo 7:<span> </span>Zach loading watermelons on the trailer.</p> <p>Photo 8:<span> </span>Adrian and Jason loading giant pumpkins.</p> <p>Photo 9:<span> </span>Patsy, Adrian and Jason with a load of big ones.</p> <p>Photo 10:<span> </span>Bill and Adrian on a loaded trailer.</p><p /><br /> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/191QtSvTQinphtxIImKREWqdEXQliYkj0KaFgM2dyWFFVoA4lgpUGrtpg2cy/IMG_0217.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0217" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/WNfxgGCTCklR0EDXpMP5jAFKHZBZPBUXUctNuzliKxHe8LXqZH3AE3DqwPij/IMG_0217.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/rnuMreqipeot80wsg5JrBSRds5rMcAhvGqnsQi9TUBMqa1UJQPtUuUvYgJrP/IMG_0220.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0220" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/wF97AIeE1VLtWL6aR0PVozTjuqZm9RaPq8gEk2JwLUdxwwnddt97WL0G2xlH/IMG_0220.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/YRG1zj7IMcTVzbsRhyEP0Gy5dPZjnrbpvRkQyTzmQPNfbRjvHbNxDt74tVsX/IMG_0219.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0219" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/3BOiV9m0ZRQadC2r8aUauus3dKBvubZZrE6J3gkKbtVJKJMTjgnXlxDyBiVj/IMG_0219.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/ZfshV3R4gubhYf68J5ivLXXs7sJLuq08WhS52Vwb3rOO4N4lQJt8afBPuXXX/IMG_0231.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0231" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/yk1FHCeQImPFUxP1fc6o0W7xI25PQlSWr1WZN2PZUsPN1lzCmWbUycAFWGrm/IMG_0231.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/r8QIJxGVMAocgjlsxML1FGEgAudcqiDU8Fx45zxfVO7AEeQqHzOz2FORwfSZ/IMG_0235.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0235" height="890" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/hUQJeByiTrBG22YKjBBgtrpXYFQGGlKBH3Wsnkel7Xe2hALWvkN6ForwylgM/IMG_0235.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/98UROLW6ESheaeMWfnUjmxNmtIeNBo03GqAaJNjpFnrrcNJwRlR8XdDj5WT5/IMG_0256.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0256" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/JeVf9727TmTFs0to038GEkoYkeqy1pZ9xemIqRujteD5XQD06xSK1GPCoS9Z/IMG_0256.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/2011-season-bringing-in-the-harvest">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> </p></div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-47120350185773581552011-10-05T09:20:00.001-07:002011-10-05T09:20:45.666-07:002011 Season Summary: Late, Cold Start with Extremely Hot and Dry Main Season.<div class='posterous_autopost'><p>Well it seems that the non-stop 15hr days really do a number on my blogging. We are back to days and weeks where there is a little bit of slack time.<span> </span>In the three blog entries today, I will try to give a very abbreviated pictorial summary of the season to date. <span> First: l</span>aying the foundation for the harvest.</p> <p> </p> <p>Photo 1:<span> </span>Harvesting wheat from next year’s produce fields.</p> <p>Photo 2:<span> </span>Debbie and Patsy transplanting watermelons.</p> <p>Photo 3:<span> </span>View on a hill of some of this season’s plantings.</p> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times New Roman;">Photo 4:<span> </span>Irrigating pumpkins, a first for us.</span><br /><p /><br /> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/TdRtm2sy8WMaMD5ZJ1joXbbofCyttDIkMMgFtZ8lFtnatAUGFUoWEjDJGkGR/IMG_0201.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0201" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/8EzWHBXc4tg7AuKU5BGw65VBwdsxLyuD3r1F8vGsgFNIEhoExk68jwdM5MYl/IMG_0201.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/0gNcLwobxNdaUi6YCqkYapdzr4DMn806K7gVGjyluJAxDkle9FjoE9WYD61S/IMG_0208.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0208" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/Q42rfefKKTXBOn88adQVW9zKFPJ0ePM1LfmlO8TuHYl3QiGeVMvcKwq1upae/IMG_0208.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/TIM8k5h1rBlXeEMo4nYO1q890QC82Bd0B2W9UoimgoDgc62m56L3TwrhEq61/IMG_0213.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0213" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/vju0RYeruI9c34NR4A029io34m9jIPrqAOUlThFICQq9jYN6mEmFSui2RIkZ/IMG_0213.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/Esh2jcTl8ZeSOwqEu4vXtEY2rAQr2knAF5z9j1ZcS7nip5cuvNbX2hakBBcc/IMG_0215.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0215" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/xsOJchSXUGQKvz7sXzzzHerS3nxhztZYy1eswpp9f7usUqHrp8AEcXr2N5Vj/IMG_0215.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/2011-season-summary-late-cold-start-with-extr">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> </p></div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-86706475403678310552011-06-27T19:04:00.001-07:002011-06-27T19:04:34.018-07:00Babysitting the crops. Most crops are in the field, now we feed and water them and protect them from pests.<div class='posterous_autopost'><p>I seem to operate better on a two week schedule (not that I am satisfied with this and I’ll try to do better).<span style=""> </span>We have filled the last two boxes of our Farm Share (CSA) no choice component.<span style=""> </span>This weekend our subscribers will begin to use their weekly credits to shop at our farm stand in our free choice component. </p><p>We have planted the last watermelons, cantaloupes, sweet corn and pumpkins.<span style=""> </span>This week we will plant the last tomatoes.<span style=""> </span>We still will have small plantings of a few misc. crops. The next week is one of my favorite times of the season.<span style=""> </span>The crops will begin to grow explosively and for a brief moment we seem to be on top of diseases, insects, weeds and predators (crows, deer, raccoons and other wild life).<span style=""> </span>Shortly, reality will kick in and the great chess match will begin.</p> <p> </p> <p>Photo 1:<span style=""> </span>7<sup>th</sup> CSA box</p> <p>Photo 2: 8<sup>th</sup> CSA box</p> <p>Photo 3:<span style=""> </span>Tomatoes ripening on the vine.</p> <p>Photo 4:<span style=""> </span>Cantaloupes starting to net (form netting on the surface of the fruit).</p> <p>Photo 5:<span style=""> </span>Burpless cucumber on the vine.</p> <p>Photo 6:<span style=""> </span>Patsy with an early onion harvest.</p> <p>Photo 7:<span style=""> </span>Watermelons starting to set in the field.</p> <p>Photo 8:<span style=""> </span>Patsy and Norma’s Dad, John likes to keep an eye on things.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></p><p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/FIcn80m79U3h9nD52uPrPfuB9ImB7p1uUUfc6RZ5XeBndx92KxyidzJEkg7w/IMG_0158.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0158" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/sbU7LGG4ou9MHWlIvgczZEMT46OJhY8zePoZyHuFAaNRA5b8jA5x6EnEbzn7/IMG_0158.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/KI1WIDRn5II2eoBi4u1pkuKqW6DAsiGCSaRXIvAC4Tq78BfKRgkUGi0ipZ2I/IMG_0199.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0199" height="890" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/5bnKE6mKaPCzxKXTdvpCHVYSjQoO9SdyXw51hCFDHt7w11z4JzIAaoVMUm7p/IMG_0199.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/S8BFpCTyx1SxW0r0bcmQF0Uo8Cj1ciFUH4MCZfkU2eQUFFIRoRavLa1E8dtq/IMG_0161.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0161" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/GI66dZHAM4NxqsgyQ6UY4IhFTECWAJwfMnuVi7y6qb5tiU4BgufRrK6chs4Q/IMG_0161.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/Gh7N62t8ybMSSrA0KBd1fBZaBf9NWD8TkqiX9j85HE0dlJD7mSCpH4IRkWID/IMG_0165.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0165" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/1Hav2b8WtHqMQB9UtJIRzdoXSgs8LHzQpyFq2UCINMfo99BasHNeYNUm8kqd/IMG_0165.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/rgpgelUjLPdEdfF7Ijm0Xs33S5daQmceskjqJ0xiCfgFjHDfegSJANEsRfye/IMG_0171.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0171" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/muVLFj0ninlTZ3FM5Gx2H7gZvUwqRrNrE76bz1LrqhMnWGq1f2vK0iyUs3HW/IMG_0171.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/k5w6alBjalFxsHuvnKk7RdDZy2Q64EaJ2H0KqtHThUcgpyxmQwx04Gj0Iiut/IMG_0173.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0173" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/fqvSdcu4YyRYQkz9d9tle68tFwxO1qb7sSXgdbkO8Oo1QX01HPaoPsUzgKpN/IMG_0173.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/AftPeX2GqxNt97YgY29T9rJ3xDkEXvWALB1MyV8ZdPqEi25Hlcludcw7hnBx/IMG_0190.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0190" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/HZAsPvvb6O2VduB9Aq7doZFY4Gsma07D5g3SPI8nB5Km6pciEk8oa30o9H2e/IMG_0190.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/anxBMm1fYXblr6IHpScUzFXZbrOAhg4B9yfABrAfn0dz2Z9qtvGsejWHWLEs/IMG_0154.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0154" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/55MuPbVsmfUBCBva4cj6Bb019PoYbXFXwGi3LUEc3vkbIJR2rSenaeDFXV9r/IMG_0154.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/babysitting-the-crops-most-crops-are-in-the-f">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> </p></div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-3315744343305226782011-06-12T17:12:00.001-07:002011-06-12T17:12:04.263-07:00Early hot weather speeds everything up: Tomatoes and cantaloupes in June? Sweet corn before the fourth of July? It may be!<div class='posterous_autopost'><p>Well, it looks like I let two weeks slip by me without blogging. <span> </span>The switch from wet and cool to hot has really compressed our transplanting season.<span> </span>We have been transplanting every day for almost two weeks.<span> </span>We just finished setting out the last of the pumpkins and squash.<span> </span>We just have late, smaller plantings of seedless watermelon and tomatoes along with a handful of misc. transplanted crops to go yet.<span> </span>We had a little bit of disease on some early watermelon transplants, but it was apparently a bacterial disease that is not very competitive once taken out of the greenhouse.<span> </span>Checking our diagnostic materials and a call to Purdue extension, helped reassure us that this was not a serious disease and it fact it disappeared after a few days in the field.<span> </span>We have a little bit of disease on tomato, an old acquaintance, early blight, that shows up every year and will not go away completely, even with treatment.<span> </span>Our potato plantings, took a serious hit from Colorado Potato Beetles, we have tried two different sprays to hopefully get them under control. <span> </span>We are irrigating some of our early cantaloupes, tomatoes and onions.<span> </span>We are cultivating our conventional sweet corn and are considering an additional herbicide treatment.<span> </span>We just planted our sweet corn that is compliant with organic standards, where we will not have the herbicide options.<span> </span>This and the fact that we will not have conventional sprays to control earworms, makes me a bit anxious, but we have a plan and a backup plan (some overlapping conventional plantings). Weed control is a big focus for the upcoming week; spraying, cultivating, hoeing and pulling.<span> </span>Patsy’s work load with transplants in the greenhouse will be considerably reduced with all the plants that have been planted outside the past couple weeks.<span> </span>She will be focusing now on getting ready for marketing at our three market stands. Patsy, Jason, Norma, Debbie and I have been putting in some long days and weeks, but they will be getting longer in a couple weeks when harvesting and marketing kick in. The number of workers will triple when harvesting and marketing commence. <span> </span><span> </span></p> <p> </p> <p>Photo 1:<span> </span>Week 4 Farm Share (CSA) box</p> <p>Photo 2:<span> </span>Week 5 Farm Share (needed to take the photo before the strawberries came in)</p> <p>Photo 3:<span> </span>Week 6 Farm Share (spring crops ending and summer crops beginning</p> <p>Photo 4:<span> </span>Transplanting watermelons on sandy hills</p> <p>Photo 5:<span> </span>Debbie and Norma on the trasplanter</p> <p>Photo 6:<span> </span>Potato planting</p> <p>Photo 7:<span> </span>Onion planting</p> <p>Photo 8:<span> </span>Zucchini setting on</p> <p>Photo 9:<span> </span>Our gambleloupes (actually have baseball size melons set on)</p> <p>Photo 10:<span> </span>Our candidate for first tomato</p><p><br /></p><p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/n7T2Xei1lsl5841DRjExTPBys1k7k7uGCC8HbeT7tBu3coIIav6WeFjAGlrC/IMG_0113.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0113" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/vYKHEOrVicMWbSl90yvQkCBpTECjHUFYLL6UKgpvi2dVBtMgFm4zAJU3LF6c/IMG_0113.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/f5OaryjYMWshKb3jtdkiCgsOuJuDs1hm3ORVFGhHjnQnqhtzPk5oqNx7rEpM/IMG_0145.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0145" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/AdR4efdTD1ZFNd345JZdWl7HM7qJv6HE6OzLKXFhXoLXHw1hOM9rJPmp5R4y/IMG_0145.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/RGtejFDfDTF1DgX4GLdHXObB8iJy6gxKjodlVSe3edwu5Y3qAPYL7nFKZasC/IMG_0156.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0156" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/GUgLEO51wMYkSa74pKJ1f1IWsezN8aJauBk3R4a4s5APcUx1cPgjBPp0LAA9/IMG_0156.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/D2nVLcOOQmvXRrYAamXJ6i30hRDqG4A5XUGZjM04MKLZOvczkJVOL2CIOhMB/IMG_0152.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0152" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/2yw9pxO0wkCUDrY1X75jCJyPYOrugsXCTUvQFYK1QbTiaDWOzORmUkzZXl16/IMG_0152.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/6nOKYUbQ3m0L45fxitBxynah3xIRLPkn83FYhNMErOvgmtVYrB0J9z8mK7fL/IMG_0147.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0147" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/yXeFAFARvILpcxaOF6Cp6wVc8IC6iGqnAGSNRZ9Q3yMoI2kjVohJDxG66caM/IMG_0147.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/0KPG0Av5zJtu3wjbLvU5tN8JbQLwk1b4z2NIUKo0HKQgYBWbv8GSEHIDIy5e/IMG_0140.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0140" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/kLhSyaVDJSEnEhVgyhkLUifhWTkaenaldJV2gorPAAi66hrRsxM4mx8e6b15/IMG_0140.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/iLJG5gRa7OfwwGguQUep2QkDQfzFinStLG0TVDO0C5IA5mLPUjHhbTZrBOC0/IMG_0138.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0138" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/hegMH9FTgnnBODMQVWQXl1sX1gR3E4jHYcjKOxjxy0tiEcmgB0Dwv3OULIaq/IMG_0138.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/j9XvDCSYOULwxxS5Gtu9tg3eGdeLorLwcK1cNPnUOBwNQ7COt1Q8MLMmDXF0/IMG_0137.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0137" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/S4gRnLu1OV2l13YYQwvfKEwKxtWUwip01ecX6EbJC0LKOrM9F8RKnuSeMIuY/IMG_0137.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/nSx0CHM2BCG8AoBD2PjnWKpWP41MatVQrtQtzTIV8kmo3QGfNPHWrsKY2QIH/IMG_0136.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0136" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/1AuijoGgUBPwB73U6AhwOx7Qu3FSJqIb5Q3mIAdH5oumZ6WBOKa9s02ms3TU/IMG_0136.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/cmRm4cEXXKbhFMcmwkbxcsSyEmMyGURtk1cj62jEEpE3NcCAcPEyEHUogYwp/IMG_0133.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0133" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/UeMMLAwtdRkntJnkwk8tLwImmfGy1c5UlgQqMHbgxdsJtIcsSiSZhuQadjtn/IMG_0133.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/early-hot-weather-speeds-everything-up-tomato">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> </p></div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-36677095780588702242011-05-27T06:49:00.001-07:002011-05-27T06:49:13.374-07:00Beautiful heads of leaf lettuces; the deer love them and I am sure that you will too!<div class='posterous_autopost'><p>The bit of warm weather really gave the spring crops a boost and the subsequent drop in temperatures didn’t faze them, but it kept us scrambling to cover the tender, warm season crops; tomatoes, cantaloupes, cucumbers and summer squash.<span style=""> </span>A new threat emerged when the deer found our beautiful butterhead lettuces and wiped out one planting in one evening.<span style=""> </span>We covered the remainder of the planting with snow fencing and we will have some spectacular heads of leaf lettuce for our Farm Share subscribers and also to go with strawberries at our Tilton farm stand.<span style=""> </span>We have 8 plantings of sweet corn planted and our next 4 plantings will include organic fields, which means chicken litter compost, cultivation for weed control and dosing the silks on each ear with vegetable oil and an organic pesticide.<span style=""> </span>We are just starting to seed 75 varieties of pumpkin and winter squash in flats, which requires considerable planning and tracking, from trays to the field.</p> <p> </p> <p>Photo 1:<span style=""> </span>Our third farm share offering.</p> <p>Photo 2:<span style=""> </span>Early tomatoes and cantaloupe (gamblelopes) under low tunnels.</p> <p>Photo 3:<span style=""> </span>Some of our CSA beds.</p> <p>Photo 4:<span style=""> </span>Snow fence for deer protection.</p> <p>Photo 5:<span style=""> </span>Heads of leaf lettuce.</p> <p>Photo 6:<span style=""> </span>Jason spreading organic fertilizer on sweet corn fields.</p> <p>Photo 7:<span style=""> </span>Debbie and Norma preparing for pumpkin and winter squash seeding.</p><p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/j9gBsCSpVV180uIbnoJ7YgwCmJfEQeN6VzQM5R0E8lX2KpEkgDOHOh7tfisK/IMG_0102.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0102" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/yUiaG2qaqcvPEFzWtV8sD8Nond5bEIfkVlJAPsRJVuhLXTa0jNYZiG21HYju/IMG_0102.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/LkH8WSKigZ0bGKkybvpYqYbueqalTKbmbHU6TX5CnIugL8XVwLO03tAZ0t5e/IMG_0099.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0099" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/RqxO4CHD9j6VHOe6YvutsZApKz115FGGsBXyWA0rIfHuHjxUs4XRNNVUgQ5e/IMG_0099.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/qbxq0xAU8fUEwxulzsuMFjJxgbSNXZ6jm2if4zdrYURgBJIwiPr53iRemyA0/IMG_0109.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0109" height="890" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/jCfeMe79cS0FqMaKs9uhjDDRyh4KASDWZoYy6nuohDTnmfC9GPo4d9rlB7Gd/IMG_0109.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/DMC4E6OZCiKxnlmP3NdNb2PPLR8zJ5MQI2HjBynaiJZu6lDkfuvsOekICQYf/IMG_0111.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0111" height="890" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/udcbOfRM5ERcMsaI9NG6x4ZgQU4kjqXFR5aemT9FxPI9mxh21VImqjO7vElV/IMG_0111.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/TO3MIJbD3E0iU0Zd6cRtvs3GsRDKDLspY1wzyBFRpDuuM2hW913B5LamKpti/IMG_0112.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0112" height="890" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/m0zBeBaNz0Dwu0zts3SGSZrZUmoS9ArX7hwo3nA3Sxpz1j23DJCYtdGTLDzW/IMG_0112.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/DlVxGe7GkKkuGCGd7OEjBFmS5J9LU0n9snyXdEYjiEqmsPmWtwOWIAr2iMaY/IMG_0105.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0105" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/lm3YaBUGKz9J15QueLh8jehl5slPqHUlcavfDm4klLmuM14PjoJidVeVYh4d/IMG_0105.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/yYNX2hUzC2Md2UVYJ98jvjkQi4Sm0lqNpXChWClKIbTzAddej1MsvPyhQ8dl/IMG_0108.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0108" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/MqoWbxzpZPZbSoTJSKuBHJJ4bDthAo1PtVagorM1hFlDsSEZzcqjWY7EWCyi/IMG_0108.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/beautiful-heads-of-leaf-lettuces-the-deer-lov">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> </p></div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-25182047834178925942011-05-16T10:45:00.001-07:002011-05-16T10:45:50.450-07:00First tomatoes set! Looks like an early season! Maneuvring around warm and dry, then wet, then cold weather.<div class='posterous_autopost'><img src="https://mail.google.com/a/steffen-farms.com/images/cleardot.gif" />Well it looks like two weeks have slipped by without a peep from me.<span style=""> </span>Pushing the season on a number of crops, much earlier than usual has kept us busy.<span style=""> </span>The early dry weather was a help in getting crops in early.<span style=""> </span>The wet weather in the beginning of May made it more difficult to get crops into the field and more difficult to get into town, but it did offer the benefit of some nice big mushrooms along with some giant overwintered spinach in the cold frame.<span style=""> </span>Our Farm Share (CSA) items were slow in coming on but we had our first offering last week.<span style=""> </span>We have managed to get 4 ½<span style=""> </span>acres of sweet corn, ½ acre of tomatoes,<span style=""> </span>¼ acre of onions, ¼ acre of cantaloupes (gambleloupes) and 1/8<span style=""> </span>acre of potatoes planted but the current cold snap had us covering many of them up.<span style=""> </span>The spring crops in our Farm Share plantings really took off this past week. <p> </p> <p>Legend 1:<span style=""> </span>Our first week’s Farm Share</p> <p>Legend 2:<span style=""> </span>Flooded shortcut to town</p> <p>Legend 3:<span style=""> </span>Patsy with morels and overwintered spinach</p> <p>Legend 4:<span style=""> </span>Farm Share beds in early May</p> <p>Legend 5:<span style=""> </span>Our second week’s Farm Share</p> <p>Legend 6:<span style=""> </span>Patsy and Norma transplanting tomatoes</p> <p>Legend 7:<span style=""> </span>Fields being prepared for our first main season cantaloupe planting</p> <p>Legend 8:<span style=""> </span>Early tomatoes and cantaloupes covered during cold weather</p><p /> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/a1ChBQVGLEm7Am0lpmALQEtNvl3XYjFInz3ikefZkN7TD25vhSqevr6YTe4f/IMG_0075.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0075" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/UFreiUwh2mgKvQ24x6rj72tAmguNvyY36xq1ADmwTxU3IeymEMTzGoWH72cE/IMG_0075.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/YDLqhQFyOpXdRdSEtNEbCxWMRFYxc5vEJ0BknhKqhugvcf7ca8YNE3ZH9GdW/IMG_0059.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0059" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/Ru37ZGaVYFfbiW1Zqvsx1RM8Ow92MrNlD3R9d584tv3TiZpChd1ly4ecmIG3/IMG_0059.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/l0gGAE8RbPyHFHSHPiYkuAGBlQjZxv2i5OhzEeVciAITecwW3vKezBVIRzDL/IMG_0065.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0065" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/U1SE8gXHqcHnPwD0qSYT78jvuFtbDDt4RK8yMpGeva6MOlxE5eLGksPJ3pzD/IMG_0065.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/RVqbLyGD6oofzHxQ9tD2o2wbHttfZCUP9MoG7u4DkGwm2qeBgv8KEP9eaNEv/IMG_0069.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0069" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/57bxtGWRR1V5pM3BmRlUsP9vgQh1sg70j3Gum9e0NY9fK4vxl2EhL8YT0HGH/IMG_0069.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/k74byJPTtLo5uTw8P9iT5WRVGXMSyADI08r7tjERWBOPggwCqPkHp8qvOBB4/IMG_0085.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0085" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/n83D8Y9vNNjWRVbD1PREtx0zaH2vqhMNJ17NYVcOGLZgYywpTKOa4jgXk6b0/IMG_0085.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/17MZfBBBFKDD08tWJmxbeFaCp1YJfHPzHKNiu1v8M0OpcHknbQajKm7pFKkY/IMG_0079.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0079" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/iLVeFAl9NaHPUKbsv0RmkNBDcoSj3WZ002FKxywWHpMuxPfQxxIinTY9fcWl/IMG_0079.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/wPWXhEG9ekpIoL8pTwDowXA1EVzzdEXN5lADMtId1RvtzW2l5X8V1AgWGbIW/IMG_0083.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0083" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/OIwJz4YNLCR3VdcTRPAI95pXgyYHTlTcrlARBWlJn67TcERNjNX9JxZGX7zj/IMG_0083.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/2XZkQjBddOlkxPxjs5TFlH2RNh3cQrb7nxvxIUB4wvhK9L5Nclk1VVnKQCvU/IMG_0092.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_0092" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/TkcDQFpNsKLEvchT3wu3z3pxux8vInRJkerVtAVM083bMzI4OCD5vJ5ukwa5/IMG_0092.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/first-tomatoes-set-looks-like-an-early-season">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> </p></div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-72473898953924982892011-04-27T08:02:00.001-07:002011-04-27T08:02:05.443-07:00An Early Start to the 2011 Season with Spring Crops, Sweet Corn and Tomatoes<div class='posterous_autopost'><p>Welcome to the 2011 season blog “from our fields to your table” at Steffen Farms.<span> </span>Last year, our digital camera quit working in the heart of the season, and unfortunately I dropped the ball on our blog. We have a new camera and I plan to enter several photos and brief commentary each week to document our 2011 season.</p> <p> </p> <p>To start, I would like to show you our field for next year’s vegetable production.<span> </span>Wheat was planted in the fall and then oversown with clover this spring.<span> </span>When the wheat is harvested this summer, the clover will start growing, provide the winter cover crop and then supply nitrogen for next year’s vegetable crops.<span> </span>On March 30, we planted our first bed of spring crops for our small Farm Share (CSA) group.<span> </span>We hit an early, warm and dry window to get in our first sweet corn planting on April 8.<span> </span>On April 18, we transplanted our first tomatoes in the ground, under high and low tunnel covers.</p> <p> </p> <p>Legend 1: Wheat on next year’s vegetable field</p> <p> </p> <p>Legend 2:<span> </span>First Farm Share planting of spring crops in low tunnel</p> <p> </p> <p>Legend 3: First planting of sweet corn</p> <p> </p> <p>Legend 4:<span> </span>First tomatoes in low tunnel</p> <p> </p> <p>Legend 5:<span> </span>First tomatoes in high tunnel</p><p><div class='p_embed p_file_embed'> <a href="http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/an-early-start-to-the-2011-season-with-spring"><img alt="" src="http://posterous.com/images/filetypes/unknown.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <strong>IMG_0054[1]</strong> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/TsFyQSXnLJZjUA2CDCbxDDKyzeGZDKBX9KzGBt7Zsw4TE3RvwtiOntfwi66V/IMG_00541">Download this file</a> </div> </div> </p><p><div class='p_embed p_file_embed'> <a href="http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/an-early-start-to-the-2011-season-with-spring"><img alt="" src="http://posterous.com/images/filetypes/unknown.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <strong>IMG_0046[2]</strong> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/N1l9FXU9kW1CJdnFXoYppo7VpktVEYrdrgm9MsvJGTJjolAW3v6Gzk58S8ep/IMG_00462">Download this file</a> </div> </div> </p><p><div class='p_embed p_file_embed'> <a href="http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/an-early-start-to-the-2011-season-with-spring"><img alt="" src="http://posterous.com/images/filetypes/unknown.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <strong>IMG_0057[1]</strong> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/qmZ3q8HZ6wFJdT5VJha9BPly7AwfwDzlcDpFmMXq0P3JftH7Z9jZcG5UWcP9/IMG_00571">Download this file</a> </div> </div> </p><p><div class='p_embed p_file_embed'> <a href="http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/an-early-start-to-the-2011-season-with-spring"><img alt="" src="http://posterous.com/images/filetypes/unknown.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <strong>IMG_0052[1]</strong> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/o7qPLXald8ooFpZyeLXgVQ6HQhRPyg7Kd6BUhNTNpC1FNVnNxh6iOZ7Wh5SI/IMG_00521">Download this file</a> </div> </div> </p><p><div class='p_embed p_file_embed'> <a href="http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/an-early-start-to-the-2011-season-with-spring"><img alt="" src="http://posterous.com/images/filetypes/unknown.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <strong>IMG_0050[1]</strong> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/31ZgRVoZeqAp0rCuL3dpSF2Dp00mNbfwHSJ0o3ILzsfVAe9N5OrBrdNOlLIB/IMG_00501">Download this file</a> </div> </div> </p></div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-4505934895652711592010-06-09T09:38:00.001-07:002010-06-09T09:38:36.954-07:00Cooperation between farmers/growers, with cooperative extension and with our customers help make it possible.<div class='posterous_autopost'><p style="">When we lost 2 acres of cantaloupes to cold weather this spring, we were given a hand by the Horal family at Melon Acres.<span style=""> </span>They had extra transplants of one of the varieties we grow allowing us to not lose too much of our early crop window.<span style=""> </span>We also saw some evidence of disease in our melon transplants and it was nice to go online and get diagnostic photos of diseased plants, from Purdue and other state extension services.<span style=""> </span>Thankfully, it was a minor, noncontagious disease. And finally, it is nice to have the patience and input from our small subscriber group as we work through issues of communication and logistics.<span style=""> </span>On the crop front, the zucchini and patty pan squash are really beginning to come on, along with cucumbers, broccoli, pea pods, beets and radishes, with a taste of cilantro and basil and there should be new potatoes for our subscribers this weekend.<span style=""> </span></p><p style=""><span style=""></span><span style="">Caption 1: Cantaloupe and watermelon field, with cantaloupes in foreground.</span></p> <p style=""><span style="">Caption 2: Patsy, Norma and Danielle transplanting fourth tomato planting.</span></p><p style=""><span style="">Caption 3: Our second tomato planting, formerly low tunnel tomatoes.</span></p> <p style=""><span style="">Caption 4: Fifth week's CSA produce. </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></p> <p><a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/t0WpygbZ7mqWRgYRYu5AeQFzFlId4lhGALpoRHGu7AqJ3GZvcUEotYgRE24D/6-9-10_010.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/RfSZcMXqcj5uKBMQ0bFLDNIQ4kCMuFCdUDXoKjTmPRexGnWiGHsixzaao8KV/6-9-10_010.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/SsKRyMGXhDmNHbEhzSuTrzCdxO58dSTAF8D9Xb795diJCgHF9fQjHc4lbMHf/6-9-10_021.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/3taHRhIssc51AdNqsKBxsCCT7btfRUkGTdNaiYzJ7iNdNlebqpdgeLQotF4B/6-9-10_021.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/DGBIhkqa6fultz7FOQStBsuwyr1aMbkSNTmCqfd0MmXDd1tWZD7XyJkjEDHm/6-9-10_009.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/TVyYG5uMcjorxkh7J4Ttq6h94OGqmGyvsMN9cwTlNn7iTpvIHNuSWW7dv0D7/6-9-10_009.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/CvdrBOvIy47e3k1Bemk4mw9ePGcPgSVALw9ifjyxIBCw2Asj7NyE42cgCkAz/6-9-10_007.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/GbBlBlV1onStv2nFWlRO4L8cJEg2YIxBmxWPlbmGdZLDOY6awFG3H6luDAuq/6-9-10_007.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <div><a href='http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/cooperation-between-farmersgrowers-with-coope'>See and download the full gallery on posterous</a></div></p> </div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-9589112604924826562010-05-31T18:17:00.001-07:002010-05-31T18:17:40.084-07:00Social weekend and harvesting of beets, carrots, pea pods, zucchini, chard, greens, lettuces, and kohlrabi.<div class='posterous_autopost'><p style="">I am running a bit behind on this blog and I will be talking about the weekend and week before the Memorial Day weekend.<span style=""> </span>I will have another entry in a couple days for Memorial Day weekend and the following week. On Friday, May 21 we got up early drove to St. Louis for our daughter Faith’s graduation, helped load her belongings into 4 vehicles and drove back Friday evening.<span style=""> </span>Patsy and I got up early on Saturday to get the CSA produce picked and boxed.<span style=""> </span>We spent the rest of the day getting ready for a family gathering for Faith on Sunday. <span style=""> </span>Ben and his girlfriend Ari were in from California and Adam was in from St. Louis. This kind of weekend probably won’t be possible again until after Labor Day. <span style=""> </span>On Monday, we replanted part of the 2 acres of cantaloupes that were wiped out by the unexpected cold snap.<span style=""> </span>We also planted about 4 acres of watermelons and another ½ acre of tomatoes.<span style=""> </span>The high tunnel tomatoes are setting on nice fruits and the potatoes are getting ready to flower.<span style=""> </span>Broccoli is a couple weeks off and the first five or so plantings of sweet corn are up.<span style=""> </span>The strawberries from Bland’s Farm are some of the best I have had.</p> <p style=""> </p> <p style="">First caption:<span style=""> </span>Faith, Ken and Patsy.</p> <p style="">Second caption:<span style=""> </span>Ben, Adam and Patsy catching red bellied daces for Patsy’s aquarium.</p> <p style="">Third caption:<span style=""> </span>High tunnel tomatoes and cucumbers.</p> <p style="">Fourth caption:<span style=""> </span>Early tomatoes and broccoli that were under low tunnels in the spring.</p> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times New Roman;">Fifth caption:<span style=""> </span>Fourth week’s full CSA offering.</span><br /><p><a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/hIKVNJJBE3DOvANGTpCXhVKw1ySg6lz6JpXnv3S37oelNVpkK2XRdyUxTzaX/PICT0024.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/C7waZuTWH4PNKDdx1FQujRG9lASBYGw3sgZIcRtXZerA8UEVIf1EIit13Nyp/PICT0024.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/lKmrYZxdRLkBb5lZef7aL9pytiPPRhboSZEKXJWs6OAXea9hIz5FqSlB1sPr/PICT0048.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/14001bFW4R1hjoT9jEzHlOlRF4QKtIMFZG0ZBA1pAIBWcLC50jerNRnEqldk/PICT0048.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/hfZbIAzmWCUAFmHt3WR4OjTry885tRDsAxDCsdzLBqTfEUm11XNphcbMudCH/PICT0059.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/72JG28yYxz3DIbbHQHcOLTFl5U2BruSWUgQF1a4ovWNBEwCxHoqjhOevUgzy/PICT0059.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/TayO843zmsYkRvboUtgQaTq2tIL7bLziv2w9yrZ6cY144HC2HcMBEKtvdwOT/PICT0064.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/cKZXuBxMiuTSsecoe3XI1JhYD1Fp9XiNAr55nP6yehwldFFmXZ3DC999dDgW/PICT0064.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/bVJOfjd9g4ICdPM0dYsuULxmPPMSvD6QZ6CWc43A3GwFLlsUS66juqTMOt5v/PICT0062.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/aZnb2It1oXo6ENfkhFiZX9bTukC9CXfDvDcH2zBVHbAADf8EyBVyZIKGj3aw/PICT0062.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/eAWtt2hTpUtW2C791duTR5kOER50wB4yclRGsc88idE2T1GYDA4c2wABm66P/PICT0040.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/2o4PMCaG9UrGui2ITkcF4QHWPefUhL3h5mkQnKuQKSN4F9ZoosFTjy3N2QZI/PICT0040.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <div><a href='http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/social-weekend-and-harvesting-of-beets-carrot'>See and download the full gallery on posterous</a></div></p> </div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-18191811710464632682010-05-20T12:51:00.001-07:002010-05-20T12:51:25.090-07:00Hard to focus: Temperature swings keeping us guessing.<div class='posterous_autopost'><p style="">I have had a hard time focusing on the theme for this week’s blog.<span style=""> </span>The 80+ degree weather the third week of April and now the upper 50’s to lower 60’s the third week of May have had us making drastic changes in our plan for the season. I guess that is my excuse for being nine days late.<span style=""> </span>The early warm weather convinced us to stop planting cool season crops in the high tunnel, switch from green plastic mulch (warmer) to black plastic mulch (cooler) in the field and now the swing back to cooler than normal weather is stressing the first planting of cantaloupes and we will have to do some replanting.<span style=""> </span>Oh well, warm weather is just around the corner, so we will focus on sunnier things.<span style=""> </span>We had a nice time at our farms with a number of our subscribers and employees this past Sunday afternoon and in spite of the chill we enjoyed fresh strawberries and ice cream.<span style=""> </span>Our warm season crops are progressing nicely in the high tunnel. We have been enjoying our greater involvement with Danville Gardens (nice people). We are getting ready to transplant more plants with the prospect of warm weather in the forecast.<span style=""> </span>And finally, we are exercising our farmers optimism that the perfect season is just around the corner.<span style=""> </span></p> <p style=""> </p> <p style=""> </p> <p style="">First caption:<span style=""> </span>Crops in our high tunnel.</p> <p style="">Second caption:<span style=""> </span>Danville Gardens’ display has sure spruced up our stand for this time of year.</p> <p style="">Third caption:<span style=""> </span>Cantaloupe transplants ready for the field.</p><p style="">Fourth caption: Rainbow over our transplanter.</p> <p style="">Fifth caption:<span style=""> </span>Our third week’s full CSA offering.<span style=""> </span>Wasn’t organized enough to get photos of the first two weeks.</p><p><a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/9etOifxQnmNpdcDQEaIcLBPzgkqVWhxAMZHwkJ86ayLiJRWCfo5tBjslwbS0/PICT0006.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/ajfDOAtHJGvqaK9FEFLwafjAjjNf8wzUufUfzBOCWJDFwXHSKmz49I0GPF8d/PICT0006.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/6PwL7QzZhGabnpsQL3JobFD9n0AAYwLcb51zJ38emk3HBkDjxQP30wQYSEP3/5-10-10_005.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/I15kLXoECpkx5QMinYqtawEYF3c5iK02mj6vCH2ceLMHHAYIcdW1w57FKeyg/5-10-10_005.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/tPuGzNYoMvDb1I2IHxybooiAQ2oR40T3z1q15t6396aRFTKltw5q0IQzqu9y/PICT0012.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/t9FB5y7CEQp8LPdmiy0NoqeBaisrHfTaGI8aj74pSSMq1MtkBokNNqWaPnng/PICT0012.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/pzprEPU1xvHzKM0AdLSwHqRDm9dqQf9vTkdhfchGWy9QWv1lnYdwvYdxKqOL/5-10-10_001.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/1EUAKwQnOv29Plcc7IucDolvGZcHrDZfbngPYxaB0IaRBoemZQtBTzE6FQy3/5-10-10_001.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/cHY18JeCKQQ5hgPtyS4xrjgBq9YG0S9bQMQsp1GbSU4vgcZybY6lmKIgYVld/PICT0015.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/WoDcSUvmDHpMYCIxSZaRPXGOT0lbXfyWHPz30pGgP0R3Y5VBsPUmiGahlPm8/PICT0015.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <div><a href='http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/hard-to-focus-temperature-swings-keeping-us-g'>See and download the full gallery on posterous</a></div></p> </div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-11698833800648345732010-05-11T20:31:00.001-07:002010-05-11T20:31:07.905-07:00The juggling has begun: seeding, transplanting, cultivating, fertilizing, irrigation, spraying, marketing, payroll.<div class='posterous_autopost'><p style="">We are getting into that phase of the season where nearly everything is going on.<span style=""> </span>We are marketing strawberries at our Tilton stand, we are cultivating potatoes and plastic mulched tomatoes, we are spraying herbicide on sweet corn ground and planting sweet corn every three days, we are transplanting cantaloupes, watermelons and more tomatoes, we are seeding more watermelons, we are harvesting spring crops for the CSA, we are fertilizing and laying plastic mulched beds, managing workers and doing payroll, we are repairing equipment and laying irrigation supply lines. This will reach a crescendo in July and continue through August when we are doing daily harvests of sweet corn, watermelon, cantaloupes, tomatoe and many other crops.</p> <p style=""> </p> <p style="">I have include some photos of equipment this week for you ‘grease under the fingernails’ crowd.</p> <p style=""> </p> <p style="">First Caption:<span style=""> </span>Rototilling down our cover crop after mowing.<span style=""> </span>Our 7’ rototiller.</p> <p style=""> </p> <p style="">Second Caption: Getting ready to plant sweet corn with our 5 row planter.</p> <p style=""> </p> <p style="">Third Caption:<span style=""> </span>Jason helping to lay plastic mulch beds for cantaloupe.<span style=""> </span>Jason is checking the distance between beds. </p><p><a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/UhiHvq8fUAL62rLxUWkw7LhhqZqt0rJYpoUPZ5AkMRTcSzuECn66nenhRPOB/5-10-10_003.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/r8lloFt791g4P21pMGU5AK1ZLvY0e46YgxPX8rweSV9TGduyPC7iNIzNJLyM/5-10-10_003.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/4LdPITIpu2k5dQzUQuKQl79cE6Ka9m1mlzRY6VEOjjl3Vm7aUfOGevrU4dfo/5-10-10_008.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/TSiFW7QEhNxE7qEGkpV6aPbflt5fnfXXSunhH39Biem3vjvTC7E7lfjGKlpp/5-10-10_008.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/tES3DArKIac3MiFJYHRCyRZf1bgZrR5cFozCWy3WK0yIJJBkon9pJUYypvq0/PICT0003.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/2jkzJ7Y381d3GbL25ezD55RGuH3aPI41KTkDFNTziGii0ED30EyXwAI1vDcb/PICT0003.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <div><a href='http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/the-juggling-has-begun-seeding-transplanting'>See and download the full gallery on posterous</a></div></p> </div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-19133535142703835252010-05-03T07:49:00.001-07:002010-05-03T08:11:12.791-07:00Sweet corn is up, starting to prepare for first large scale melon plantings.<div class="posterous_autopost"><p style=""><br /></p> <p style="">This spring has been fairly dry and the relatively low soil moisture has resulted to some spotty stands in our first sweet corn plantings.<span style=""> </span>We are getting ready to mow our crimson clover and hairy vetch cover crop to get ready for our second tomato planting along with other miscellaneous summer crops.<span style=""> </span>We will also soon prepare beds for our first cantaloupe planting.<span style=""> </span>The pace is starting to pick up with large scale field work, seeding, transplanting, and marketing at our Tilton market.<span style=""> </span>Soon the days will be filled to overflowing.</p> <p style=""> </p> <p style="">First Caption:<span style=""> </span>Last years melon field with a rye cover crop that will soon be planted to soybeans by our neighbor.</p> <p style="">Second Caption:<span style=""> </span>This years sweet corn and pumpkin ground.</p> <p style="">Third Caption:<span style=""> </span>Crimson clover, hairy vetch and perennial rye grass cover crop which will soon be planted to tomatoes and miscellaneous summer crops. </p><p><a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/BRuKzuDj64jTT99Smsw8Yf5w2kN83A0DGLM8lopz5oREarc7Vb9ArMZFnVpk/PICT0021.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/kiM2LTZoCYqqlXmar9HjmH2NilIVjWujIyi5xbW3fhQv89OiC61Oe6IFgQUD/PICT0021.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/m7rzId2h8AGw9M5IF6e25m2AHZKHhfQDLpOj5yADuyqSrjJK7FMtYCPE956x/PICT0026.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/mSUZgUqxKOFdn3i670gpIK7mKhxVgdDUGQsWe4ZKfyyIojS7S9VQaqx9qTbc/PICT0026.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/EvIUYcO0wcbrtAN9wjj1ltfnlZtEQOKhqoY0Lx9EKs1PRrUK72Hcx4VsCZ46/PICT0024.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/3oy9IFGsP5TB1paOOqpSwGftvvyP72HzkNvaW0AZQ7Qp3gkgKqueDhwjGMoH/PICT0024.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a> </p><div><a href="http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/sweet-corn-is-up-starting-to-prepare-for-firs">See and download the full gallery on posterous</a></div><p></p> </div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-30098388344929654102010-04-28T06:55:00.001-07:002010-04-28T06:55:30.742-07:00Low tunnels help our early planting weather their first frost.<div class='posterous_autopost'><p style="">It has been an interesting spring.<span style=""> </span>The first spell of unseasonally warm weather pushed our baby lettuces and greens on a little faster than we had planned.<span style=""> </span>I guess that we will have adolescent lettuces and greens instead of “baby” this first harvest.<span style=""> </span>We were beginning to wonder if we would need to set up our low tunnels at all this spring.<span style=""> </span>Well, a check of the weather forecast yesterday brought us back to reality and we (Ken, Patsy, Norma and Jason) worked late into the evening to get everything covered.<span style=""> </span>We had a pretty good frost this morning, but everything looks good under the covers.<span style=""> </span>We will keep the covers on for a couple days and nights until some pretty warm weather blows in from the south.</p> <p style=""> </p> <p style="">First caption:<span style=""> </span>Low tunnels over early tomatoes.</p> <p style=""> </p> <p style="">Second caption:<span style=""> </span>Patsy and Jason setting up low tunnels in the high tunnel over the even earlier tomatoes, squash, etc. </p><p><a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/LlG7yQChJuPFQ2U92f9FsIzvcvTozwDmR7iaG4FI9tnfQoI8kCm1ohvxnItb/PICT0016.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/bDC9gzmo4LVLsiFtzvl0moiVIifIXaW8ahJ9Nm3cop4V99NZMZb2Y0S1sLvj/PICT0016.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/J95anmFzTeHHKX84whkza7asByOHZktLbUuJwBtG4iZtng7gjajAylfSTUvE/PICT0012.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/PbbM4aeXcvyVkWYrGQzudhVzZyKrgqAN8rVIAv6kll3DSKnxYaHlUxNixcIb/PICT0012.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <div><a href='http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/low-tunnels-help-our-early-planting-weather-t'>See and download the full gallery on posterous</a></div></p> </div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-7741261182205426232010-04-24T19:30:00.001-07:002010-04-24T19:30:40.978-07:00Looks like mixed lettuce mix, salad/cooking greens, spinach, arugula, radishes, asparagus for CSA next week. Potatoes are up.<div class='posterous_autopost'><p style="">Lets take a look at progress on crops.<span style=""> </span>Lettuce mix, salad/cooking greens, spinach, arugula, radishes and asparagus ready for next week’s CSA.<span style=""> </span>Coming soon: baby summer squash, squash blossoms, snow peas, sugar snap peas, Swiss chard, broccoli raab, baby beets, green onions, kohlrabi and strawberries.<span style=""> </span>Coming along: tomatoes (flower buds ready to open), diakon radishes, Chinese cabbage, cucumbers and carrots.<span style=""> </span>Planted in the field or high tunnels but down the road aways: green beans (at our neighbor’s), peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes (they are up) and sweet corn (not up yet).<span style=""> </span>Up in transplant trays: watermelons, cantaloupes, okra, cilantro, and basil. Not planted yet: eggplant, pumpkins and winter squash.</p> <p style=""> </p> <p style="">On the communication front:<span style=""> </span>we are now using <a href="http://posterous.com">posterous.com</a>, where we send an email with photo attachments and the title is the heading for the blog and the text is the body of the blog with the attached photos.<span style=""> </span>Also the title of the email becomes the twitter text.<span style=""> </span>Last week the tweet did not come through, we will try it again this week. </p> <p style=""> </p> <p style="">Caption first photo:<span style=""> </span>Things are moving along pretty rapidly in the high tunnel.<span style=""> </span>Spring greens, peas and root crops on the right.<span style=""> </span>Tomatoes, peppers, Chinese cabbage, in the middle. Summer squash and cucumbers on the left.</p> <p style=""> </p> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times New Roman;">Caption second photo:<span style=""> </span>The first seeding of cantaloupes and watermelons, part of 25,000 transplants produced in a season.</span><br /><p><a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/vVZWi2UGLsouV2hE1MkPrg8mkVnU5NqEktNNvHkYwRy5vStYDO7kij9ztHhO/PICT0007.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/DOrf1VnGsXLchm9JWnpZ7dSMDfgyp3eS4LQuLeeFnMp6ItubH44EDEmQuP0R/PICT0007.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/WdJWq5PHKvhWr4OCUnV4169r6e6xEJ27FZWVz4x99sXMolopeOj52uCtkVeE/PICT0001.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/JiV7ohY5fyttLnRpOTZwqrrhpWxQVVoCI0y5XB4lq8ivKU5Bh4aE1ElcGXGg/PICT0001.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <div><a href='http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/looks-like-mixed-lettuce-mix-saladcooking-gre'>See and download the full gallery on posterous</a></div></p> </div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-36794278028420217482010-04-21T17:47:00.001-07:002010-04-21T17:47:46.188-07:00Plants getting ready to take-off in exponential growth! Two new plots started: kitchen garden and raised beds for low tunnels.<div class='posterous_autopost'><p style="">The photos we will show here are already six days old. We will have another blog with photos in a couple days, so you can see a bit of how rapidly things are growing now. At the time the photos were taken, nagging questions, like: Will we have produce ready for the first CSA delivery? or Will some things be ready to be harvested before the first delivery?, flitted at the back of our minds. This unusually warm weather has forced us to change some of our plans.<span style=""> </span>We were worried that it was getting too warm in the high tunnel for some of the cool season crops. We started some of these cool season crops in our 18’x18’ kitchen garden which we considered not planting this year because we had access to extra CSA produce.<span style=""> </span>We planted snow peas, sugar snaps, spinach, swiss chard, radishes, mixed greens, salad mix and transplanted some leaf lettuces.<span style=""> </span>In one of our photos below you will see another change.<span style=""> </span>We have both green and black plastic mulch.<span style=""> </span>The green mulch warms the soil up more than the black.<span style=""> </span>We were going to use all green mulch between the greenhouse and high tunnel, but decided to go with one-half black because we were afraid that with the warm temperatures we were experiencing the soil might get too warm for optimal growth. We have been harvesting asparagus for several days, but we should still have it in our CSA offerings for a couple weeks.<span style=""> </span>Also we have planted the first sweet corn, the day after these photos were taken.<span style=""> </span></p> <p style="">Caption first photo:<span style=""> </span>Patsy, Norma and Danielle transplanting.<span style=""> </span>Danielle is a regular fixture around here, but she was here when the photos were taken for the website.</p> <p style="">Caption second photo:<span style=""> </span>Green and black plastic mulched, raised beds for our low tunnel plantings.<span style=""> </span>The only thing is we are not sure that we will need the low tunnels with the early spring.</p><p style=""></p><p><a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/QpSCG60BkOZyW3tRaEwSKORADCwOYBCSEEBCcvkN2ExS41PgoRBer0caLO5u/PICT0052.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/3uXTNkJywszIg5SMvhCzz0H6j09wHngvJbSLQCSEiRZzeKlUGLdEdu0M854C/PICT0052.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/WzD3ejfzzsNB0vbh1TnBwiSYF7R0rQBmhac4UDZwkvHdQckQbfFrdZ0PsELq/PICT0058.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/mPhHQZzvq1MAOz4nPPL88VlhW2f3sN65tEDXDdZgzwozN4fHOuREHSpHJ9EH/PICT0058.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <div><a href='http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/plants-getting-ready-to-take-off-in-exponenti'>See and download the full gallery on posterous</a></div></p> </div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-70622639226270437762010-04-12T06:42:00.001-07:002010-04-12T06:55:01.489-07:00First potatoes are planted, all high tunnel tomatoes are transplanted, coming soon, sweet corn, cukes, squash, peppers.<div class="posterous_autopost"><span style=" ;font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12.0pt;">We put together a two row, seed potato planter using an old plastic mulch layer and cultivator parts.<span style=""> </span>It worked pretty well and we will probably put out 1 or 2 more plantings over the next month.<span style=""> </span>We also transplanted all the tomato plants that we will grow in our high tunnel.<span style=""> </span>We will transplant cucumbers, summer squash, peppers and few other crops in the high tunnel before we have it all planted, probably sometime this week.<span style=""> </span>We are also planning to plant the first sweet corn this week.<span style=""> </span>Also hope to get the beds ready for the low tunnel tomatoes, which will hopefully go out next week.<span style=""> </span>We have been playing around with different ways to enter the blog and twitter information, so there may be some formatting differences. Enjoy the weather. </span><br /><p><a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/A9mpBoEoLPIHUg5srxcq8DIJjC50QMfzVnhZvgPpSik0T1NQv2VlrJCgmZPC/PICT0046.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/21SHQGTskfrxEXEypOIh3xodH7vjcsBL4PrrnNgFZiNXNvGhSeXN7rlANv2z/PICT0046.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/HIN8ntYcSFYo9a1Pos1IvGpjOhSSLrBDUramiqK0RraqJhuo6dAgr3Mrbx2y/PICT0040.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/80FSf79lBJy1KGQiUsXikUv7ugK7biaDHssOkTHE04WtAXClnwTnGMCcRxLA/PICT0040.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a> </p><div><a href="http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/the-first-potatoes-are-planted-first-potatoes">See and download the full gallery on posterous</a></div><p></p> </div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-22097289470226581262010-04-05T13:05:00.001-07:002010-04-05T13:11:50.950-07:00Potato seed pieces are ready for planting in the field and tomato transplants are ready for planting in the ground of the high tunnel.<div class="posterous_autopost"><p style="">This unusually warm weather is making it very tempting to jump the gun and start planting seeds/plants that would be killed or damaged by the hard frosts we are nearly certain to have yet this spring.<span style=""> </span>Our friends at the local orchard said that the apple buds are two weeks ahead of schedule and they are concerned about the potential for frost damage.<span style=""> </span>We are also wondering about this years strawberry crop which can be damaged if strawberry flowers experience a hard frost.<span style=""> </span>We are planning to push our plantings a bit, for example, in mid-April if soil temperatures are high enough and we have a week of frost free weather in the forecast, we may plant sweet corn two weeks early.<span style=""> </span>We are planning to put out our first planting of tomatoes two weeks early, but we have the back up protection of low tunnels this year. All the crops, we planted in the high tunnel are up and looking good!</p><br /><p><a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/iQaWNz2qwESwtNlBJQF6mgYhAhjscbF7H64shqGBv3Tk6ybtfuYVM9n3xQfQ/PICT0027.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/k7FItDvnXCDoDhG5hIIage1L9dipfDrl94wGT0j3Hig54ACiXujLHIMh8ODT/PICT0027.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/UU8EQq07lh7SzmU7Ne8lhqdewGFnnSJIelx7a2NTMHQRVilstW7LA0wbWYfK/PICT0029.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/steffenfarms/p9ILsSaaehBFlP3dmnyDih1gudPGcP1OacewWDERrwrop9pHvjjZH9DbGbwt/PICT0029.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a> </p><div><a href="http://steffenfarms.posterous.com/potato-seed-pieces-are-ready-for-planting-in">See and download the full gallery on posterous</a></div> </div>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03719116031253759943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-24756387117979035402010-03-25T11:38:00.000-07:002010-03-25T11:39:24.948-07:00UNDERCOVER - WHERE THE ACTION IS!<p class="MsoNormal">The seeds we started in trays in our sunroom are being transferred into the cold frame for hardening before transfer into the soil of our high tunnel. Yesterday, for the first time this season we seeded directly into the soil of the high tunnel the following crops: snow peas, sugar snap peas, lettuce mix, greens mix, carrots, radishes, including daikon, beets, spinach, kohlrabi, and broccoli raab.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Also, yesterday Patsy and Norma, seeded trays of tomatoes that will go directly into the field under low tunnels and onions that will be transplanted into the open field. Next week we hope to work the soil, raise plastic mulch-covered beds and cover them with low tunnel hoops, plastic and row cover.</p>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00501972090692135448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-72051582482233385282010-03-25T11:36:00.000-07:002010-03-25T11:38:51.391-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yWwz-OflMsM/S6utrmCWokI/AAAAAAAAArk/IBGh3TvspvY/s1600/PICT0021.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yWwz-OflMsM/S6utrmCWokI/AAAAAAAAArk/IBGh3TvspvY/s320/PICT0021.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452642738318516802" /></a>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00501972090692135448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-78688798392423206322010-03-25T11:11:00.000-07:002010-03-25T11:36:08.344-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yWwz-OflMsM/S6us0P_aOQI/AAAAAAAAArc/SgtyuJfhr9E/s1600/PICT0024.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yWwz-OflMsM/S6us0P_aOQI/AAAAAAAAArc/SgtyuJfhr9E/s320/PICT0024.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452641787507783938" /></a>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00501972090692135448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-6812835671947319012010-03-10T16:02:00.001-08:002010-03-10T16:02:47.361-08:00OFF AND RUNNING!<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops:1.5in">Seeds have been planted in flats for the early lettuces, spinach, napa cabbage, beets, Swiss chard, tomatoes and peppers.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>These seedlings will be transplanted into either our high or low tunnels.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Soon we will be seeding other early season crops, such as sugar snap peas, radishes, green onions, etc., directly into the soil of the high and low tunnels.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It will be a while before we start planting trays for the twenty acres worth of main season crops in our heated greenhouse.</p>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00501972090692135448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-5760654794157004752010-03-10T16:01:00.000-08:002010-03-10T16:02:20.067-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yWwz-OflMsM/S5gy-NPRWHI/AAAAAAAAAjs/9lG_4Ou08So/s1600-h/PICT0003.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yWwz-OflMsM/S5gy-NPRWHI/AAAAAAAAAjs/9lG_4Ou08So/s320/PICT0003.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447159793591605362" /></a>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00501972090692135448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-91610590245190217562010-03-10T15:56:00.000-08:002010-03-12T16:39:27.444-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yWwz-OflMsM/S5qxT__tRbI/AAAAAAAAAlk/EINfln7IXeU/s1600-h/PICT0015(1).JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yWwz-OflMsM/S5qxT__tRbI/AAAAAAAAAlk/EINfln7IXeU/s320/PICT0015(1).JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447861656412308914" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops:1.5in"><br /></p>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00501972090692135448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7715537910716044049.post-66747518694708587742010-02-28T08:53:00.000-08:002010-02-28T08:54:10.913-08:00TINKERING UNDER THE INFORMATION AND MARKETING 'HOOD'.<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">In January and February, we spent a lot of time working on taxes, accounting, websites, flyers, mailings, and planning.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We also had some quality time with family and friends.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This all worked out well for Ken, who was recovering from a hernia operation he had in early January.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Our neighbors, Bennie and Lynette, helped us lay aside enough wood to feed the wood burning stove we installed in November. Beginning in March, we will be turning our efforts to all the outside work that needs to be done.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>On the list are: greenhouse repairs and upgrades, vehicle and equipment repair and modification, outbuilding repairs, building new marketing stands and signs, seeding, etc. We are figuring out how to run our blog and plan to have a weekly posting of two photos and a<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>brief commentary to try give you a feel for our season as it progresses. Hope your year is off to a good start. </span>Steffen Farmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00501972090692135448noreply@blogger.com1