Blue Fox Farm

What’s at Market? Week of August 4th

chris — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:01:18 +0000

My mom has been here visiting for a week. It’s been really awesome to have her around. She and Demian get along great! And it’s been a nice break for Melanie and I to have Mom watch him for a bit while we get farm chores done. She’s always been a great mom to me and now she’s a fantastic grammy. She might be at market with us tomorrow (Tuesday) so if you see her say “Hi”.

So this week at market more summer veggies are showing up. Here’s what’s on the plate:

Basil (It keeps getting chewed on by the cucumber beetles this year. Frustrating but it still tastes great!)
Beets
Beans (We’ll be getting into a new succession of “Jade” beans next week)
Braising Mix
Cabbage
Carrots
Chard
Cucumbers
Dill
Eggplant
Garlic (Music is the variety- a hardneck)
Kale
Leeks
Cantaloupe !!!! The first melons. Very sweet. A limited number so show up early to get these.
Red Onions
Sweet Onions
Parsley
Strawberries
Green Bell Peppers (and some white and purple too. but same flavor as greens)
Fingerling Potatoes
Salad Mix
Tomatoes
Zucchini

I’ve had several CSA members mention that maybe the best way to get recipes out and around is for you to email your recipes to me and then I can cut and paste to the blog. Sounds great and easy to me. So please feel free to email any recipes you have.

See you at market!!!!

What’s at Market? Week of July 27th

chris — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 06:06:51 +0000

Not sure how it happened but it’s almost August. I ate a Watermelon today from the garden. It wasn’t ripe though. But still refreshing. I can’t believe the weather we’ve been having- all the veggies are simply loving it. There haven’t been gigantic flushes of anything, just nice steady flow o’ veggies. That’s what we like.

Still more of the same on the farm- harvest a lot, transplant and seed more produce, keep up on the weeds once in a while and go to farmers market 3 times a week. That 8th day could come in handy- although we’d probably find another market to go to anyway.

So this week at market:

Arugula
Basil
Beets
Green Beans
Braising Mix
Scallions
Cabbage
Carrots
Chard
Cucumber (Slicing andd Striped Armenian)
Dill
Eggplant (Both Globe and Japanese)
Kale
Leeks
Sweet Onions
Red Onions
Parsley
Strawberries
Fingerling Potatoes
Salad Mix
Tomatoes !!!
Zucchini

And I must say you can stamp a FAIL on my forehead in the recipe department. It’s not that I don’t want to share recipes with all of our great members, it’s just that I keep physically running out of time in the day. For instance if you’ll notice I’m typing this up at around 11pm and I’ll be up at 4:30 to leave the farm by 5 to make deliveries and then setup at market. So fitting recipes in is tough. I think next season might be easier. Anyone have any ideas how we can get recipes out to the greater CSA community? If you do, please drop me an email. (Available on our contact page here on the website)

Finally, last thing…. The folks we bought our new farmland from are selling their newly built home that sits on 17 acres. If you or anyone you know are looking for a brand new custom built home and need someone to farm organic veggies on the acreage, let me know. Or if you just want to live across the street from some interestingly dedicated organic farmers, that’s great too! The land has been certified organic for several years already as pasture for organic dairy cows. Beautiful wonderful soil and the new house really is something else. Here’s a link if you want to check it out.

See you at market.

What’s at Market? Week of July 20th

chris — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:33:10 +0000

Whew! There’s a lot of food out there. And we’ve been picking a lot of it:

Arugula
Basil
Beets
Beans
Braising Mix
Brocoli
Scallions
Cabbage
Carrots
Chard
Cucumbers
Kale
Sweet Onions
Parsley
Strawberries
Fingerling Potatoes
Salad Mix
Tomatoes
Zucchini

The first Saturday Ashland Market was great! So many new folks I’d never seen before. That’s a good thing- it means folks who can’t or don’t normally make it to market are now making it there. The location is great and I couldn’t believe how many people walked and biked, and was even more amazed at how many people actually asked for bags for their produce. I would estimate 80% used their own bags. Good stuff!

Well time to get some sleep. 4 am comes early. Have to load the tomatoes for market before we go!

See you at market!

Ashland Saturday Market

chris — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:57:57 +0000

Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market presents:
S a t u r d a y s
J u l y 1 9th - O c t o b e r 2 5th
9am - 1pm
Lithia Way & First Street
Ashland
(downtown, across the street from the Post Office)

featuring local seasonal vegetables and fruits, as well as flowers, cheese, meat, plants, herbs, honey, baked goods, some prepared foods, and a limited number of agricultural craft items

~ come experience the gratifying exchange between people and their sustenance ~

Bring your own bags. Please help reduce plastic bag consumption.

Key of C Coffee House will be offering a .15 cent discount
to market customers who bring their own mugs.

Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market now accepts EBT/Oregon Trail, ATM and credit card payments.
ATM & CCs are charged a small transaction fee.

Please forward this announcement; show the farmers your appreciation for all the hard work and love they put into growing our food. Let’s send the farmers home with empty trucks.

more information: 261-0577

What’s at Market? Week of July 13th

chris — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 05:04:19 +0000

Today finally felt like a summer harvest day. It was hot and muggy, and we picked Green Beans, Zucchini, Eggplant, Potatoes, and a bunch of Strawberries. That sounds like summer to me. Around 4 this afternoon smoke from a California fire rolled into the valley- you couldn’t see the hills behind the farm. That sounds like summer to me.

This week at market:

Arugula
Rooted Basil !!!!
Beets
Green Beans
Braising Mix
Broccoli
Scallions
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Carrots
Chard
Collards
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Kale
Pearl Drop Onions
Sweet Onions
PArsley
Strawberries
Fingerling Potatoes
Salad Mix
Tomatoes
Zucchini

So I’m hoping everyone can find something in that list that they like to eat.

If you haven’t heard, this Saturday the Ashland Market begins. Yep, it’s actually going to be a reality. Very exciting. It will be at the new parking lot across from the Post Office in downtown. The hours are 9 am - 1pm. We’re very interested to see what comes of the Saturday market and how it affects (or doesn’t) the Tuesday market. The best part of the whole thing is how many folks that can’t make it during the week will be able to attend. Tell your friends! Tell your enemies! Tell everyone you know that eats. We’ll be there with food, and so will others.

See you at market,

Chris, Melanie, and Demian

Growing Optimism

chris — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:16:39 +0000

Oregon State University’s Extension has a magazine, Oregon’s Agricultural Progress. There’s a story this month highlighting the new generation of farmers.

We were one of those interviewed.

If you’d like to check out the story it’s here

Really nice article, aimed at OSU extension supporters that read the magazine. It’s good to let people know there’s a few of us (farmers) left. And Lynn Ketchum takes some amazing photos. He and Tiffany were really fun folks to talk with too.

The only downside to the story is the fact that the farming couples are profiled with the implication being the man of the team running the show. Or so it is presented. That’s somewhat frustrating to me. Our farm wouldn’t be what it is without Melanie or I. But time and time again (not just this article, but throughout the ag movement) it’s assumed that the man is running the show. This has been true more often in the past, but I really feel this has changed in the last 20 years or so. At least it has within the organic farming movement. Couples work together as a farming team. You almost have to. When a farm grows 50 or more different veggies there’s just too much to be tackled for one person. And I feel that men and women have a very different eye for certain aspects too. Whether it’s noticing a bug infestation, or a bunch of carrots that were bunched too big, it works really well to have multiple perspectives. So I just want to put it out there that we and many other farms owe great respect to our respective partners and how equal of a part they play in the madness we call farming.

After thinking about this for a few and rereading the article, maybe it’s not that it’s implied that the man’s running the show so much as the fact that the “team effort” side of things is a really important angle to be addressed and paired with this upcoming/future generation of farmers. That’s maybe a clearer picture of what would have made me more content with the article.

What’s at Market? Week of July 6th

chris — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:15:13 +0000

No new pictures of the farm this week. It seems that there isn’t a cell phone made yet that can withstand the rigors of farm life, i.e. dirt. So I’m back to my old phone that just makes phone calls. No camera in the field till I get the new one in the mail.

At market this week:

Basil (loose, the rooted basil is another week or so out)
Beets
Braising Mix
Broccoli
Scallions
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Carrots
Chard
Collards
Cukes (The first few.)
Kale
Lettuce (Probably the last of it for a month or so)
Pearl Drop Onions (How do people like these? Grow again next year? Comments?)
Walla Walla Sweet Onions
Parsley
Strawberries (Making a comeback)
Fingerling Potatoes (Yes, potatoes are back)
Salad Mix
Spinach
Tomatoes (The first few)
Zucchini

That’s all we have for the week. Guess it’ll have to do.

See you at market!

What’s at Market? Week of June 29th

chris — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:32:50 +0000

This week at market:

Smoke.

Oh and veggies too.

Arugula
A tiny bit of basil
Beets
Braising Mix
Broccoli
Scallions
Cabbage (Savoy and Smooth)
Cauliflower
Carrots !!!!!!
Chard
Collards
Kale
Lettuce
Pearl Drop Onions
Walla Walla Sweet Onions
Sugar Snap Peas
Salad Mix
Spinach
And a bit of Zucchini

With the latest warm spells we’ve just been watering everything. A lot. Every day. We’ve never grown head lettuces this late into the season so this year is a good year to challenge our capabilities. I think everything has survived the heat pretty well so far. And things are growing in a manic way. We like that. It means more food for you at market.

Eggplant growing nicely

Peppers getting ready to set more fruit

A view to the north

And this last picture is looking southeast over the gardens. The pasture in the foreground is where the overwintered garden will be this season. That ground will be turned under this week.

What’s at Market? Week of June 22

chris — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:48:17 +0000

There are a lot of sugar snap peas right now. Really. A bunch.

This year we are trellising our peas for the first time. I don’t think we’ll ever go back to not trellising them. The picking is so much more efficient as well as the quality of the pea. And we’re getting more peas off of less bed space. So it’s a win all the way around.

This week at market:

Arugula
Beets !!
Braising Mix
Broccoli
Scallions
Cauliflower
Chard
Collards
Kale
Lettuce
Walla Walla Sweet Onions
Parsley
Sugar Snap Peas
Salad Mix
Spinach
Turnips (The last week for the turnips)

Summer Squash and Cabbage are on the way!!!!!

Here’s a nice picture I took the other morning as we arrived early to pick peas:

Some pictures from market today

chris — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:58:32 +0000

It was a fantastic day at market! The weather was perfect and the people were out in droves. The tables were definitely empty at the end of the day.