2012 CSA at Green Gardens

The 2012 CSA is full.
Click here to add your name to the 2013 CSA Waiting List.

Green Gardens' 100-member CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program will run every week from June 6-October 27 in 2012 for the regular season CSA (21 weeks) or NEW this year: an 8 week Summer CSA Share from July 25-September 12 and a 26-week Extended Season share (five additional weeks until end of November). CSA members will receive a weekly box of vegetables and herbs from the farm. Here are the details...

What's in a Box?

8-12 seasonal vegetables (and sometimes herbs) each week (photos of spring, summer, and fall boxes below). Click here for additional photos of boxes. Weekly recipes are included.

Length of Season?

Extended Season Share: 26 weeks (SOLD OUT!) June 6 - November 28 (Farm pick-up only last 5 weeks).

Regular Season Share: 21 weeks (SOLD OUT!) June 6 - October 24

Summer Season Share: 8 weeks (SOLD OUT!) July 25 - September 12 (Farm pick-up ONLY)

Pick-Up Days and Times

WED: (Click here to see a map of approximate BC pick-up locations)

• Farm -  3:15-8:00 PM
• Wabash - 4:00-7:00 PM
• Edgebrook - 4:00-7:00 PM
• Lynwood - 4:00-7:00 PM
• West Columbia - 4:00-6:30 PM
• Council Crest - 4:00-7:00 PM
  

FRI: Farm - 4:00-7:00 PM

SAT: Bank Street Farmers Market in Kzoo at the farm's stand (7:30-12:30 PM). Only the 21-week share is available in Kzoo.

Cost?

• Extended Season (26 weeks): $570 (SOLD OUT)
  
• Regular Season (21 weeks): $460 (SOLD OUT)
  
• Summer Season (8 weeks): $200 (SOLD OUT)
  

Free-Range Egg Add-On

• Ten dozen free-range eggs can be added on to your share for $40. These eggs are distributed every other week for 20 weeks, rich in beta-carotene and folic acid, and are raised on our farm fields. The hens are moved frequently to new pasture and are fed organic feed.

• Available to pick-up at farm and Bank Street Market in Kalamazoo ONLY
  

When to Pay? 

Fifty percent of your membership total is due by March 1, 2012. Members will use the online sign-up process to pay via Paypal or pay by check.

We encourage all members to pay in full if they are financially capable. This allows the farm to be adequately capitalized in the spring when we spend most of our money on supplies, seeds, infrastructure, irrigation, equipment, fencing, etc.

Payment can be made via PayPal (credit card) or check. Members who use PayPal will pay slightly more ($10) to cover the transaction cost for the farm. Two payments are accepted with payment via Paypal or check, but 50% of payment is due by March 1, 2012. The other half must be paid by May 1, 2012. Please mail in both checks at the same time if you wish to pay in two payments (post-date each check for March 1 and May 1, 2012)

When to Sign-Up?

The sign-up for the 2012 CSA is closed. Click here to add your name to the 2013 CSA Waiting List. We will contact you after January 1, 2013 to sign-up for the 2013 CSA.

Each weekly box is likely enough to feed...

1. A family of four light vegetable eaters for one week

2. A couple who are heavy vegetable eaters for one week

3. One vegetable-eating machine!

With farming, there are simply no guarantees when it comes to having crops. Numerous things can go wrong. Excess rain, early and late frosts, pests and diseases, and lack of time can all hamper crop production. Fortunately, most things go right most of the time. Sharing the risks and reaping the benefits of the harvest is an integral component of the CSA concept. CSA members will be updated with crop-growing information, farm gatherings, and recipes.

Is the Produce Organic?

The farm follows the standards as layed out in the National Organic Program for organic growers. However, the farm is not Certified Organic. Instead, we opted to be Certified Naturally Grown. We use composted dairy manure for fertilizer, organically-approved pesticides and fungicides only, cover cropping, crop rotations, and other techniques to reduce our footprint on the land and grow great produce. For more information on CNG and the farm's growing practices, click here.

Can I Share a Box?

Sharing a box in perfectly acceptable. It is fine for family/friends to either rotate weeks or share the box's contents, however, it is your responsibility to find someone to share with.

What If I Can't Pick Up My Box?

If you nor anyone you know can pick up a box for you at the drop site, there are several options. We can hold your box in the farm's cooler. You can also donate the box to a local non-profit/food bank in Battle Creek. Or, you can can tell us that you simply don't want us to prepare a box for you for a certain week. In that case, the produce would likely be sold at the Farmers' Market instead. No money is returned for boxes that are not used during the course of the season.

Other CSA Tidbits:

•               Watch a movie about CSA farms in Michigan from our favorite Michigan musical artists Seth Bernard and May Erlewine!

•               2011 end-of-season (Weeks 12-21) Survey Results (pdf)

Thank you for your interest in the Green Gardens CSA. Our shares for 2012 are sold out for the season. Click here to be placed on the 2013 waiting list. We will contact you after January 1, 2013 to reserve your spot for the 2013 season.

Just because you missed the 2012 CSA does not mean you missed your chance to purchase Green Gardens produce. Check out the following places to enjoy local, seasonal, fresh produce...

-Order via the Online Farm Stand Sunday and Monday through 7:30AM and pick-up produce at the farm Monday from 3-7PM. We offer a la carte choices and CSA sampler boxes [June-October] that are ready to go when you come pick them up!
-Battle Creek Farmers' Market on Wednesdays from 9-12:30 June-September at the corner of Jackson and McCamley across from Kellogg Headquarters in Downtown Battle Creek
-Kalamazoo Farmer's Market on Saturdays from 7:30-12:30 May-November at 1200 Bank St

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

This is just a quick and friendly reminder that the online farm stand is open until 7:30 AM tomorrow (MON) morning. Pick-up at the farm from 3-7 PM Monday evening.

This week we've got greens galore: chard, kale, japanese spinach, spinach, salad mix as well as eggs, pistous, and ground beef from Two Thumbs Ranch.

May you have a wonderful and peaceful rest of your weekend!

Trent & Ruthie

We hope you are all having a restful weekend and enjoying this beautiful Sunday.

We had a great opening market day yesterday in Kalamazoo at Bank Street! Thanks to all those who attended. It was nice to see all the familiar faces. Spring salad mix and spinach were both big hits.

This year we also plan on attending the Battle Creek Farmers Market on WED from 9-1 PM in Downtown Battle Creek (across from Kellogg Headquarters). We hope to start selling at the WED BC Market by June. There is also the possibility that we will sell at the SAT BC Market later in June/July when the full bounty of the season kicks in. We'll keep you updated.

The online farm stand is now open (until 7:30 AM Monday)! Pick-up at the farm (directions) from 3-7 PM on Monday evening. Selection is limited, more crops will become available in the weeks ahead. We have salad, spinach, kale, Japanese spinach, and some other goodies to delight your tastebuds. We're also going to be offering eggs from Two Thumbs Ranch until our new batch of girls begin laying (by late June) and other authentically-produced goods from local producers we know and trust. Our goal is to make it more convenient and easy for you to eat more local food through the online farm stand. If you'd like to be placed on the online farm stand e-mail list, please let us know via e-mail.

In other farm news, we continue to plant more and more (and are starting to weed more and more, too!). All tunnel crops look beautiful, including the tomatoes in the new Nifty Hoop. We are on track to have some great tomatoes, eggplant, peppers by mid-late June. Spring crops are also progressing. We are especially excited about the first batch of spring carrots which we should start to harvest in 2-3 weeks.

We are building another large high tunnel (30x96 ft) on the farm from Nifty Hoops on Saturday, May 19. Please let us know if you might be interested in helping with the build. We would love to have extra hands. The last one was built in seven hours...can you help us beat that record? Contact Trent at trent@greengardensfarm.com if interested in this exciting opportunity.

May you be in good health.

Trent & Ruthie

Harvesting salad greens on Friday morning:

Find the farm on Facebook!

Green Gardens will be selling produce at the Battle Creek Downtown Farmers' Market in 2012.

When? Wednesdays in June, July, August and September. Market hours are from 9 AM-1 PM.

Where? The market is located at the corner of Jackson and McCamley across from Kellogg Headquarters in Downtown Battle Creek.

We trust that you've had an enjoyable weekend thus far. Looks like warmer spring days ahead!

The time has finally arrived when we can announce that we opened the Online Farm Stand here at Green Gardens for the 2012 season! This week's offerings include salad mix, Japanese spinach [very similar to bok choy], curly kale, and basil, cilantro, and dill pistous [pestos without cheese and nuts] from our friends at DirtSong. We do have limited quantities of the produce at this point, but greater amounts and a wider variety of produce will become available in the coming weeks.

Ordering continues until 7AM MONDAY. Pick-up is still on Monday from 3-7PM here at the farm.

You have two payments options:
-Pay with cash or check when you pick-up Monday
OR
-Pay via PayPal wehen you check-out

Do let us know [trent@greengardensfarm.com] if you have any problems with the ordering process.

We're excited to get the season rolling, and hope you are too!

Best,
Trent & Ruthie

Green Gardens is now Certified Naturally Grown. This means that we follow the same National Organic Program (NOP) standards that Certified Organic producers do. The farm decided not to become certified organic for three main reasons: cost, paperwork, our close relationship to our customers.

Certified Naturally Grown is a grassroots effort by over 750 farmers and ranchers across the country to provide an alternative to USDA Organic that’s tailored for small-scale, direct-market producers. The certification program is available only to farmers and ranchers that support local markets and sell directly to their customers, and therefore don’t need to buy into the expense, paperwork, or more agribusiness/wholesale focus of Organic.
        

Certified Naturally Grown uses the publicly available USDA National Organic Program Standards as the basis of our growing practices, however the program is NOT affiliated in any way with the USDA National Organic Program, and is not administered or overseen by the USDA or any other government agency. 
 
Certified Naturally Grown uses an application process, inspections, and unlike the USDA Organic program, makes use of random pesticide residue testing to help ensure consumer confidence.  
   

Farmers commit to the following practices:

• Absolutely no use of synthetic chemical insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, or fertilizers on our crops

• Minimal and careful use of even Organically approved soil amendments and sprays

• Care for our soil, water and air quality with crop rotations, cover crops, protective buffer strips and ecologically sustainable farming practices

• No use of chemically treated or Genetically Modified seeds

• Humane treatment of livestock including the use of no hormones or antibiotic-laced feed and consistent access to pasture

• Adherence to sanitary post-harvest practices including proper transport, storage and the use of only potable water for the washing of produce

• A commitment to pass on the land and surrounding environment in an even better condition than it was passed on to us

We grow this way because we care about our families' and workers' health, the health of our friends and customers purchasing and enjoying our food, and because we want to be good, sustainable stewards of the small portion of this earth that has temporarily been put under our care.

Certified Naturally Grown is supported by national environmental groups, health organizations and sustainable agricultural groups including the National Cancer Awareness Coalition, the Sierra Club’s Atlantic Chapter and the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM). 

For more information and to see the complete list of farms participating in the program nationwide, please visit www.naturallygrown.org on the web.

Below we will post information about the farm's growing practices in an effort to be as transparent as possible about how the food you are consuming is grown.

Many people still do not believe that it is possible to have a productive farm using organic farming practices. In fact, I believe that organic farming is the key to having wonderful crops while also treating the earth with respect. It was essentially the way everyone farmed for thousands of years before WWII. After the war, chemical industries adopted the wartime stockpiles of toxins used for chemical warfare and decided they could instead be applied to food crops. Using chemicals on our food has been a key component of modern industrial agriculture ever since. Fortunately, organic, small-scale agriculture represents a positive alternative that removes the need for all these toxins in our food, soil, air, water, and other biological life. I will discuss the steps that Green Gardens uses to minimize environmental degradation while also growing wonderful food here in detail over the next few months.

Seed:

Green Gardens grows dozens of different vegetables with between 100-120 different varieties of vegetables, melons, and flowers each year. Unfortunately, organic seed is not available for every variety. However, when it is, the farm does pay more and purchases organic seed. Organic seed normally costs between 20 and 90% more than conventionally grown seed. Typically, we find that it is possible to find organic seed about 40-50% of the time for a certain variety. Each year more organic seed is becoming available.

If you are looking for organic seed yourself, one of the best resources to check is the OMRI seed database. It is easy to use and the farm always checks it before making a seed purchase. Even though Green Gardens uses organic seed when available, I have to say that I don't lose sleep at night using conventional seed. Spray residues on seed are minimal and they are of far lesser concern to me than using toxic sprays on the vegetable plants and fruits to be sold and eaten. The farm's main seed suppliers are: 

•               Johnny's

•               High Mowing

•               Territorial

•               Maine Potato Lady (Potatoes)

If you are interested in gardening and want to grow your plants from seed, I would highly encourage getting a Johnny's catalog. You can also view it online as a PDF. They are free and have just about anything you could imagine, plus helpful growing advice.

Sprays:

Most of the time spraying crops is not necessary, however, Green Gardens does on occasion use organically-approved (OMRI) pesticides and fungicides. We do not use any herbicides. We find that we can minimize the need for organic pesticides by simply using row-cover, which is a thin sheet-like material that we can place over crops. Ultimately, we try to focus on soil building that will help the plants repel pests and diseases naturally, however, we do find that we need to use an organic spray sometimes to avoid losing crops and we think that this is a reasonable approach.

Here is a list what we might need to spray and why:

Cabbage, Collards, Kale, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts:

The organic pesticide Dipel which contains Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) and Monterey Garden Spray which contains spinosad to kill cabbage loopers. Loopers eat holes in leaves. Also, on occasion in early spring plantings we will need to use Pyganic to prevent flea beetle damage.

Swiss Chard: Monterey Insect Garden Spay (Spinosad) to control leaf miner damage.

Tomatoes: Dipel (Bt) to kill the tomato hornworm, which can defoliate an entire plant in days. We used only once in 2011. Also, we will use a copper fungicide (Champ WG) and Actinovate AG (soil drench in greenhouse) to protect the plant against a variety of diseases and funguses. These are the only two sprays that we use preventatively on the plants at an early age in the greenhouse. We are very converned about blight on tomatoes and we need to prevent this by being pro-active and spraying early before the fungus gets out of control.

Cucumbers, Squash: The organic pesticide Pyganic (contains Pyrethrum) to kill the cucumber beetles which can defoliate the plants and spread bacterial diseases like bacterial wilt.

Potatoes: Pyganic in combination with Monterey Garden Spray (contains Spinosad) to kill the Colorado Potato Beetle. The beetle if left unsprayed would defoliate plants and heavily reduce yield.

Onions and Leeks: The copper fungicide Champ WG to prevent disease and fungus.

We will contine to try to reduce our use of sprays each year, or finding sprays that are more eco-friendly. Our current policy is to only use them when the crop's life is in jeopardy, or if the quality of the fruit/vegetable will be compromised to the point where the customer is likely to find it undesirable for consumption.

An important point to remember is that the scale that we are on forces us to do some spraying. It is not as if we can simply go out and pick the potato beetles off of 2,000 potato plants like you can in a garden.

Ultimately, healthy soil will enable most plants to defend against pests/diseases/funguses, so we plan on improving fertility each year. However, spraying may still be necessary every once in a while to help the farm produce food and remain economically competitive.

Fertility:

The farm gets almost all of its fertility from a local dairy about 4 miles away.

In 2008, we applied 40-50 tons of rotted cow manure was applied to the  1 3/4 acre growing area.

In 2009, we applied another 40-50 tons of fresh manure to the late season crops on about another 2 acres, including the new West field.

In 2010, we used 2.5 tons of pelleted organic fertilizer from Herbruck's chicken factory in Saranac on all growing areas. Herbrucks' converts their chicken waste to fertilizer. Herbrucks is the largest egg producer in Michigan.

In 2011, we used about 20 tons of compost on the East and West fields, 3 tons of pelleted organic fertilizer (applied on both fields), and we began incorporating our chickens into the fertility mix by having them out on pasture. We hope to continue to move in the direction of using more and more livestock for fertility on the farm. Next year, we are adding 75 more chickens and some sheep. We are getting there! In the future, the farm would like to derive at least 1/4 to 1/2 of our fertility from on-farm animals and legumes that fix atmospheric N and convert it to N the plants can take up. This, in effect, would create a closed-loop, sustainable system. 

Cover Cropping:

Cover cropping is a key component of sustainable organic farming systems. Instead of using synthetic fertilizers derived from oil (this contributes to gloabl warming) for fertility, cover crops can use solar energy to build soil organic matter content and increase the nutrient capacity of the soil to improve crop growth. Cover crops can also be used to clean soil of certain pests and diseases that would plague crops if the land was continually grown on. Two other key benefits of cover crops are nutrient retention due to decreased leaching of soil nutrients (the roots of cover crops will latch on to nutrients and prevent them from washing away down into the soil strata), and they are also a great attractant for beneficial insects that are either pollinators or pest predators. Here on the farm we use a variety of cover crops: soybeans, vetch, rye, mustard, oats, New Zealand white clover, and a rye/vetch mix. 

Vetch and Rye in Spring 2009 West Field:

Crop Rotations:

Crop Rotation is widely undervalued in conventional farming systems. It is essentially the use of smart management techniques to move crops around the growing field each year and follow crops with the right kind of crop the next season. By not planting the same crop in the same area over and over again, pest and disease pressure can be reduced greatly, as well as the need to fertilize. For example, winter squash is known as a heavy feeder (meaning it requires a lot of fertilzer), therefore, it would be unwise to plant another heavy feeder such as celery or leafy greens in the same location without another heavy application of fertilizer, or another N-fixing legume preceding it. Perhaps it should be followed by sweet potatoes (a light feeder), instead. This kind of smart crop planning is key to organic systems, it greatly reduces the necessity of even organic pest and fungal sprays.

ReeMay:

ReeMay (in photo below on right) is a thin light-weight sheet-like material that is placed over crops for season extention is the Spring and Fall, as well as to reduce the need for organic pesticides and fungicides. The ReeMay we use protects the crops from freezing down to 28F, which allows us to jumpstart the season in the Spring and extend it in the Fall by 1-2 weeks on each end. By covering the crops with this material, it also eliminates the need for most organic pesticides.

Crop Diversity:

Crop diversity is another key to organic systems. Monocultures tend to be plagued with pest and disease problems. Having a multitude of different crops and varieties cuts down on pests and diseases, and it also reduces our risks as farmers to massive crop failures. For example, last  in September of 2008 all of our tomato plants were killed due to the monsoon (11" of rain) we had over a two day period, but, thankfully, all of our root crops and greens loved the rain and thrived for the rest of the season. If we had of been purely tomato farmers, we would have been in trouble! At Green Gardens, between the vegetables, herbs, and flowers we grow over 120 varieties of approx. 45 crops. 

Planting Pest and Disease Resistant Varieties:

Sometimes just planting the right variety can make spraying unnecessary and yield great crops. Many new varieties are being developed with tolerances to pests and diseases. This upcoming season many powdery mildew resistant cucurbit varieties will be planted.

Using "Waste" Byproducts on the Farm:

In 2009, the farm received several tons of yard waste (all leaves) from area yards. The landscape companies were more than happy to drop it off at our farm since we were saving them from a further trip to the dump or burn yard. In other words, it was a win-win for both of us. The "waste" will be utilized on the farm as a mulch for weed control in between beds are rows for various crops. Over the next 1-2 years it will be returned to the soil and provide wonderful organic nutrients perfect for plant growth. Using resources in this way is sustainable. Over the next couple years it would be nice if we could create a citywide composting system, whereby all food/yard waste is recycled back into local community gardens/farms for fertility. It just makes sense to utilize these resources in efficient ways, productive ways. 

New Compostable and Biodegradable Soil Mulch for 2010!

The farm is proud to begin using a 100% compostable and biodegradable mulch in 2010. The mulch is made out of a corn starch based raw material. The mulch helps control weeds, reduces water loss, and heats the soil (helping the plants grow bigger and faster). Despite costing more than four times as much as the previously used plastic mulch, we feel like this new mulch may be worth it. Labor from removal, as well as recycling and landfill costs are eliminated.

Thanks to all who came out for the farm's open house this past Saturday! We had a great turnout including many children and had an enjoyable time showing everyone around the farm, eating scrumptious food, and watching the draft horses plow up some new ground. For those of you who couldn't attend, Barn Bash, the farm's annual potluck with local music, happens in September. More details to come in July/August.

Saturday is the final day for the Kalamazoo Foods Market [corner of Crosstown and Burdick] for the season. You can find us there from 9AM-1PM with salad mix, spinach, Japanese spinach, bok choy, and possibly other surprises. The following Saturday, May 5, the Bank Street Market commences for 2012. Our table will have a greater number of offerings earlier due to the jump-start we gained in March. We look forward to seeing our wonderful customers' and CSA members' smiling faces every week!

This past week, we put the finishing touches on our fourth tunnel [this one is only 14'x96' and one of two smaller tunnels] and planted 3 rows of tomatoes. The newest high tunnel built by the Nifty Hoops crew a month ago is also full of knee-high tomatoes, while the other small tunnel boasts peppers, eggplant, basil, and zinnias. We're excited to have numerous early crops this season! In other exciting news, the Nifty Hoops crew returns on Saturday, May 19 to build another 30'x96' tunnel for our extended season growing delight! We received a 5-yr, 0% loan from MIFMA [Michigan Farmers' Market Association] to cover 75% of the $12,300 tunnel cost. Funding for the MIFMA loan came from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Loan payback is through food assitance sales (WIC and Senior Project Fresh and SNAP) at the Battle Creek Farmers Market over the next five seasons. If you are interested in volunteering to help build the tunnel on May 19, please let Trent know at trent@greengardensfarm.com.

Tonight, we put up the next to last portion of the 8' woven wire deer fence. How wonderful to know that we are preventing the sizable deer population in Pennfield from their late-night dining at Battle Creek's best buffet. We anticipate an increase in yields this season from the lack of deer damage.

The younger chicken flock loves being outside doing what chickens do best! They are currently munching away in a clover patch next to their big sisters. At 12 weeks old, they have roughly 6 more weeks until egg laying time! Once they're in full production, we anticipate having ~50 dozen/week! That said, if you have empty, clean egg cartons [one dozen preferred], we would love to take them off your hands. Bring them to market, leave them at your CSA pick-up point, or bring them to the farm if you're ever out this way - much appreciated!

We hope you have a glorious weekend! Warmer temperatures are just around the corner!

In good health and good eating,
Ruthie & Trent

A couple snipits from the open house:

Trent explaining four-season growing in a tunnel and what is currently growing

Doug Grosso plowing new ground with Mac and Mae, his Belgian draft horses

Green Gardens on Facebook! Stay up-to-date with what's happening, what's in season, where we're at, and what's cookin'