A few CSA shares available for 2012 season

June 2, 2012

Our first CSA delivery of fresh in-season produce will be coming up in a few weeks.  We’re a small operation which is totally family run.  Maree and I both the owner/operators and the entire workforce of Lida Farm (plus three kids under the age of 7, but they are not great contributors yet).  Last year I harvested for and assembled about 30 shares each Friday.  We currently stand at about 27 shares, so it’s not too late to sign up.

Our season runs for 16 weeks (Mid-June through Mid-October) and we also do every-other-week shares for couples or families which just want to try out a CSA.  The cost is $450 for a full share delivered directly to your home or $250 for every other week.  We also give a $50 discount if you pick up at the farm yourself (at $400/season, this is $25/week).  Besides the produce we will also be hosting a few events on-farm for the 2012 season for our members.  Check out details under “Join our CSA” on this website or get a hold of us at lidafarmer@gmail.com or 218-342-2619.

early season CSA veggies, lida farm CSA, pelican rapids CSA
CSA box from June, 2011

How much comes in a share?

April 21, 2012
Signing up for the season must feel like a leap of faith for people new to CSA.  What will I get each week?  Is it a bunch of crazy stuff I don’t eat?  Is it too much?  Too little?  
At Lida Farm we deliver a bushel box of produce each week to both with full shares and every-other-week shares.  A full share should supply a family of 4 veggies for the season   
The picture below is an example from early July last year and the mix of things changes throughout the season.  In early July we were still delivering early season stuff last year with salad mix, greens like chard, kohlrabi, radishes, braising mix, spinach, garlic scapes, and strawberries.  
CSA box, early July 2011

We focus on growing all the staples, but also make sure there is a little surprise each week too.  Many of our members tell me they like the CSA experience because they end up trying new things.  That being said, I know people don’t want a box of only weird stuff, so the majority of what we grow are staples like lettuce, sweet corn, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and radishes.

More details about the 2012 CSA season are found on the “Join our CSA” webpage.

Lida Farm on TV

April 16, 2012

I spent a good portion of today getting pretty wet and cold.  I was bedding down young chickens in a leaky coop in the pasture, securing a greenhouse in some high winds, and seeding in our greenhouse kept cool so as not to burn too much propane in a spring storm.  To warm everybody up a bit, I thought I’d share this video Lakes Country Living TV program did on us last summer.  It was hot out and produce was peak season.  Try not to pay too close attention to that sea of foxtail in the onion patch!

Hanging out with other Foodies at the MOSES Conference

February 27, 2012

Maree, Graham, and I finally made our way down to the mecca of organic growers in the US, the Midwest Organic Conference (http://www.mosesorganic.org/conference.html).  About 3,200 organic growers, wanna-be farmers, and organic foodie types descended on LaCrosse, WI last Thursday-Saturday to take in workshops about soils and raising livestock as well as a poetry slam and a lot of organic foods and snacks.

I presented a poster as Ryan Pesch, Extension Educator, about a food survey I did in Renville County-it was not  the headliner of the event-but the ideas we got for our own farm were the highlights.  Since we raised three hogs last year, we appreciated the session on raising hogs on pasture and also the session on integrating CSA with other enterprises like farmers market and livestock.  The presenters were doing some cool things around farm to table like making pizzas made with all-farm ingredients for on-farm dinners, but we didn’t think it was something we’d pull off for this year.  Still, at the very least, we’re much more fired up about the farm season.  Inspiration is great fuel!

Looking for a Few Good CSA Members

February 10, 2012

Well, even though I try to hibernate as much of winter as possible, the stirrings of spring have begun to pull my mind towards the 2012 CSA season.  For those of you who were members of Lida Farm CSA last year, you should have received a brochure and order form to join for this year by mail.  For those of you just perusing the web for a CSA, we serve the lakes district between Pelican Rapids and Detroit Lakes and would welcome your membership in the 2012 season.  Please check out our 2012 CSA Brochure for details.

If you know of others who may be interested in joining a CSA in the area, please feel free to forward the link and materials to them.  We will be adding a few more shares this year, so are looking for new recruits.