Since we are starting to get inquiries about our CSA we felt it was time to put up the information. Once again we are certified organic and offering many varieties of “heirloom” (seeds passed down for generations) veggies in addition to more standard offerings.

This year our drop days will be Monday. We will continue with the Eastside of St. Paul dropsite and adding a farm pick-up at  14220-B Ostlund Trail North, Marine on St. Croix, MN 55047. Other dropsites will be available as requested with a minimum of 5 shares participating at each site.

Finally as requested we are offering a peak season share which will run through the heart of the summer with all the warm weather veggies such as tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, eggplant and more.

CSA application

This January my focus is on decluttering and beautifying though often I find decluttering itself does much to beautify. After a very busy season of farming, followed by bedrest, a new baby and sickness my house is really needing some revamping. Plus the children are older, have different needs and we added one. My first area of focus was the entryway. I was reading in Large Family Logistics how the entryway is the first impression of the house and thus your life so special attention should be paid to this area.

So we added a coat rack for coats and one for sweaters. A shoe rack and a shelf with boxes for hats and gloves. The racks hold 5 hooks so it can hold the accoutrements of one more child.

So now you can walk in the house without tripping over coats and shoes and the best part is the children know how to hang up their own cotas and sweaters and where to put their shoes.

Next on the list of goals is the computer area and filing system for all our paperwork.

After you have breastfeed 3 babies for the most part successfully it can really throw you for a loop when you have difficulty on your 4th. Actually so much about this pregnancy, labor and early postpartum period has thrown me for a loop but slowly we are figuring things out.

One of the first memories I have of Effie is within 2 minutes after being born I was holding her, completely exhausted and honestly a little shell shocked. I had waited and waited for 42 1/2 weeks for her. Planned a homebirth and thought I knew how things would go. Then I ended up in the hospital not sure at all how things would go down. After they broke my water it was like a whirlwind and all of a sudden she was here and I didn’t know what to do. Except she was crying and looking at me and then I knew what to offer her. The nurses helped me disrobe enough to offer Effie her first meal and she latched on without hesitation. The other children were younger when born and had been much more gentle but Effie latched on with a vengeance.

When I was the mother of just one baby I was talking with another mother and she said her son called babies “nurse sharks.” That was Effie. For nearly 36 hours she ate almost constantly. By 48 hours my milk was in and things changed a bit but by then my nipples were so sore from almost constant nursing. I was getting breaks now but could hardly stand to nurse her due to sore nipples.

That is when i discovered the importance of positioning. So I started my breastfeeding sessions in a chair with a boppy under my arm and a command not to come near mommy while I was nursing the baby. Yes it hurt that bad that I couldn’t risk any distractions for either of us.

Then I started researching. I knew I had to eat and drink liberally. After Two I lost 25 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight. I felt very weak though everyone said I looked good. I started applying Lansinoh nipple cream after each feeding and taking Fenugreek and a Mother’s Lactation Tonic herbal rememdy. I bought a nipple shield but haven’t had to use it yet.

The turning point finally came Saturday night. We were having another marathon nursing session and I couldn’t do it anymore. Proeun took the baby and some formula samples we had received and gave me a much needed break. I felt awful. Like I was failing my daughter and family but woke-up feeling refreshed and able to think more clearly.

Now we are on the road to recovery. One nipple doesn’t hurt at all and the other one just at latch on. I am reminded that een with the simplest things sometimes we need help and we shouldn’t be afraid to take it. Oh and no matter what our experience we could still stand to learn something.

Overnight we have been plunged into winter. Yesterday was my first prenatal since becoming overdue and rumor has it that the large winter storm that came through last night and is still lingering today will effect the barometric pressure so much that all the babies due within a couple weeks will be born before Halloween. I can only hope.

When I woke-up this morning I knew I simply had to get out of the house so I was off to Peapods to pick up a late birthday present for Mavis. We still haven’t celebrated her recent milestone of 2 so I felt like I better prepare. Soon the baby will come and soon things will go back to “normal,” at least I will be able to bend over again–an essential skill as any mom knows.

Except I realized that we are not a normal family. With the coming of really cold weather comes a host of logistical problems. I remember how relieved I was last year when the weather finally got warm enough to do away with coats and shoes became an option. it is oh so much easier getting children out ot the house when they can go as they are.

Two nights ago we were going to go for an evening walk. Coats and boots were required and I almost lost my mind trying to get everyone dressed, especially since some of these clothing items haven’t been used for over 4 month.

So today my task is to evaluate coats, mittens, hats, boots, scarves, snow pants and all those good things and see what is missing from our family inventory.

At Peapods I found these great tools for keeping mittens attached to coats. They had 3 (2 “girl” colors and 1 “boy”) so it seemed perfect.

Coats and mittens are now secure. Two has boots but no snow pants. We have 1 pair of boots that is tight on Avril but too big for Mavis. The girls both have snow pants and we have plenty of hats and scarves.

Now the question is how do we store these extra items in a way that is neat and tidy but encourages the children to get dressed by themselves, and prehaps more importantly clean up after themselves? I am really regretting not getting that coat rack I saw at Ikea a couple months ago, but back then it was warm and didn’t seem a priority.

I ordered a new book from Vision Forum called Large Family Logistics. Just as the weather changed overnight, almost overnight I realized we are on the verge of being a “large family.” In any case I definitely need help with logistics. Coats are just the tip of the iceberg. But for now the plan is to keep the 3 everyday coats in the front hall closet and all the snow pants and extras in the children’s closet in their room. Hopefully in a semi organized way. Shoes I haven’t figured out quite yet, maybe something like this with bins for each child to keep their shoes in. I don’t know.

Proeun says we are simply outgrowing our house, which I think just means we need more organizing. I started with the coats.

Working on a farm it is sometimes pretty hard to carry a camera around but here is a picture of me packing boxes for today’s delivery.

It is our 2nd week delivering for CSA and already it feels like we are starting to get into the groove–and our vegetables too. Soon zucchini and carrots, peas and broccoli will grace our boxes and table. This week we have one of my spring time favorites-radishes.

We are all feeling better and getting good food in our bellies makes it even better. I have discovered another added blessing to CSA day–having an excuse to stay at home. We are a one car family. Often during the winter, especially if a storm is suspected Proeun will drive himself to work and we will be without a car for the day. Honestly I really enjoy the excuse not to go anywhere and hunker down at home. During the summer though I take him to work almost every day. So here is my opportunity to stay home and get some important things done around the house, like mopping floors, scrubbing the stove, fixing a slow sink and getting some rest time in.

With this pregnancy I definitely have to be very careful to keep myself hydrated and well fed. Being home makes that all the much easier! Plus I get to see a few of my customers.

Here is the newsletter for this week.

I can now breathe a little sigh of relief. We have now completed our first day of CSA drop offs. A farmer friend of mine told me that she always worries and worries and worries until the first week is done. I hadn’t realized it but some of that worry has rubbed off on me. I would find myself in the field willing plants that should be bigger then that to grow spontaneously overnight. Amazingly some did, but not all. So this week has been a week of analyzing crops and revamping our box list and it really wasn’t finalized until late last night when I had to start writing the email.

Then today we wanted to make sure we packed the boxes in an attractive way and that we had directions and instructions for all the drop sites. The children were really excited to finally take food to our customers, though they wanted to just sit somewhere and sell it. Anyway, I am really breathing a sigh of relief. One week down, 17 more to go. Sorry no pictures today.

Here’s the Newsletter for week 1

At the Smarter Living Fair we realized that we were neglecting a large group of people who are passionate about health and eating organically–small households. While a full share is perfect for our family many may find that much produce overwhelming. If you are in this boat we have decided to offer half shares.

A half share will consist of full boxes delivered every other week (9-10) weeks for the season.

The price is $295.

We have been getting requests for a more complete list of vegetable offerings for this summer’s CSA. Here is a list of purchased seed. With farming there are always risks including pests and weather, but this is our projected list for the summer.

Beans
    Provider Green
    Royal Burgundy 
    Dragon Langerie
Beets
    Guardsmark Chioggia
    Detroit Dark Red
    Touchstone Gold
Brussel Sprout
Broccoli
Carrot
    Naya
    Bolero storage
    Dragon
    White Satin
    Yellowstone
Cauliflower
Chard–rainbow mix
Cabbage
    Famosa–savoy type
    Farao
    Kaboko–Chinese type
    Red Express
Corn–sugar pearl
Cucumber
    National Pickling
    Marketmore Slicing
Collards
Eggplant
    Little Finger
    Calliope striped
    Nadia Italian
Fennel
Kale
Lettuce
    Salad Mix
    Romaine
    Optima–butterhead type’
Melon
    Athena–Cantaloupe
    Early Gala–Honeydew
Onion
    Bunching
    Walla Walla Sweet
    Copra–storage
    Redwing–red storage
    Leek
Pac Choy
Peas–Sugar Snap
Pepper
    Jalapeno
    Red Knight–sweet bell type
    Thai–hot pepper
Pumpkin 
    Howden
    Musque De Provence
Radish
Spinach
Squash winter
    Table Queen Acorn
    Honey nut butternut
    Sugar Dumpling
Squash summer
    Black Beauty–zucchini
    Tigress
Tomato
    Amish Paste
    Cherokee Purple
    Crimson Sprinter
     Yellow Perfection
    Striped German
    Red Grape
Turnip
Watermelon
    Sugar Baby
Herbs
    Italian Basil
    Thai Basil
    Cilantro
    Dill

It is an odd thing to look at newly plowed field and get hungry imagining all the wonderful food that will soon grow there. This weekend our task was to purchase the seeds for our upcoming CSA. Wise advice is never to grocery shop when hungry and I would make the suggestion never to seed shop while hungry. But even if you are not hungry when you start chances are you will be when you are done.

Over the years first gardening in our backyard and now farming my tastes have “evolved” but into a more simple form. There is nothing like the pleasure of a thick slice of fresh from the field tomato (or grape tomatoes in the field for that matter). One of our farming friends introduced me to the taste sensation of thick cut zucchini baked until just tender and drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt.

Two loves skinny, purple, Japanese eggplant battered and fried but for some reason not the Italian ones and don’t get me started on basil right from the garden. There I go again–oh and sweet boiled turnips in borscht with beets, carrots, and onion all from the garden. Yes evolved is a relative term. When eating from the grocery store it is much harder to enjoy the simple taste sensation of an ages old variety of vegetable.

It took us over 4 hours to select and purchase the varieties that will eventually make it to our table and that of our CSA members. I am really excited and can’t wait for some good eating again.

I thought I would share with you some of my favorites. These are either varieties I have tried before and love or ones I am really excited about. 

Musque de Provence Pumpkin

Cucurbita moschata HEIRLOOM Gorgeous French variety also known as Fairytale. Richly colored with green and orange splashes and a deeply ribbed, flat shape. Fruit are large, often reaching 15-25 lbs. or more, with very high yields and uniformity. It is eaten cooked like all squash, but traditionally, also eaten fresh. Cut from the middle like a wedge of cheese or pie, and slice very thinly like salmon for sushi. The flavor is exceptionally complex and sweet with a nice light crunch. May sound strange, but it will surprise you! Days to maturity: 125 days

Little Finger Eggplant

Solanum melongena More slender and petite than your standard eggplant. Dark purple skin is thin and tender. Flesh has a silky texture with few seeds and mildly sweet flavor needing very little cooking time. Little Finger is intended to be harvested young when 3-6″ long and glossy. Days to maturity: 60 days

Walla Walla Onion

Allium cepa Famous for its sweet flavor and fresh eating, Walla Walla is a medium to large mild onion with white flesh and light brown skin. Very cold hardy but not a keeper. Can be directly sown in mid-spring. Long day. Days to maturity: 110 days

Sugar Baby Watermelon

Citrullus lanatus Also known as Icebox watermelon, this excellent northern, short-season variety produces reliable yields of 6-12 lb, perfectly round fruits, 7-8.5” in diameter. Flesh is deep red and very sweet; rind is solid dark green. Tough rind resists cracking. The standard for small watermelons. Our strain has been selected for cool growing conditions and high yields. Shows resistance to drought. Days to maturity: 75 days

Dragon Langerie Bush Bean

Phaseolus vulgaris Also known as Dragon’s Tongue. Unique purple streaked pods are 6-8” long and flat, like a Romano bean. Commonly eaten fresh as a snap bean with superb flavor and crispness – a clear winner in our 2008 taste tests. Streaks fade when cooked. Can also be shelled when beans fill pods for tender, creamy shell beans, or used as a dry bean. Purple seeds. Days to maturity: 55 days fresh, 95 shell

Touchstone Gold Beet

Beta vulgaris From the breeders of Red Ace F1 and Guardsmark Chioggia comes another improved open-pollinated beet. Touchstone Gold offers higher germination rates, more uniform round roots and less zoning than standard golden types. Solid green tops are long and attractive, and quickly shade out weeds. Vibrant golden yellow flesh retains its color when cooked and is sweeter and more mild than red beets. Best germination occurs in warm temperatures. Days to maturity: 55 days

Amish Paste Tomato

Lycopersicon esculentum HEIRLOOM One of the sweetest paste tomatoes. Amish is flavorful and juicy enough for slicing, but still meaty enough for timely cooking down. Best of all, it has few seeds, which can make sauces and pastes bitter. Heart-shaped fruits are 8-12 oz and bright red. Ripens to a sweeter taste than many other paste tomatoes. Indeterminate. Days to maturity: 80 days

All these varieties are from High Mowing Certified Organic seeds. We also chose seeds from Wood Prarie Farm, Johnnies and Territorial Seeds.

Thank-you so much for choosing to join us! We are looking forward to an exciting year. We are going to offer some new varieties (new to us) of heirloom and slow food USA vegetables plus melons.

We have set June 24th as our first delivery date.

To join fill out the below form

Name______________________________________

Address____________________________________

Phone_____________________________________

Email______________________________________

____Full Share $495

____Half Share $295 (full boxes delivered every other week).

Select a drop site

___Maplewood (2601 Southcrest Ave)

___East St. Paul (1303 Edgerton St.)

___Roseville (Harriet Alexander Nature Center)

Whenever possible please register by April 1st, 2010. This allows us to plan and grow with a minimum of waste.  Registration is on a first come first serve basis.

Please print off, fill out and enclose payment with registration Make checks payable to Amy Doeun

Amy Doeun
1303 Edgerton St.
St. Paul, MN 55130