The following is an email asking some good questions about the CSA and my answer.

Hello,

I wanted to find out more about your CSA. How much of it (if any) is organic?

How exactly do you sign up?

On average, per week, how much veggies, etc. do you actually get? (like quart size bag, etc)

Thank you!

My name is John Curtis. I am both the peasant labor and the principal proprietor of Barefoot Gardens.

You ask some very good questions that I realize need to be addressed directly on the web site. The first one I’ll address is the organic issue.

Organic: I have only used organic practices in my gardening. I have never used chemical fertilizers or chemical pesticides. I do not use gmo seed or even seeds (as far as I’m aware) that are owned (and this is getting harder) by companies that develop gmos. I should note too that I grow nearly all of my own plants and use my own homemade, compost-based organic potting mixes. When I do have to buy plants or other supplies I tend to support local businesses whenever I can. At this time, these businesses tend to offer only conventionally grown plants.

I am organic in my practices because I believe that organic is the right way and the best way to grow things, period.

Why not certified organic? I determined some years ago that the official organic label did not make sense for our operation. It was an expense that I couldn’t justify and it was a hassle that I didn’t need. For example: I work with over 300 varieties of plants each season. If I were certified, I would need to document that I had made a search for organic seed sources for every one of those varieties. I have plenty to do without adding that layer of bureaucracy.

Signing Up – I realize that the sign up form that I set up is outdated and I need to work on that. However, someone can sign up by stating their intention to do so and sending in a check.

I should note here that our operation grows principally by word of mouth. This is by design. I want to make sure that it is a good fit for the member and for us. Since I spend time with my members every week for half of the year, I like to be selective. One time I did refund someone their money for the season because I could see that this person was not going to be someone that I would want to deal with all season. A few times I have not offered renewals for similar reasons.

Vegetable amounts - This is a tricky question to answer. The short answer is that it depends entirely on the time of year. During the first week of May, depending on what the weather conditions were in April, there may only be baby greens to cut. At the end of September, when we have both cool season and warm season crops available you have a huge selection of things to harvest.

If you are accustomed to the model most CSAs follow it may be hard to understand our operation. Instead of getting a share of what is harvested each week you are sharing our gardens. It is true that certain crops are limited at certain times, e.g. at the beginning of tomato season, each share may only get one or two tomatoes in a given week. A month later though, I make sneak a box of tomatoes into the back seat of your car hoping that they will find a good home! Overall, my goal as your gardener is to grow about 25% more than you and the other members will need during each given week.

One of the reasons that our operation has evolved into a pick-your-own operation over the years is that we realized that different people want different things. There are families in the CSA that eat salad with their meals twice a day throughout the greens season. When they leave our place each week, they leave with bags stuffed with greens that they’ve cut. I love that! They are taking advantage of the bounty of in-season vegetables that we have available. Other people, of course, just want enough greens to have two or three salads during the week. Some people love the many varieties of hot peppers that we grow. However, 90% of the members of our CSA never use them. Are you a fan of fresh basil? Some people get a handful of fresh basil each week – others harvest enough basil to make and freeze pesto for the entire year. For most things, there is a real abundance at one time or another.

So, I can’t answer your question about average amounts directly because it depends so much on you. You aren’t buying an amount of something when you join our CSA. Instead, you are entering a partnership with me, your gardener, to best provide you with the vegetables, herbs, flowers and berries that you need to satisfy your needs and tastes during the growing season.

I hope this answers your questions. Feel free to contact me if you have any others.

John

Herbs:
Parsley (curled and leaf)
Cilantro
Rosemary
Sage
Basil
Dill
Greek Oregano
Marjoram
French Tarragon
Celery

Flowers (for cutting)

Sunflowers
Zinnias
Rudbeckias
Snapdragons
Daisies
Lisianthus
Agrostemma
Cosmos
Tithsonia
Gomphrena
Many others

Berries – (We are just establishing some of our berry plantings. As a result we will only have limited amounts of berries available in 2010).

Blueberries
Raspberries
Strawberries
Blackberries

Vegetables


Head Lettuces
Mesclun Lettuce
Loose Leaf Lettuces
Asian Greens
Butternut and other Winter Squashes (e.g. Acorn, Potimarron)
Cucumbers
Zucchini and other Summer Squashes
Green Beans
Wax Beans
Asian Beans
Kales
Swiss Chard
Edamame
Spinach
Sweet Potatoes
Potatoes
Broccoli
Sweet Peppers
Eggplants
Tomatoes
Leeks
Scallions
Shallots
Onions
Garlic
Carrots
Beets
Parsnips
Radishes
Snap Peas
Sweet Corn
Melons
Pumpkins
Cabbages
Japanese Turnips
Rutabagas

Hi all,

We finally have the beautiful fall weather we waited all October for. We still have the regular fall lineup of greens. We also have some lovely little radishes that are ready this week.

Don’t forget to get out here before 5:30 (and after 4:00)- or you may find yourself having to pick in the dark.

I have some wonderful perennials (irises, daylilies, chives, columbine) that I would like to find homes for. Let me know if you would like some to transplant on your own place. Late fall is a wonderful time to move perennials.

Many of you are dealing with fall leaves right now. This is a time of resource collection for me – whenever I have to make a trip to town I always try to return with a truck full of leaves.

I use leaves in a number of ways that you might consider for your own gardens/plantings:

1.) Leaves make a wonderful grass suppressing mulch around perennials. I mulch very deeply with leaves in the fall and usually top it with straw so the leaves don’t blow away. A heavy leaf mulch retards weeds and simultaneously feeds the plant through the year.

2.) Being very high in the nutrients that my garden crops need, I will put up to 4 inches of leaves on top of the garden and till them in to prepare the soil for next year’s crops.

3.) I make leaf mold. Leaf mold is another name for composted leaves. To make leaf mold, simply pile all of your leaves in a corner of the yard and (if you’re ambitious) wet them down well. In a year and a half or so – you will have a wonderful, rich, soil-like product that is wonderful for fertilizing plants or making potting mixes.

4.) If I am very busy, I will simply (have Daniel) shred the leaves with the mower. This keeps the leaves from blowing much and fertilizes the lawn and the trees themselves. By late next spring, the earthworms will have pulled the leaf shreds underground.

So, as you look at all of your leaves, think ahead to the beautiful gardens you can create with them in summers yet to come.

Rain, Grain and MesclunFolks,

The rain continues! I will grumble about it being so wet but at least I don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of crop standing in the field. I am afraid that is the situation that many of our corn/soybean farmers find themselves in and it doesn’t look good for them. Of course, it is impossible to drive  humongous machinery on such wet ground but perhaps even more troubling for them is the fact that their crops have not been able to dry out. It is critical that corn and soybeans dry out considerably before they are harvested so that they don’t rot/mold in storage. That drying has not occurred this year and as it gets later in the year it becomes increasingly likely that it won’t before true winter comes. It’s a dramatic situation. Most grain farmers are in a great deal of debt to landlords as well as the fertilizer, pesticide and seed companies. These weather conditions are creating real hardship for all of them and may prove truly catastrophic for many. And more rain is in the forecast………

On a more positive note:

We have some beautiful greens available this week. There are a couple of large patches of lettuce that have finally matured to cutting size. We’ll have some spinach available as well- although not as much as I expected. I have lost two of the spinach beds altogether by allowing them to be over-harvested before they were well established; one more lesson for this year.

Late fall is when the members of the mustard family really excel. These include: the kales, the Asian Greens, radishes, turnips and Brussel Sprouts. Mustards really like the cool weather and the cold seems to bring out the best flavors in them.

In any case, today you will be able to cut a spectacular mix of mesclun-sized salad ingredients as well as radishes, turnips, Swiss Chard, Kale, Leeks, Italian Parsley and celery.

Be warned that we have some very soggy conditions out there today. It will be muddy. I’ll be available this evening to show you around and help you harvest what you are looking for and I’ll be happy to harvest for those who don’t want to brave the elements.

Looking forward to seeing you!

FrostI was active in the garden on Saturday preparing for the freeze. Frosts and even “hard” frosts are to be expected at this time of year. A hard frost knocks out the tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, beans, okra, basil, sweet potatoes and the other summer crops. However, the cool weather crops such as lettuce, spinach, kale, chard and Asian greens usually improve in the cold and are not bothered by frosts. A freeze is another matter altogether, however. When temperatures drop into the mid-20s or below we have a freeze. At these temperatures, even the most cold hardy vegetables begin to show signs of damage.

So, when I checked the National Weather Service web site Saturday morning and saw the forecast for 25 degrees as an overnight low, I groaned out loud. I knew that even our cold hardy crops were in danger and going to need some protection. So, after harvesting and bringing in the winter squashes and pumpkins, I turned my attention to covering all of our cool season crops with row cover.

As I look out my window at the garden this morning, I see that what had been a green and beautiful garden just last Monday is now blackened rotting plant corpses with white shrouds hiding what green remains. Frankly, it seems as if we’ve skipped October and moved right into November.

But, don’t despair yet! We still have some good things for you this evening.

Available Tonight

Liberty Apples – The kids and I harvested these from the big apple tree by the swing set at our Bellingham Road place on Friday afternoon. They are flawed but delicious.

Storage Pears – These are from the 100+ year old trees on my grandparents farm. They will ripen in storage.

Pumpkins – We have a limited number of these available on a first come first serve basis (one per share). The four giant pumpkins are also available (but hard to move!).

Butternut Squashes – As many as you think you can use.

Lincoln Leeks – These are the light green ones. All parts can be used in soup stocks

Sweet Potatoes – These must be dug today!

Asian Greens -

Baby Lettuces -

Radishes -

Swiss Chard and more

This evening we have a couple of groups coming out. There is a student group from Monmouth College that will be out to look at the place and learn about CSAs in general.

Macomb’s Food Initiative Group will be out to meet at 6:30. Among other topics they will be discussing the porential formation of a coop store in downtown Macomb that would carry local and organic foods. We welcome your participation in that meeting.

Don’t forget that CSA time is between 5:00 p.m. and dark (6:40 ish). See you this evening and dress warmly!

Now that we are moving into June and I am done teaching, I’ll be available to help people on Thursday mornings (7:30 to 10:00 a.m.) as well as Monday evenings. We would like a few regulars on Thursdays to help balance out the harvest of certain crops (zucchini, cukes, snap peas etc.). We hope that this schedule will help accommodate those of you who sometimes have conflicts on Mondays.

Other news:

• As I write this, Allenhouse Plumbing is putting the finishing touches on a new water line to the garden. This brings me some peace of mind as the weather starts to get hot and the garden begins to need more water.

• I’ve finally caught up with my planting schedule. However, most of our crops are going to be later than usual. Warm season crops such as tomatoes, beans, zucs and cukes are likely to be three or four weeks yet before we can begin to harvest them and I just planted the last of the potato crop (extremely late).

• Harvestables next week include: Head lettuce, mesclun lettuce, radishes, tiny salad turnips, Swiss Chard, Red Russian Kale, Sugar Snap Peas (just beginning), parsley, cilantro, spinach, chives and probably a couple of other things that I’m forgetting.

• These rains the past couple of days were welcome. These extended cool days of spring help our spring crops (lettuce, spinach etc.) last but are delaying the development of the warmer season crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers and green beans.

• If you eat microwave popcorn I urge you to stop or at least stop feeding it to your children. I heard a truly disturbing account on NPR about the chemicals used to keep the popcorn bags from absorbing the oil and the harmful effects of these chemicals (especially when super heated). I’d be glad to give you a demo on how to make popcorn the old fashioned way if you’ve forgotten or don’t know how.

• Dan Murphy has offered to give a chef’s demonstration at our place this coming Monday the 8th at 7:00 at our place. He is going to show us how to make some vinaigrettes and some different ways that we can use the spring greens.

• We are hosting our annual Summer Solstice gathering at our place on Saturday, June 20th. Please save the date! We’ll have more details coming out soon.

Rain and cold and more rain and cold!  We are experiencing what is known as a late spring.  As a result, our planting and eventual harvest dates get pushed back and many of the seeds that have been sown will germinate late or not at all.  This isn’t unusual.  Some of you may recall the spring two years ago when we had low temperatures in the teens this time of year.  That year it was especially disastrous because it followed a warm spell that caused most of our fruiting trees to blossom. Fortunately, seeds are relatively cheap.  I will probably just end up planting right on top of the ones I planted in March.

Other news:

•    I have an entire fencing system coming in the next day or two.  I’m looking forward to having a deer free zone to plant into.

•    Karen and I ended our negotiations with the county on creating enough parking space for Monday nights.  We had originally hoped to create parking along the road but that idea wasn’t popular with the county engineer that we talked to and we had some safety concerns.  On March 31st,  the county put in an entrance so that people can park on the grassy hill just east of our place.

•    We had just enough dry weather before the rains to enable me to plant a first round of spring crops in late March.  However, given the cool, wet weather we may have to push back our opening day to May 11th or even May 18th.

•    I can use some extra hands on some of the weekends coming up.  If you might have a Saturday afternoon free and don’t mind some (wo)manual labor, please let me know and I’ll add you to the small but growing list of possible weekend garden helpers. Vajo came out last Saturday and helped me dig, clean, move and organize some of the thousands of bricks we have where gardens need to go.

•    Ana is selling tomatoes again this year.  Send her an email to anacurtis@macomb.com if you would like to order from her this year.  She will be growing some of the favorites from years past plus some new promising varieties.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 at 7:49 am and is filed under

Karen and I hope you are all surviving these last winter days. Spring must be just around the corner though, the first robins are back and feeding on hackberries outside of our window as I write this.

After much back and forth, Karen and I have decided that we are ready to try a much simplified version of the CSA this year for a limited number of people. The truth is that we can't bear the thought of not seeing you all on a regular basis during the summer. Another truth is that I need some seed money (literally) to get things in order to run a more full-blown CSA here in 2010.

Our thinking right now is that we will have pickup Monday evenings and/or Thursday mornings beginning at the end of April and running into the fall. The location will be our new place (3201 West Adams) and will run like past season extensions in that members will do their own harvesting. Likewise, there will be no prepared baskets or newsletters but we will be on hand to assist and visit with you. As in years past, we invite you to stay a while, roam the gardens, and socialize. The cost will be $300 for the entire season (approximately 26 weeks).

I want to emphasize the word ?simplified?. I am planning to vastly reduce the number of crop varieties and eliminate planting some crops altogether (see below). We have a mountain of challenges to overcome as we figure out new soils, put in new water lines, and learn how to deal with marauding deer herds. We also plan to travel and be gone during parts of the summer. In short, we might be a bad risk this year (but at least we’ll have wine)!

You might also consider joining Good Hope Gardens (309) 456-3884 this summer. Many of you know Grover and Mary Jo Decounter (the owners/growers) from farmer?s market. Good Hope Gardens is just the kind of extended family operation that we need more of in this region and Grover and Mary Jo are knowledgeable, ecological and proven growers and they deliver to your door! I have just spoken with Mary Jo and know that they still have space available for new members this year. Their deadline for signup is March 1st.

In any case, we have a lot of details to work out. If you think you might be interested in joining us for this experimental growing season (or have follow-up questions), please let us know (barefootgardens2003@yahoo.com).

CROP LIST

The following crops are those that I should be able to produce in quantities similar to years past:

head lettuces
mesclun lettuce
loose leaf lettuces
asian greens
basil
cilantro
butternut squashes
cucumbers
zucchini
green beans
kales
swiss chard
edamame
spinach
zinnias

I will attempt to grow/provide the following crops but the quantities are likely to be smaller than in years past:

sweet potatoes
potatoes
broccoli
sweet peppers
eggplants
tomatoes
leeks
scallions
shallots
onions
garlic
carrots
beets
parsnips
radishes
snap peas

Because of time and (many) other constraints this year I will notbe able to grow/supply the following crops for the CSA:

sweet corn
winter squashes (with the exception of butternut squash)
melons
pumpkins
cabbages
strawberries
raspberries
blackberries
apples
fava beans
asparagus
all flowers for cutting except zinnias and (possibly) sunflowers
all herbs except cilantro and basil

Hi all,

I am very glad to have the opportunity to grow more skills this year in planning, planting, and growing food at Barefoot Gardens! I hope to post pictures and notes here along the way so you can see the progress and learn about things too. With this note are two pictures showing some seedlings in our “greenhouse”. As you may know, John uses the “soil block” method, which Elliot Coleman advocates. It is a pretty ingenious way of using the wonderful properties of soil (sand, peat, compost, garden soil, and some fertility amendments) to make “plugs” without the plastic. It also benefits the seedlings by “air pruning”… i.e. when a root hits the “air wall” it stops growing and more root branching occurs. This creates a very healthy transplant so that the plants grow well, once transplanted, with less “shock” and delay. I am experimenting with some plug trays as well, that also try to prevent transplants from becoming “root bound” by having “grooves” or air strips down the sides of the plugs and open-holed bottoms. It seems very appropriate to at least give the “Groove Tubes” a try….being a Gruver. 

So… in the pictures you’ll see some onions, broccoli, cabbage, and lettuce. We have straw bales in the greenhouse because this greenhouse was actually intended for retail… not production. Thus, the bales help keep things warmer at night. We also made a heating tray with plywood, sand, and a heating cable. This enables us to keep at least some transplants at ~60+ degrees. Plant growth is impacted more by soil temperature than air temperature. Some plants are particularly sensitive to cold soils… like tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers.

Stay tuned..

Lisa

Greetings,

We have been slow to come out of our off-season hibernation around here, but are now ready to start thinking about the upcoming growing season. If you are interested in signing up for 2008, please see the membership page. If you scroll down to the bottom of the (membership) page, you will find the agreement form. There will be some vacancies to fill this year and we’d like to fill them as early as possible. Please pass our information on to anybody you think would be interested.

The biggest change for 2008 is the fact that Lisa Gruver will be taking charge of many of the larger scale plantings for baskets. Many of you will know Lisa from her many good works in the Food Initiatives Group (FIG) that began last year. Lisa has training in soil science, is an enthusiastic supporter of all forms of soil life (including farmers), and has experience working on several small-scale, diversified farms. We feel very fortunate to have her help this year!

Please contact us if you have any questions about this season. We look forward to hearing from you!