Dear Friends and Members of B & H Organic Produce,

This week is our last CSA delivery. Where has the time gone?

The CSA has been a great experience for us this season. We will surely do it again next year. And as of now we will keep the system as it is, including price.

We have enjoyed serving our customers and meeting their needs. Even though this was not our best growing season ever.

The next few weeks will be filled with garden clean up and preparation for next spring. As farmer’s we are always looking ahead to the future.

In the winter I spend my time with paperwork, seed ordering and planning. And in late February I will start the seeds for the garden. Can you believe that we start tomato seeds in March, which won’t be harvested until July and in a better year will yield until October. That is 8 months of babying those amazing tomatoes.

I love planning the garden. Everything looks so good on paper.

We will be sending out information for the 2012 CSA season in January. So check you email inboxes.

I plan to send you all a survey about the past CSA season to help us improve our service for next year. Your comments are very important.

As for rewarding the members who took time from their busy schedules to work on the farm. Well, I haven’t decided what to do yet. I would love to give you an extra delivery of vegetables the week before Thanksgiving. However, this will depend on the weather and how the crops are growing. So check your email for your reward in the next few weeks.

We had planned and hoped to have Brussels sprouts for you for this last week. However, they haven’t quite sized up and because we haven’t had a good frost they just aren’t so sweet.

The West Reading Farmer’s Market continues until November 20^th. We will be selling produce at Hartz Natural Foods until the ground freezes.

For now enjoy your last week of produce and many thanks to you all for your support.

Sincerely,

Erica Bowers Lavdanski

This week's harvest;

Full share: (you may receive any of these items)

• White potatoes 2 lb
• Lettuce- 2-3 heads
• salad mix 1/2 lb
• Beets 1.5 lb
• Carrots 1.5 lb
• Mixed colors and shapes of sweet peppers 1.5 lb
• Eggplant (small purple, green, large purple or orange) 1.5 lb - limited quantities
• You may receive 2 orders of greens - 3/4 lb of kale or collard greens or mustard greens mix or baby pac choi or ½ lb land cress (similar flavor to watercress but grown in soil instead of water).
• Winter Squash- Butternut. 1 fruit.
• Cabbage 1 head - this could be green or savoy
• Daikon Radishes
• Broccoli - 1 lb - probably can't fulfill double orders
• Celeriac (celery root) - 1 root
• Sweet Potatoes - 2 lb - we are buying in these potatoes from a local organic farm. Only one order per share.
• Baby turnips ¾ lb

Half Share:

• Any 4 of the above full share items.

Extra Items: (these do not count as an item) - Please let me know the quantity you would like. Most of these are limited quantities. Will be given on a first come first serve basis.

• Hot peppers - 6 peppers – we have tons so order more.
• Carrots- 1.5 lb
• Beets 1.5 lb
• Mixed colors and shapes of sweet peppers 1.5 lb
• Collards 3/4 lb
• Lettuce- 3 small heads
• Aji Dulce Peppers- ½ lb. These are also known as Caribbean Seasoning Peppers. They look; taste and smell like a hot pepper but have no heat. They are excellent for seasoning.
• Italian Parsley- 1/8 lb

Dear Members and Friends,

Only 2 weeks left of our CSA.

As a farmer I am subject to the laws of Mother Nature. It is part of the beauty of what I do. When I am around other farmers I hear them constantly complain about the weather. I know in other circles it is a conversation piece. I do try to limit my complaining about the weather. I had a fellow farmer ask me “ So what do you think God is teaching us with this weather?” My response was “patience and gratitude.”

I often think we are so blessed compared to other parts of the world. How could we complain? And most of the time I can honestly say I have seen worse.

However, now that I have a bit of time to reflect on how the season went, I can see a constant struggle.

We went from an unusually wet spring to sudden hot and dry conditions to sudden wet and cool conditions. Yes, we plant a variety of crops to make up for the variances in weather. But, this year tested all the boundaries. And not to mention we had a major employee quit mid season.

In the end I am proud of what we have produced so far.

Something that most people fail to realize is that in farming you see the results of bad weather 2-3 weeks after the weather has passed. The problem with this is that the customer has forgotten that the weather extreme ever occurred. So for the past month and a half of straight rain we will see the effects in the last 2 weeks of our CSA harvest and the end of our market season.

And now we see why a CSA is really important. While you still had produce in your boxes, you did not have the abundance I would have hoped for. You still would have had the same 4 or 8 item boxes but I would have liked to offer more in the extras selections. The truth is we were mostly just squeezing out what we gave you.

But, because of the CSA we will not fail as a farm. Because of our CSA members we will be able to dust off our boots call it an end of season and prepare for next year. We will pray for better weather in 2012 but we will thank God for what we get.

So once again I thank you members for standing by us and supporting us in a tough journey.

Do you have any CSA boxes? I would love to have them back. So in the next two weeks check your trunks, garages and basements. The boxed cost $1.80 a piece. Every little bit counts.

I will be taking Saturday October 22^nd off. So, no member work hours that day. However, I will be available 9 am till 4 pm on Saturday the 29^th if anyone would like to work off his or her hours on that day.

For this week I will give you some meal suggestions with our veggies currently in season:

· Butternut Squash and leek sauce with sautéed mushrooms over oven roasted chicken. Served with steamed broccoli.

· Crust less quiche with shitake mushrooms and beet greens. Served with roasted beets.

· Butternut Squash casserole- brown rice, squash, apples, onions, garlic, kale.

· Tempeh burgers or grilled steaks with grilled sweet potato and cabbage salad.

Enjoy!

This week's harvest;

Full share: (you may receive any of these items)

• White potatoes 2 lb
• Lettuce- 2-3 heads
  
• salad mix 1/2 lb
  
• Beets 1.5 lb
  
• Carrots 1.5 lb
  
• Mixed colors and shapes of sweet peppers 1.5 lb
• Eggplant (small purple, green, large purple or orange) 1.5 lb - limited quantities
  
• You may receive 2 orders of greens - 3/4 lb of kale or collard greens or mustard greens mix or baby pac choi
  
• Winter Squash- Butternut. 1 fruit.
  
• Cabbage 1 head - this could be green or savoy
  
• leek 1#
• Daikon Radishes
  
• Broccoli - 1 lb - probably can't fulfill double orders
• Celeriac (celery root) - 1 root
  
• Sweet Potatoes - 2 lb - we are buying in these potatoes from a local organic farm. Only one order per share.
  
• Radicchio- tall or round. 2 heads per order.
  

Half Share:

• Any 4 of the above full share items.

Extra Items: (these do not count as an item) - Please let me know the quantity you would like. Most of these are limited quantities. Will be given on a first come first serve basis.

• Hot peppers - 6 peppers – we have tons so order more.
• Flowers- freshly cut- limited quantities.
  
• Beets 1.5 lb
  
• Aji Dulce Peppers- ½ lb. These are also known as Caribbean Seasoning Peppers. They look; taste and smell like a hot pepper but have no heat. They are excellent for seasoning.
• Italian Parsley- 1/8 lb
• Garlic Chives - 1/8 lb
  

Thank you and have a great week,
Erica

October 2011- This is the last blog post from Miriam. We will have to let her go early this year due to the loss of crops at the end of this season. She has been an amazing help. We gratefully send her to Philly to grow veggies for a new neighborhood. Best wishes.

Even with all the wet days recently, it has only just become cool enough to feel like autumn. The shorter days and the cooler weather means that the farm is slowing down. For us, we're starting later in the morning, following the sunrise. For the crops, the tomatoes and the basil have given up. Some things are holding on but won't last beyond a frost, the eggplant and peppers. Some things are strong, the fall greens like collards and komatsuna and the beloved spicy mustard greens. Some crops, like broccoli, get sweeter after a frost. The texture of the farm has changed and the focus of the work has become cleaning up and preparing for the winter and the next season.

Personally, I love the cooler weather. I wear my layers to keep warm and can retire my sun hat. By this time in the season, I have become tired of my work clothes, the heavy pants, the heavy boots. My body, too, is slowing down, readying itself for hibernation. Waking up to cool morning air while cozy in a warm bed is one of my favorite feelings. Unfortunately, it makes it awfully hard to actually get up and get going. This is the season for morning tea and oatmeal, hearty and warm. This is the season for hot apple cider and spicy pumpkin bread. This is the time to sit back and reflect upon the current season and to make plans for the next.

One of my favorite cool-weather recipes:

Senegalese Beef stew with peanut butter (Maffe aux legumes arachid)

(adapted from The African Cookbook by Bea Sandler)

1 medium onion, chopped

½ cup oil

2 lbs stew beef (or lamb), cut into 1-inch cubes

6 oz (1 can) tomato paste

18 oz (3 cans worth) water or beef broth

½ tsp crushed red pepper

1 tbsp course black pepper

1 tbsp salt

½ tsp thyme

1 small cabbage, cut into wedges (or 1 bunch collard greens, chopped)

4 medium potatoes, cut into cubes

2 carrots, sliced (or four hakurei turnips, cubed with greens)

1 butternut squash, cut into cubes (you don't need to skin the squash unless you want a smoother texture, but do clean out the seeds and gunk)

1 cup peanut butter

• In a 1-gallon Dutch oven or heavy kettle, saute the onions in the oil until soft but not brown
• Add the meat and saute until the meat turns color but doesn't brown
• Add the tomato paste, water (or broth), and spices. Cover tightly and simmer over low heat for 1 hour or until meat is nearly done.
• Add the vegetables and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
• Place the peanut butter in a small bowl and pour in some of the liquid from the pot. Mix until smooth and pour the mixture back into the pot. Cook for 5 more minutes.
• Serve over rice in a large bowl.

This recipe makes a lot of food. I've adjusted the vegetable portions down from the original recipe (it called for eight sweet potatoes!) but you can use as much or as little as you like, so long as it will fit in the pot.

This week's harvest;

Full share: (you may receive any of these items)

• White potatoes 2 lb
• Lettuce- 2-3 heads
  
• salad mix 1/2 lb
  
• Beets 1.5 lb
  
• Carrots 1.5 lb
  
• Mixed colors and shapes of sweet peppers 1.5 lb
• Eggplant (small purple, green, large purple or orange) 1.5 lb
• You may receive 2 orders of greens - 3/4 lb of komatsuna or kale or collard greens or mustard greens mix or baby pac choi
  
• Winter Squash- Butternut. 1 fruit.
  
• Cabbage 1 head - this could be green, savoy or nappa (Chinese)
  
• leek 1#
• Daikon or Watermelon Radishes 1 lb - very few watermelon radishes
• Broccoli - 1 lb - probably can't fulfill double orders
• Baby turnips 1.5 lb
• Sweet Potatoes - 2 lb - we are buying in these potatoes from a local organic farm. Only one order per share.
  

Half Share:

• Any 4 of the above full share items.

Optional Items: (these count as an item in your share) Some of these items are in limited quantities so can be ordered on a first come first serve basis.

• Fresh cut flower bouquets

Extra Items: (these do not count as an item) - Please let me know the quantity you would like.

• Hot peppers - 6 peppers – we have tons so order more.
• Tomatoes- cherry 1/2 lb - limited quantities
• Beets 1.5 lb
  
• Aji Dulce Peppers- ½ lb. These are also known as Caribbean Seasoning Peppers. They look; taste and smell like a hot pepper but have no heat. They are excellent for seasoning.
• Italian Parsley- 1/8 lb
• Mint 1/8 lb
• Sage 1/8 lb
  

Thank you and have a great week,
Erica

(Pictured left to right: Miriam planting strawberries, Pamela washing beets and Erica on "Rosie" the tractor.)

Dear Friends and Members of B & H ,

We try to give you useful information and news about what is going on at the farm. I thought you might like to know what a typical day on the farm looks like. Each day is different depending on what we are preparing for. And each person on the farm has a different role.

Here is what a typical Thursday on the farm looks like from each person’s perspective. We begin at 7 am these days and end at 4 pm.

Miriam is my assistant. She was hired to watch and manage the fields. Her jobs include: monitoring irrigation, fertilizing, managing work crews and overseeing of the planting. On a typical Thursday she will help with the harvest. (We harvest something each day. Many crops such as beans, squash, tomatoes and peppers need to be picked every other day.) Then she will fertilize all the crops through our drip irrigation system. We use a combination of compost tea and fish emulsion for this. It is a smelly and tedious job. Then there is usually some major project to undertake currently we are finishing weeding carrots. Then she will mow with the small push mower between the rows of crops planted on fabric mulch. After lunch is usually planting. During the season we plant lettuce each week. Currently we are working on a major strawberry planting. We have 2,000 plants to be planted in the next 2 weeks and Miriam is in charge of getting that accomplished.

Then we have Pamela. She is our packhouse coordinator. The packhouse is where all your veggies are washed and bunched or bagged. This is an indoor job. The least favored job on the farm. Pamela, I refer to her as the most positive person I know, takes on this job with enthusiasm. She takes the vegetables we have harvested that morning and prepares them for sale. Usually on Thursday she washes potatoes for market. All those tiny potatoes we love so much are singly washed by hand by Pamela.

Pamela has an assistant, Doreen. Doreen has been such a great addition the last few months to keep me out of the packhouse and in the fields where I truly want to be.

What do I do on a Thursday. Well it seems I have become the main harvester on the farm. It is my job to know what is in the field and when it is ready to be picked and sold. I do a lot of running around trying to organize everyone and retrieving supplies. And I get to do the tractor cultivating. and mowing as well. If I am lucky and I have time I will get to do some weeding. Now that I own my own business and I am in charge of everything the thing I miss doing the most is weeding.

Paul is always around and about helping us with tractor work , tending the cows, growing corn and soybeans. And most importantly maintenance around the farm. He keep the place together and in more ways than one. I truly believe that his spirit is what makes the farm run. If he weren’t around anymore I think the farm would literally crumble.

We love our jobs. And we have a great crew. Your veggies are grown by people who love what they do.

This week's harvest;

Full share: (you may receive any of these items)

• White potatoes 2 lb
• Lettuce- 2-3 heads
  
• salad mix 1/2 lb
  
• Beets 1.5 lb
  
• Carrots 1.5 lb
  
• Mixed colors and shapes of sweet peppers 1.5 lb
• Eggplant (small purple, green, large purple or orange) 1.5 lb
• 3/4 lb of komatsuna or kale or collard greens or mustard greens mix
  
• Winter Squash- Butternut. 1 fruit.
  
• Cabbage 1 head - this could be green, savoy or nappa
  
• Parsnips- 1.5 lb
• leek 1#
• Daikon or Watermelon Radishes 1 lb - very few watermelon radishes
• Broccoli - 1 lb - probably can't fulfill double orders

Half Share:

• Any 4 of the above full share items.

Optional Items: (these count as an item in your share) Some of these items are in limited quantities so can be ordered on a first come first serve basis.

• Fresh cut flower bouquets

Extra Items: (these do not count as an item) - Please let me know the quantity you would like.

• Hot peppers - 6 peppers – we have tons so order more.
• Tomatoes- cherry 1/2 lb - limited quantities
• Beets 1.5 lb
  
• Aji Dulce Peppers- ½ lb. These are also known as Caribbean Seasoning Peppers. They look; taste and smell like a hot pepper but have no heat. They are excellent for seasoning.
• Italian Parsley- 1/8 lb
• Mint 1/8 lb
• Sage 1/8 lb
  

Thank you and have a great week,
Erica

A few words about member work hours.

I have been thinking about this blog for quite awhile. And this past Sunday I was reminded of exactly why I decided to add member work hours to the CSA membership this year. We had 2 members volunteering and weeding carrots. I was talking about how I love to teach and interact with customers. For me farming is not just about growing the crops. It is about educating people about why it is important to eat local organic produce. It is about why it is important to eat healthy. I want to show people the rewards of doing so. I love the farmer’s markets and interacting with customers. As I was talking a member was weeding chickweed out of the carrots and eating it. It reminded me of why I started this in the first place. The sheer joy of being in nature, being subject to nature, being close to God and feeling that awesome childlike spirit.

CSA stands for community supported agriculture. Although the financial support is crucial the community aspect is just as important. By doing a CSA in which boxes are delivered the farmer/ consumer contact is eliminated. That is also why I have chosen an ordering system. I want to know you all personally and know the produce you want to eat. Emails are great but I want one on one contact. That is one reason I didn’t do the CSA last year. I felt a lack of contact with many of my customers. And it never fails that the CSA members I have no contact with are the least satisfied.

Having you work on the farm is important to let you know the immense, and I mean immense, amount of work it takes to produce one of those boxes each week. The volunteers who have come have been extremely helpful. But it is not about the labor for me. It is the interaction. It is the realization that we are humans working extremely hard to share our labor of love with you. And by you working with us you too are participating in that labor of love.

If you cannot or do not want to work on the farm fine. Just let me know. If anyone understands busy it is someone like me who works 80 + hours a week. I don’t want to be a drill sergeant. I want you to come because you see that value in where your food comes from.

I am surprised at how many people are opposed to the whole idea. Many CSA’s are run solely on member labor. So instead of forcing anyone to work I will have to reward those who did work hard. I will let you know the reward as we see how the season finishes out.

I am blessed to have wonderful supporting members. I am grateful for all of you. No matter what your contribution has been. And yes, financial contributions are crucial.

This labor of love is important to many of us for many reasons. And with out your support I don’t know where I would be.

Many blessings to you all,

Erica

This week's harvest;

Full share: (you may receive any of these items)

• Fingerling potatoes 2 lb
• Lettuce- 2-3 heads salad mix 1/2 lb
  
• Beets 1.5 lb or carrots 1.5 lb
  
• Mixed colors and shapes of sweet peppers 1.5 lb
• Eggplant (small purple, green, large purple or orange) 1.5 lb
• 3/4 lb of komatsuna or kale or collard greens
• Winter Squash- Butternut. 1 fruit.
  
• Beans ¾ lb or cabbage 1 head
  
• Parsnips- 1.5 lb
• Frisee- 2 heads.
  
• leek 1#
• Daikon or Watermelon Radishes 1 lb
  

Half Share:

• Any 4 of the above full share items.

Optional Items: (these count as an item in your share) Some of these items are in limited quantities so can be ordered on a first come first serve basis.

• Fresh cut flower bouquets

Extra Items: (these do not count as an item) - Please let me know the quantity you would like.

• Hot peppers - 6 peppers – we have tons so order more.
• Tomatoes- cherry 1/2 lb - limited quantities
  
• Aji Dulce Peppers- ½ lb. These are also known as Caribbean Seasoning Peppers. They look; taste and smell like a hot pepper but have no heat. They are excellent for seasoning.
• Italian Parsley- 1/8 lb

Thank you and have a great week,
Erica

As promised here is Miriam's blog about beneficial insects from our 3rd annual Rt 10 Tour on August 27th.

September 2011

A couple of weeks ago we held a tour at the farm and I gave a lecture on beneficial insects. I filled myself up with a lot of information leading up to the talk, so I thought I'd share a little while it's still fresh.

Beneficial insects fill two very important roles, as pollinators and pest killers. Traditionally, farmers hired honey bees to do the pollinating work, but with the current colony collapse crisis we aren't seeing many honeybees in the field. So who's doing the pollinating for our squash and tomatoes? A combination of native bees, wasps, butterflies, and flies. Native bees are by far the most efficient pollinators in that list. However, native bees tend to be solitary insects, meaning that they don't build hives or swarm. They nest in abandoned insect holes in wood or in tunnels in the ground. We've installed a nesting site for mason bees near our store, a 2x6 with holes drilled in it under an eave for protection.

Wasps perform in both roles, as pollinators and pest killers. In the case of wasps, the killing is in order to provide food for their young. The adults generally eat pollen and nectar (which is why they can pollinate). Some wasps are parasitoids, laying eggs in caterpillars and other insects. The larval wasps develop inside the caterpillar, sapping its strength from within. The larvae will then eat their way out of the worm to form cocoons and eventually hatch out as adult wasps. If you see these cocoons, try to resist squishing the worm so that there are more wasps in the garden to work for you. You may want to move it away from your tomatoes, though. Other wasps will kill or scavenge insects to bring back to their nests for the young to eat. To encourage nesting near the fields (and away from our buildings), we've put up bird houses without bottoms. The house will be a protected space and removing the bottom makes it unsuitable for birds, so there won't be competition for the space.

Other insects are hunters, like ladybugs and praying mantises. Ladybugs love aphids but will eat other soft-bodied insects as well (like caterpillars, scale, even potato beetle eggs and larvae). We get a lot of ladybugs here at the farm and generally don't have much trouble with aphids, so I think we're doing something right. It's important to recognize the different life stages of the ladybugs so you don't squish them by mistake. The larval stage looks very different from the adults. (There are some pictures in this article about ladybugs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladybug )

In general, to attract beneficial insects into your garden, the best thing you can do is have flowers mixed in with your veggies, especially native plants with clusters of small flowers. You can also allow your herbs and some of your brassicas to flower (like broccoli, arugula, and mustard greens). Here at B&H, we plant our flower crops and herbs in the same fields as our veggie crops. We also have the advantage of being surrounded by pasture which provides food and habitat. However, the biggest thing we do is to avoid using insecticides. This means that sometimes we have the unpleasant task of squishing a lot of bad bugs. However, nature tends to do a better job of keeping the pests in balance when we don't interfere.

Tips:

• Attract beneficial insects with a variety of flowers interspersed with your vegetables (native plants with many small flowers are best). You can allow some of your crop plants to flower as well, especially herbs like dill and parsley. Try to choose a wide range of flowers so that there are a variety blooms throughout the season.
• Avoid using pesticides, since they will kill your good bugs as well as the pests. If you do use pesticides, try to target the pests directly and use sparingly.
• In dry weather, provide a shallow water source, such as a saucer filled with pebbles or a hose dripping onto a board.
• Mulch your garden and include some low-growing plants to provide habitat and retain moisture.

Web Resources:

Penn State Cooperative Extension, Center for Pollinator Research

http://ento.psu.edu/pollinators

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

http://www.xerces.org/

Fine Gardening, “Attracting Beneficial Insects”

http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/attracting-beneficial-insects.aspx

This week's harvest;

his week’s harvest list:

Full share: (you may receive any of these items)

• Purple potatoes 2 lb
• Lettuce- 2-3 heads
• Beets 1.5 lb
• Mixed colors and shapes of sweet peppers 1.5 lb
• Eggplant (small purple, green, large purple or orange) 1.5 lb
• 3/4 lb of chard or kale or baby pac choi or ½ lb dandelion or ¾ lb collard greens
• Winter Squash- Spaghetti or Butternut. 1 fruit.
  
• Beans ¾ lb
• Parsnips- 1.4 lb
• Tomatoes- cherries or larger. More cherries. 2 lb. Limited Quantities.
  
• Frisee- 2 heads.
  
• leek 1#

Half Share:

• Any 4 of the above full share items.

Optional Items: (these count as an item in your share) Some of these items are in limited quantities so can be ordered on a first come first serve basis.

• Fresh cut flower bouquets

Extra Items: (these do not count as an item) - Please let me know the quantity you would like.

• Hot peppers - 6 peppers – we have tons so order more.
• Poblano peppers- 1.5 lb – these are the peppers used to make Chiles Rellenos.
• Basil 1/4 lb
• Aji Dulce Peppers- ½ lb. These are also known as Caribbean Seasoning Peppers. They look; taste and smell like a hot pepper but have no heat. They are excellent for seasoning.
• Italian Parsley- 1/8 lb

Thank you and have a great week,
Erica