Northfield YMCA kids camp visits Seeds Farm

Alright, I admit this picture is from their visit last year, but we were too busy having fun with the kids to snap any pictures on Wednesday when 50, five through 12 year olds came to the farm. These same girls that were picking colorado potato beetles (and feeding them to the chickens) last year in the picture were here this year as well. This Wednesdays activities included hiking through the green bean forest to harvest beans, going on a farm scavenger hunt to find fun farm items, and learning about garlic harvesting and curing by helping bring in the garlic for the year! On the farm, us farmers deal with vegetables that don't have real vibrant personalities, so it's always fun to bring in fresh energy from KIDS!

Though we're only at Week 7 of 18 CSA weeks, we're more than halfway done in the field. Our season starts in March and goes until October, so June is really our halfway mark.

Now that we've have a few 2015 CSA's under our belt, we're ready for feedback! We will be sending out a short mid-season survey in the next week or two. Please take a moment to complete this survey so we can make sure we are making this the best CSA experience for you!

I want to take a moment with our captive audience to talk about the joys and woes of farming. Here is a picture of our tomato field from a week and a half ago (they're the ones that are on stakes). They look alright, but not great. Fast forward a week and a half, and they look half dead and weak (picture not included).

Tomatoes are a crowd pleaser. Most CSA members put on their pre-season survey that Tomatoes are the crop they look forward to most every season. With that in mind, we planted a ton! Tomatoes for everyone!

Despite putting our best foot forward and caring for these tomatoes as best as we can, we still contracted Early Blight. EB is a fungus that is spread in damp conditions. So while we've been enjoying the free irrigation of the perfectly timed rains, the fungal spores have been equally happy.

What is good for one crop is usually not ideal for another. So it goes. We will take another hit with tomatoes this year (we also had a tomato disease in 2014). But on the other hand, we've never had such beautiful brassicas.

We will still have tomatoes for our CSA members this year. Not as many as we hoped, as the green tomatoes on the vines will likely develop lesions before they are ready to be picked and the plants are too sick to produce more tomatoes other than the ones that have already set. But if you find yourself missing boat loads of tomatoes, just think about the wonderful broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, beets, and summer squash that are flourishing in the same season that caused for the demise of tomatoes!

But don't worry, these are right around the corner. We've been picking off a few, not enough to distribute to the whole CSA, but I"m anticipating by next week or the week after you'll see tomatoes in your share.

Mark your calendars! We will be having our first CSA member potluck AUGUST 21ST!

This is a great time to come down to the farm to check out where your food has been coming from all season! Meet fellow CSA members, eat great food, enjoy the country side, and kick off your weekend at Seeds Farm!