News and blog
We are well into the new season with the trays brimming with healthy seedlings. The greenhouse offers a warm retreat to the cold, windy and often wet spring days we've had so far. On the warmer days, we've been busy clearing trees/branches, building a small storage closet and getting the outdoor work areas ready. Wade has been joining Andy at the farm a few days a week and so far he is loving it. He is a great helper and when he gets tired of that, he loves to play in the dirt & sand on the farm. A recent deposit of gravel for the farm driveway was definitely a big highlight for Wade. We are finalizing the field/crop maps for the year and getting excited to get outdoors more. Happy Spring Everyone!
For those of you that have not signed up for a CSA share yet this season, we do still have shares available. Just go to "Our Products" then click on the "2011 CSA Sign-up" option. All the information for the season is available there. If you are interested in a workshare, click on the "The Experience", then choose "Workshares" option. If you have any questions regarding this season, please contact us. If you would like to speak with me, Andy, in person, you can find me at the 2011 CSA Open House this Sunday, from 1-4 at the Monona Terrace in Madison. We will have a table with a slideshow, pictures, additional info and even a couple of Workshares to talk with about the farm. We would love to see you there.
Every winter, the new season's seed catalogs arrive. Their brightly colored photos of tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini and pretty much every vegetable you can think of is staring back at me. It feels kinda like Christmas. The possibilities are endless but unfortunately the space on the farm is not. The catalogs do not change much from year to year but it is still like opening a brand new magazine and taking a look at what there is available. The hardest part is choosing tomato varieties. This is the one vegetable that I can't even count the different varieties. There are hundreds. I reorder varieties that I have been growing for years that will always be my favorites. I order a few that maybe were grown the season before and I want to give them another chance, since every season is different. I also order a 1/2 dozen or so new ones that might be new on the market, or might just catch my eye. It is the only vegetable that I can spend hours milling through two or three catalogs just trying to make a list. There really is nothing better than sitting with a cup of coffee, in the morning, paging through a crisp new catalog, relaxing, and taking it all in. Now I just have to do it while bouncing my 4 month old daughter Ruby on my knee and listening to my 4 year old son Wade singing Christmas songs in the playroom. Life is great.
Sprouting Acres has had a great crew of workshares this year. To celebrate all the hard work & dedication; we are throwing them an end-of-the-season party. So hats off to all the wonderful ladies and gentlemen that helped make this season blossom.
Check out L'Etoile Restaurant if you are looking for some delicious Sprouting Acres salad greens. Now that the CSA is over, we continue to sell the greenhouse greens to local restaurants throughout the winter.
Well, our computer crashed during the spring and then the CSA season was right upon us so we haven't had a working website for months. As soon as the boxes were done for the season, we dove right into creating a new website. We hope you like it!
