Start of Season 2013

Another season is underway at Steed Farms.  I know you probably thought that this was just another dead blog.  Well, at least not yet.  My Irish cousin Gavin would be really upset if I didn't post.  Here's to you Gavin for keeping the pressure on me!

Summer went well at the farm.  The covercrops did splendidly well with all the rain we had.  This should have been a great year for some experimental rice I tried in a low spot we have just to see what would happen. Amazingly, the low spot never filled with water even after the rains.  The weeds competed with the rice but it still produced.  However when I picked it almost every single rice grain was stung by stinkbugs and had turned black or dark brown.  So rice doesn't seem like a future candidate at the farm unless we go conventional and start spraying heavy.

We rotated out to the field nearest the road this year and it seems like it will produce pretty well.  I am trying to rotate fields on a four year rotation.  That should give the ground some time to recover before we plant back.  Right now we have the space to be able to do that.  In this new field there are a bunch of perennial weeds (purple nutsedge and bermuda grass) that will cause tons of problems for our yields.  I've already had to plant around some of the worst sections of the field.

The tomatoes are started in the greenhouse and we will be planting the peppers and eggplants shortly.  We are starting some more herbs in three gallon pots.  My sons just helped fill the pots for African blue basil (a perennial), Vietnamese cilantro, and Mexican tarragon.  I am looking to propagate more rosemary next.

Every year is so unique for production.  This year we have almost zero yellow squash producing, minimal cucumbers, and the zucchini are light as well.  The "greens" types are doing well.  I tried patty pan squash this year and it looks decent.  The yields are a little low but might be a crop for the future.  We will see.

It was great to see everyone at the pick up this last Saturday; old and new faces alike.  We appreciate all the local support for our farming and we hope everyone will enjoy the fresh, naturally grown produce.  I'll try to get some pictures for the next post.

Frequently Asked Questions

We get numerous requests about our farm and almost everyone asks the same questions so we figured we ought to create a post entitled "Frequently Asked Questions". Here are our top questions.

What is a CSA? Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a system where the community supports a farmer and a farmer supports the community. Members provide the funding for us to farm, and we  uses our knowledge and skills to provide the community with locally, responsibly, and sustainably grown food.

When do I pay for my share?  CSA memberships are paid in full at the start of the season. This helps to offset costs for farm maintenance, cover crops, seeds, fertilizer, tractor, and other materials to begin the season.

How much produce do I receive in a typical share?  The typical share has anywhere from 10 to 15 different vegetables, fruits, and herbs. It is dependent upon the season and growing conditions.

Is all of the produce grown on the farm? All of our produce is grown directly on our farm, organically.  Occasionally we may find items to give to our members (eg. starfruits, pineapple oranges) but we always let our members know where they came from and how they were grown.

How do you sign up for your CSA?  You can contact us via our Facebook page, Steed Farm, or you can view our listing on localharvest.org (Steed Farms).

Where are you located?  We are located in Plant City.  We are on County Road 39, 3 miles south off Hwy. 60.

How many weeks is your season?  Our season is 24 weeks and starts around Thanksgiving and ends in May. 

Are volunteer hours required to be a member of the CSA?  We do all the growing and harvesting there are no volunteer hours required.

Why should I choose a CSA?  You get to know your farmer, you see where your produce came from, and you have a personal interest in the welfare of the farm. 

What are the benefits of a CSA?

Food is harvested right before pickup and retains nutrients and vitamins longer.

Our food is organically grown.

A reduction of carbon emissions from transport and cold storage.

You are supporting your local community

Monies spent at a CSA will be spent locally

You will know where your food is grown, who is growing your food, and how your food is grown.

Pictures May 2013

Week 20, 2013 Season

I found some things out about myself while keeping this blog of our farm's journey.

1.  I have a mental block when it comes to spelling zucchini (Of course I had to look up the spelling to make sure it was correct).  Maybe I will learn how eventually with more practice. Zucchini, zucchini, zucchini.

2.  I believe that I have a limited number of written words that need to be expressed over a given time period.

In the early days of our farm and blog, I spoke very little and never wrote at my previous employment.  My written word quota was not being reached.  Now with four little ones and a job where most of what I do is write and speak, I think I am exceeding my quota.  Priorities have changed.  I don't have much of an urge to write about the farm.  I'm expressing myself aplenty.  I'd like to say I am going to write more...but probably I won't.  I used to feel guilty about not posting, but now if I write a post I congratulate myself.  Celebrate the small victories!

Regardless, now that I am taking the time to write I'll let you know what is going on at the farm.

We have a nesting pair of bluebirds in our bird box.  They are fun to see and cool to watch bringing food to the little ones.  We also have a mockingbird nest on an old trailer.  Nate and I discovered it last week by accident. We also had the privilege of seeing a flight of termites from our shredded tree piles from the powerline work.  These are the dump piles from the contractors cleaning up live oaks underneath the powerlines along the road ways.  I asked if they would dump the mostly chipped leaves on our farm and they were all to happy to oblige.  Now we use it to increase the organic matter of our soils.  The interesting thing about the termites was that a flock of swallows were eating them and were flying all around us when we went over to investigate.  They were so close you could here their mouths snapping as they flew through the aerial buffet line.  It was a neat experience and we spent some time just taking it all in.

Another interesting development is that our humble farm is apparently a goldmine for the local research plant pathologist.  He got excited when I was explaining about how my tomato plants' foliage turned purple and was wondering what it might be.  After some intense questioning he determined that we had tomato purple leaf disorder.  This is a yet unexplained problem (probably a new virus) on tomatoes and it got the scientist out to the field to collect samples and whiteflies with a bug vac.  He has been back to get more samples and found new and interesting diseases on our potatoes as well.  Well I'm glad we can do our part to advance horticultural science as well as grow organic vegetables for our local community.  It  makes for a win-win for our community at large...maybe.  I hope to add some pictures soon.  That reminds me...

3.  I find downloading pictures to a blog post harder to do than actually sitting down to write a post.

Welcome Cool Weather

Jenn and I were just having a conversation last week about how hot it has been this winter and what it might be like to grow in an area that has an actual cool, moderately protracted spring.  Then this last week blows in and it has been beautiful.  There is so much guess work growing in our area.  I almost planted green beans and corn thinking that our last frost was behind us.  I'm so glad I didn't because we did get a frost at the farm.  It has burnt some of our potato plants that were looking great.  Even some of our kale got frosted which surprised me.  My brother Pat and I had managed to protect all the newly emerged potatoes from our first heavy frost a few weeks back.  We covered them with pots or if they were small we used soil.  We did manage to cover up our young lemon, grapefruit, and naval orange trees and this spared them from real damage.  Thanks to Pat for helping out here as well.
We have been picking a few of our greenhouse tomatoes lately and they are yummy delicious.  We are growing Celebrity mainly.  The taste is as good as a Celebrity will taste, which is pretty good.  But the plant is grown more for yields than for taste.  That is another decision that must be made every year.  Do we grow for taste or for yields or try to get the better of the two?
I've been trying to trouble shoot an electrical problem with our irrigation valves for a few weeks with no luck.  So I called in the backup.  Dad came out and we cobbled together a solution that will get our blocks automatic watering again.  This will save some time in the evening visits to the farm.
We planted some zucchini and yellow squash, the last of the lettuce, more green onions (I love their taste especially on sandwiches), and red beets.  I will be planting two kinds of corn, melons, basil, green beans, peas, and peppers shortly to round out the last 8 weeks.
My family were talking about carrot tops and if you could eat them.  So our in house reference source (Pat) did some research and came up with this site.  All you could ever want to learn about carrot tops.   http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/carrotops.html

Week 12, 2013

We are halfway through the season.  It is really hard to believe.  It seems like the weeks are just flying by.  I heard not to long ago a metaphor for how time seems to speed up the older you go.  They said it was like you are moving through time at the speed of your age.  When you are 20 you are moving 20 mph when you are 65 you are traveling 65 mph relatively through your time.  Well, as I approach 40 I am starting to feel the wind in my hair.

We have finally added some color to our pick up this last week.  Beautiful red radishes.  I found that if I plant them one week after the lettuce I can usually pick them at the same time.  There was a few pink and albinos in the harvest and I grouped them together for a curiosity bunch.

I have been watching a few lettuce oddities as well.  We saved our seeds from the new fire lettuce a few years ago.  Some are very red,  but some are oak leafed and green with a tint of red.  Those are much faster to grow out.  I will leave these and see if I can get some self crossed seeds again to try out.  I like those greenish ones better as they finish faster.  Just look at the relative size in the picture above.

Along with saving some of our own seeds where we can I try to select traits that we like when we grow.  On the mustard and the arugula, I always try to remove the flowers that sprout up first.  I am trying to select plants that flower later than others so we have a longer harvest interval between growing and seeding.  These are some mustards that have started to flower.

Here are some pictures from the farm  Photo credit Pat Steed

sugarcane flowers with a hidden waning crescent moon

tomatoes in the greenhouse...Still waiting for some ripe ones  Photo credit Pat Steed

Farm photo Credit Pat Steed

Week 8, 2013

Things are looking pretty good thus far. We are steadily moving along in the season. The broccoli is the best we have ever grown and the collards and the new kohlrabi look fantastic. Our komatsuna has dropped off with the higher temperatures and the turnips and the diakons are in suspended animation. The root aphids are back again and sucking the life out of them. I am trying a few organic pesticides to remedy the problem but not having any luck so far. Ladybugs and predators are now widely dispersed around the crops and are doing their jobs keeping anymore aphids at bay.

I had to make an unusual night harvest last week which was the first of its kind at Steed Farms.  I went out with my head lamp on in the pitch black after all the kids got off to bed.  It was actually pretty nice to harvest at night.  Its a whole different world at the farm at night.  It was nice not to be rushed to harvest and wash everything before noon.  I am very thankful that my brother Pat was able to cover for me in the morning and wash everything while I could assist with a retreat at our church.  It was nice to see the stars and moon while I worked.  It was a little creepy when the coyotes started to howl not too far off.  I also found out that I have a family of rats where I keep my pots.  I could hear them moving about.  My white light died out but still had the use of my red LED light on my head lamp.  I shined it over there when I heard them and I could see their little beady, red eyes watching me.

We lost a spinach planting, and a carrot crop to bad germination or possibly fertilizer problems. I lost about 25% of our tomatoes and our entire pepper crop from transplants in the greenhouse. I thought that maybe I had done something wrong until a fellow grower spoke with me about all the problems he had with losing crops with the same fertilizer I was using. I did notice huge amounts of fly larvae in the fertilizer in the pots and just assumed that those flies came in after planting. My friend mentioned he had the exact same thing under plastic mulch out in the field which would be next to impossible to get flies that fast under the plastic. He is pursuing the company for the problems and we will see what happens.

We tried a few more strawberry plants again this year for our own trial. I planted them in pots with non-organic slow release fertilizer. They are doing much better this year. It seemed that the organic fertilizer never would release enough nutrients to produce much fruit. This year we have already harvested a half pint off of about 20 plants. The taste was out of this world.

We have planted leeks, lettuce, radish, onions red and sweet out in the field. I will start dusting off the seed packets for the spring here shortly. In no time at all we will be sowing squash, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, peas and beans again.

We are eagerly awaiting potatoes for planting. They should be arriving in the next few days and will get planted immediately. I ordered red La Soda which worked pretty good two years ago. Last year the freezes got them and we got very little yield.

I have pictures but can't seem to get Blogger to accept them.  Maybe next post...