CSA Box Contents Week of Mar 22nd

At last weekend's Gardening Workshop. Photo by Scott David Gordon

From the Farmers Perspective

Do you ever feel like your life is going 100 mph? I had that experience this week - literally! On a drive back to our Hergotz farm, I noticed that my truck was moving fast, really really fast. Our farm driver Jake was driving behind me, and thought I was just trying to be a cool guy, burning rubber and speeding around east Austin. Actually, it turns out my accelerator pedal was malfunctioning and was stuck, pedal to the metal! Luckily I was able to toggle between drive and neutral and make it back to Hergotz in one piece, but the experience got me reflecting on the experience of building a farm over the last 11 years. I thought - pedal to the metal, that's what it's been like since I started the farm!

It's really hard for me to believe that in March 2006, ten years ago, I was only growing food in my front, side, and backyard on Holly Street. Since then, the team at JBG has grown immensely, and expanded to two new, larger locations when the demand for our produce grew. We've built coolers, offices, and greenhouses; repaired cars, trucks and tractors; developed databases and driver routes and irrigation systems, and somehow managed to keep our heads above water through all of this while still running a business. Ten years has flown by, and there have been times where it felt like the acceleration was almost out of control.

Photo by Scott David Gordon

But these days, the farm doesn't feel like it's moving so fast. We have an incredible staff who is really keeping everything organized and on point. In the fields, we've fine-tuned our production and are using less of our land than ever, allowing fields to rest for longer. The quality of our veggies are the best they've ever been, which is due in large part to a dedicated staff who really cares about this work. Our Garfield farm finally has most of the infrastructure we've needed (though I do have a just a couple more projects in mind!), and overall it feels as though the madness has settled from my first few years as a farmer. When I read about the decline of small family farms around the country (see this article), it makes me proud that the team at JBG has finally hit our stride and are sustaining what we've built during the fast and wild growth period.

Come join us for some dancing next Saturday at our Spring Picnic! Photo by Scott David Gordon

That being said - all of this growth wouldn't be possible without you! Our community is the driving force that has brought JBG to where we are today, and we want you to come celebrate with us! Next weekend, we're hosting a shindig to do just that. Join us for our Spring Picnic, which is sure to be a great time for the whole family. Tour the farm on the Garden Gallop 5k, and see all of the vegetables destined for your CSA boxes - we've got a great 1 mile Fun Run for the kiddos as well. Afterwards, bring out the lawn chairs and coolers and enjoy a BYO-picnic while listening to our great lineup of bands! We're excited that Chansons et Soulards will be joining Doug Moreland and The Bottom Dollar String Band on our farm stage, so you better bring those dancing shoes. You can buy your tickets now for the Spring Picnic at jbgorganic.com/picnic - I can't wait to show you all of the things we've been working on!

One of the many incredible things about our city, SXSW provides a venue for talent from Texas and around the world to present their work. In a town that loves food as much as Austin, of course this is going to include a few gastronomic masterpieces. We have two incredible film recommendations for you from this week's festival!

The Seer: A Portrait of Wendell Berry

If you care about eating local food from local farmers, chances are you've read some of Wendell Barry's work. Even if you haven't - if you eat food, we think you should see this movie. Laura Dunn has painted a portrait of the legendary Wendell Berry by looking at the world and the state of our food system through his eyes. Their collective lens shows the work of small farmers in an emotional, captivating, and inspiring way. It made us proud to be doing this work!

Visit the film's Kickstarter page - one of the perks of donating is a download of the film!

Boone

From the film's website: "A unique sensory and unsentimental peek behind the veil of the Utopian dream of farming. Stripped of interviews with farmers or agricultural experts, a sense of time and place serve as a meditation on the gritty reality of three young goat farmers."

With beautiful footage of a goat dairy in Oregon, Boone did a great job illustrating the round-the-clock work that comes with being a farmer. No utopian dream here - this film will show you how often things don't go according to plan and give insights on the labor of love that is a farm. We were excited to offer a tour of JBG to filmmakers Chris and Kate after seeing Boone.

You can see the film tonight at 4pm at the Alamo Drafthouse - don't miss out!

The Gardening Workshop participants enjoyed a tractor ride around the farm! Photo by Scott David Gordon

We've been planting like crazy this week! The crews have been busy getting our tomatoes, okra, eggplant, peppers, green beans and more in the ground in anticipation of more rain this weekend. The farm is looking great and we look forward to showing you next weekend at our Spring Picnic! Photos below are also from last weekend's gardening workshop - thanks to everyone who came out, we had a great time!

Lettuce is abundant this time of year! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Brenton tells the group how to grow the best tomatoes. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Gardening Workshop. Photo by Scott David Gordon

We're finishing up our new harvest trailers this week! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Fresh carrot harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Fennel. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Mowing to make room for more summer crops! Photo by Scott David Gordon

The farm dog gets a little bit of love. Photo by Scott David Gordon

JBG's transplanting crew. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Mint bunches destined for farmers markets this weekend. Photo by Scott David Gordon

The mint has been loving this weather! Photo by Scott David Gordon

The squash plot we put in the high tunnel is doing great. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Lots of yellow squash coming. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Look for our early squash this weekend at market! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Transplanting peppers this week in anticipation of some rain. Photo by Scott David Gordon

by Megan Winfrey

That cold snap last week inspired me to make my go-to, hearty vegetable soup. Is it just going to be hell this summer or what? It's not even April and I've already (probably) made my last vegetable soup of the year! What is this blasphemy?! Not to mention the bluebonnets that are already blanketing the medians on I-35 OVER A MONTH EARLY! Well, at least the green belt is full (for now), we always have Barton Springs, and maybe the tomatoes will come a month early, too! Which means gazpacho! Wow, I'm feeling better already.

Sweet Potato Thyme Soup

• 3 large or 4 small sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 bunch of kale leaves, torn
• 1 fennel bulb, sliced
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 bunch of fresh thyme
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 cup brown rice, prepared
• 1 lemon
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• cheese cloth or tea strainer

Add the stock to a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the chopped sweet potatoes and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. When they are done, turn the heat down to low.

In the meantime, oil a large skillet and set to medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and fennel. Cook low and slow, stirring often, until caramelized - about 20 minutes. Add to the pot when finished. Wrap the thyme in cheese cloth and tie it off with a knot or string - or put it in your tea strainer, and add to the pot.

Squeeze the lemon into the pot, add the kale, and salt and pepper to taste. Let everything simmer together for a few minutes to let the thyme flavor infuse and the kale wilt. Serve hot over rice.

CSA Box Contents Week of Mar 14th

Our Spring Picnic + 5k Garden Gallop is coming up on March 26th! Photo by Scott David Gordon

As a Community Supported Agriculture farm, we're always looking for opportunities to get the community - YOU - enjoying the farm as often as possible! With 3 great events coming up, we hope that you will have a chance to join us this month. The farm is as beautiful as ever right now - we just barely beat the rain this week to finish transplanting squash, peppers, okra, tomatoes and more warm weather goodies, and the fields look amazing. Bring your families along for the fun and enjoy one of the loveliest times of year in central Texas with JBG! We promise you won't regret it.

Organic Gardening Workshop with Brenton Johnson

Missed your chance to grab transplants last week? Fear not! This Saturday, March 12th, in conjunction with the second weekend of our Transplant Sale, Farmer Brenton is hosting an Organic Gardening Workshop for all levels at our Garfield Farm. He'll be offering wisdom on everything from site selection to fertility, variety choices and more. Gain the confidence you need to start growing some serious backyard veggies with hands-on demos from our own backyard gardener gone wild. Participants will have plenty of opportunity to ask questions as well - so you can finally find out why your tomatoes just won't set fruit and what those darn black spots on your basil mean!

We invite you to bring your families along, and stay after the event for a picnic at the farm. This rain looks to be clearing up for the weekend, so don't let the weather deter you! Workshop participants also receive a 10% discount on transplants and a special "crop insurance" discount for a CSA share from the farm.

Tickets are available at jbgorganic.com/workshop

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Pop-Up Transplant Sale at Salt + Time

If you can't make our weekend transplant sales, your garden space isn't quite ready yet, or if you just like fine, locally sourced and cured meats to go along with your garden planning, we've got a solution for you. JBG is partnering with our good friends at Salt + Time Butcher Shop and Salumeria to host a one-of-a-kind pop-up transplant sale on Wednesday, March 23rd from 3-7 pm. Coincidentally, Salt + Time runs a fantastic happy hour from 4-7, and new neighbors SPUN Ice Cream will be dolling out free scoops for select customers at the same time.

This will be the last chance to purchase certified organic transplants from the farm this spring, and what better opportunity could you think of? Happy Hour! Salumi! Ice Cream! Plants! Farmers! Butchers! You!!!

Pre-orders for this pop-up event start this Wednesday, March 16th at jbgorganic.com/transplants

JBG's Annual Spring Picnic and 5k Garden Gallop

On Saturday, March 26th, join us for one of our absolute favorite events of the whole year - our spring Picnic and 5k Garden Gallop! Celebrate the return of Spring with your community and your famers with a full day of family-friendly fun at JBG.

Tickets to this year's event are just $10 (kids under 12 are free!) and include admission to our third ever 5k on the farm - the Garden Gallop. With the help of our friends at Rogue Running, we've created an exciting fun run to give you a tour of our 186 organic acres of farmland! Run, walk, skip or hop around the field and enjoy seeing your veggies growing all around you. Our Kid's Fun Run is back again as well - a 1 mile course for the little ones that includes prizes for participants!



Following the run, we've scheduled some swingin' local groups to liven up the day with their music. Doug Moreland and The Bottom Dollar String Band are both back for a second show at JBG, with a third band TBA.  Bring a chair or blanket, and a cooler of food and drinks from home so you can sit back and enjoy the tunes and weather while your kiddos play on our famous sand pile. Frank Hot Dogs and Cold Beer will be bringing their trailer along if you don't want to bring your own food - or if you just love their hot dogs.

It's always easier to throw a party when you know how many people are coming, so buy your Picnic and Garden Gallop tickets today! We also have a limited number of volunteer slots - please email the farm if you are interested in helping out. We can't wait to see you on the 26th!