6/2/10

Nitty Gritty Farm News Friday June 4th

From the Farm Manager (Robin)…

As I sit at the computer looking out the front window, the ground is dark with wet from last night’s wonderful soaking rain and the perfectly weeded double rows of carrots stand in start contrast to the soil around them. The last three sheep moms still feeding babies are loudly baaing impatiently awaiting their breakfast corn and hay, and the goats have quieted as Gigi and two of our farm intern/apprentices begin the daily milking chores. It’s another morning on the farm in this oh-so-busy season of planting and weeding and building and weeding and hoeing and mulching and planting and ………


Last night we participated in our second book signing of the new cookbook “Eating Local” published by Sur La Table. Judith Kissner of Scout and Morgan books in Cambridge, Mn. hosted this event which also included wine tasting from our neighbors and new colleagues Stark Wines. It was a lot of fun and we made several new local connections – and Judith sold quite a few cookbooks.


It’s been another busy week at the farm. On Memorial Day, we finished planting the last of the cantaloupes and some more flowers. That means we met my goal of having all the main season planting done before June 1. We will still be planting succession planting of early season veggies as well as late season crops such as Brussels sprouts, dinosaur kale, fennel and more kohlrabi. All of these flats of seedlings are just coming up in the greenhouses and will be ready for planting in a few weeks.


We’ve also begun extensive hoeing and weeding, tilling and cultivating. With the full crew of 5 intern/apprentices plus me, we hoed 8? 9? 10? very weedy rows of onions and more than fifteen rows of beans – and these are all 250 feet rows (or longer)! And then, we meticulously hand picked the weeds from two double rows of tiny carrot seedlings and one of beets. We have a great crew this year. Some years, by the time the crops are hoed, it’s time to start back at the beginning. This year, we’ve gotten the jobs done with time to begin our Tuesday evening musical jam sessions (we often don’t start these until July) and to send our whole intern crew to Stark winery to weed their vineyard, and to cut up and stack nearly two cords of slabwood firewood. And in the midst of all of this, we jacked up the ‘Su Casa’ intern cooking building readying it for sheet-rocking, constructed two more intern Quonset buildings as rustic living quarters, fenced a two acre pasture of for the sheep, kegged two 5 gallon batches of beer, racked batches of Chilean Malbec wine, blueberry melomel and apricot melomel, moved the broiler chicks into a bigger pen, and weeded perennial flower beds. Wow! I sometimes get tired just thinking back through the week.

We are looking forward to our first FARM FESTIVAL this Sunday. With this mornings milk, I’ll set a of Fromage Blanc cheese to make a variety of soft goat cheese spreads and tomorrow, (Saturday), I’ll bake several kinds of Levain and yeast breads which we’ll serve at the festival. We’ll also be creating a couple of other spread options (black bean hummus?) for the breads too. And we’ll be tapping two new kegs of homebrew beer as well as making iced tea for the festival.

We really encourage you to attend the Festival. It is a day for you to see the farm, see exactly where your food will be coming from, meet us and most of our farm crew, meet other folks with a shared interest in growing and using good food, and share a bit of that good food and beverage. The festival begins at 2:30 pm and we’ll begin the Blessing ritual at about 3:00 and then we just encourage you to wander around, chat and eat. You might want to bring a chair with you so you can stay a while. We’ll wrap up around 5:00 pm.

Until next week………………

DROP SITES

Use the addresses to google or mapquest or look up the drop site from your particular location. Keep in mind that the folks at the drop sites are volunteers, allowing us to use their space (and in some cases, their homes) as drop sites. Be nice to them. We couldn't do this without them. If you have any questions about your share etc., you should ask us, not them. They have enough to do....as do we all. All deliveries occur on Thursday afternoons. Approximate drop site times are listed below each location. The end times vary but you should pick up your share as early as possible. Look for the NITTY GRITTY DIRT FARM DROP SITE signs at your delivery locations along with lists to check your name off when you pick up, and a description of exactly what you should take.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Farm
10386 Sunrise Road (Cty Rd 9)
Harris MN 55032

35 north past North Branch to the Harris Exit. Turn Right.
Go into Harris, cross RR tracks to stop sign. Turn Left
Go 2 blocks to County Rd 9, also called Sunrise Road. (at Heartbreakers Bar) Turn Right. Farm is 4 1/2 miles out on left side of road. Look for Nitty Gritty Dirt Farm sign.
Shares available from 3:00 to 6:00

United Theological Seminary 3000 5th Street NW, New Brighton MN 55112
694 to Silver Lake Road exit. Go south to 5th and turn west (right). Go three blocks to UTS. Follow driveway (left) to the maintenance garage at the far north end of the parking lot. Shares available after 3:30 PM to 6:00 PM.

Pilgrims United Church of Christ
8801 Rice Lake Road, Maple Grove MN 55369
Just off of Weaver Lake Road across from Rice Lake Elementary School. Use main church door. Shares available from 3:30 to 6:00.

Acadia Cafe
329 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis
NW corner of Cedar and Riverside. Park on Riverside or
in lot behind the cafe.
Shares available after 3:15 PM until 6:00 PM

Vincent Avenue
3646 Vincent Avenue North, Mpls MN 55412
1/2 block north of 36th Ave N, and 2 blocks south of Dowling. Park on the street. Shares available after 3:30 until 6:00 PM

Additional drop sites may be added as shares are sold. Drop Sites are subject to change but plenty of notice will be given and alternate sites will be within close proximity to the original drop site.

FARM CONTACT INFORMATION

Robin Raudabaugh & Gigi Nauer

Nitty Gritty Dirt Farm

10386 Sunrise Road

PO Box 235

Harris MN 55032


(651) 226-1186


nittygrittydirtfarm@gmail.com

Also Nitty Gritty Goods Wool CSA
Robin Raudabaugh
651-216-9012
nittygrittygoodswool@gmail.com

We are a 15 acre Community Supported Agriculture farm providing a wide variety of fresh, organically and sustainably grown vegetables, fruit, lamb, pork, turkey and chicken. Located one hour north of the Twin Cities, we deliver to several metro locations. We are intentional about our organic and sustainable farming practices which include (but are not limited to): maintaining soil health through green and animal manures, compost, mulch, cover crops and crop rotations; Organic Pest Management to naturally monitor, prevent and control insects and other pests; maintaining animal health and well-being through the use of portable and loose housing and pasture rotations. Owner/operators Robin Raudabaugh and Gigi Nauer provide over 30 years experience in fruit, vegetable and livestock production, education and customer service. Our primary goal is to build community, relationships and personal health and well-being around good food and the intentional living that creates it. We’d love to have you join us.

Not every day is like this but we try.

Not every day is like this but we try.

Not every day is like this either.

Not every day is like this either.