Turtle Times
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Vol. 12, No. 22, Nov. 16, ‘07 7260 NW 58th St., Johnston, 278-4522 (577-9208)
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Farm Update
It seems strange to be almost Thanksgiving and doing the last newsletter of the year when there are still vegetables alive in the garden! I hope you have taken the opportunity to visit the farm after deliveries ended to glean more bounty of the season. There has now been a hard freeze, but there are a few Swiss chard, tat soi, beets, daikon, parsley, sage, thyme and lettuces still alive.
After deliveries ended, the farm crew started cleaning up the garden, pulling up weed fabric, irrigation lines, and trellises. We planted 130 lbs of garlic for next year, covered it with straw, and watched it start growing immediately in the warm fall weather. We saw about 6 salamanders, which is 5 more than we have ever seen in one season. They are an indicator species that are a sign of healthy conditions. Now the deer, which have not been a problem all year, have started rubbing off the bark of the peach trees. We hope to protect the tree trunks, get the strawberries covered with straw, and do just a few more final details before considering the garden put to bed for the winter.
Thank you to all of you for your participation in the 2007 Turtle Farm season. This enterprise would not happen if it weren’t for you and your support! Additional thanks go to those who volunteered, the site hosts, the core group, the farm crew, Dan, my webmaster brother, and John, my patient husband. Have a warm, healthy winter. Watch for signs of a green 2008 with the arrival of a Turtle Farm brochure in mid-January.
Evaluation Summary
Thank you to everyone who filled out and returned an evaluation form. That helps me, the core group, and the farm crew to get a sense of your thoughts on the season. I have compiled the responses and will put the full summary (5 pages) on the website if you want to read them. In my opinion, this was a “fair to good” season. I missed our usual amounts of spinach, raspberries, and peppers. But there was also a lot of bounty in the amounts of scallions, green beans, greens, garlic, sweet potatoes and a number of other crops. There were few weeks when the boxes were not full. By growing fewer potatoes, we had more time for fall crops and green beans. Because of the heat and ample rain for most of the summer, things grew quickly. Some of you commented that the tomatoes were at times overripe or the zucchini too big. We pick the zucchini every other day, but they still grew so fast, we had more than usual the number of larger ones. The tomatoes would often split after a rain, making them spoil more quickly. When we pick marginal or seconds of produce like that, we are left with a decision—to put in the box or not put in the box. It’s my philosophy to give that “less than perfect” produce if there is room in the box rather than not. I know many of you like to use these items for immediate cooking or freezing.
The ala carte and herb share experiments were learning experiences. Some of the crops were new and not exactly successes such as the dry beans and cow peas, which ripened way too late for the boxes. Others were not in large quantities, and the requests for them more numerous than expected, such that we were not able to give everyone what they had requested. Tomatillos, snow peas, and shallots come to mind. The herb shares we were able to fill, but they are an item perhaps more appropriate to requests. Someone wondered if quantities of the share box were down this year because we were distracted by the ala carte, herb and extra shares. As anyone who has worked at the farm can tell you, there is no comparison. The box ingredients always come first, and the extras are last as time allows. That’s why they are a refundable item and the box isn’t.
If quantities were down this year, and I believe they were, there were several reasons. Part of it was intentional as a result of last year’s research project that showed in a “good” year the produce value received was at least $540 for a $400 share. For the financial success and continuation of this enterprise, we may not be able to provide the quantities of everything that you might want. Part of it was the weather, affecting some crops, especially spinach and peppers. And part of it is farm management and skills of the farmer. I’m still learning after 12 years of this constantly changing challenge. But it is still a joy to do it, and I’m looking forward to next year. I hope you are, too.
See you in the spring,
Angela