Tonight I drove over to Columbia to be on KOPN community radio stations "Farm & Fiddle" program. They were talking about CSA's. There were 3 other CSA's represented, Pierpont Farm, Happy Hollow Farm & Danjo Farm & then us. We got to tell about our operations and what we grew and all that good stuff! Was fun and interesting, and hopefully we will all get some new customers from it that want to try out the idea of getting a box of locally grown produce once a week. What's nice about CSA's is that they are all a little bit different and they are growing in popularity. You don't have to stand in lines to get those first strawberries, or tomatoes, or peaches, etc. You don't have to worry about getting to market right at starting time to be able to get those most sought after items when they first start appearing at market. (Unless your farmer has a crop failure or something, or doesn't grow that particular item.) You will be able to pick up your box of produce and get a little bit of everything that's in season that week!

This morning I dug up chocolate mint and peppermint growing in our garden and potted it to sell at market. Then we put row cover over the kohlrabi and broccoli plants in the front garden as something has been eating on them!!!!! Probably that "pesky" little bunny rabbit that I saw last week in the front yard! I saw 3 out back by the hoop houses this morning, but the cabbage, broccoli & radicchio out there are fine. They are probably just helping themselves to all the lettuce in the hoop houses! The strawberries are really looking good, they are really loaded! Just hope that when they ripen up it's a lot drier so they don't mold and rot! There are lots of little apricots on the apricot tree...maybe this will be the year to finally have apricots?!!! Oh the joys of farming!!

Did you know that the U.S. consumes more that 400 million pounds of radishes a year. The radish root is 94% water with a a small amount of the minerals potassium, phosphorous, magnesium & iron. The radish greens are an excellent source of vitamins A, C, & B's, they are also a beneficial blood cleanser & digestive aid!

Most people eat them raw, but did you know you can cook them, too?! Cooking tones down the "bite" of a pungent radish. You can steam them 8-12 minutes until tender but not mushy. Roll in butter & add a little salt & pepper. You can use them in soups or stews like turnips, or you can add them to stir-fries. Have you ever had a radish sandwich? Butter French or Sourdough bread & layer with thin slices of radish & sprinkle with salt. You can add raw spinach & cheese if you like, also!

Here are some more radish ideas: stir-fry sliced radishes with fresh pea shoots, garlic & ginger. Add chopped radish greens to stir-fries. Saute quartered radishes with orange zest & minced ginger root. Use sliced daikon radishes as "crackers" & top them with herbed cream cheese & smoked fish. Add chopped radishes to potato salad for a peppery crunch. Add thin sliced radishes to a ham sandwich!

Who knew you could do so much more with radishes then just putting them in a salad! Check out the recipe page and I'll post a couple more radish recipes!

We got the cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi & radicchio transplanted outside, now to keep the rabbits and deer away! Greg sprayed with deer repellent, but now that it's rained he'll have to get after it again real quick so they don't find it! I had volunteer cilantro coming up in the garden, so I dug a bunch of it up and transplanted it in between the kohlrabi. I still have 2 trays of plants in the green house that need to be transplanted out. I got some more rosemary starts that I had rooted potted up, need to get the extra basil plants that I want to sell potted up, too!

I got a package of bees last Saturday and got them put out in their new hive. I also put on extra supers on the other 2 hives that made it through the winter, so maybe I'll get some comb honey this fall!

Greg's big Ford 8000 tractor had to go into the shop this week, but they were very quick and got it back to us that same day! Never a good thing to have the tractor in the shop this time of year!

I made more jam on Wed. I made more Goumi berry and some blueberry. I managed to steam burn two fingers on my left hand, so they are blistered up pretty good! Makes doing the dishes no fun!!!!

We got tomatoes planted in our big hoop house this morning!!! Yeah!!! Now to keep them watered and remember to close the sides up in the evenings if it's too cool, and then remember to open them back up in the morning so they don't get cooked!!!! We planted more greens, radishes, peas & turnips outside in the front garden, but I've seen a rabbit in the front yard 3 days in a row now! He needs to go! Hopefully he'll not be careful when he's crossing the road...

Megan came home this weekend and her boyfriend came, too. So they worked on picking up the yard of sticks and getting my flower beds cleaned out. Then they helped us get the hoop house ready to plant tomatoes by helping us lay drip tape and plastic mulch!! Megan is mowing the yard as I type! She also got the windows taken out of the chicken house and opened up the top window in the loft so they can now get fresh air circulating through!

We've been having good market days at the Columbia Farmers' Market. I need to bag up more dried apples and make some more jams & jellies. This last Sat. we sold 33 jars of jam! The only thing we are not selling much of is eggs!!!!!! And I really need to move some eggs. Guess I will take another load to Serve tomorrow! I have no refrigerator space left for them. We are getting about 17 dozen a day! I also need egg cartons, so if you have any or know of anyone with some, please let me know!!!!!

Speaking of eggs I'm going to put a couple of egg recipes on the recipe page, so take a look! According to the Spring issue of taste of home's healthy cooking magazine eggs are high in choline, folate, iron & zinc, & they're known to help muscle strength, brain function & even eye health-all for about 70 calories each. The American Heart Association suggests those with heart disease limit egg yolks to 2 per week.

Last night we finished planting the potatoes and onions!!!!!!! We planted Cobbler, Norvalley, Red Lasoda, Kennebec, Red Pontiac, Yukon Gold and Blue potatoes! We had 50 lbs. of seed potatoes for each variety except the blue which we did 25 lbs.! We planted a case of candy onions, they are the very sweet variety, and then 32 lbs of each yellow and white onion bulbs! My knees really hurt! The strawberries, and apples are blooming, the peaches are done blooming, the grass needs mowing...boy when Spring hits it's all out go!!!!!!!!!

We are still taking CSA memberships. It is slowly trickling in, but that is fine, we are still a few weeks away from delivery start up!

I stay busy keeping the hoop houses and green houses watered, making sure they are opened up during the day and closed down at night, don't want them getting too hot during the day or too cool at night! Always lots to remember to do after not having done it all winter, I'm good at forgetting things!

Well more of those grafted tomato plants made it than we thought were going too! We've got tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, fennel, cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi, cardoon, kale sprouting in the green houses. Lettuces and radishes, peas and arugala are all sprouting in the hoop houses. We've got 750 lbs. of seed potatoes cut up and ready to plant. We've got onion beds made, just waiting on it to dry up so we can get outside! The peach trees are blooming and the strawberries are starting, too, but it's supposed to get cold a couple of nights this week, so that should be a fun time!! The barn swallows came back yesterday, that is when I'm officially ready to say Spring has arrived!!!!! The Red Bud trees are going to town and looking beautiful, and now the grass needs mowing!!!! The miracle of Spring! The other miracle is that I haven't killed or flooded anything in the hoop houses or green houses!!! (Just give me a little more time!)
The CSA memberships are slowly trickling in so if you are still thinking about it there is still room to sign on! We have not started delivery on them yet, and not yet sure when that will be but we will still deliver for 25 weeks whenever we do get started!