Root Down Farm Ramblings

We collectively made it to August. This is a BIG moment for farmers across the country. If you as a farmer have made it to this point in the season without burnout then good on you. But most likely the farmer(s) in your lives are in burnout mode right now and waiting for some give in August, which may or may not happen. We try to have most of one day off a week during the season, but it doesn't happen often. Case and point this week; we only worked until 3pm yesterday and are hoping to be done again by 3 today so we can be "rested" for our 10 hour work day every Monday. Now you might be saying to your self "Woooooo 10 whole hours of work" or something like that, but I just explained we don't get days off. So 10 hour work days come August when it's going to be 90 degrees can feel like drudgery. Not because I don't like the work or don't like to work. It's because I'm tired and the nature of our work is tiring.

This is the time of year we lean hard on the endless planning we did over the winter. The timing and amounts of every variety of every crop that we grow is selected and planned for starting in December (who am I kidding, there are lists of notes for next season already). And yes, I'll say it again so I am sorry to all of you who have to read this 2 or 3 times a year: WE GROW EVERYTHING IN THE VEGETABLE SHARES! As stated on the website you are currently on we grow all the vegetables, melons, flowers and herbs in the share. We do not grow anything in the fruit share, which is why on the Fruit Share Board we state where the fruit has come from that week. There have been years that we have had entire crop failures. The last one was in 2017 when we lost between 60 and 70% of the potato crop due to an unfortunately timed 4 inches of rain in 2 days. If we buy something from someone else for any share we right down where it came from, but this RARELY happens.

So here is all the stuff we grew that is being harvested this week: zucchini, summer squashes, beets, carrots, cabbage, onions, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, scallions, head lettuce, fennel, potatoes and sweet corn and melons and tomatoes.

Here is the stuff we did not grow that will be in the fruit share: blueberries, peaches and plums. **As always fruit farmers are having a tough year due to the insanely cold first 2 weeks in May when there were multiple days and nights unseasonably below freezing. These temperatures froze the flowers and buds on fruiting trees and killed the crop that should be being harvested now. Yes climate change affects your food supply.**

I've talked a lot on here about the odd ways time passes, usually too quickly. I try my best to create new memories, do new things, in order to make time seem like it lasts instead of flying by. This pursuit has led me to live in 14 different states in my life (Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, Maine, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Vermont, Maryland, Rhode Island, Massachussetts, and New York) and I have explored all the states but 6. The longest I've stayed in one place is to farm on this land. In this time we've made wonderful friends. We've also met wonderful people from our customers to the chefs and restaurant owners we produce for. After 10 years of farming this land I keep inspired by working alongside people who love food and farms, too. This manifests itself in conversations I have mainly with chefs and farmers that grow in a manner similar to us in the area.

If you didn't know, we supply produce to Elm Street Bakery, The Grange Community Kitchen, Sienna, Farmers and Artisans, 800 Maple (a new comer), and The Little Club on a regular basis along with some others. The chefs at these restaurants keep me engaged and inspired to be better at my job, and have pushed me in ways I'm sure they are not aware of. I am thankful for it, and am a better farmer for it.

One chef I have had a lot of conversations with, Dan Borelli, has just passed away. I'm sad today. I feel like some of the success we've had over the years is in part because of Dan sharing his passion with me. I wish he were still here.

Instead our farm community marches forward with one less person, all watching out for each other from afar.

This week we are putting in some of the last seedlings in the fields. We just planted kale that will be harvested through February. Sometimes planting Winter crops seems like an act of faith (February is a half a year away). The world today is already different than it was yesterday, but the farm always brings us back and puts our feet on the ground. Come pandemic, elections, storms or whatever this year has in store, we sow seeds and grow food to harvest during the shortest days of the year. We tend the soil now knowing that people will need food, and that since we are able we should grow it.

This week's share will include: Zucchini, summer squashes, beets, carrots, fresh onions, scallions, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, fennel, head lettuce, radicchio, potatoes, and chard as well as tomatoes and melons for everyone.

I had a whole blog post finished and went to publish and the internet (thanks again Spectrum...you really suck) cut out again and since I pushed the publish button at the same time all that post is lost and gone forever.

Don't worry, you didn't miss much, it was all "blah, blah, blah" anyway.

This week's share will include: zucchini, summer squashes, salad turnips, beets, fresh onions, carrots, cabbage, scallions, new potatoes, fennel, radicchio, chard and the first of the cantaloupe and sweet peppers and hopefully some cucumbers. Everyone will also get tomatoes and sweet corn.

**Remember we never, ever, ever spray our sweet corn ever. So if there is a little corn worm at the tip just cut it off. It is a reminder that while you consume our sweet corn it is chemical free (which is insanely difficult to come by these days).

The fruit share will include cherries, plums and peaches!

We are at a point in the season where the farm is now set up to start pumping out food. Any mistakes or missteps are now going to be fleshed out in lower yields (but there's always next year to correct those, haha) come harvest time. We are still putting plants and seeds in the ground, but not at the same rate; the planting season is largely over. We now have to take care of the crops already in the field, and make quick decisions about harvests, weeds, pests, and fertility. We are still 'in the struggle' right now and have some time to make some corrections and saves, but not for long. The weeds are firing on all cylinders right now, and will be for another month.

We are also staying vigilant against the pandemic 'struggle'. I hope you all are to. Keeping a safe distance and wearing a mask even around friends and distant family can save lives. It's when we think it's over and done and put our guards down that COVID will come roaring back (case and point Florida, Texas, and California). Wearing a mask affords people more freedoms at this point in time.

I'm not sure how many of you were or are aware of how sick I was at the end of the season last year. Some of you noticed I wasn't in the share room much at all, and in fact I wasn't able to work much either. I didn't know it at the time, but I now know I had pneumonia (a respiratory illness). I had it for 5 months before I was able to finally kick it. It left my lungs injured and I developed asthma. It has been a weird journey for me at 39 to have to learn about what asthma is and how to help myself. I use an inhaler every morning, and sometimes another one throughout the day as needed (yes, I'm on 2 different inhalers). To this day my lungs haven't felt the same...there are times I completely forget about it, but every day at some point I have to manage my breathing. I wear a mask in public, in close quarters with our employees, and for the 4 1/2 hours 2 times a week I spend in the share room. And I wear it to keep you healthy, thanks for wearing yours to keep me healthy.

We are still working on getting more fruit for the fruit share, we are sorry that right now all there is is cherries...once we make it through this stretch of time where the fruit flowers were zapped by the cold May temperatures there will be an abundance of variety of fruit, of course I hope that farms have labor to pick it all by then too.

As for the vegetables, they are kickin right now. This is what will be in the share this week: zucchini, summer squashes, cucumbers, salad turnips, beets, carrots, fresh onions, cabbage, scallions, potatoes, head lettuce and tomatoes, and garlic for everyone as well as a choice of radicchio, escarole and chard.

If you are going to U-pick this week you must have your own scissors and you must use scissors. If you do not have scissors you cannot pick flowers or herbs as you will pull the plants out of the ground which will kill them and then no one can harvest them srsly.

**A reminder to anyone calling the farm to bag a share for you. Please do not show up before 6:30 expecting your share to be ready. We serve customers in the share room until then and sometimes they run late. It happens. If you could aim for 6:45 or later that would be the best. Also, please wait in your car if someone else is picking up their bagged share the moment you get to the farm. Give them space. They are picking up after hours so that they do not have to come in contact with anyone. Thank you.**

The heat this past week has changed a lot of the crops on the farm. The last planting of broccoli couldn't handle the heat and threw in the towel before we could harvest it. Other crops in the broccoli family are also not so great in the heat, but the Summer crops are soaking.it.up. My mind wasn't ready to accept the reality of what the high temperatures would mean for the farm last week, but now that the week is over I'm ready to welcome the Summer crops with open arms! Think squashes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, melons, and sweet corn. All of these crops like the heat, even if the farmers don't. So as long as we can keep everything irrigated, because until yesterday it hadn't really rained in over 10 days, then these crops will hopefully be entering the share room soon.

I do have some bad news, too. The cucumbers we planted before the heat couldn't handle the transition from greenhouse to the field when it was that hot last week and we lost over half of them. This, of course, made me sad because the last few seasons our cucumber crop has been bountiful...but not this year :( We will continue to have some every week, but not as much as usual. Oh well, every season it is something.

So this is the 'strange' in between part of the share when the Spring crops can't grow anymore (including spinach...don't ask me about spinach...it only grows during cooler times of the year...if you ever wonder why our spinach tastes so good it is because it is in season...that other spinach-like spinach you get at the grocery store isn't in season, doesn't taste as good, and isn't as nutrient dense as our spinach is in season...so don't ask me about spinach anymore...watch someone will ask me about spinach this week), but the Summer crops are juuust starting to mature. So embrace the in between because it happens every year.

This week's share will include: zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, beets, carrots, salad turnips, scallions, radicchio, onions, new potatoes (these are small, fresh potatoes with very thin skin...yes they are supposed to be small....just take the small ones...they taste the best anyway), kale, and chard as well as a choice of cabbage or escarole and also head lettuce.

The fruit share will again be cherries. We are trying to find fruit to replace the apricot and early plum season (which would be starting now), but are having problems. You may have heard it on the news, but I am here to tell you farmers are having real problems finding staff this year for multiple reasons. So some farms and orchards that usually supply our fruit share have no one on staff to harvest their crop, and it doesn't seem like the situation will be changing soon. We'll keep searching, but as we warned before the fruit share began, we may have to skip a few weeks that would then be made up later. We are continuing to work to solve the problem and monitor the situation, but since we do not grow anything that is in the fruit share (we grow everything in the veggie shares) it is largely out of our control. Just add it to the pile of crap that 2020 has collectively dropped on us.

**The U-pick Field will be open this week (for CSA members only) with flowers and herbs. It is not a lot, but we wanted to open it up slowly. If you choose to go to the field you must bring your own scissors, none will be provided by the farm. You do not have to wear a mask in the field, but you do have to stay 6 feet away from other people. If your children are with you they must stay with you. If you attended a large gathering (over 10 people) for the 4th of July please do not enter the fields this week.

When I was young, young enough to be at the babysitters house during the Summer while my parents worked, we were going on a walk. It was 1988 in Battle Creek, Michigan. This was the year of the drought that I, as a 7 year old, remember. My sisters, my babysitter and her daughter were walking on the road in her neighborhood towards a path in the woods at the back of the cul de sac. On the way we happened upon an egg someone (I am now assuming) cracked there on the road. I remember seeing the egg bubbling while it cooked on the street from the hot temperatures. This is still a strong memory to me, and I have since heard other people say that people used to do stuff like that on hot days all the time. I had never seen it before and haven't ever since. That memory combined with some others that year have stayed in my mind since....since the drought of 1988 in lower Michigan.

Do children have memories of adverse weather anymore, beyond mega-storms? Or do they just go from air conditioned home to air conditioned car to air conditioned destination and never think about the oppressive, odd, heat wave we are going to endure this week. Air-conditioning is adding to the warming of the planet, which in turn make people use more air conditioning. How will anybody grow up with an imprint of a changing climate if they never experience it? One thing I've said before is that it doesn't matter your political beliefs, every farmer in the country, or heck on this planet, knows the climate is changing. We experience the slow changes from season to season. I just wish everyone would.

So that being said it's going to be friggin hot this week. Record setting hot. The share will include: zucchini, summer squash, patty pan squash, cucumbers (limited), cabbage, beets, carrots (hopefully), kohlrabi, salad turnips, scallions, radicchio, fennel, arugula, cauliflower, some ugly-but-yummy broccoli (it hates the heat), as well as head lettuce for everyone and a choice between kale, chard, collards, or escarole. The fruit share will be cherries again.

A side note: if you were in close quarters with a gathering of people celebrating the 4th please just be aware of how you are feeling over the next 2 weeks. The outbreaks we are currently seeing across the country largely stem from Memorial Day gatherings. In some of the 'hot spots' they started seeing a steep incline in cases 2 weeks after Memorial Day weekend. If you are not feeling well please text the farm that you are quarantining and we can work out a plan to get you your veggies. You could also have your share bagged so you can pick it up after hours on your pick up day to avoid contact. Please do not come to the farm if you are sick.

We are thankful for the rain we have been getting, because irrigating for long periods of time can get exhausting. Even on weekends (which are supposed to be more relaxing for us) we have to irrigate when it gets really dry, and when it's really dry it seems like you can't irrigate enough. Yes the forecast is all sun all the time with averages in the high 80's for this week, but I'm looking at the cup being half full right now (literally I wanted at a minimum a half an inch today;).

We are also already starting to clean up some areas of fields that are done for the year and only have 1 more large field, plus of course a bunch of smaller ones, to fill up before planting season is done. There's a lot to keep track of as a CSA farmer simply because of the vast array of veggies we grow, and some grow very (VERY) differently from others. I know why monocultures are a thing. How much easier would it be if I only had to think about one crop all the time? The answer is much, much easier by the way. Crops mature at different rates, too. So remembering to check on everything at the right moments becomes essential. It's the actual farming part of farming we always say. We have to stay vigilant in our observations.

This is also true for us and coronavirus, we have to stay vigilant. I want everything to be normal again. I hope for it. But you can't hope coronavirus away. We are staying vigilant by watching out for each other by staying 6 feet away from people and wearing masks.

This week's share will include salad radishes, beets, zucchini and summer squash, cabbage, scallions, garlic scapes, bok choy, fennel, radicchio, cauliflower, kale and chard as well as everyone receiving lettuce, greens and a choice of salad turnips or kohlrabi.

We are hoping the fruit share will start the week after the 4th, but haven't gotten an exact date from Bittner-Singer Orchards (who grow the cherries). The fruit share will be under the tent in front of the barn. We are going to see how it works there. People will still be required to keep a 6ft distance from their neighbor. Everyone in the fruit share will be receiving an email from the farm soon. We were also told that there are no apricots or japanese plums this season, which makes me super sad. Remember how freaking cold it was in the beginning of May? Well that's when the apricots and plums were flowering. Bummer.

Today is the first day of Summer, and it is HOT! This year has trended on the hot side coupled with a few record lows. Can you believe that in this hot and dry stretch of weather we are transplanting and seeding our Fall and Winter crops right now. It's kind of a mind trip to think about, but as I mentioned in the last post, the growing season in WNY is crazy fast. This may mean that the rest of our Spring crops (like broccoli, cauliflower, and leafy greens) are hating this, but it probably also means that our Summer crops (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, melons) are loving this. The farmers are never happy with the weather so we both love and hate it. It is difficult to work in, though.

We are all killin' it on the COVID front. Did you hear New York has the lowest infection rate in the country?? That makes me feel happy and a bit optimistic. If we can keep on the safe side and continue to follow the guidelines from the state, which clearly work because we used to have the highest rate of infection in the county, then maybe more and more we can get to a place we recognize as more normal! Though a number of you have said you like the new flow in the share room better ;) haha.

The Share this week will include: garlic scapes (for sure), and head lettuce for everyone as well as a choice of radishes, salad turnips, carrots, beets, broccoli, kohlrabi, bok choy, mustard greens, kale, and chard.

Thank you everyone who picked up their share last week! Thank you for looking out for our little farm community and making sure everyone who has a share feels comfortable coming to the farm to pick out their veggies. I had 4 people tell me that their trip to the farm was their first time out of their house since mid-March. It makes me happy that those people who are most vulnerable in our community feel most comfortable coming to the farm. We also are thankful to Clara the volunteer who delivered a share to a family in quarantine.We also bagged shares for people who still feel that they cannot come into the share room. (This is an option for anyone who does not want to be at the farm while others are around; just call or text during your share pick up hours and we will bag a share for you and place it outside under the tent for you to pick up after 6:30). I also was told of one death as a direct result of contracting COVID19. I don't like talking about the virus, but I do think it is important to be reminded of these numbers and lives in order to stay vigilant in continuing to fight back and DO SOMETHING to stop the spread. For info on the pandemic visit forward.ny.gov

We also feel lucky that New York State as a whole is seeing declining COVID cases, and so is Erie County, which is a direct result of citizens doing their best to stop the spread. There are 19 states currently seeing a rise in cases, and quite a few hot spots scattered around the country. So thank you everyone who is doing their part in social distancing and wearing a face mask to stop the spread so we can eventually get back to normal (whatever that will eventually look like).

This is the time of year when there starts to be more to do than can be done on the farm. The growing season in WNY is short, but freaking crazy! But it's been an interesting year where something goes wrong, but something else in or out of our control goes right. Kind of like that Seinfeld episode where Jerry is Even Steven. In the episode he loses a gig and then another pops up for the same date and pay. He plays cards and ended up with same money he started with. Elaine throws a $20 bill out his apartment window and he finds a $20 in the pocket of a coat he hasn't worn in a while. We planted our first tomatoes out in the field before that crazy cold weather in May. I thought they may all die so we potted extra for our 3rd planting. Turns out they didn't all die and now we have about the same (actually a little more) tomatoes than planned. We are also having difficulties getting some supplies and seeds delivered to the farm that would normally not be a problem. A third of our sweet potato slips disappeared somewhere in the FedEx system and are probably a box of rot in some warehouse right now. But I had ordered slips from somewhere else and they packed extra and so we ended up planting about the same amount as we had planned. I wish I could think of every little instance this has happened this year, but I'll take Even Steven in a year like 2020!

I hope everyone has had a good week and we look forward to another safe share distribution that will include: Head lettuce and greens for everyone as well as a choice of carrots, radishes, beets, broccoli, bok choy, kohlrabi, salad turnips, kale, and chard. There maybe garlic scapes for everyone too; if not then they will be in next week.

Yeah for the start of the Summer Share. We often talk about how crazy we are for farming the way we farm. The amount of diversity in the crops we grow and the fact that we have to have enough for 300 families weekly for the entirety of the growing season is CRAZY! But this year farming has been the most sane thing happening. And we are happy to be able to feed you all. I hope that you have some comfort knowing that clean, healthy veggies are grown right here in your community for you.

The share room is going to look a little different this year. We've doubled the size of the share room by adding a tent to the front of the barn. There is a new exit door out the back so that you don't have to double back through the share room. There are also green dots spray painted on the floor to help you keep a 6 foot separation from the person in front and in back of you; only go to the next green dot if the person ahead of you has left their dot. And also it is mandatory to wear a mask while under the tent and in the share room (this is also state law mind you). We are excited to see all of you again, but we are going to have to wait to hug and chit chat until it's safe again, unfortunately. There is a detailed list of guidelines included in the email sent out, and then resent just yesterday. Check your spam folder and mark our email address as 'safe' if you think you didn't get it (you did ;)

The fields are looking great (knock on wood...ha), and the first share this year is a hefty one! It includes greens, head lettuce, and bok choy for everyone as well as a choice of carrots, radishes, broccoli, kale, chard, broccoli raab, sprouting tot soy, and more!

We are taking the week and delaying the start of the Summer Share until June 9th and 11th. The cold, cold Spring paired with restrictions and additional precautions taken because of COVID19 kind of forced our hand. We sent out emails to all of our share members last week, and you all will be receiving a "reminder" email this coming week. The email contains all the information you need about any payments due and what to do in order to pick up your weekly shares for the rest of the season. Here are the rules set by the farm (as stated in the email):

• You MUST wear a mask while picking up your share. This is non-negotiable; please show respect to your fellow farm community.
• Pick up will take place in the share room, but we are expanding the space by putting a large tent in the front of the barn. This means everybody must maintain a 6 foot distance from each other.
• Please leave your children in your car or at home if and when possible (we understand there will be exclusions to this guideline, but children are not allowed to leave their parent's side).
• Please move through the share room as quickly as possible (another reason to come into the share room by yourself).
• If the barn is crowded please wait in your car or drive around the block until it clears out a little.
• We still ask that you try to stick to your pick up day.
• But if you are unable to make it you can come to the alternate pick up day (either Tuesday or Thursday) of that same week without notifying the farm.
• You still must only come once per week. i.e Please do not skip an entire week and then double up the next, that is not allowed due to the harvest schedule that is literally set by the vegetables, not us :)
• If you would prefer us to pack a share for you please call or text the farm 716-949-1204 during your share pick up hours only and let us know. A bagged share with your name on it will be waiting for you after 6:30 outside the share room under the tent.
• DO NOT COME TO THE FARM IF YOU ARE SICK OR IN QUARANTINE!! Please call or text us your address and we have a volunteer to bring your veggies to your door step (only for people who are sick or in quarantine)
• We may change or modify these guidelines as the pandemic changes. Please be patient with everyone. Always.

If you are unable to comply with these rules please email me so I can send you a refund. The rules are in place to keep our customers and our staff and us safe so that we can continue to grow and distribute food.

The Summer Share start has been delayed by one week due to the cold, cold weather we had in April/Early May. I know the 90 degree weather coming is going to make us all forget it was 24 degrees just 2 weeks prior! We have sent out emails to all of our Summer Share members with the new COVID19 guidelines for picking up your share (the final Spring pick up will remain in the drive thru method we have been using).

So the Summer Share will begin the week of June 9th. This means there will be a one week gap between the end of the Spring Share and the beginning of the Summer Share. Though it wasn't planned, it will help us change and update the share room to follow the new safety guidelines (I'll list them next week) so we can safely re-open for the Summer season. The u-pick fields will be open this season, but not until July. We'll have more info on that as the pandemic response continues to evolve.

EDIT 5/25: The final Spring Share pick up will include a choice of salad radishes and turnips, spring carrots, asparagus (this crop is SUPER late this year so we are trying to make sure everyone who wants some gets some...which may mean smaller bunches), garlic shoots, beet greens, bok choy, baby kale, mint, lovage, and arugula as well as greens mix and lettuce for everyone.

Bring on the HEAT!

Let's hope this warmer weather sticks now. On Friday I went out to work and audibly shrieked at how warm it was. I just put on my layers like it was any other day these past few weeks and immediately was too warm. Last week we had 2 days (1 whole day and 2 half days) to get anything done in the field. That's not a good percentage, especially during planting season. We are hoping this week's percentage is more favorable...and that the rain is now not going to keep us out. But we keep doing as much as we can do when we can do it.

If you are wondering about any changes COVID 19 may bring to the Summer Shares you are not alone. The upick fields will be open this year, but we did not plant any peas this season because they are the first things ready. We were hoping a delayed opening of the fields may help keep people safe. We will not have any shared tools available for the fields (like scissors), and social distancing will be expected to be followed. As for the Summer Share pick up itself we are waiting for more developments as the recommendations continue to change. We will be emailing everyone in the Summer Share next week with more info (including a start date because this weather has been cray). I will give a heads up that if we do the share pick up in the barn everyone will be required to wear a mask. This is non-negotiable, so start preparing yourself if you need to. In wearing a mask you are watching out for and showing respect to the rest of your farm community by keeping your germs to yourself ;)

As for the Spring Share, this week it will include a choice of: radishes and turnips, bok choy, arugula, baby kale, scallions, garlic shoots, spring carrots, beet greens, and herbs. Everyone will also get spinach and a 4 pack of potted herbs including basil, dill, rosemary and thyme.

As always this is what we are planning to harvest this week. Come actual harvest time sometimes things change!

I hope people haven't gotten too bummed about the weather. It hasn't been my favorite thing, either. It's either really cold or really windy, or both. I believe last Friday was the coldest on record for that date (meanwhile the western half of the country is experiencing record heat in case you were unaware). We have a few more cold nights to make it through before it warms up again...then it's gonna start raining. Ugh. This weather is making it difficult to get any work done by both farmers and crops!

I hope everyone is continuing to stay vigilant and stay healthy. Western NY is unfortunately lagging behind the rest of the state pertaining to COVID 19 cases yet. So wear your mask, wash your hands, and stay 6 feet away from your neighbors while you are in public. If you feel sick, please please please stay home. You can even get tested to make sure you do or don't have the virus. I follow all these guidelines to keep YOU healthy. I just ask that you do the same for others. If anyone is wondering what they can do for their community to help, that is it. We are doing our best to stay healthy so that we can continue to grow food for everyone!

This is a reminder that if you are quarantining or are sick, please let us know so we can set up a way to deliver veggies to your door step. Do not come to the farm if you are sick.

This week's share will include spinach, lettuce mix, and a choice of radishes, salad turnips, broccoli raab, baby kale, scallions, bok choy, chives, lovage, and zesty shoots.