Cedarmore Farm CSA: Good Weather = Good Food

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Good Weather = Good Food

The weather on the farm is delightful...cooler and that means that it is nice to work outside. But it still a little bit on the dry side. We had a little rain this morning and it looks like it could rain again. But the ground is so dry that it has already soaked all the moisture up.

There are lots of good veggies coming our way...sweet corn, cantaloupes, tomatoes, and green beans.

I love it on Tuesdays when my porch looks like this!

Can't any that beets are my favorites but I am willing to give them a try. Lizzie has a stir fry recipe for us this week. See it below.

Pecan nut pie...it is my all time favorite pie. So much so this will make the third one in as many weeks. Got me a major pecan pie sweet tooth. Just had a piece for breakfast as a matter of fact.

I'm telling you now that if you haven't tried some of the baked goods...you are missing out!

Growing all this good food is a process and learning about organic farming is a process also. It is not easy by any means. In the last post I wrote about cover crops and composting. Now I am learning about soil amendments that Andy uses on the farm. Andy has to make sure that the calcium level is just right in the soil for the plants. To maintain adequate calcium levels they put on High Calcium Lime and or Gypsum. High Calcium Lime usually is only used once every three or four years.Gypsum is mixed in every year. Andy also uses an organic fertilizer, Re-Vita Pro that is made of composted poultry manure and has some kelp added in. It contains three very important minerals...nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium...with some other trace elements mixed in.Believe it or not they also use products from the ocean like fish, kelp and seaweed products. the products are loaded with minerals and re very helpful in growing nutrient dense food. Which means healthier food for us to put into our bodies. Also this year Andy has started using a few new farming tools...refractometer, and a PH meter to check the plants to see what minerals they are still needing. They have made progress with the heirloom tomatoes that we are finding in our boxes.

And Andy wants to let you all know that there are some Fall Shares still available.

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In The Beginning

Andy and Lizzie have known each other since they were very small. Growing up in an Amish community there are plenty of opportunities to play and work together. They grew up in the same church but went to different schools. Several years ago they moved from Wayne County, OH to right outside Hillsboro, OH and established Cedarmore Farm. The farm got it's name very simply...in Wayne County there were very few cedar or sycamore trees . When Andy and Lizzie got here, they noticed an abundance of cedar and sycamore trees on the land. So they just merged the two names and Cedarmore Farm was born. They have worked very hard in the few years that they have been farming the land. Andy and Lizzie are in the process of building their house and hopefully they will be able to move into the upstairs this spring. We can only see good things in their future farming experiences. And we wish them well.

Not only is Cedarmore growing fruits and vegetables. The Andy's have a growing family. They have four of the most precious children! Anna, who is excited about going to school this fall. Dennis who follows Andy around like his shadow. Moses who is doing well after a little run-in with the pigs. And Lovina who is the youngest at 9 months.

Then there is a new season on the farm. In the winter (Jan 2015), the Andy's packed up and moved to MO leaving the CSA in the most capable hands of John and Anna (Anna is Andy's twin sister) Zook and there 7 children. They changed the name of their farm to Cedarmore Farm so we English wouldn't be too confused. So the work has begun to provide lush healthy vegetables for the CSA season 2015 which begins in May.