6/15/11

DROP SITE TIMES ARE LISTED BELOW ON THE DROP SITE LIST.  Please email Gigi at nittygrittydirtfarm@gmail.com to confirm your drop site choice.  Thanks!!!


It is finally time.  YOUR FIRST SHARE WILL BE DELIVERED ON THURSDAY June 16th, THIS WEEK!    As most of you realize, it has been an even crazier than usual spring for planting and growing.  With colder and wetter than normal early spring and then a huge leap to hotter than normal weather, the early season crops like the lettuces, mustard greens, mizuna, and arugula are not happy.   So there will be fewer varieties to offer early this season.  However our fields are looking great with the promise of a great variety of veggies to come soon.  The snap peas, potatoes, bok choi, broccoli, and more are looking great!   We are excited about the bounty we expect this year.  And we have a great farm crew able to put out an enormous amount of work.   We hope you have an opportunity to meet Karla, Liz, Holly, Emily and Susie who are our full time interns.  We have also been delighted to have Sam with us for a month and are very sorry to see him leave. Today is his last day before he goes on to his next stint working with Wiscorp maintaining Wisconsins trail system.  Birgit and Sue also enliven our crew, volunteering one or two days each week.   When you see one of our crew at the farm or drop site, please introduce yourself to these hard-working crew members.

Planting Basil


Using our new planting tool - three steps in one.
With nearly an inch of rain so far last night and today, we are happy, the plants are very happy and we’re spending the day getting a bit of this and some of that accomplished – all those odd jobs that get ignored in the need to get the bigger jobs accomplished.   Some succession seeding, cleaning up flats and packs and organizing the greenhouses, fencing sheep and horses, making mozzarella cheese, transplanting parsley and sage, and all the normal farm animal chores are keeping us busy but feeling a bit more relaxed than most days.  And Birgit is in the kitchen today preparing our communal meal.  Today will be a German specialty – spaetzle and lentils with rhubarb compote for desert.  


Pepper Plants

What a wonderful, soaking, much needed rain we’ve been enjoying last night and today!   We watch the weather forecast closely and knowing that rain was reported for today, we’ve been planting and seeding and hoeing and weeding and mulching like crazy farmers the last two days.  We’ve planted thousands of basil, kohlrabi, tomato, cantaloupe, watermelon and flower plants over the last couple of weeks.  Our crew mulched more than two acres of peas and potatoes with several 600 pound bales of hay and we’ve hoes nearly 2 acres of sweet corn.

Until next week..... Robin

Hard working crew moving round hay bales used for mulch.


What's in your share this week. 

D'avignon Radishes - long red and white
Rover Radishes - round red
Crunchy Royale Radishes
Mei Qing Choi - baby choi

Don't forget to BRING YOUR BAGS

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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.