New For 2011!

In the 2011 season we will be growing most, if not all, of the varieties we've grown in past years (click on: 2011 Veggie Grow List below) that have proven to grow well in our environment. Our local farmers markets have proven to be an excellent source for introducing us to new plants that not only do well here but extend the growing season. One such plant is the Dragons Lingerie pole bean. It is a beautiful and tasty bean that arrives in September just as the summer varieties start to fail. In the spring we will be planting Broccoli Raab in addition to the three types of broccoli we have planted in the past. The raab is a fast growing plant plant (45 days) in the cool spring weather and will give us a more robust spring basket.

The file below is the basic list of what we are planning to grow in 2011. If you are a member and would like us to grow something you think everyone will enjoy, email (eldredgefarmcsa@gmail.com) us the seed information and we will try and fit it in.

2011 Seed Order & Grow List.pdf 2011 Seed Order & Grow List.pdf
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Dragon Carrot

The most refined purple carrot available; bred by John Navazio. Sure to be the best selling carrot at specialty and farmers’ markets. Beautiful red-purple exterior provides an amazing contrast with the yellow-orange interior when sliced. Sweet, almost spicy flavor.   

Yugoslavian Red Lettuce

 Red-tinged leaves form loose heads that can measure up to 12" across. Cutting the head in half exposes solid green interior leaves and an almost white center 

Flame Lettuce

Introduced to gardeners in 1988 by Harris Moran. Described as “distinctly red; slow bolting; a fast mover for markets demanding unique vegetables.” Although a relatively recent introduction, we offer this variety since it is a garden rarity.  

Purple Tomatillo

Rare heirloom variety. Dark purple fruits are smaller (1½-2") and have a sweeter flavor than green tomatillos. Makes an attractive purple salsa, also great grilled.   

 Golden Hubbard Squash

 Introduced by D. M. Ferry in 1898 but attributed to J.J. Harrison of Storrs & Harrison Co. of Painesville, Ohio. Starchy, nutty, fine-grained flesh—good for baking and roasting. Fruits are 8-12 pounds and store well. An all-time American favorite.  

Guatemalan Blue Squash

Belongs to the Banana group of squashes, noted for their fine table quality. This selection is dark “blue” with light stripes; golden-yellow flesh is thick and firm. Fruits range up to 20 inches in length and average 5 pounds. We like to keep this one in the refrigerator after the initial cutting and continue to slice off small rings that can be either baked or roasted.  

Dragons Lingerie

This Dutch wax bean has large 6-8" cream-colored pods with vivid purple stripes that disappear when blanched. Pods are stringless, wide, and exceptionally crisp and juicy.  This bean arrives in the fall and will extend our season for beans. 

Pink Banana Squash

This heirloom variety was first introduced in 1893. The smooth, velvety skin makes it attractive as well as tasty! Pink Banana squash weigh in at about 10 pounds, and are 18" to 24" long and 5" to 7" in diameter. The fiberless yellow-orange flesh is great for pies, baking, or canning. Taste what the American pioneers tasted! 

 2011 CSA Expansion

In late winter and into early spring is when we make changes needed to accomplish this years goals. We are now just putting on the finishing touches on our expanded CSA and Nursery areas. The greatest change has been with the CSA growing area. In the photos below you can see where we excavated into the composting area and added many new composted vegetable beds. On the hill side we have made generously sized mounds which we will use principally for growing our squash. But we  decided that these newly created mounds present us with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate North American culture by creating a "Three Sisters Gardens" on each mound. 

What is a Three Sisters Garden?

It is an ancient method of gardening using an intercropping system which grows corn, beans, and squash crops simultaneously in the same growing area that is typically a rounded mound of soil, often called a hill. 

According to Iroquois legend, corn, beans, and squash are three inseparable sisters who only grow and thrive together. This tradition of interplanting corn, beans and squash in the same mounds, widespread among Native American farming societies, is a sophisticated, sustainable system that provided long-term soil fertility and a healthy diet to generations. Growing a Three Sisters garden is a wonderful way to feel more connected to the history of this land, regardless of our ancestry.

Corn is the oldest sister. She stands tall in the center. 

Squash is the next sister. She grows over the mound, protecting her sisters from weeds and shades the soil from the sun with her leaves, keeping it cool and moist. 

Beans are the third sister. She climbs through squash and then up corn to bind all together as she reaches for the sun. Beans help keep the soil fertile by coverting the sun's energy into nitrogen filled nodules that grow on its roots. As beans grow they use the stored nitrogen as food. 

Corn provides a natural pole for bean vines to climb. Beans fix nitrogen on their roots, improving the overall fertility of the plot by providing nitrogen to the following years corn. Bean vines also help stabilize the corn plants, making them less vulnerable to blowing over in the wind. Shallow-rooted squash vines become a living mulch, shading emerging weeds and preventing soil moisture from evaporating, thereby improving the overall crops chances of survival in dry years. Spiny squash plants also help discourage predators from approaching the corn and beans. The large amount of crop residue from this planting combination can be incorporated back into the mound at the end of the season, to build up the organic matter in the soil and improve its structure. 

This is a past season view of the hillside squash mounds, and in the distance, loam piles that were removed to make way for the new beds. 

The new beds nearly double our planting area. 

 These hillside mounds will be used to grow winter squash