Madison Creek Farms "Farm Newsletter" February 2010

You know mom, my son was saying to me the other day.  I can made it snow! “whoa” I exclaimed, and just how young man can you control the weather? He smiled up at me and snickered “I wear my pajama bottoms inside out when I want it to snow”..and it does, he explained very proud of himself indeed. I bent down to his size and said “why thank you “Lucca” for letting me in on your little weather secret “as I tugged at his inside out jammie bottoms. From now on I guess we will need to be sleeping in your underwear or your going to be going to school right through the summer making up these missed snow days. He stepped back looking as if I just stole his thunder and shirked…  “nobody told me we would have to make up snow days”!…He quickly removed his magical inside out pajama bottoms and tossed them into my arms. So, I’m happy to announce we may have put an end to this winter’s nasty weather and we are looking forward to sunny skies for the rest of the month…just thought I would let you know:)

In a matter of days we here on the farm will hopefully begin being able to get out in the field and get some beds amended and put up some low-tunnels. Our low-tunnel system allow us to plant very cold hardy vegetable, herbs and flowers a bit earlier than if I were to just plant them into the field unprotected. This is a very low tech system but one that works great for us both in the early spring and late fall from frost. I was looking through my farm report from last season and was surprise to find by this time last year we had several beds already planted and I planted a bed of onions out into the field February 9th. We did have a very unusually warm late winter last season though. This winter has been much too cold with frozen ground that can’t be worked as of yet…ah but very soon that will all start to change.

The first crops that I want to get planted this season is peas. Both English and sugar snaps. I wasn’t able to this last season due to the premium space in our raised planting bed. Pea’s need to have support that their vine can rope and twist around. The problem for us is that to harvest enough to supply our CSA requires a lot of pea’s to be planted and that would also mean a lot of trellises that would need to be built,Thus taking up so much of our valuable bed space. But this season I am going to try to plant peas in the back section of the production field where we had planted our corn last season. I am so looking forward to having peas, they are amazingly delicious fresh pick in the pod. English peas are the ones that will need to be shelled. Their tender small pods are nothing like what you’ve had in the can or even frozen. A little real butter and just a few moments in the steamer and Wow! You will understand why I if I could, I would plant peas …everywhere on this farm. Spring bunching onions (we call them green onions here in the south although some of ours are red tipped as well) , Red Russian Kale, Óleran Romaine lettuce, in fact we will be planting several different varieties of lettuce over the course of the next few weeks….hope you like salads! Carrots…this season I am planting a few different varieties of carrots as well as a rainbow of colors. Sweet crisp radhish’s and tender melt in your mouth spinach. The list is long and all this talk about what to expect from our spring garden is making in desperate for REAL food…and right now I am sitting in a dressing room on tour in IN and believe me life on the road its hard to find anything fresh…let alone remotely healthy.

CSA News & Updates

Welcome to all of our new shareholders for this Spring & Summer. Mark and I are looking forward to meeting you all and getting to know you. To our returning CSA shareholder thank you for spending another season with us, we have miss you all and can’t wait to see you very soon.

I am still shooting for April 17th as our CSA gathering date here on the farm, so be sure and mark those calendars.  This is the day we spend a few hours with just our shareholders talking about the program walking you though the farm…we’ll be severing lunch so that should be an incentive on its own to try to make the date. Joining a CSA is more than just a way to ensure fresh vegetables, herbs and flowers for you and your family…its about community, coming together with like-minded folks that want something different, slower and wholesome in the lives. You won’t find that at the local grocery store or super Wal-Mart. All the workshops and cooking demos we do on the farm during the season are geared toward you the shareholders in mind. So take part and enjoy learning something new with a new group of friends and neighbors. Most of these workshop are free and fun as well as very casual. You will hear this expression from me time and time again over the season. This is your farm…get to know it..go out there and harvest more greens if you want or need them. Cut flowers, enjoy the days you spend here on the farm. Bring the kids, let them run and play…that is where memories are created…and in turn they will want to protect these little havens of small family farms in their future. We have had intern that have come to work on the farm from big cities and they all tell us that somewhere in their childhood they experienced being on a farm…this experiance left such an impression on them they as adults (or semi-adults ) felt compel to once again spend sometime back on a farm..these are our future foodies…our localvores…the protectors of our green spaces.

During the CSA gathering we will be leading a farm tour to familiarize you with the crops we are growing, the layout of the farm, the herb beds and flowers…although the flowers really won’t start blooming until mid to late May. We will take you though the market pavilion, the animal corral and all about the farm really. Again in hopes that you will feel comfortable and at home here at the farm.

I am planning on doing a cooking workshop during the gather getting you started with your CSA basket and ideas for those of y’all that might not be so familiar with some of the contents to start off with. This is the CSA Gathering information:

2010 Spring & Summer CSA Gathering

Date: April 17th 2010

Time: 10:30am-1:00pm

Location: Madison Creek Farms

We will be keeping an eye out on the weather closer to the gathering date.

What to Bring: No open toe shoes…not fun in the field I assure you. You may want to bring a hat for sun protection, a blanket for hanging out on the grass on. Your camera, a cooler in case you want to pick up some fresh organic farm eggs or you have placed a meat order. You check for the balance of your CSA share…if you still have your basket from last season bring it with you as well, if not you will be picking up your new basket that day.

Madison Creek Farms will be the guest gardening experts for the Hendersonville Home Show this Friday February 26th. 5-7pm.  You will find us at Life Style Real Estate Advisers Booth.

Hendersonville Home Show

Feb 26 3-9pm     Feb 27th 9-4pm

First Baptist Church , Hendersonville, TN.

www.LifeStyleRealEstateAdvisors.com

It that time of year again when we open up our tool shed and dip our spades into that heaping compost pile demonstrating the basics of organic gardening. This is a hands on workshop that consist of learning how to start, maintain and reward yourself with a wonderful organic garden. The workshop is 4hours in length and includes a light lunch and beverage here on the farm. Tips, Ideas and know-how and maybe a couple of inside secrets we’ve learned over the years. These workshops have limited space so don’t wait to sign up they fill up fast.  To register for our Organic Workshop visit our farm’s website and click the workshop poster.

Madison Creek Farms is proud to offer bi-weekly orders of Gardner Grove’s Farms USDA Inspected All-Natural Grass feed Pork and Beef  prime cuts of meat coming April 2010. We will be posting a complete order form on our website and at the farm’s market pavilion this spring.

For Sale: We are taking orders for organic Shiitake Mushroom logs.  These are white oak logs approximately3.5 ft long. These logs have been inoculated with Shiitake Mushroom spawns and will fruit this year.  The logs are $25.00 ea. pickup on the farm. Enjoy fresh mushrooms you grow yourself for years to come!  Limited logs for sale, order yours by emailing us here at the farm   Mushroom Log

Can’t wait to see here on the farm!

Peggy & Mark Marchetti

Madison Creek Farm