BGF News - May 2017

Blue Gate Farm News – Volume XXXII, Number 5  –  May 2017

Weather notes:

Precipitation to date in the past month: Rain: 6.90”

What’s up on the farm?

May greetings  from the farm! It’s hard to believe we have turned that calendar page already, but I guess I probably say that every month, though especially this time of year. As I write this, I am looking out the office window on a sea of green. The sea image is furthered by the waves of rain that are pouring from the grey sky, leaving the distant, rolling hills looking like tree-covered islands. It’s a good day to be inside, writing a newsletter.

The rain is much on my mind lately (as in, the aggravation of it wakes me up at night). We have been “blessed” with just enough rain in the past month, that the fields just start to dry out enough to work and it rains again. We were able to get in a few rounds of cultivating and tilling in a few plots. Enough that most of the earliest seeds are sown including: kohlrabi, choi, braising greens, spinach, carrots, peas and turnips. We also got a bed of Napa cabbage transplanted and our big achievement of last week was prepping and planting about 3,300 row feet of potatoes. We finished that task about 2 hours before the rain started, and it feels like it has hardly stopped since then. We have taken advantage of the miserable weather to get another round of indoor chores done, like catching up on the weeding in the high tunnels and seeding the last big group of transplants including: okra, cucumbers, summer and winter squashes and melons. Now, in full disclosure, you shouldn’t think that these tasks got done singlehandedly, all of our Farm Crew are “on the ground” (often literally) and worked a big (and soggy) first couple of weeks. And then, last, but not least, there is Jill’s dad, who often takes on the bigger mechanical tasks for us…like doing most of the discing recently. There is no way we could get all this done without our fabulous and hardworking team.

BGF Farm Crew (L to R): Rebekah, Danielle, Hannah, Jen & Tahirih

Now, as soon as the soil dries out again we are ready to wage war on the explosion of weeds, especially chickweed that we are seeing. Then on to a marathon transplanting session of onions, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, chard, calendula, zinnia and anything else we can put in the ground! Last week we had our final VegEmail sale of the season, the annual shearing of the alpacas and the opening of the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market! If you aren’t familiar with the market, it runs the length of Court Avenue in downtown Des Moines from 7am - 12:00, May through October. Stop by and see us in the double blue tents at 2nd & Court.

*Team Blue Gate-Market Opportunity*

Again, this year we are looking for a team of folks who love the market to join Jill in the BGF tent during the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market season. We ask that interested individuals commit to at least 2 market dates over the course of the season and to be there for set-up, selling and tear down (basically 7am-12:30 or so). In appreciation for their time and efforts, volunteers earn a BGF T-shirt and a $30 credit at the booth that day. We had an awesome group of folks do this last year and everyone seemed to enjoy it. If you are interested in joining us this year, you can go to the online calendar (http://signup.com/go/XpWdQM)  and sign up for whenever works with your schedule.

2017 CSA Season

The first delivery of the 2017 season will be Tuesday, June 6^th and membership slots are filling up. The Base CSA Membership is $500 for the 20-week season. We just sent out invoices in the past few days, so if you didn’t receive one, please let us know. Balance payments due on May 15^th.

We will be sending out an orientation letter/email in late May to provide the final details and as a reminder that the deliveries will be starting. Pickup locations include Peace Tree Brewing Company-Des Moines (317 E. Court Ave), The Grand Theater (Knoxville) and at the farm.

We do still have some memberships at all delivery locations available (Des Moines, Knoxville & on-farm); if you know of anyone who might be interested, please share this info with them. You are our best advertising.

“Asparagus for all of us…” A number of members have already claimed their complimentary pound of asparagus. Remember this is included with your CSA membership and can be acquired at any of our VegEmail sales or at farmers market for as long as supplies last. If you haven't gotten yours, this Tues (5/2) at the VegEmail sale or Saturday at the downtown Des Moines Farmers Market would be perfect opportunities. We may be able to send out a bit of asparagus in the first CSA delivery, for those who can’t get to the earlier options, but no promises. It will just depend on the weather and the whim of the asparagus as to when it stops producing.

Finally, and certainly not the least important, we are happy to announce that we have a shiny, new, updated website. Thanks to our dear friend Annie at The Prairie Wordsmith, our whole image has been brushed up, shaken out and transferred over to a new platform. We are thrilled with the new digs and are looking forward to easier, more straightforward utility and cool tools to help us feature all our crazy farming adventures. It will also be the new home of our long-defunct blog, which is about to become the new framework for our newsletters. Look out current technology, here we come! You can check out the new home here: www.bluegatefarmfresh.com.

Is a monthly newsletter not enough for you and you want to read more about our daily adventures or see pictures of the farm?  You can follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm.

That’s about it this month, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know. 

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and Blue, Luci and Indigo)

BGF News - April 2017

Blue Gate Farm News – Volume XXXII, Number 4  –  April 2017

Weather notes:

Precipitation to date in the past month: Rain: 2.75 and counting

Snow: 3.00"

What’s up on the farm?

Happy April from the farm! As ironic as it may seem, April 1st is an extra special day for us at BGF. It is the anniversary of our move in 2005 from big city (Houston) theatre managers to chemical-free vegetable farmers in Iowa. Isn't that the professional track everyone takes? So here we are saying hello to our 13th season. It is crazy to look back at all of the highs, lows and every-days of our lives on the farm. Thanks to all who join us on this madcap adventure!

Speaking of adventures and general craziness, we hardly know what to think of this season so far. It was one of the least snowy winters in years, with the snowfall in Marion County down more than 15" from average. However, as of last month, our soil moisture levels were right about average, due to multiple mid-winter thunderstorms. As of today, the soil moisture levels seem a bit excessive as we've had nearly 1.5" today alone. Luckily we got the all the field composting and the first round of discing done just as the rain/snow mix started last week. So as soon as the ground dries out enough we will be ready for the next round of soil prep and planting. We've got about 300 lbs of potatoes to go in and then the early round of sowing crops like spinach, salad mix, peas, radishes and other cool-loving greens. These crops are already growing in high tunnel #2 for our earliest harvesting, and they will be followed by 1-2 sowings in the field.

We had gotten a little behind in our transplant sowing in the sunroom, but as of last Friday are caught up again for another week or so. In the past month we've completed sowings on the following transplants: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, napa cabbage, kale, chard, head lettuce, eggplant, garden berries, peppers, peas, tomatoes, fennel, basil & other herbs. The earliest transplants (onions, leeks, shallots, broccoli, cabbage, kale & chard have all relocated to high tunnel #1 to make way for more heat-loving plants and to harden off and get ready for planting outside. So the biggest sowing push is done, with just cucumbers, okra, and winter/summer squashes left to come.

High Tunnel #1 is mostly cleared of over-wintered crops and we are renovating the beds for a quick cover crop planting to feed the soil followed by our first plantings of basil, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. The new High Tunnel (#2) continues to house our over-wintered beds of kale, chard and lettuce mix. The remaining beds were recently sown to succession crops of spinach, salad mix, head lettuce, choi, peas and arugula.

Even though it seems early to have some of these crops growing, farmers market starts in just 4 weeks, with the CSA following 4 weeks later. Things change so fast at this time of year, we go from 20° to 70° to snow to lush green grass, seemingly overnight and then often…it snows again. I guess it keeps us from getting bored or complacent. As I write this, the boy alpacas are standing out in pouring rain grazing, because that glorious green grass is just too tasty to wait out the rain in the dry shelter. If nothing else, they are ever willing to embrace the moment.

The bi-weekly VegEmail sales continue to go well. Our storage crops are mostly sold out, but there are plenty of eggs, fresh spring greens and herbs to come, with asparagus likely starting in a couple of weeks. If you aren't receiving emails about these sales, and would like to, please let us know. Big thanks to our hosts for these sales: Peace Tree Brewing Co in Des Moines and the Grand Theater in Knoxville.

We're still hiring! Our farm crew is filling up, but we have one full-time position remaining for the upcoming season. If you know of anyone in the area who might enjoy a summer-worth of suntans, whole body workout and bonus vegetables, send them our way! These are paid positions that start as early as mid-April and possibly go through late December.

2017 CSA Season

2017 CSA slots are also filling up. The Base CSA Membership is $500 for the 20 week season. Deposits ($50) were due at the end of February with balance payments due on May 1^st. We will send out invoices for those amounts in the next week or so. We anticipate the first delivery of the 2017 season to be the first week of June, weather-depending. We do still have some memberships at all delivery locations available (Des Moines, Knoxville & on-farm); if you know of anyone who might be interested, please share this info with them. You are our best advertising.

Is a monthly newsletter not enough for you and you want to read more about our daily adventures or see pictures of the farm?  You can follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm.

That’s about it this month, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know. 

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and Blue, Luci and Indigo)

BGF News - March 2017

Blue Gate Farm News – Volume XXXII, Number 3  –  March 2017

Weather notes:

Precipitation to date in the past month: Rain/Sleet/Hail: 0.25"

Snow: 2.00"

What’s up on the farm?

Happy March from the farm! Boy, this one came in like a lion for sure, within 48 hours we had nearly 70° temperatures, then rain and hail followed by snow and a chilly 14° low. These swings all month have really thrown the plant life into a tizzy. The fruit trees are starting to break bud and some of our winter greens are bolting, which is rather unusual for Feb/early March. We are having a hard time keeping the high tunnels cool enough for these greens. Guess it's time to start sowing for spring crops.

Speaking of sowing crops, the annual "race-to-sow-all-the-things" has begun. So far I've started four kinds of onions, leeks, two varieties of shallots, two types of edible flowers and long season herbs. The big push starts this week with the seeding of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Napa cabbage, chard, kale, head lettuce, eggplant, hot & sweet peppers and snow & snap peas. Whew! Before long the sunroom (our plant nursery) is going to take on Midwestern jungle status. In preparation for all the planting, I had to dig in and finish all our garden maps. They were well underway, but I'm still trying to come to terms with the new gardens that we started adding to the east and the transition has been a lot to wrap my head around. It is a relief to finally get it all down in print, at least for now. Changes/updates are a given.

So let's talk about some of those changes we've already made, in addition to the new gardens. We are growing a few new things this year. We've added a couple varieties of cauliflower to the plan this year. They will take the Romanesco slot which has been a complete failure. We've got a few new lettuce varieties that we are trying , including 3 new head lettuces that we doing an "official" trial on for PFI (Practical Farmers of Iowa). We are hoping to extend our lettuce season farther into the summer with these new varieties. We have a couple of new tomatoes on the list, one new slicer called Pink Berkley Tye Dye that sounds glorious and a couple of new cherry tomatoes. There are also new varieties of spinach, onion, cucumber and pepper that we plan to try. I'm sure more will come up as the season progresses, but that is the bulk of the plan for now.

The seasonal chores continue to roll past and it is always nice to be able to check those off the list. We had successful controlled burns on a couple of our prairie sections a couple of weeks ago and also burned the asparagus patch. This helps control weeds and other invasive species and lets those areas start fresh for the spring. The next big task is to start clearing the spent crops from the high tunnels and renovating those plots for spring seeding. I was able to try out one of our new tools for this task earlier this week. It is a 1950's era mini two-wheel walking tractor called a Panet Jr. Super Tuffy and it is about the cutest little thing out there. We will mainly use it for mechanical cultivation in the high tunnels and its maiden voyage was an entertaining success. I'm looking forward to putting our two larger versions of the little tractor to work out in the fields this season.

The Super Tuffy!

The bi-weekly VegEmail sales continue to be a delightful success. Last week's sales were up 170% over last year's sale from the same period. Our storage crops are mostly out, but there are more fresh greens to come next week and asparagus will likely start in a month or so. If you aren't receiving emails about these sales, and would like to, please let us know. Big thanks to our hosts for these sales: Peace Tree Brewing Co and the Grand Theater.

It hasn't been all work on the farm this month. Last weekend we hosted our annual High Fiber Diet weekend which included 20+ friends coming to work on and share knitting, crocheting, spinning, felting and other fiber-y projects. Oh, and food…lots and lots of food! It's one of our favorite weekends of the year. And there's more fiber fun to follow. We are currently ramping up our yarn and fiber production to stock up for the season as well as our favorite local fiber festival. Heartland Fiberpalooza is Saturday, March18th in Winterset. If you are of the fiber-y persuasion, come and join us. There will be fiber artists and producers from Iowa and across the Midwest. More info available at http://heartlandfiber.net/fiberpalooza/ .

High Fiber Diet 2017

We're hiring! We are starting to advertising for farm crew members for the upcoming season. If you know of anyone in the area who might enjoy a summer-worth of suntans, whole body workout and bonus vegetables, send them our way! These are paid positions that start as early as mid-April and possibly go through late December.

2017 CSA Season

The sign up period for the 2017 CSA season is open. If you are a veteran CSA member and didn't receive a subscription email, please let us know ASAP.  The 2017 Base CSA Membership is $500 for the 20 week season. Deposits ($50) were due at the end of February with balance payments due on May 1^st. We will send out invoices for those amounts mid-April. We anticipate the first delivery of the 2017 season to be the first week of June, weather-depending. We still have memberships at all delivery locations (Des Moines, Knoxville & on-farm) available; if you know of anyone who might be interested, please share this info with them. You are our best advertising.

Is a monthly newsletter not enough for you and you want to read more about our daily adventures or see pictures of the farm?  You can follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm.

That’s about it this month, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know. 

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and Blue, Luci and Indigo)

BGF News - February 2017

Blue Gate Farm News – Volume XXXII, Number 2  –  February 2017

Weather notes:

Precipitation to date in the past month: Rain/Ice: 0.45"

Snow: 2.75"

What’s up on the farm?

Happy February from the farm. It feels a bit like we have taken a southern vacation with all of this recent warmer weather. In a normal winter we would still be frozen up tight, but the frost is already out of the ground this month, and I don't anticipate that we will regain that this season. While it is absolutely delightful conditions to get some early spring chores done, it also contributes to a weekly "mud season" rather than getting the normal month-long version in March. Crazy stuff! Will just have to be patient and see what the spring brings us.

The dogs love this weather as we are outside more so they are not feeling so "neglected." The alpacas pretty much take it all in stride, though they would like the grass to start growing again for better grazing. Percy is disgruntled as he has been placed in 'paca jail (the old, permanently fenced chicken yard) because he was making free-use of the chicken feeders when he visited (multiple times a day). This isn't good for him, the chickens or the feed bill. As soon as we relocate the alpaca pasture, he should be able to move back in with Boris.

The chickens have taken their cue from the increasing daylight and really ramped up the egg-laying. We are currently getting 11-12 doz eggs a day, which makes for a lot of egg washing during mud season. The ladies aren't particularly fond of mud, but they do seem to prefer it to snow. They too are ready for more green things to graze. They seem to have taken on Percy as a role model, as a number of them have located holes in their pasture fence and enjoy taking a walk-about around the farm. Their favorite destination seems to be the upper garden where they have repeatedly scratched the straw mulch off of the garlic plantings. Sigh. I keep telling myself as I fork the mulch back in place that they are eating weed/oat seed that had fallen off the mulch, but it doesn't make me any happier to have to keep replacing it. Every time I think I have all the fence holes patched, they discover a new one. It's a good thing I like chickens!

This past weekend we hosted one of our favorite events of the year, our annual retreat of the Gang of 4 Farms (now 5 farms). We spent a lively weekend of eating, chatting about farming & politics, eating, taking a tour of the local, Amish-owned, organic potting soil company and eating some more. One of the farms even took the time to do our annual Certified Naturally Grown certification inspection before they headed back to their own farm (thanks Rob!). We really appreciate this dedicated time to share ideas, questions, challenges and resources with other like-minded farmers.

The marathon of last month's seed ordering has morphed into boxes and boxes of seeds being delivered. They have all been sorted and stored and are now ready for the next stage…sowing! That begins this coming week, starting with onions, leeks, shallots and edible flowers, followed by long season herbs. So our winter's rest time is done and now its time to get farming again!

Just to allay your fears that your farmers are just lolling about eating bonbons all winter, we are pleased to report that our bi-weekly VegEmail sales have been booming since starting up just after the first of the year. Big high fives to our fabulous customers, who have been placing record-breaking orders for eggs, veg, stewing hens and popcorn. These sales are so critical for helping to pay the feed and seed bills that are coming in this time of year. And even though we have gone through most of our storage crops, the crops in the new high tunnel are coming along to provide fresh greens to get us all through the rest of winter. We plan to continue these sales until the start of the farmers market season at the beginning of May. If you aren't receiving emails about these sales, and would like to, please let us know.

We're hiring! We are starting to advertising for farm crew members for the upcoming season. If you know of anyone in the area who might enjoy a summer-worth of suntans, whole body workout and bonus vegetables, send them our way! These are paid positions that start as early as mid-April and possibly go through late December.

2017 CSA Season

The sign up period for the 2017 CSA season is now open to all. If you are a veteran CSA member and didn't receive a subscription email, please let us know ASAP.  The 2017 Base CSA Membership is $500 for the 20 week season. Deposits ($50) are due at the end of February with balance payments will be due on May 1^st. We will send out invoices for those amounts mid-April. We anticipate the first delivery of the 2017 season to be the first week of June, weather-depending.

Is a monthly newsletter not enough for you and you want to read more about our daily adventures or see pictures of the farm?  You can follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm.

That’s about it this month, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know. 

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and Blue, Luci and Indigo)

BGF News - January 2017

Blue Gate Farm News – Volume XXXII, Number 1  –  January 2017

Weather notes:

Precipitation to date this month: Rain: 0.25"

Snow: 0.25"

What’s up on the farm?

Happy New Year to everyone, just a bit late.  We hope your holidays were happy, merry and bright!.

What an interesting winter we are having so far weather-wise. It isn't very often that we see -18° in December and I don't believe I ever remember Iowa thunderstorms on Christmas day. Crazy weather indeed, but we are now truly tucked into the rhythms of winter and the accompanying chores. The animals aren't particularly thrilled with the coldest weather, but as long as we keep them supplied with feed, shelter and warm water, they are all just fine.

The dogs have been enjoying the winter, especially on those sub-zero nights/days when they get to pretend they are house dogs. They do enjoy playing outside in nearly all weather, except rain, and are thrilled when we have visitors (especially kids) who will romp around the farm with them. They continue to take their farm-dog responsibilities very seriously and always let us know when someone drives up our lane, even if it is just us. Just today they made it abundantly clear that the neighbors had moved cows to the nearer pasture (very important to protect the farm from those neighbor cows that are nearly a 1/4 mile away).

The chickens are amazingly hardy and are willing to venture out into all but the coldest temperatures. In fact a couple of the chickens continue to break out of their pasture daily (no matter the weather) so that they can lay their eggs in the straw-lined doghouse rather than in their very nice (and safer) nest boxes. Egg production with the "new girls" has been steady since they arrived in December. We are planning starting this month via our "VegEmail" list. If you are receiving this newsletter and are local, you are on the list. More details on the upcoming winter sales below. If you are in the area and want to stop by the farm for eggs, call and let us know, we will be happy to sell eggs if we have them available.

The alpacas continue to entertain us through the cold weather. Percy is undeniably the farm clown. He refuses to stay in his assigned pasture, putting himself in and out at will. He seems to prefer to hang out with his buddies the chickens, or occasionally just wander about the farm looking for entertainment. All the livestock enjoyed the extended good grazing during the warm stretches in November and December, but are now resigned to eating hay with some supplemental feed.

The bees are shivering the winter away, literally.  During cold weather a honey bee colony forms a ball or cluster with the queen in the center of the ball.   The worker bees “shiver” their wing muscles to create heat.  A colony with an ample population can maintain a temperature in the center of the cluster in to the 80s! 

One of the biggest changes for us this winter started with our wood-fired boiler springing a leak the day after Christmas. It was a fatal leak in the old cast iron beast, which had served us (more-or-less) faithfully for 10+ years. Luckily it was timed nicely with a weather warm-up and after a bit of head-scratching we decided it was more economical and reliable to switch over to propane for heating the sunroom/plant nursery. A couple days of projecting with my dad and we are happily heating again with MUCH less effort and supervision. While I will miss the winter woodcutting chores a bit (I may have to get a gym membership after all.) I do not miss the 10pm "put on the insulated coveralls over your pajamas and go outside in a snowstorm to load the boiler" aspect of the routine.

The seed catalogs have all arrived and the great seed-ordering marathon is on. While I don't anticipate any revolutionary changes to our growing practices this year, it is always fun to try out a few new varieties. Will see what all the glossy photos in the catalogs can tempt me with. It is time to get the orders going though, we will start sowing seeds in just about a month.

I mentioned our VegEmail list earlier so here are the details. Starting next week we will be doing egg and produce sales every other Thursday in both Des Moines and Knoxville. Early in the week we will send out an email with the current product availability and if there is anything on the list you wish to order, just send us a response requesting your items. We will fill requests in the order in which we receive them. Then you just meet us at the appropriate location the following Thursday (from 5-6pm) and we will have your order all ready to go. Knoxville customers will continue to pick up their orders at the Grand Theater but we have exciting news for our Des Moines folks. We have enjoyed a long relationship with our friends at Peace Tree Brewing Company and with the recent opening of their cool, new DM location in the East Village we are pleased to further it. For the foreseeable future (including CSA deliveries) we will call Peace Tree-East Branch (317 E Court Ave.) our new DM home. We are sorry to bid our friends at Ritual Café farewell (and I'll miss my favorite coffee treat), but the broader schedule and plentiful parking at Peace Tree was just too good to pass up. We look forward to the opportunity to visit with our friends and customers over a nice beverage (they make a tasty root beer too!) while we are there.

We're hiring! We are starting to advertising for farm crew members for the upcoming season. If you know of anyone in the area who might enjoy a summer-worth of suntans, whole body workout and bonus vegetables, send them our way! These are paid positions that start as early as mid-April and possibly go through late December.

2017 CSA Season

So, now that we’ve mentioned the 2017 crops and crew, let’s get to the 2017 Summer CSA.  The sign-up period for the season is open for veteran CSA members. These members have until January 22nd to let us know if they wish to continue to their membership. The following week we will start contacting names from our waiting list to fill in any remaining slots.  If you are a veteran CSA member and didn't receive a subscription email, please let us know ASAP.  The 2017 Base CSA Membership is $500 for the 20 week season. Deposits ($50) are due at the end of February.  Again this year, we are offering an Early Bird discount: any veteran member submitting their full payment by February 5th can subtract $20 from their total, otherwise, balance payments will be due on May 1^st, and we will send out invoices for those amounts mid-April. We anticipate the first delivery of the 2017 season to be the first week of June, weather-depending.

Is a monthly newsletter not enough for you and you want to read more about our daily adventures or see pictures of the farm?  You can follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm.

That’s about it this month, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know. 

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and Blue, Luci and Indigo)