Farmers and their crops sometimes have different goals in mind. Even for highly domesticated crops, the primary biological imperative is still to reproduce, and thus to produce seeds. This is great when the seed is the crop (corn, peas, beans), not a problem when it’s part of the crop (tomatoes, peppers, squash), of no concern when the crop reproduces vegetatively (potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes), but a problem for many leafy or root crops (greens, radishes). When the latter start going to seed, the process is called bolting, and it can radically alter the flavor and.or texture of the edible portion of the plant. Continue reading →

The first part of March was rough in some ways. The weather is certainly a mixed blessing and has been wearing us out; Daylight Savings Time messes with us too. We got a call from Trey at Red & Moe, one of our best restaurant customers, to say they’d be closing soon and thus wouldn’t be buying from us anymore (though we’ve since had better news). I fell through the prep shed’s rafters while working; it was my own fault for misplacing a foot and no harm was done (I have good reflexes), but was a harsh reminder that even a moment’s inattention could change everything. Joanna has been slaving away at organic paperwork, finishing just in time to get started on taxes, both of which tend to make us very cynical about the world given how much time and money is wasted on such needlessly complicated bureaucracy. We discovered that voles had eaten our entire remaining stock of in-ground overwintered parsnips and jerusalem artichokes, gutting a hoped-for March CSA distribution that wasn’t promised but would still have been nice to achieve. The continued heat made us worry about overwintered greens like spinach and kale bolting before we could get them to members. So when we realized we hadn’t taken a real day off since late January, we decided it was past time to do so and spent a warm, sunny Tuesday enjoying the Missouri outdoors on our own terms. Continue reading →

On Wednesday, we met a few friends at Red & Moe for a farewell lunch, given the news that they’d be closing soon. This quickly turned into a celebration, though, as I got to talking with Trey about his future plans. Turns out he’s deep into preparations for taking over full management of the place, with plans to reinvent it as a full-service upscale Italian restaurant, similar to the old Trattoria that still holds good memories for many Columbians despite closing years ago. Continue reading →

Running a farm as diversified as this one means the days are rarely dull or repetitive. While the overall list of things to do and manage can seem daunting at times, the broad skill set required, and the constant seasonal changes, always keeps us interested and engaged. We’d rather be managing a complex and stimulating farm than slogging through the same work environment every day. Here’s a summary of some of the things we did on just one day last week: Continue reading →

Spring is in moving along in fast-forward mode. Soil temperature readings have been over 60ºF, providing good germination conditions for pretty much anything that is sensible to plant at this time of year. Such exceedingly warm conditions are cause for concern, though, as plants may get off to too-early a start and not be prepared for more normal conditions (let alone a true cold spell) in later spring. Here’s a look at the recent weather conditions, and what it means for our current planting plans. Continue reading →

The current cultural climate of concern and borderline paranoia about food safety focuses far too much on pathogenic and short-term food safety, as opposed to nutritional and long-term health and safety. It’s okay to sell many foods and products that could make you sick over the long run (diabetes, obesity, cancer), but regulations grow ever-tighter on how fresh, whole food can be handled, prepared, and sold. A food safety outbreak that sickens hundreds of people is a national emergency, but tobacco and corn syrup that contribute to massive long-term health care costs are just fine, thank you.

In this situation, it’s far too easy for regulators, bureaucrats, or other powerful entities to create problems for small direct-market farms. Over the last few years, we’ve written about various incidents across the country in which small farms or local food producers were unfairly treated or harmed (including our own pig-feeding saga, or the unfortunate Springfield dairy), but the following story is the most frightening I’ve seen yet, involving the attempted shutdown of a farm-to-table dinner in Nevada, including destruction of some food.

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We don’t always write enough about the basics of vegetable management, even though it’s the core of what we do here. So to give a better look at this neglected topic, we’re going to start posting our plant (and mushroom) to-do lists from time to time, with some occasional commentary. Here’s our recent and upcoming agenda, which is definitely competing with the finishing of winter tasks such as infrastructure work, taxes & organic paperwork, website work, and more. Right now early March feels as busy as mid-summer.

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This February was the 15th warmest on record in Columbia, according to the National Weather Service, and completed the 3rd warmest winter on record. It also stayed quite dry; nothing near record, but enough to continue the mild drought we’ve been in since last summer. Much of the precipitation we have received has come in the form of small spurts of rain that don’t soak in, and are quickly removed by abundant warm, sunny, windy days. This weather makes it tempting to get an early start on planting and transplanting, but we don’t trust Missouri weather to remain this stable, so are sticking to our original planting plan. The early, very warm weather has us concerned about the potential for another April 2007 event, the late spring freeze which devastated orchards and more in Missouri: Continue reading →

One of our most eagerly anticipated signs of spring is the onset of woodcock mating displays, which are an visual and audio highlights of a Midwestern spring if you know where to observe them. This farm has the right mix of open ground and shrubby cover that attract woodcocks in mating season, and late February through early March will find us out at dusk many nights enjoying the show.

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For the first five years of this farm, we’ve started all our transplants indoors, using a small office with grow lights. This has worked very well for us, but as we continue to expand, we’re planning to build a small passive-solar greenhouse this spring to give ourselves more space. Here’s a quick look at our plans; comments and feedback welcome.
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