Easter Egg Radishes

Contents:

1) In Your Box this Week

2) Farm News:

• From the Farmer’s Perspective… 

• Eggs, by Grit Ramuschkat, JBG Resident

3) Updates, Meetings, and Important Events

• News From Our First Slow Money Meeting
• Workshares Needed This Week to Cut Potatoes: Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday
• Cheese, Please! Class at Whole Foods
• Free Composting Class from the Sustainable Food Center
• For the Home Gardener: Seeding for our March Transplant Sale

4) Quotable Food

5) Recipes

• Borscht

6) Produce Storage Tips

7) Johnson’s Backyard Garden Contact Info

Beth and Ada love their veggies

1) In Your Box this Week:

Carrots – Big Bunches!
Turnips
Spinach
Mixed Lettuce
Radishes
Brussels Sprouts or Cabbage
Broccoli Florets
Green Garlic
Scallions
Grapefruit (G and S Groves)
Oranges (G and S Groves)

2) Farm News:

• From the Farmer’s Perspective…

2009: A Year of Expansion, and More to Come

2009 was a year of growth at Johnson’s Backyard Garden-and not just for the vegetables. This year, for the first time, JBG put its entire 16 acres on Hergotz Lane into vegetable production. At the same time, we’ve been building up our infrastructure, so we can both grow our high-quality vegetables and distribute them to as many Austin residents as we can. Allow us to reminisce…

Back in January, the farm crew finished the construction of our barn, where we wash, pack, and store our harvest every day. Soon we had enough cold storage space to grow and keep storage crops. In 2009, we stored onions, potatoes, garlic, winter squash, and carrots for our CSA members.

In February and March, we finished the construction and wiring of our large greenhouse, giving us a climate controlled home for our seedlings. This has given JBG more business independence, since now we can grow all of our transplants! To boot, JBG spent much of the beginning of 2009 digging wells and installing irrigation systems around the farm, to keep our plants healthy in the Texas heat. This might be our most significant development in growing quality produce year round.

But not all of our expansions have been in the field. This year, Aaron, our computer programmer, created a program that plans crop rotations, tracks seeding and greenhouse schedules, alerts us when seed inventory is low, and most importantly assists in calculating how much we need to grow to fill everyone’s weekly share box. This program has gone a long way in helping JBG stay organized and running smoothly during our expansion.

But where would JBG be without our great members? In 2009, our CSA family increased from 400 to over 600 members. With that, our weekly CSA box shipments increased from an average of 200 a week to 450 a week! To deal with this demand, JBG added pick up days and sites (some of you must remember when we only had 2 pick up days a week. Now we have four!) And to deal with all of the excess veggies, JBG began attending 3 Austin farmers markets, and is just starting a wholesale enterprise. Right now, we are producing more vegetables than we ever have before.

That might sound like a lot, but we are not through yet. At the end of 2009, JBG signed a contract to purchase an additional 40 acres of farmland on River Road. In October and November, we prepared the soil to plant in 2010. This additional acreage is going to let JBG double its production, from 450 CSA boxes a week to 900! That’s over 1200 CSA members! To boot, in December, JBG began negotiations to buy the entirety of the old River Road dairy-not just 40 acres, but 200! While the amount of land we have in vegetable production will stay around 40 acres, this extra land will allow us to practice more sustainable methods of farming, such as field rotation, cover cropping, and organic grain production.

2009 was quite a year. And with this new property in our sights, 2010 is positioned to exceed it. Even as we continue to expand, we always remember that our mission is to serve Austin by providing its residents with fresh, organic vegetables, directly from our farm to your table. We are excited to keep serving you, and gaining more relationships in the Austin area in the years to come. We hope to make JBG a serious staple in Austin’s local food chain. With your continued support and enthusiasm, 2010 is going to be another incredible year.

• Eggs, by Grit Ramuschkat, JBG Resident

Versatility in the palm of your hand

• For the Home Gardener: Seeding for our March Transplant Sale

This week we are beginning our seeding of Solanaceae (or in other words, those lovely summer crops: tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers) for our spring transplant sale during the first three weeks of March.  In collaboration with Slow Food USA, JBG will be selling transplants of open-pollinated, heirloom, and Ark of Taste varieties of tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, melons, cucumbers, and squash.  The sale will take place alongside a farm tour and a Q&A session about organic growing and community supported agriculture in Austin.   Whether you’re a seasoned gardener, or giving your backyard a try for the first time, mark your calendars.  We hope to see you all this spring!

lots of seeding to be done

4) Quotable Food

“Handling living food is so inspiring and energizing it makes you want to cook. You will never get tired of washing lettuce if it is beautiful to look at.” –Alice Waters

5) Recipes

This week’s recipe comes from one of our new CSA members, Wendy Wagner, who has found a creative use for the lovely brussels greens that we’ve been having lately.  Thanks, Wendy for your contribution!

Borscht

8c water or veggie broth
1 bunch of beets
2 carrots
1 onion
2 to 4 potatoes
brussel greens (steams removed)
beat greens (steams removed)
green onions
sour creme/ goat cheese/ yogurt
fresh dill, chopped
salt & pepper to season
dash of vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)

(extras if you use them and have them on hand: miso or shoyu instead of salt at the end of cooking)

Preparation:
Cut all veggies into bite-size pieces removing the steams from the beat and brussel greens. Saute onions in a big pot. Add beets and carrots and cook for a few minutes before adding broth. Add potatoes and let the soup simmer for 20 minutes. Add brussel greens and beet leaf and let simmer for another 10-20 minutes. Add the chopped green onions a few minutes before the end of the cooking time. Finalize the taste by adding salt and pepper and a dash of vinegar (or miso and shyou and apple cider vinegar).

6) Produce Storage Tips

Brussel Sprouts are best stored on the stock.  Once removed, place the sprouts in a plastic bag or Tupperware and store in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

Spinach is best stored in a plastic bag or Tupperware in the vegetable crisper for 3-5 days.

Wrap cabbage in plastic wrap, or place in a covered container and store in the vegetable crisper of your refrigerator.

Chickens at Steven's and Grit's: Is this some sort of meeting?

7) Johnson’s Backyard Garden Contact Info

Johnson’s Backyard Garden
9515 Hergotz Lane, Box E
Austin, TX 78742
Office Phone: 512.386.5273
Office Hours: M-Th 8am to 5pm, Friday 8am to 12pm

The farm office is closed 12 pm to 1 pm for lunch.

e-mail: farm@jbgorganic.com