Clause Farms

I will not be offering a CSA next year.  I may have strawberries, Rhubarb, and asparagus offerend at the Jefferson Farmers Market but that is all.

I thought I would post a CSA newsletter for you all to read

Hooper’s Funny Farm CSA

CSA Week 7

The first Saturday Market in Jefferson went very well.I thought I had a pretty cute display going which was more necessity than creativity because I only brought 1 table. If there is anyone in Jefferson who would like to switch from Tuesday’s market to Saturday’s market please tell me.

The summer vegetables are really coming on now they should start to show up in your bags soon.

The tomatoes are still green but you can eat them that way so let me know if you want one or two I’ll bring them in just for you.Same goes for hot peppers I’m not sure I will put them in your bag unless you ask because some people don’t want them .I have everything from the mild jalapeno to the super hot habaneras that are just starting to turn red.

I am digging up the early garlic and trying to braid it not very good at that so far nothing to keep the vampires away.

If you want a special herb at the market please let me know by the morning of the market I’ll send it to you.I don’t have enough to give everyone every week and I don’t want to cut herbs that won’t sell. I have almost everything you might want, except the cilantro has flowered right away so it isn’t any good now.

We are thinking about not going to the Perry market anymore after this week.We know that is disappointing to some but it is an added stress on our family.There are a number of reasons for our decision.We will continue to supply CSA bags to those one Perry most likely through delivery.

As always Eat Well,

Alexis Hooper

What’s in the bag this week?

Beans

Zucchini or other summer squash (patty pan, yellow crookneck etc)

Garlic

Full share Eggplant

Value: $ 4/$8

Next week

Beans

Squash

Tomatoes (?)

Eggplant(?) Can be big, small, white, purple, and white and purple stripped.

Peppers (?)

The Recipes

Garlic Green Beans

1 bag of beans

1 T Butter

1 lg clove garlic, crushed

1 T lemon juice

In medium saucepan, cook green beans.Meanwhile, in same skillet, over medium-high heat, melt butter.Add garlic: sauté 1 minute, or until golden brown.Add lemon juice.Drain beans; place in serving dish.Pour garlic-lemon butter over beans; toss to coat.Sprinkle with dash of salt and pepper.

Contact Information

www.funnyfarmcsa.com

515-291-7873

abirlex@yahoo.com

abirlex@netins.com

713 S oak Jefferson, IA 50129

Facebook Hooper’s Funny Farm CSA

Visit the Farm/Pick you own Vegetables

Please call first or you may be all alone. And someone might call the sheriff. The main garden is located at 2410 250^th st Rippey, IA Just a few miles off of Hwy 30 or P-46

Where to Find Us at the Market.

Look for the big blue tent with funny farm bags hanging from it. I don’t always put the tent up but do hang a bag or two from somewhere.We drive a blue mini van or a red and white pick up with an amazing paint job. None of these places are very big but this might help those of you still having trouble.We wave at everyone we see with out bag coming into the market.

Jefferson in the middle SE side of the Court house

Perry at the East end

Des Moines 2^nd vegetable stand from the entrance at the church across from the info table, children’s table, and the veggie toss

Amazing our CSA is almost full I never thought we would get this many people.  There is actually more space shown in the inventory here on local harvest than we really have because some of our members might want to pay on line.  So if you are on the fence about joining up you had better do it now or you will miss out.

We have had wonderful weather and done lots of planting but I look forward to lots more planting this week.

I have been working really hard for the last two weeks to get the farm cleaned up for a bus tour.  I truely believe that those discovery channel life after people shows are acurate because that place is a overgrown run down mess since it had been people free for 15 years.  Started on Friday and will go strong everyday until it rains this week to get it cleaned up.  Marcy calls it fat camp and she is right I haven't workded this hard since basic training.  But every spring we get out there and just haul junk and set up beds, cut trees and paint.  Someday I hope we can just have a nice spring where all we have to do is plant.  Speaking of planting I put in several rows of spinach and lettuce and well over 100 hills of potatoes.  Hope to get eh root vegetables seeded and the peas in and trellised as well as more greens oh and onions. I think just the green bunching kind not the bulbs this year. 

I was gifted with some old clothes from my late grandmother's attic.  So what couldn't be used for the kids became scare crows.  I pretended I was cinerella and even made a scarecrow out of old curtains.  marcy thinks it is scarlet o'hara.  I made another one completely out of old lace doilies.  I call her lacy.

No I must go I have my other farm job waiting for me and then after the dentist I will be back on the farm for day 4 of the major clean up even though I must admit even I am gettin' a little sore.

Just thinking this should be our year for peaches.  We had them 3 years ago I hope they make it this year I love them so much.  We also have apples, and pears and in a few years strawberries!

Our CSA slots are filling fast better sign up now before it is too late.[Read More]

I just want to take the time to point out that we will deliver our csa bags to a drop off point in Ames and Des Moines.  We don't have one set up for Ames yet but Des Moines yours is Wednesday nights 4-7pm at the Drake Neighborhood farmers market.    Sometimes the markets that are in the cities fill up fast so please consider ours if you can't get into one of them.  This is our second year doing a CSA and we were very successful last year we harvested until the first week of December!

On a totally different note we will be on the farm on Sunday after church planning the location of the different gardens this year and doing some major landscaping.  Mother nature did some pretty major landscaping for us already this winter but she really isn't very good at it so it is time to fire up the chain saws.

This year we will be selling at three new to us farmers markets Greene County in Jefferson on Saturday mornings 8-11-We'll still be there on Tuesday nights 4-7, Perry on Thursdays 4-6, and the Drake Neighborhood Farmers Market in Des Moines Wednesdays 4-7.  We are very excited to be a part of these markets.  We will take WIC/Senior checks and EBT which will allow us to do credit and debit cards too!  I feel like we need to put more acres into produce and out of corn to support this and luckily we have a very supportive corn farmer who doesn't mind giving up a little at a time.

CSA members we want you to come pick up your bags at the farmers markets because this is more cost effective for us and we aren't driving all over the world to get them to you.  Plus I will have more time to grow things when I'm not driving.

On the farm front we have thousands of baby plants growing in the house and if things dry out we will start planting in early April!  We have a new roof on the barn and half of the bottom cleared of debris we are getting ready to lay sewer, water and electric lines.

Alexis and Marcy have spent the winter in proffessional development and are now Master Gardener interns.  We have been helpign children around Greene county learn how to grow their own produce.

Oh what an exciting day I am happy to announce that we are now Certified Naturally Grown www.naturallygrown.org!  What does this mean?  Well, it means a lot of the same thing as organic means but it is a lot less paperwork and money but a lot more personal.  We still have to follow  the same strict farming practices that an organic farm would which means your food is just as chemical free and natural but we aren't going through the government.  This program is peer reviewed by other farmers in the program.  Really the biggest difference is that I will actually have time to grow things and not fill out paper work.  Certification for the little guy-make that gal.  This is just an added layer of assurance for you that the produce grown on Hooper's Funny Farm is the freshest, most natural, clean and safe local food around.

I started planting Sunday afternoon while watching movies with my husband.  I can't just sit there and watch tv I have to do something so I set out a few towels to keep the floor clean gathered my supplies and set to work on about 200 little cabbage babies. 4 different kinds so we will have some variety and I will be planting these at weeklt intervals so we have a longer season.  Of course we will have to do this all over again when it is time for the fall plantings.  This weekend I also attended the Master Gardener's Class at ISU and learned a lot.  Mostly that the bigger the bug the more likely it is to get out of its cage and come after my sister in law!

I am so happy to report that we will have a who week that is dry and warm and is helping our fall crops finish up.  Today I was able to harvest and deliver the first of the Chinese cabbage and I hope everyone enjoys it. I am also happy to report that there will be no more turnips this year so everyone can stop complaining.  I need to know who is signing up for next year's CSA right away.

Well here it is the second week of October and it has dipped into the low 20's and snowed with no real warm up in sight.  Boy I sure hope they fix this global warming stuff soon!  All of our fall crops are tucked in tight in cold frames and under other covers and they looked pretty good yesterday afternoon.  The Eggplant finally died I thought it might not because those guys were so amazing but all good things come to an end and for them it was a violent death.  Maybe I'll be able to pull them out of the ground now unless it freezes solid before then.

We have teamed up with Greene Bean Coffee to offer their wonderful coffee to our members!  Visit their website at www.greenebeancoffee.com to see what they offer.  This is offered only to our current CSA members you must sign up for the produce, herb, or flower share to get this option.  As it stands right now you will need to place your orders through them and make payment arrangements (if it is agreed upon by the owners of Greene Bean Coffee we can take your checks to them).  Make sure Rich knows that you need your coffee ready to go Friday morning so we can put it in your basket.  He roasts and grinds it fresh but he needs a few hours to do this so don't think you can place on order late  Thursday and still get it!

Next year we will change this and may follow the csa model more for the coffee where you get a set weekly order but I don't think we will make it a you get what we have option as with other products in the CSA since some people don't like some coffees.

Wow what a huge influx of members to our CSA we now have all we can supply but we would love to sign people up for next year right now.  Cold weather is really slowing the summer crops but the fall is coming on fast.  We are planning the high tunnel so production for next year can start in just a few months.  Just tring to stay warm right now I hope my baby plants can too.   I stayed up all night starting greens that will grow mostly inside and be ready for Thanksgiving.  Mom and I tried to plant the garlic but it is just too wet we gave up after one row.  I found a somewhat dry spot to put the last row of radishes in I think they should make it before it snows.

We started pulling up the summer crops.  The tomatoes and squashes were looking sick and while the Eggplant still looks nice it isn't setting or ripening any fruit.  But where the tomatoes once stood spinach will soon sprout and where the cucumbers tried to take over the garden peas now climb and salad greens are being harvested.  We may not get frost for a few more weeks and that means I have high hopes for a long fall harvest.

Most amazing are the purple beans still producing since the begining of June and this was 2 year old seed on compacted ground!