Star Hollow Farm

Farm News: Week of Saturday, February 11, 2012

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:27:00 -0500

On-the-farm
We’re back home and recovering after being away at two different conferences last week. The first week of February is essentially “farmer school” for us, with some socializing thrown in for good measure. Sam and I spent a day at the PA Vegetable Growers Conference in Hershey, where I focused most of my attention on high tunnel workshops. Then two days later the three of us (Chris included) headed up to State College for the PASA (PA Assoc. for Sustainable Ag) conference, the largest of its kind in the nation. We’ve been going to that for 20 years now, and in addition to useful information, also get to see lots of farmer friends there — often the only time we see them — as the rest of the year we’re too busy!

Besides the usual workshops, I also like to take some less focused ones, where I’m just sort of generally interested or think it might be fun to learn something new. The outcome was that we are now planning to start a second small flock of chickens, the new one to be heritage breed birds. As a bonus, check out the beautiful, rainbow-hued eggs from some of these birds! The three breeds we’re looking at are Araucana, Speckled Sussex, and Andalusian. We’ll be ordering day-old chicks soon (25 of them) but there won’t be any eggs until summer. If it goes well, we’ll think about doing more next year.

[PHOTO: Araucana chicken eggs.]

On-the-Web and in the paper
We were interviewed a month or so by one of the Post’s food writers as one of the farms in the country doing CSA differently than most. (We were the local example of “different.”) Online and print editions (last week’s food section) ran slightly different versions of the article. The online one includes a small photo gallery as well. If you’re interested…

online version: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/smarter-food-the-flexible-csa-box/2012/01/11/gIQA6BvRfQ_story_1.html

New produce this week
Preserves. We stopped by the Amish farm of Stephen and Sarah Hostetler on our way to Hershey for the Vegetable Growers Conference last week and stocked up on lots of the wonderful preserves that Sarah and her daughters put up from their garden all summer long.
Apples. We have added apples from Rice Fruit Co. near Gettysburg to supplement the diminished offerings from Tracey’s, our primary tree-crop provider during most of the year.

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Cameo, Empire, Fuji, Granny Smith, Apple-a-Day mix and seconds.
Greens: arugula, cabbage, baby chard, lettuce (3), microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix, spinach, and stir fry mix.
Veggies: beets (red & mixed), carrots (orange & mixed), celeriac, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, potatoes (Gold & Kennebec), radishes (red bunch, Black Spanish, watermelon), rutabaga, scorzonera, shallots, sweet potatoes, turnips (purple-top, turnip soup pack).
Herbs: chives, cilantro, dill, parsley, rosemary, sage, spearmint, thyme.
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, royal oyster, shiitake, white.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves (including some new ones from Sarah’s Kitchen).
Firewood: kindling & logs.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Lolla Bionda lettuce, cress, arugula, mixed beets, carrots, garlic, onions, Kennebec potatoes, turnip soup pack w/recipe, Apple-a-Day mixed apples.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, January 28, 2012

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:33:09 -0500

On-the-farm
We’re managing to keep ourselves busy this winter; never really a problem. Our packing shed lighting, heating and electrical project — meant to take about a month — has now been almost two months, and we’re probably at the halfway point. Sam and I are both a little burnt out on the project, just because of the time spent, but I keep assuring myself that it’s worth it and we’ll really appreciate it when it’s done. The lights already make a big difference, and the heater guy is coming on Monday to hook up the gas. Then we continue with the outlets, switches, work station lamps, etc.

[PHOTO: The new ceiling and lights in the packing shed.]

21st Century technology comes to the farm
We now have DSL (after a 4-year wait) meaning about a 5-fold increase in speed over our old satellite connection. Considering that we run an internet business, that’s a pretty big deal for us (and it’s actually cheaper than the satellite!). As a little bit of icing on the cake, we went to Radio Shack last week and bought a cable to connect our computer to our stereo receiver and now we can stream radio and listen in the living room with good sound. (Also a big deal, as we get virtually no radio over the airwaves here.) COOL! So far we’re digging WXPN out of Philadelphia.

Our new membership limit policy (repeated from a separate email several days ago)

Accounts with no activity or communication in over 12 months will be closed.

We will email you at least 30 days prior to closing your account, so that you can resume ordering, if that is your intention.
We may make exceptions if you communicate with us your situation.
Placing just one order per 12 months will keep your account open.
We give no refunds on remaining balances in closed accounts.

AND NOW FOR WHAT YOU REALLY WANT TO HEAR ABOUT…

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Fuji, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Apple-a-Day mix and seconds.
Greens: arugula, cabbage, chard, lettuce (SALE!), microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix, spinach, and stir fry mix.
Veggies: beets (red & Chioggia), carrots (orange & multi-color), celeriac, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions (red & yellow), parsnips, potatoes (Gold & Kennebec), radishes (Black Spanish & watermelon), rutabaga, shallots, sweet potatoes, turnips (purple-top, sweet white, turnip soup pack).
Herbs: basil, cilantro, dill, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory.
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, shiitake, white.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese (including several new ones: Havarti and Goat Gouda), preserves (including some awesome herb-infused jellies, great on crackers with goat cheese curd!).
Firewood: kindling & logs.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be a half gallon of apple cider, bibb lettuce, small cabbage, carrots, small garlic, onions, sweet potatoes, tomato, basil, and JonaGold and Pink Lady apples.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, January 14, 2012

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:57:00 -0500

On-the-farm
Each January we go over to Harrisburg for one long day at the Farm Show. The Farm Show is our state’s mid-winter equivalent of a state fair, but without the midway. I volunteer at the PA Vegetable Growers food stand and Chris at the PA Sustainable Ag info booth. Thousands of people come to check out the livestock exhibits, rodeo, square dancing, and a thousand other exhibits, including the 1000-lb. butter sculpture. We walked for several hours taking it in, then went to our respective jobs.

I was assigned this year to the strawberry smoothie station. I made about 50 pitchers of smoothies over a 6-hour shift (and drank a few cups myself, just to make sure the mixture was correct). All the proceeds from the food stand go to support ag research at Penn State.

Sam and I continue our work on renovating our packing shed. We have about half of the new metal ceiling up, and most of the ceiling wiring installed. Today we got the new fluorescent lights hooked up. Tomorrow we’re installing a ceiling fan (for next summer) and the following week a propane heater ( for now). Even having half the ceiling covered it is warmer and brighter.

Thank goodness the days are getting longer. On the winter solstice the sun dipped below our ridge to the west at 3:30 in the afternoon. Now we’re enjoying it up to 4:00. Progress!

[Photo: The hens are still laying a decent supply of eggs.]

Policy Reminders

Missed boxes: If you order and for any reason don’t come to collect your order on Saturday, we bring it home, put it in our cooler, and automatically bring it back the next time we come (now two weeks later). Even after 2 weeks, the majority will be usable. About half those that don’t come to get their order the first time don’t come the next time either. If you can’t come, send a friend!
Multiple orders: Often if folks forgot to order something, they think “hey, I’ll place a second order!” Please don’t. It can mess us up because we don’t know there are two, they may not get packed together, or you may only get one of the two when you come to pick up. We’re just not set up to do that. Thanks.

Schedule
Below are the specific dates we will be delivering this winter. You order the Wednesday (or early Thurs. morning) before. If you should forget to place an order, we do bring a small selection of items for sale there at the truck which you can just sign out for to have it come out of your account.

JAN: 14, 28. FEB: 11, 25. MAR: 10, 24. APR: 7, 21

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Fuji, Jonagold, Pink Lady, Stayman, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, small cabbage, baby mixed chard, cress, lettuce (3 kinds), microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix, young spinach, stir fry mix, .
Veggies: beets (red & Chioggia), carrots (orange & multi-color), celeriac, hothouse cucumber, garlic (green & cured bulbs), Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions (red & yellow), parsnips, potatoes (Gold, Kennebec & purple), radishes (watermelon), rutabaga, shallots, sweet potatoes, hothouse tomatoes, turnips (purple-top, sweet white, turnip soup pack), butternut squash.
Herbs: basil, cilantro, dill, parsley, rosemary, savory.
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, shiitake, royal trumpet, white.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves.
Firewood: kindling & logs.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be red leaf lettuce, carrots, garlic, ½ # Jerusalem artichokes, 2# onions, parsnips, Kennebec potatoes, 1/2# of mixed mushrooms, small portion of rosemary, 2 Pink Lady and 2 Fuji apples.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, December 31, 2011

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:53:26 -0500

On-the-farm
We’re back. Our family was all together here for Christmas, and Monday we went to Chris’ family reunion. Lots of family, lots of good fun, lots of food. A good time had by all! Hope you had a great holiday season so far. The New Year is yet to come…

It’s going to be somewhat strange to be delivering your CSA boxes in the city on New Years Eve this year. I don’t think we’ve ever done that before. But it’s been two weeks, and will be two more after, so we figured we’d at least give it a try. You still have to eat, right?

Sam and I tore all the old electrics out of our packing shed, removed all the stuff up in the trusses, emptied out much of the packing shed, and got started putting up the new wiring and ceiling. We’re only about a quarter of the way done. I work slow where electricity is involved. The ceiling so far looks great. I think it’s going to be a big improvement. Alas, it’s time to pack orders again, so we spent the day today putting the shed back the way it needs to be for working with produce. Next Monday we’ll get it all torn up again and continue on our way. Pictures will follow so you can see what we’ve done.

[Photo: The front yard on Christmas morning.]

Schedule
Below are the specific dates we will be delivering this winter. You order the Wednesday (or early Thurs. morning) before.

DEC: 3, 17, 31. JAN: 14, 28. FEB: 11, 25. MAR: 10, 24. APR: 7, 21

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Fuji, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Stayman, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, Asian greens mix, cabbage, lettuce (3 kinds), microgreens mix, mesclun mix, baby spinach, stir fry mix, Swiss chard.
Veggies: beets (red & Chioggia), carrots (orange & multi-color), celeriac, garlic (green & cured bulbs), Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions (red & yellow), parsnips, potatoes (Kennebec & Russian Banana), radishes (watermelon), rutabaga, shallots, sweet potatoes, turnips (purple-top, sweet white, turnip soup pack), winter squash (acorn, butternut & seconds).
Mushrooms: Shiitake only this week. The holiday schedule messed up the delivery schedule and shiitakes are all that are available. Sorry.
Herbs: cilantro, dill, parsley, rosemary, savory.
Other food items: eggs, chicken, butter, cheese, preserves.
Firewood: kindling & logs.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Green leaf lettuce, a stir-fry mix, carrots, onions, Russian Banana fingerling potatoes, a large rutabaga, sweet potatoes (2#), a sprig or two of rosemary, and 2 fuji and 2 pink lady apples.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, December 17, 2011

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:10:00 -0500

On-the-farm
We are starting to get into the every-other-week groove. It has been very welcome to have a week where I could not spend so much time at the computer.

Sam and I have begun work to “winterize” our packing shed. That is the concrete block building that houses our coolers and all our work stations for cleaning, portioning and packing your orders. In the winter it is sometimes well below freezing when we go in there to work (this morning it was about 15 degrees outside, and 22 in the packing shed). We are going to install a metal ceiling, blow in insulation over that, install a propane heater, install better lighting so we can see what we’re doing, and see if that makes working in the winter any better! Hopefully if we are more comfortable and can see what we’re doing, we’ll do a better job with our produce and your orders!

[Photo: Lacinato kale in the greenhouse.]

Schedule
(I’ll probably repeat this through December, as not everyone looks every week.) We have begun our winter schedule early this year, starting in December instead of January. Below are the specific dates we will be delivering this winter. You order the Wednesday before.

DEC: 3, 17, 31. JAN: 14, 28. FEB: 11, 25. MAR: 10, 24. APR: 7, 21

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Fuji, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Pink Lady, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, cabbage, baby rainbow chard, lettuce (3 kinds), Lacinato kale, microgreens mix, pea shoots, mesclun mix, baby spinach, stir fry mix, Swiss chard.
Veggies: beets, carrots (orange & multi-color), celeriac, garlic (green & cured bulbs), Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, parsnips, potatoes (Yukon Gold, Russet, Russian Banana), radishes (Daikon, watermelon, red), rutabaga, shallots, sweet potatoes, turnips (purple-top, sweet white, mixed specialty, turnip soup pack), winter squash (acorn, butternut & seconds).
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, white, Royal Trumpet & Shiitake.
Herbs: cilantro, parsley, rosemary, savory, thyme.
Other food items: eggs, frozen chicken, butter, cheese, preserves.
Firewood: kindling and logs.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Grand Rapids green leaf lettuce, small cabbage, Chioggia Italian beets, carrots, XL hardneck garlic, red onions, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, winter savory, 5 pink lady apples.

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

WINTER SCHEDULE

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:41:34 -0500

Our schedule

General
Weekly (May – Thanksgiving)
Bi-weekly (December – April)

Schedule (specific Winter 2011-2012):
- DEC: 3, 17, 31
- JAN: 14, 28
- FEB: 11, 25
- MAR: 10, 24
- APR: 7, 21

Ordering times: Wednesday 7 AM – Thursday 7 AM

Pickup times: 9 AM – 1 PM Saturday

Farm News: Week of Saturday, December 3, 2011

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:51:00 -0500

On-the-farm
We are slowly getting back to work after the Thanksgiving break. We had a great Thanksgiving with lots of family and good food. I slept in several mornings, and made a point of doing things differently than usual, just so I’d feel like it was a break!

Yesterday — in sixty degree weather — Sam and I mulched all of the garlic for the winter. That helps keep it from frost-heaving during the winter, and will control weeds next season. Many of our greenhouse greens have slowed their production pretty dramatically with the short, gray days and cold nights. This week was the start of deer hunting season in Pennsylvania. They close the schools and many businesses shut down for a few days to a week. I didn’t grow up with hunting and so for me it’s more of a pest control measure during the farming season than a family tradition. I sort of envy those that look forward to a week at the hunting camp in the fall, but then we get to live here in the mountains all year round…

Planning for next year
The seed catalogs have been arriving daily, and many are touting new and improved seeds. Last year we tried a number of new items, with mixed success, but still, I like experimenting. If there is any crop that we don’t have now that you think might grow and be in demand here (in DC), let me know and maybe we’ll give it a try.

[Photo: recently arrived seed catalogs.]

Schedule
As described in an earlier email, we have begun our winter schedule early this year, starting in December instead of January. Below are the specific dates. You may want to expand your order to cover two weeks instead of the usual one. Our greens usually will last about 10 days and the storage crops longer.

Specific dates for this winter’s Saturday deliveries:

DEC: 3, 17, 31
JAN: 14, 28
FEB: 11, 25
MAR: 10, 24
APR: 7, 21

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Fuji, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Stayman, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, cabbage, baby rainbow chard, claytonia, lettuce (3 kinds), kale (Lacinato & young curly), microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix, baby spinach, stir fry mix, Swiss chard.
Veggies: beets, broccoli, carrots (orange & multi-color), celeriac, garlic (green & cured bulbs), Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, parsnips, potatoes (Yukon Gold, Russet, Russian Banana), radishes (black Spanish, Daikon, watermelon), rutabaga, scallions, shallots, sweet potatoes, turnips (purple-top, sweet white, mixed specialty, turnip soup pack), winter squash (acorn, butternut & kabocha).
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, white & Shiitake.
Herbs: basil, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, savory, thyme.
Other food items: eggs, frozen chicken, butter, cheese, preserves.
Firewood: kindling and logs.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Bibb lettuce, broccoli, collard greens, carrots, onions (2#), garlic, russet potatoes (2#), sweet potatoes (2#), hothouse tomato, Apple-a-Day mix.

CSA volunteers last time
Many thanks to Carla, Megan, Jessica & Chris for their help handing out orders at the truck last time. We really appreciate your help!

Winter truck work
During the winter it will be me and — usually — my daughter Anna handing out the boxes. Volunteers will be back in May, and we’ll put up the calendar for sign-ups awhile before then. Thanks to all of you who volunteered in 2011!

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, November 19, 2011

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:54:00 -0500

On-the-farm
Yesterday, Tuesday, was our son Sam’s 20th birthday. Chris got up extra early and made several apple pies for breakfast, then we went out to work. Sam did his morning chores, then planted the next week’s microgreens and pea shoots, then worked on a greenhouse modification project we’ve recently started. Late in the afternoon we headed out to town to grab some dinner and see a movie. You have no idea what a different kind of activity that is for us. The nearest town with a decent restaurant and movie theater is 35 miles away!

[Photo: Red Romaine lettuce in the greenhouse.]

Schedule
We are coming down to the end of our weekly farmers market and weekly CSA deliveries. This Saturday will be my 34th straight Saturday opening the online market, filling orders, driving to DC and then setting up the market stand. We always take Thanksgiving weekend off, and I must confess I’m ready for a break this year more than ever! We’ll be back on Dec. 3 and every other week throughout the rest of the winter. We’ll be posting the dates on the website and regularly in this space.

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Cortland, Golden Delicious, Jonathan, JonaGold, Pink Lady, Stayman, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, cabbage, collard greens, cress, lettuce (2 kinds), curly kale, microgreens mix, mixed cooking greens, mizuna, pea shoots, salad mix, spinach, stir fry mix, tat soi.
Veggies: beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, parsnips, potatoes (Yukon Gold, German Butterball, Russian Banana), radishes (red, black Spanish, Daikon, watermelon), rutabaga, shallots, sweet potatoes, hothouse tomatoes, turnips (purple-top, sweet white, mixed specialty, turnip soup pack), winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, kabocha).
Mushrooms: crimini, white & Shiitake.
Herbs: basil, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, thyme.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves.
Firewood: We have both kindling and logs. The USDA informed me that we are now able to carry PA firewood down into DC without breaking three federal mandates.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be red Romaine lettuce, broccoli, English hothouse cucumber, carrots, onions, parsnips, sweet potatoes (2#), sage, apple sauce, 3 apples (Fuji, Granny, Stayman).

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Mike, Michael and Patrick for their help handing out orders at the truck last week. We really appreciate your help!

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, November 12, 2011

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:56:00 -0500

On-the-farm
There were some seriously cold nights over the last week or so — temperatures on our porch thermometer read 20 or 21 degrees several mornings recently. That pretty much puts the kabosh on most outdoor crops, although a few (kale, radishes, some herbs) will tolerate it. We’ve been busy wrapping up most of our fields and crops outside, getting plastic row covers and irrigation lines and tomato cages out of the fields and back up where they are safe for the winter. For produce we’re now counting now mostly on our high tunnels, greenhouse, storage crops and other crops from our farmer friends.

Baby (meaning tender & new) ginger
You may recall that we wrote about an experiment we were doing in the spring, planting small pieces of ginger that came from a farm in Hawaii, and trying a new method of production so that we could have local ginger for you this winter. Well, after considerable expense and effort, we lost our crop. But a neighbor, Tim, also tried it, and he did get some. I’m afraid it’s awfully expensive, but considering the trouble it was and how little was got, it’s not out of line. We had some in our dinner this evening, and it tastes just like the ginger you buy in the store. It’s just smaller and fresher, and won’t last as long. Pennsylvania-grown ginger — what would William Penn think of that? Hope you like it!

[Photo: The apple table while packing orders last Friday.]

Produce Quality
We think about quality all the time, when we harvest and pack orders. Our goal is to give you our best produce so that when you open your box on Saturday you say “Wow, this is great!” That’s the plan. But sometimes there are confounding factors. What if we’ve already sold something and then the harvest doesn’t look as nice as we would like? Is it better to short you something you may be counting on, or give it to you but not have the quality there? Sometimes, if we know something is not great to begin with, we can advertise it as “seconds” so that you know what to expect. Anyway, my point is that we’re trying to provide you with nice produce. We hope that you will appreciate the freshness and all, and that if there is a small imperfection you don’t have a problem using a paring knife. But — if you ever get something that is really not any good (onions are often hard to judge) — we encourage you to let us know and we’ll give you credit.

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Fuji, Granny Smith, JonaGold, Stayman, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, bok choy, cabbage, Swiss chard, lettuce (2 kinds), Lacinato kale, microgreens mix, salad mix.
Veggies: beets, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, garlic, baby ginger, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, parsnips, peppers , potatoes (Yukon Gold & German Butterball), radishes (red, Daikon, watermelon), rutabaga, shallots, sorrel soup pack, sweet potatoes, hothouse tomatoes, turnips (purple-top, sweet white, mixed specialty), winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, kabocha).
Mushrooms: crimini & Shiitake.
Herbs: basil, cilantro, dill, lovage, marjoram, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, thyme.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves. New or back are several goat cheeses and applesauce.
Firewood: We’ll have kindling for sure… I’m still waiting for a call back from USDA about whether or not we’re clear to bring hardwood down from PA to DC because of the Emerald Ash Borer problem. If you don’t see it in the store, either they’ve said NO or they just haven’t gotten back to me.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Cherokee red leaf lettuce, mixed chard, broccoli, carrots, garlic, Yukon gold potatoes, turnip soup pack (turnips, onion, parsley & a recipe), and pink lady apples.

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Kirstin, Sarah and John for their help handing out orders at the truck last week. We really appreciate your help!

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, November 5, 2011

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:30:00 -0400

Winter’s here!?
We had our first hard frost last Friday morning, the latest that’s happened since we’ve been farming. And the next morning, Saturday, it snowed several inches up here, the earliest that’s happened to us. Anything going on with the weather we should know about?

Well wasn’t last Saturday just a lot of fun? Up here they were calling for 5 to 8 inches of snow starting early Saturday morning, so I left home just after 2 AM to be able to make if over a nearby mountain pass before the snow started. I drove in slush and rain all the way down, arriving at 18th & Columbia about 5:30. I took a short nap, then went to The Diner for breakfast. It was still raining when I came out at 7:00, and I worked in the rain from then until the market closed about 1:00. Sales at market were the smallest in the last 6 months and the smallest October market in years. But with our CSA orders, we actually ended up with a decent bottom line for the day. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Photo: One of our high tunnels — unheated greenhouses — this afternoon. Outdoor production is effectively over here on the farm after several 25 degree nights.]

Garlic trick
I got an email from one of the companies I get seeds from occasionally — Seeds from Italy — and what caught my eye was a link to a YouTube video on how to peel garlic fast. Being a garlic kind of guy, I checked it out, as you may want to do. It’s called “How to peel garlic in less than 10 seconds.” Seems to work. My only caution to you would be: don’t peel up more cloves than you need for the dish you’re making, as they won’t store well already peeled. May be a great idea for a big tomato sauce, but I’m not sure what else. Fun anyway, though!

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Fuji, Golden Delicious, Nittany, Stayman, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, bok choy, cabbage, baby chard, cress, lettuce (4 kinds), red Russian kale, microgreens mix, salad mix.
Veggies: beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, fennel, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, parsnips, peppers (green bell, Jalapeno), potatoes (Yukon Gold, Russian Banana), watermelon radishes, rutabaga, scallions, shallots, sorrel soup pack, sweet potatoes, tomatoes (hothouse, green fryers, romas), turnips (purple-top, sweet white, mixed specialty), winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, kabocha).
Mushrooms: white and yellow oyster.
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, dill, lovage, marjoram, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, sorrel, spearmint, thyme.
Herb sampler pack: done for the season.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Bibb lettuce, pea shoot sample, mixed cooking greens bunch, cabbage, onion, Yukon Gold potatoes, green bell peppers, Daikon radish, Confection kabocha squash, and 3 Granny Smith apples.

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Markus, Lauren, Ryan & Susan for their help handing out orders at the truck last week during what was a rather unpleasant day. We really appreciate your help!

Thanks much to all of you for your support!
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, October 29, 2011

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:44:00 -0400

Hi folks,

It’s been a long season. Many things have not gone according to plan. It was time for a break. But breaks don’t come easily on the farm. So we’re working on devising a new method: the mini-vacation. Sunday morning we do all the chores, I figure out what the farm plan is for the week, we gather eggs about noon, water the greenhouse, and away we go. We’re back by early afternoon Tuesday, just in time to do chores again, fix whatever went wrong in our absence, and build this store again!

West Virginia trip
So our 48-hour spree this week was a dash over the Potomac River and into West Virginia, down to the Capitol, Charleston. Sunday evening we saw a live performance of Mountain Stage, an NPR-sindicated radio show that’s been on for about 20 years. There were five bands that played over the three-hour show, the final one being who we wanted to see the most: Dawes. They’re an LA-based rock band that our son Jack turned us onto a year or so ago and that we like a lot. Good stuff.

The next day we drove over to the New River Gorge, famous for its white water rafting, spectacular views, and the amazing bridge that spans it. We’ve posted a few pictures on our website at starhollowfarm.com, if you’re interested. (Scroll to the bottom.)

[Photo: Chris and I at the Gorge overlook.]

High speed internet… NOT!
Last week I reported that we had finally gotten DSL available here at the farm and had signed up. They sent us the modem and said we could drop our other provider. Turns out the company’s database says we have capability, but when the technician came out he said NO. Not even. And not likely. Damn!

Produce list.

Apples: JonaGold, Nittany, Stayman, York, Apple-a-Day mix).
Greens: arugula, bok choy, cabbage, baby chard, cooking greens mix, lettuce, lacinato kale, microgreens mix, pea shoots, spinach, salad mix.
Veggies: Romano beans, beet roots, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower (several types), celeriac, cucumber (hothouse), garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, parsnips, peppers (green bell, snack, chiles), potatoes (Yukon Gold, purple), radishes (watermelon and bunched), scallions, shallots, sorrel soup pack, sweet potatoes, tomatoes (green fryers, romas, mixed cherry), turnips, winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, kabocha).
Mushrooms: crimini and shiitake.
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, lovage, marjoram, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, savory, sorrel, spearmint, thyme.
Herb sampler pack: savory, spearmint, thyme.
Other food items: eggs, cheese, preserves.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Simpson lettuce, baby spinach, white cauliflower, garlic, green bell pepper, carrots, sweet white turnips, 2 Stayman and 2 Cortland apples.

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Cynthia, Bruce and Sangeeta for their help handing out orders at the truck last week. We really appreciate it!

Thanks much for your help and support!
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

West Virginia mini-vacation A few pictures from our 48-hour...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:22:00 -0400

West Virginia mini-vacation

A few pictures from our 48-hour vacation trip to West Virginia. The New River Gorge is pretty spectacular, and the bridge over it no less so. We also went to the capitol, Charleston, where on Sunday night we went to a live performance of the radio show “Mountain Stage” which featured 5 live bands for $15. That was fun!

Farm News: Week of Saturday, October 22, 2011

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:34:59 -0400

Hi folks,

Once again the week we had a beautiful Monday and Tuesday, (time for us to get some field work done), followed by a planned very rainy Wednesday. This is most significant to me because much of our online work happens Wednesday, and whenever we have a rainy day we tend to lose our satellite internet connection. But maybe that won’t last much longer.

I called our local telephone company — as I have every couple months for the last 3 years — to see whether they were any closer to having DSL in our area. After years of NO answers, today they said YES and I signed up. So maybe by next week it won’t be quite so fretful a situation to have it rain when I need to use the internet to run my business!

Tuesday afternoon we finished our garlic planting, and then we harvested the rest of our sweet potatoes. Last year’s crop was great, so we planted six times as much this year, and took even better care of it. Looks like we didn’t even get half as much as last year! You’d think I had no clue what I was doing out here! (Hmmmm…….)

[Photo: Sweet potato harvest last year; much better than this year.]

Produce list.

Fruit: Bosc pears. Apples (Cameo, Fuji, Jonathan, Stayman, Apple-a-Day mix).
Greens: arugula, cabbage, cooking greens mix, lettuce, lacinato kale, microgreens mix, spinach, salad mix.
Veggies: Cannellini beans, beet roots, carrots, celeriac, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, snow peas (!), peppers (green bell, chiles), new potatoes (Yukon Gold, red, mixed), radishes (watermelon), scallions, shallots, sorrel soup pack, sweet potatoes, tomatoes (standards, green fryers, romas, mixed cherry), turnips (purple & white), winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, kabocha).
Mushrooms: portabella & white.
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, lovage, marjoram, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, savory, sorrel, spearmint, thyme.
Herb sampler pack: parsley, sage, thyme.
Other food items: eggs, cheese, preserves. Back is goat demi-sec and ash logs.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be green oakleaf lettuce, mixed baby greens, a pepper medley (green bell, sweet banana and chile), onion, mixed small new potatoes, sweet potatoes (2#), sage, Nittany apples (3), apple butter.

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Lauren, Jen, Morgan and Troy for their help handing out orders at the truck last week. We really appreciate it!

Thanks much for your help and support!
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, October 15, 2011

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 21:16:00 -0400

Hi folks,

It’s sure been a beautiful week, and we’ve enjoyed every minute of it. The forecast for rain beginning Tuesday night has us frantically trying to get our garlic planted for next year’s crop. The ground has just barely dried out from all the storms of September, and we’re worried that if we get a significant amount now the ground won’t dry out enough again to plant the rest of our crop.

Garlic is unique in its planting cycle. Planting time is October. It gets started before the dead of winter, sets roots and gets a bit of a green top, then hibernates. Once the weather starts warming up in the spring it grows like crazy until June, then starts drying down. Harvest is in July.

[Photo: Sam planting garlic in the front garden Tuesday afternoon.]

Produce list.

Fruit: Bosc pears. Apples (Cameo, Jonathan, Nittany, Stayman, mixed apple pack).
Greens: arugula, cabbage, rainbow chard, cooking greens mix, cress, lettuce, kale, microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix.
Veggies: Lima beans, beet roots, carrots, celeriac, cucumbers (English hothouse), garlic, leeks, onions, peppers (green bell, Paper Lantern, mixed chiles), new potatoes (rose/gold, red, mixed), radishes (watermelon), shallots, sorrel soup pack, sweet potatoes, tomatoes (standards, green fryers, romas, mixed cherry), turnips (purple & white), winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, kabocha).
Mushrooms: Oyster.
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, dill, lovage, marjoram, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, savory, sorrel, spearmint, thyme.
Herb sampler pack: spearmint, savory, thyme.
Other food items: eggs, cheese, preserves. New is crabapple jelly.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Bibb lettuce, orange carrots, medium onion, rose/gold potatoes, butternut and delicata squashes, parsley, bosc pears (2), mixed apples (5).

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Lia, Alison and Erica for their help handing out orders at the truck last week. We really appreciate it!

Volunteer needed!
Once again we are caught short on volunteers. We need someone (one person is enough, but if you have a friend or want to do it with two, that is fine) for this Saturday for the late shift, 11 - 1. If you have not volunteered already this year, please check your calendar and email us if you can fill the slot for us.

Thanks much for your help and support!
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, October 8, 2011

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:13:00 -0400

Hi folks,

I’ll keep this short this week. It looks like this will be the last week for those ‘holdout’ summer items like zucchini, eggplant, beans, probably even tomatoes. We have not had a frost yet (October 1 is our average first frost date) but the cold, gray days have put the kabosh on just about everything that’s heat-loving. Most of our crops now are either cool season crops or from the high tunnels or greenhouse, or stored (potatoes, squash).

The 2011 growing season is one I’ll remember, that’s for sure. Not one of our better years, unless you look at garlic, for which it was our best year ever. And now is planting time for next year’s garlic. We’re a bit worried as the ground is so wet we can’t plant. If it doesn’t dry out within about two weeks we’ll be in trouble. Thank goodness for our high tunnels, where most of our crops are doing alright. They’re just in much smaller quantities than we’d like.

[Photo: Chris’ project for the last week or two — drying herbs from the garden so that we’ll have them to offer you in the depths of winter.]

Produce list.

Fruit: Bosc pears, Apples: (Cameo, Cortland, Gala, Jonathan).
Greens: arugula, cabbage, rainbow chard, cooking greens mix, lettuce, green curly kale, microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix, sunflower shoots.
Veggies: Lima beans, beet roots, carrots, celeriac, cucumbers (English hothouse), eggplant, garlic, leeks,onions, peppers (Jalapeno, Paper Lantern, mixed chiles), new potatoes (Yukon gold, red, mixed, Austrian), radishes (watermelon), rhubarb, scallions, shallots, sorrel soup pack, sweet potatoes, tomatoes (standards, green fryers, mixed cherry), turnips (sweet white), winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, kabocha), zucchini.
Mushrooms: crimini and shiitake.
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, dill, lovage, marjoram, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, savory, sorrel, spearmint, thyme.
Herb sampler pack this week: marjoram, sage, thyme.
Other food items: eggs, cheese, preserves. New are peach jelly and apple butter.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be mixed chard, green beans, garlic, onions, celeriac with tops, mixed carrots, mixed potatoes, sprigs of parsley and spearmint, 2 large Jonagold apples.

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Tara, Stephanie, Katie and Bob for their help handing out orders at the truck last week. We really appreciate it!

Have you volunteered yet?
We filled the calendar for this week — thanks to all of you who responded. There are still openings towards the end of the month and into November. Please check your calendar and see if you can sign up on the calendar there at the truck for one of those Saturdays if you have not done so already this year.

Thanks much for your support!

Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, October 1, 2011

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:30:00 -0400

Hi folks,

It’s Tuesday evening as I write this, three weeks since our big flood. This morning it rained like crazy, and by about 10 AM we’d received two inches of rain on already soggy soil. There was standing water everywhere, and our creek started filling up. Chris tried to go out for her weekly shopping trip, and couldn’t get out in either direction, as the roads were under water. All day the creek rose until 10 minutes before supper I checked and it was about an inch from flooding us in again. We just finished dinner and I went and checked again, and it’s heading down again. Whew. That would have been tough to take.

Sam was out until dark yesterday planting about 2 acres of cover crops on the fields that flooded several weeks ago, and if they had flooded again, after just tilling them, we would have lost lots of topsoil. What fun this fall has been!

Message archives
I realize that not all of you have the time or inclination to read the store messages every week. That’s fine — it’s not a requirement of being part of the CSA. However, it is our primary means of communicating with you. If you choose not to read it, things may change that you’re not aware of. Our store messages are drawn from our “info” website, where they are archived. The “info” website (as opposed to the online store) is starhollowfarm.com.

[Photo: Five-Star lettuce growing in the Martin’s greenhouse.]

Produce list.

Fruit: Bosc pears, Apples: (Gala, Golden Delicious, Honey Crisp, Jonathan).
Greens: arugula, bok choy, baby rainbow chard, cooking greens mix, cress, lettuce, Lacinato kale, microgreens mix, pea shoots, salad mix.
Veggies: beans (green, Lima, edamame, Romano), beet roots, carrots (orange, mixed), cauliflower, celeriac, sweet corn, cucumbers (English hothouse), eggplant (Asian & Italian), garlic, leeks, okra, onions, parsnips, peppers (green, orange snack, Jalapeno, Paper Lantern, mixed chiles), new potatoes (gold, red, purple, mixed, Austrian), radishes (watermelon), rhubarb, scallions, shallots, sorrel soup pack, sweet potatoes, tomatillos, tomatoes (heirlooms, standards, green fryers, 1/2 pt. cherry), turnips (sweet white), winter squash (acorn, butternut, delicata), zucchini.
Mushrooms: crimini and shiitake.
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, lovage, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, savory, sorrel, spearmint, stevia, thyme.
Herb sampler pack this week: lovage, rosemary, spearmint.
Other food items: eggs, cheese, preserves.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Romaine lettuce, a head of cauliflower, a medium green bell pepper, some onions, new gold potatoes, a tomatillo or two, a half pint of cherry tomatoes, some sorrel and a recipe for soup, ½ lb of crimini mushrooms, two bosc pears and two golden delicious apples.

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Alexandra, Kim, Janelle and Megan for their help handing out orders at the truck last week. We really appreciate it!

Have you volunteered yet?
Help is needed at the truck on October 8th — all shifts are open and need to be filled. Please check your calendar and see if you can sign up on the calendar there at the truck this Saturday. Thanks.

Thanks much for your support!

Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, September 24, 2011

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:03:00 -0400

Hi folks,

Hope you’re all having a good week. Fall is almost upon us – officially it starts Friday – but it sure has felt like it’s already here. We had 37 degrees one recent morning. The crops have all crawled nearly to a halt due to the cold weather, even though we haven’t had a freeze and, frankly, we’re just ready for a change of seasons!

Picnic
The CSA picnic in Kalorama Park last week was fun, although the weather didn’t cooperate very well. It was cloudy and drizzled a bit, but not enough to drive us away. Thanks to Carol, Michelle and Dana for organizing it, and thanks to those of you who came out.

Our flood survival plan
We have now had the opportunity to do a more complete assessment of the damage to our crops as a result of the recent flood. (No buildings or structures were damaged.) My best estimate is that we lost $6000-8000 worth of winter squash (100%), $2000-3000 worth of potatoes (50%), and another $500-1000 worth of miscellaneous crops that were in the fields that flooded, making a total of $8500-12000 of lost crops. Those kinds of numbers are very significant for a small farm like ours, representing a sizable percentage of our total production. Also, while we will receive no income from those crops, we incurred all of the expense of their production, from seeding to planting to cultivation to irrigation, making the loss even harder to bear. While we are not in imminent danger of financial ruin – remember we get a significant amount of our produce from other farms and thus can continue to fill your orders – we will definitely feel the effects of that kind of loss. As we still have other crops in our upper fields and high tunnels, and most of what was lost were storage crops, the effects will likely start within a few weeks, once our other crops have dwindled and it becomes “storage crop” season.

At market and afterward last Saturday, many of you seemed quite concerned about us and our sustainability as your CSA farm. During several different discussions a number of you offered possible ways that you, as CSA members, might contribute to get us through this loss. Ideas included setting up a fund for donations, establishing an annual fee that would go to cover such losses (which will inevitably occur again in the future), or even adding a fee to each order to help cover our expenses. All of these ideas have merit, but also have some negatives associated with them.

Chris and I are uncomfortable with the charity option, at least for this type of loss. If our home had been destroyed I’m sure we would think differently. The ideas of charging some regular fees to CSA members would be unfair in that our outdoor market customers would be completely uninvolved, and there would be other unfairnesses within the CSA depending on the type (high volume/low volume, frequent/infrequent orderer) of CSA member you were. Chris and I have come up with another option which we have worked on for several days now.

We feel that if we raise our prices by about 5%, we could then take 5% of our weekly sales and put them in a special account reserved specifically for emergencies such as this one. After the flood losses are covered, we would start building for the next emergency, whether flood, pestilence, medical or whatever, so that we might be better prepared than we are now. We live pretty much hand to mouth in this business (no pun intended) and have never made enough money to save up against such contingencies. But as we get older we realize there is more to economic sustainability than a thriving CSA, and we are no longer comfortable with the risks we took when starting out. In fact, this year we have finally acquired medical insurance coverage (with its associated high monthly premiums).

The advantage of going with pricing to address this issue is that it effects all customers (CSA and market) and effects them proportionally to what they buy, thus seeming more inherently fair in our minds.

While we could have simply added 5% to each of our current prices, I wanted to know what was really going on with our prices (which I often don’t take time to analyze during the growing season). What I found was interesting. Compared to the same week five years ago, half of our prices were higher, while half were the same or lower than five years ago! And over time there were some items that didn’t really follow along with the general rise in prices, whether out of tradition or just my hesitance to raise prices for fear I’ll alienate people and lose customers. So I went over our entire list, looked at every item, and came up with a somewhat revised price list. Most produce is just 5% higher than it had been. In addition, we’re getting more produce from Tuscarora Co-op this week, and it is usually more expensive than other local produce. A few items, like glass jars and cheese, were significantly behind the times in prices as I hadn’t noticed how the prices I pay had gone up. Some of those items took a larger than 5% jump to catch up to where they “should” be.

While we’re sure you aren’t anxious to see your food prices go up, we hear that you like what we do, and if we are to remain a sustainable business we need to remain profitable. I would rather tell you that we are raising prices than that we cannot pay our bills and have to quit farming. Hope you understand and agree! We would be interested in your feedback, but are going ahead with the price adjustments immediately.

[Photo: Flood survivors; paper lantern chiles.]

Produce list.

Fruit: Apples (Fuji, Gala, Honey Crisp, Jonathan).
Greens: arugula, bok choy, baby rainbow chard, cooking greens mix, cress, lettuce, Lacinato kale, microgreens mix, salad mix.
Veggies: beans (green & Romano), beets (bunched & roots), broccoli, carrots, sweet corn, cucumbers (English hothouse), eggplant (Asian & Italian), garlic, onions, peppers (green, Jalapeno, Paper Lantern, mixed chiles), new potatoes, rhubarb, shallots, sorrel soup pack (now classed as a vegetable!), sweet potatoes, tomatillos, tomatoes (heirlooms, standards, green fryers, plum & 1/2 pt. cherry), butternut squash, zucchini.
Mushrooms: No mushrooms until October.
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, lovage, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, savory (summer, winter), sorrel, spearmint, stevia, thyme. Herb
Herb sampler pack this week: parsley, thyme, winter savory.
Other food items: eggs, cheese, preserves. (New are goat demi-sec and ash logs.)

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be green kale, broccoli, 1/2 lb. of green beans, carrots, garlic, onion, a green bell pepper, a pound of smaller new potatoes, a small bunch of dill and 2 Honey Crisp apples.

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Katie, Emily, Eleanor and Rob for their help handing out orders at the truck last week. We really appreciate it!

Thanks much for your support!

Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, September 17, 2011

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 22:59:00 -0400

Picnic
Several of our members in Adams Morgan have planned a picnic for this Saturday. We sent out a separate email, but in case you didn’t see it…

Members Potluck Picnic this Saturday

Want to meet other CSA members? Share recipes and neighborhood news?

When: September 17, 1:30 pm

Where: Kalorama Park (nearest park from the truck in Adams Morgan)

What to bring: A dish or salad to share that contains CSA ingredients

A beverage
A blanket or lawn chair
Recipes (if you wish)

Organizing CSA members Carol, Dana and Michelle will bring plates, cups, utensils, napkins and a few lawn games. See you there! (If it rains we will re-schedule for a later date)

[photo: jalapenos in the front garden this afternoon.]

Missed box policy
We posted this several months ago, but many still seem not to know how it works. If you miss your box pickup on Saturday, we bring it back to the farm, put it in our cooler, and bring it back to DC automatically the following Saturday, unless you tell us not to. You are charged for the box the week you order it, and the charge stands whether you ever come for it or not.

Flooded by Lee
Well, as we indicated might happen last week, we got hit by Tropical Storm Lee (geez, not even a real hurricane). From Sunday night until Tuesday night we received about 9 inches of rain. Last Wednesday morning when we were opening the store for you at 7 AM, the creek was over the road and most of the fields below the house, but not as high as any of our buildings or the high tunnels. (Whew!) We could not get out, and spent the day figuring out how our week’s schedule would need to change. It was pretty crazy. (There are pictures of the flood on our non-store “Tumblr” website, starhollowfarm.com.) The water came up pretty high — though not as high as Hurricane Ivan in 2004 — but was not really a threat to our home or buildings, just our crops.

Crops
Like Ivan, Lee came in the second week of September, our biggest market week of the year and a week or two before we’re ready to harvest our fall storage crops. We grow crops in several different areas: our front garden, the back garden, the herb garden, the greenhouse, the high tunnels (all of which are on “upper” ground), and then down lower in our bottom fields is where we grow our field crops, principally potatoes, winter squash, summer squash, cucumbers and tomatoes (sometimes with some odds and ends thrown in). Most of those crops were under water for 18 - 24 hours, and most of them didn’t do very well. While the water didn’t sweep anything away, it pounded the stems or vines or fruits, and then suffocated the roots, so that the plants all wilted and died within the next few days.

Losses

Winter Squash: we had about half an acre of winter squash planted; 1000 acorn squash, 1000 butternut, 500 red kabocha, 500 gray kabocha, 500 buttercup, and about 200 delicata. It was all about 2 weeks away from being ripe enough to harvest. Unlike tomatoes, winter squash doesn’t ripen off the vine; it needs continued photosynthesis for ripening. Once the plants are dead, that’s it. We might try selling some of the pretty ones as decoratives at the market stand.
Summer squash & cucumbers: these were just about done anyway, the flood just put a definitive end to them about a week early.
Potatoes: this was what hurts the most, as potatoes are our biggest crop, in terms of sales, because they last so long and are eaten by so many people so regularly. We had about 8 varieties planted in 4 patches, a little under an acre. We had hand-harvested from several rows each week for the new potatoes you’ve been getting. But really we hadn’t taken even 10% of the total out there. Most of the plants were still growing, with green tops, which means the skins on the tubers haven’t “set” yet, the real definition of new potatoes. It seems that at least half of the potatoes rotted from being under water by the weekend. So far this week we have dug around by hand and today (Tuesday) with the tractor and found several rows that seem mostly okay, but here and there are rotten potatoes, and so we’re not sure that even the ones we picked up will last til the end of the week. And then there’s the fact that they’re still new potatoes, meaning that they won’t last in storage, so we’ll probably only be able to sell them for 2 or 3 weeks.
Odds and ends: We had our field tomatoes, chile peppers, some bell peppers, and tomatillos down in the bottom fields this year also. We were able to harvest from them on Monday, but the plants were dying (ironically suffocating plants appear to be wilting, as they can’t get any air through their roots, when the reason was too much water) and this is manifest by the fruits getting soft prematurely. So what we harvested as okay Monday may be limp by Saturday when you get your orders.
Celeriac: Our main planting was also down in the bottom fields and has drowned. We have a hundred or so plants in the front garden that are alive, but even plants there seem to be suffering from all the water (9 inches is a lot!)

We marked all of the items picked from out of the flooded fields as “Flood” in the store, so you’ll know they suffered, and maybe will make some allowances if they don’t hold up like you would normally expect.

What it means
I’m pretty devastated by this, but I’m also really tired from the year’s work and half glad it’s come to an early close. The hardest part is that we invested so much time and money to get those crops to within two weeks of being ready, only to lose them. Kind of makes me nauseous to think about. I’m only going into it this far here so that you can get a glimpse of how tenuous farming is! I feel like a big-time gambler that just lost. Does this mean you’ll all go hungry this winter? Doubtful. I have friends that didn’t lose crops to the flood, and so I imagine I’ll get potatoes and winter squash (we’re already getting butternuts from the Showalters) and celeriac from them, as it would just hurt us further if we abstained from doing that. We’re not the only ones that got hurt though. The Macks lost all their canteloupe and most of their broccoli. Other growers lost too. I’ve heard of one nearby farmer that lost 30 acres of tomatoes that were just ready to pick. Ouch. Maybe we were actually lucky!

[Photo: The tomato patch under water last Wednesday. The blue in the background is our irrigation line.]

Produce list. (As so much has changed, we are again getting some of the bagged greenhouse greens from the Martin’s greenhouse.)

Fruit: peaches (possibly the last week), prune plums (the last week) and apples (Gala, Honey Crisp, Jonathan and McIntosh).
Greens: rainbow chard, cress, dandelion, lettuce, microgreens mix, salad mix.
Veggies: beans (green & Lima), carrots, sweet corn (almost over), cucumbers (the last salad/slicers, and English hothouse), eggplant, garlic, okra (almost over also), onions, peppers (green, red, Jalapeno, mixed chiles), new potatoes, shallots (seconds), tomatillos, tomatoes (heirlooms, standards, green fryers, plum & cherry), butternut squash.
Mushrooms: No mushrooms until October.
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, lovage, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, savory (summer, winter), sorrel, spearmint, stevia, thyme. I didn’t have thyme (heh, heh, heh) to figure out the Herb Sampler pack this week… maybe next week. We changed the basic herb portion to a small bunch for half the price of the regular, which we just left parsley as, as it usually sells well in that quantity. Also, we left the small size basil as it had been. We are now limited in basil so there’s no more big bags.
Other food items: eggs (our hens are not able to keep up with demand these days, so we’re also going to get some free-range eggs from some other folks we know), cheese, preserves. Back are sweet garlic / dill pickles made by Mrs. Brechbill with their own ingredients. She also makes the fruit jams and decided it was time to raise the price.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Five-Star lettuce, 2 white corn, Romano beans, red bell peppers, half-pint chile peppers, 2# mixed potatoes, a green and a red tomato, sprig of sage, one white nectarine, 2 peaches, 2 Daybreak Fuji apples.

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Mike, Karen and Steve for their help handing out orders at the truck last week. We really appreciate it!

Thanks much for your support!
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

Scenes from the Star Hollow Farm Aquatic Park last week. The...

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:50:02 -0400

Scenes from the Star Hollow Farm Aquatic Park last week. The water is down now, but the fun isn’t all over yet…. We’re still cleaning up and figuring out what we lost and what we didn’t.

Farm News: Week of Saturday, September 10, 2011

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:20:00 -0400

On-the-farm
We got off nearly Scott-free when Irene skirted our part of Pennsylvania just over a week ago. What a difference a week makes… Sunday evening it started raining just after dusk, and it hasn’t stopped since — 48 hours straight. We’ve received over 6 inches of rain in that time, and our out-buildings and yard have all suffered. The creek is overfull and expected to flood during the night. (It’s Tuesday evening as I write this.) The forecast is for continuous rain for at least the next 24 hours. I’m guessing we’re not going anywhere tomorrow — our farm lane is down by the creek, and there’s no other way out except hiking up over the hill behind us.

We still have lots of crops in the field, and I am unfortunately reminded of a September weekend in 2004 when Hurricane Ivan drenched us and our fields flooded and we lost all of our crops and lots of topsoil. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

[Photo: Cherry tomatoes picked in the high tunnel this afternoon, while the rain came down outside.]

Produce list.

Melons & fruit: cantaloupes, nectarines, peaches, pears, prune plums and new apples (Gala, Ginger Gold, Honey Crisp).
Greens: arugula, rainbow chard, dandelions, lettuce, kale mix.
Veggies: beans (green & Lima), broccoli, carrots, sweet corn, cucumbers (salad/slicers, English hothouse), eggplant, garlic, okra, onions, peppers (green, red, Jalapeno, mixed chiles), new potatoes, shallots, summer squash (yellow, mixed), tomatillos, tomatoes (heirlooms, standards, yellow, green fryers, plum & cherry), butternut squash.
Mushrooms: No more mushrooms until October.
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, lovage, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, savory (summer, winter), sorrel, spearmint, stevia, tarragon, thyme, and the Herb Sampler pack. Many of these are available as “mini-bunches” for half price. Also, Sorrel soup packs, complete with most ingredients and a recipe.
Other food items: eggs, cheese, preserves. (Apple cider will be at the stand if you want any.) Canned peaches are back, made at Tracey’s Orchard where they grow the peaches. Also back is sweet pepper relish made by Mrs. Mack with their own ingredients.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be mixed dandelion greens, sweet corn (2), green beans, cucumber, sweet white onions, ½ pint specialty cherry tomatoes, red tomatoes, butternut squash, a small bunch of cilantro, 2 peaches, and a mix of apples: gala, ginger gold and honey crisp.

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Kate, Andrew, Amelia and Mark for their help handing out orders at the truck last week. We really appreciate it!

Thanks much for your support!
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.