CSA Newsletter

Outside my office window, the goldenrods are blooming. Meanwhile I can hear the goldfinches flitting around as they enjoy the perennial sunflowers planted around the house. Chip chip chip. Chip [...]

For the last 3 seasons, Mike has made it possible for me and the girls to take a week-long vacation in the middle of the summer.  This year, for the first time, I got to return the favor! Mike [...]

I am so excited to share this with you all! Growing for Market, a national farming trade publication, came to interview us. With permission from Growing for Market we are sharing the text of the [...]

Green Life Philosophy One of our CSA members writes an inspiring blog on how to incorporate simple sustainable actions into everyday life. She also happens to meal plan with her CSA box every [...]

Field Chat One of the things I love about farming is the field chat.  Some days we are moving from task to task fairly quickly, or I’m doing more managerial things, so I don’t get to [...]

As you read this, I am unplugged, hanging out with my children in Cass Lake, MN near Bemidji.  That’s right, I’m a farmer on vacation in July! It’s amazing! You may be wondering [...]

The Negative Weather Vane You know that person in your world who always seems to have a negative spin on any response?You know who I mean.  That person you almost try to back into a positive [...]

The girls and I spend a lot of our time swimming in the summers. I’m always rooting for swimming in the lakes, like Stewart or Governor Dodge. The girls, however, prefer the clean [...]

Three Girls, Brassicas, & a Thrift Store Our three daughters, ages 9, 6, and 4 don’t do much work on the farm. They are young and unless the work involves eating something, they [...]

Red-winged blackbirds are one of the first migratory birds who return to our fields in the spring. The males are sleek, beautiful birds with black feathers and these special tufts of red (with a [...]

Caroline has been a CSA member of our farm for many years. She’s come to lots of the events and is the proud owner of the testimonial I use when presenting the concept of CSA to potential [...]

Last Tuesday Mike, myself, and his buddy Trey were at the house playing cards. A storm rolled in and we went outside on the porch to watch. The rain was coming down steady, but not too hard. [...]

For many of you, this week marks the end of a 6-month run of eating organic food grown on our farm. We thank you!!! We know there are lots of ways to find local food. And organic food. But CSA [...]

Our girls love the Little House of the Prairie series – especially Little House in the Big Woods & Little House on the Prairie. The parallels and contrasts our girls can draw from the [...]

For the first time in family history, Mike and I were given the full reigns for Thanksgiving. Just because we are organic vegetable farmers does not mean our families share the same values of [...]

For the first time in family history, Mike and I were given the full reigns for Thanksgiving. Just because we are organic vegetable farmers does not mean our families share the same values of [...]

This Farmer Hates Marketing Okay, I just have to admit, I really don’t like marketing. If there’s one part of my job as a farmer that I dislike, it’s the part where I [...]

Putting the Strawberries to Bed The farm goes through a yearly cycle of activity and going to sleep. Each spring we rip off the blankets and say to the fields, “Get up! It’s time to [...]

Potions & Blogs The Harry Potter craze happened about a decade after I was growing up. Crew here that are in their late twenties experienced the Harry Potter books in real time, waiting for [...]

The Quieting The farm season at its peak is a crazy, fast-moving animal with lots of moving parts. The farm is effervescent with people and conversation and laughter. Then, starting in October, [...]

The other day the girls and I were sitting around the table after school, and I asked if they would help brainstorm for my Halloween costume. Without missing a beat, Zea, my 9 year old, said, [...]

The Best of Days In her book, Beloved, Toni Morrison writes: “In Ohio seasons are theatrical. Each one enters like a prima donna, convinced its performance is the reason the world has people in [...]

The average yearly rainfall for our area is around 35 inches. Since May, we have had 72 inches of rain. That’s just crazy town. With a critical eye, and damp feet, it can sometimes be too [...]

Last season on one hot June afternoon, my Dad stopped by the farm. I was driving our large Kubota tractor. He walked up to say hello and peek inside, and then exclaimed, “Look at you, [...]

Sometimes there is a certain metaphorical symmetry between family life and farm life that I find beautiful. A truism one discovers when working on a farm, is that change is the one constant to be [...]

Touched by the Sun One day back in the spring, one of our employees, Taylor, was getting a little loopy after having to hoe broccoli and Brussels sprouts for 5 hours straight. That day she and [...]

I ran religiously 3-4 times a week until my late twenties. By then I was farming, and therefore extremely physically active, and in between pregnancies. Finding the time,  and having a body [...]

The Sardine Meal Towards the end of each August, right before some of our seasonal workers begin to peel off (thanks, Jared!), Mike and I treat the crew to a nice meal in Madison. Sardine has [...]

According to the EPA, in its document entitled, What Climate Change Means for Wisconsin:  “Wisconsin’s climate is changing. In the past century, most of the state has warmed about two [...]