Local All Year Long, CSAs and Winter CSA Opportunities

Local Food is all the buzz! This just in...

The Boston Globe articles entitled "Locavores relish the challenges of winter" and "Fresh Idea for Supporting Agriculture".

Pisgah Mountain News article entitle "Community Supported Agriculture Growing in Popularity".

and a message from Blue Ridge Food Ventures:

"Blue Ridge Food Ventures is pleased to announce a new program to help complete the link between our local farmers who produce great fruits and vegetables spring, summer and fall—and consumers who want to enjoy this local produce all year round. We are basing our program on a successful Winter CSA at a kitchen incubator, called Winter Sun Farms, that was started in the Hudson River Valley. Now, BRFV is bringing Winter Sun Farms to western North Carolina. WSF—WNC is a CSA program taking local produce in peak season, then minimally processing and freezing it for distribution to CSA members in the winter months when fresh local produce is really hard to find.

Once a month from December through March, members will receive a box of frozen fruits and veggies. Each package will carry the name of the farm and farmer who grew it to strengthen the relationships that people want to have with the folks that grow their food.

Right now we would like to talk with farmers about the varieties they are planning on growing this season that are especially suited for processing and freezing. Examples might be broccoli, paste tomatoes, peppers, green beans, butternut squash, fall greens, small fruits, etc… We would like to contract with you for the things that you grow best and that will freeze or take processing the best. The goal for this first year is to enroll 100 members in the CSA. The first share will be ready for distribution in December 2009.

Please contact Laura Dominkovic ( laurad@awnc.org ) so we can plan together how to make this a success for all."

This sounds like an awesome opportunity. What a great way to enjoy local produce all year long! If you or someone you know may be interested in this opportunity, please contact Laura.

Compost, Manure and Sawdust

Well it has been a little while since my last post and I apologize. I have been fielding many calls in my office and I have seen a recurring theme. I have had a number of calls on soil amendments and composting. These are always wonderful questions to get and it is exciting to see people thinking about alternatives to petroleum-based fertilizers.

One person who called had a source of free horse manure (lucky guy!). The manure was mixed with sawdust (this is not an unusual circumstance as sawdust and wood shavings are often used as bedding in stables) and he wanted to know if this would affect his vegetable crop.

Yes, it will!

Sawdust and wood shavings are very high in carbon content. When the microorganisms start breaking down the manure and sawdust they need energy. They get this energy from carbon and nitrogen. Because of the very high level of carbon in the sawdust, the microorganisms have an unbalanced diet and are in search of more and more nitrogen. Because these microorganisms can collect nitrogen more efficiently than plants due, the result is stunted plants. If you are using sawdust and manure or sawdust that has not been aged in anyway, you must add supplemental nitrogen.

The nitrogen that is recommended, ammonium nitrate (34-0-0) or ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) is chemically-based and I don't know of any organically available sources. If you are not taking an organic route, the nitrogen can be added to the manure/sawdust before land application or it can be worked into the soil after the manure has been applied.

To read more about this visit the Fact Sheet on Horse Manure Management: The Nitrogen Enhancement System and A Horse Owner's Guide to Good Stewardship, both are authored Randall James at Ohio State University Extension.

Another solution to this problem is to COMPOST the manure and sawdust. This is a great option for organic producers. Composting will also help break down weed seeds and other possible pathogens that the horses cannot do by themselves. Compost is also a great way to add both fertility and organic matter to your soil and to reduce the days to harvest restrictions that come with using raw manure.

The major components of compost are:

1. "Brown stuff"- dried and dead stuff like leaves and pine needles. This is your CARBON.
2. "Green stuff"- green leaves, vegetable scraps, leaf clippings, etc. This is your NITROGEN.
3. OXYGEN. We need aerobic activity!
4. WATER. Not too much, not too little.

So with the manure and sawdust you have plenty of "brown stuff", you need to construct a compost system that allows for air movement and the addition of proper moisture and "green stuff". It is also important that you have a thermometer with a long enough probe to track the temperature in the center of your compost pile. Temperature is critical to composting as it tells you when you need to add more oxygen or moisture.

Balance is Key to composting. Balancing water and oxygen and carbon and nitrogen is key to your composting success!

There are many designs out there for compost systems and you will have to choose what is right for you in your system. There are two types of composting styles that are recognized by the National Organic Program (NOP). They are the windrow method (long piles of materials that are turned regularly) and the aerated static pile method (pile is not turned, rather air is supplied through perforated pipes on the bottom of the pile). If you are an organic grower there are many regulations you need to follow for making your own or even purchasing compost, so check with your certifying agency.

To learn about the ins and outs of composting and how to construct your own composting system visit the following resources:

USDA composting site
Composting on Organic Farms
Extension: Making and Using Compost in Organic Agriculture
Debbie Roos comprehensive list of composting links


If you have questions, please come by to talk or stop by your local Cooperative Extension office to see your local Agriculture Agent!

February Is WNC Clean Streams Month

WNC Clean Streams is a collaborative effort between Cooperative Extension agents in the region with the common goal of providing educational programs dedicated to environmental stewardship.

Events are planned to highlight the importance of protecting and conserving our local and regional water sources.

There are many great events planned for commercial growers, homeowner and contractors, developers and designers including:

• Water-wise gardening
• Rain barrel sales
• Landscape irrigation and rain-harvesting
• Sediment and erosion control
• Stream restoration
  

Plus much more!

There will also be special sessions at the Winter Vegetable Conference in Asheville on 18-19 February including:

• Pesticide spills and clean-up and
• Drip application of pesticides for insect control
  

Be a part of this View, Download or Print the Brochure! Spread it far and wide.

Soil Fumigant Regulations, continued...

In a previous post on soil fumigants, I mentioned the new changes and mitigations that are being proposed by the EPA.

After speaking with a representative at Reddick, he informed me that these changes will not take place until late 2010 or 2011. The delay is due to the changing of the fumigant labels. However, please read your fumigant label before your treat your field. For example, Midas (iodomethane or methyl iodide) has major restrictions on its label already. One of these restrictions is:

"Do not apply within 1/4 mile of any occupied sensitive site such as schools, daycare facilities, nursing homes, hospitals, prisons and playgrounds".

This may have an impact on many farms here in WNC where our fields are very close to our neighbors. If you fall into this category, you can still apply Telone or methyl bromide. These fumigants have buffer zones, thought not as wide as with Midas. Please read and follow the label- it is the law! You can find pesticide labels on the Crop Data Management Systems, Inc website.

The EPA is still taking comments, so please let your voice be heard. Contact the EPA soon!

If you have any questions about fumigants, please contact your local supplier or call your local cooperative extension office.

Local Food Mania!

Local food is a buzz! Not to mention the #1 item on the 2009 Hot Items list.

At the end of 2008, the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) had a series of meetings to target and compile the needs for a sustainable, profitable local food economy, including one in Asheville.
Nancy Creamer, the director at CEFS, and her team have been busy compiling the information from these sessions and updating the Farm-to-Fork webpage.

All of these events have been leading up to the Farm to Fork Statewide Summit, Building a Sustainable, Local Food Economy on March 2nd & 3rd. More info to be posted shortly.

In addition, check out former Congresswomen Eva Clayton's Op Ed on local foods in the Raleigh News and Observer on Monday that asks decision makers to pay attention to this effort and the benefits of local foods.

Community Supported Agriculture

Community Supported Agriculture or CSAs are one unique way that a farm markets their produce to consumers. Members of a CSA pay a farmer early in the year (January or February) for a weekly share of produce during the growing season. This income goes to help farmers offset the seasonal cost of plant production, i.e. buying seed, plants, fertilizer, etc. In return, the consumer gets a box of fresh produce weekly throughout the growing season and a strong tie to local producers and the local economy. The CSA boxes are filled with seasonal products that come directly from the farm and items may include vegetables, herbs, fruits and sometimes eggs and meat products and value-added products. such as jams and jellies. Growers arrange drop-off locations for the boxes or customers go directly to the farm.

As a producer, CSAs are attractive because of the money you get up front and a personal connection with the consumer. Getting the money up front also means that you do not have to deal with cash, checks and missed payments. CSAs ensure that your product gets sold- a luxury that doesn't always come with the tailgate market setting. Challenges for producers include growing a wide variety of crops, supplying product each week, distributing it effectively, supplying recipes and newsletters to your customers and dealing with the unpredictable and sometimes destructive weather in North Carolina.

If you are interested in starting your own CSA, visit Debbie Roos's excellent CSA resource on her "Growing Small Farms" website or review Melissa Ann Brown and Jeanine Davis's Horticulture Information leaflet "Community Supported Agriculture in North Carolina".

To read more about CSAs read the article "Support Your Local Produce" recently published in the Raleigh News and Observer.

If you are interested in buying into a local CSA, visit ASAP's local food guide to find a CSA near you.

A new CSA in Buncombe County is with Cane Creek Valley Farm, an organic farm located in Fletcher.

If you are not located in WNC, visit Debbie's resource for CSAs located in other parts of NC.

Small Fruit News Jan. 2009

The January edition of Small Fruits News is now available. This edition includes your winter chores for blackberry and strawberry plantings.

Small Fruit News is a publication by the Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium whose members include of NCSU, Clemson, Univ. of Georgia, Univ. of Tennessee, Univ. Arkansas and Virginia Tech.