Wave of Autumnal Colors: Delivery #12

Full Spectrum Wave of Dahlias

 Hello Moon Bears,

This is your Final Official Delivery for 2015.
There will be one more Bonus Delivery on September 17th. We'll trade the last ice chests in for the season then.

Thank You for a beautiful season. 

We so loved connecting with you and sharing the joys and challenges of the garden with you.

We have a grab-bag of goodness on this, our final week. Check out the photos of all plants showing off for the rain clouds:

Concord

Dahlia

The End of an Old Compressor Tank

At the Cleaning Station

 On Your Full Share Menu This Week
Rainbow Carrots
Gold and Purple Tomatillos
Beautiful Heirloom Tomatoes
Concord Grapes
Heirloom Apples
Lemon Cucumbers
Sea Kale
Rainbow Chard
Garlic
Various Items from the Cabbage Family like
Kohlrabi
Savoy Cabbage
Brussel Sprouts 

Tomatillo

Baby Zucchini
Winter Squash, Spaghetti and Carnival
Sweet Mini Bell Peppers

kohlrabi

Pictures Below: Notice the Doe on her way to much on the kale bed. When she saw me coming she went and hid behind the greenhouse. I just let her be, figuring that Autumn was a time to share the wealth.

See you on Thursday.
Rick

Sweetness in Summer: Delivery 10

 Hello Moon Bears,

The tomatoes are really coming on strong. We harvested 110 pounds from the 35 mature plants this morning. Also the corn and concord grapes will be ready and SWEET next week.

Here's Your Menu For a Full Share

• Delicata and Carnival Squash
• Sea and Siberian Kale
• Ten Varieties of Tomatoes
• Green and Wax Beans
• Nantes Half Long Super Sweet Carrots
• Venersborg Garlic
• Savoy Cabbage (Frilly and sweet)
• Fresh Red and Sweet Basil
• Rose Finn, Pontiac and Yukon Gold Potatoes

Thanks,
See you Soon,
Rick


(c) Copyright Moon Bear Produce, Rick Sievers, August 2015

How to Bee Happy: Delivery #4

Honey Bee on a Wild Onion Bloom

Turnips Fresh From Their Beds

 Hello Moon Bears,

I had a moment in the squash patch when I Knew that This is what the Earth is Truly like underneath all the fierce challenges happening right now in our environment. The Summer Squash were bursting out of the plant bases. Their flowers waving lazily in the gentle breeze. All around me were honey bees and the big fuzzy native bees. They spiraled in and out of the flower forest. Some spun around my head. The buzzing was ecstatic. I felt the brush of their wings on my neck and arms as I reached in to harvest the bounty. And I brought back a smile along with the squash. This is what the Earth offers us in the garden: Joy, especially when we treat her with reverence and integrity.

FYI: If you want to make the bees happy, let some of your garden crops go wild and flower. Bees love radishes, kale and onions when they bloom. In fact, a single radish plant will stand about four feet tall, with a thousand blooms, if you let it bee.

Check Out Our Golden Beets

On Your Menu This Week:

• Rainbow Chard
• A Trinity of Kale
• The Last of the Ruby Turnips
• Tender Green and Armenian Cukes
• Golden and Detroit Beets
• The Best Russian Banana Fingerling Potatoes
• Dutch Yellow Onions
• The Last of the Pre-Heat Wave Lettuce
• Small Summer Garlic

Tender Green and Lemon Cucumbers

Thanks,
See You in the Garden

Rick





(c) Copyright, Words and Images, Moon Bear Produce, Rick Sievers, July 2015

Blazing Sun and Blazing Hearts. Moon Bear CSA Delivery #2

Upper Mid Garden on the Art Farm

Hello Moon Bears,

We're getting ready for the second delivery of 2015. Last week we literally cleared every ripe and ready item out of the garden for delivery #1. Which always happens. And like every year before we just prayed that the Earth would be bounteous over the coming week and fill basket #2. Which always happens. We have always had just enough, and the garden has always given a 100% to our members. I'm super grateful.

On the Menu for a Full Share This Week:

• Rainbow Chard
• Rhubarb
• New Potatoes
• Butter Lettuce Salad
• Sweet Snap Peas
• Detroit Beets
• Walla Walla Onions
• Fresh Garlic
• Siberian Kale
• Striped Zucchini



It's Hot Out There!

• Broccoli, if it grows a little more.

Star Shine Salad bagged and Ready for the Cooler

Lettuce and Spinach for 13ish CSA Boxes

Ruby Queen Beets Getting a Bath

Callie, The Supervisor and Security Guard

Thanks for believing in organic and local agriculture on a micro level.

See You For deliveries on Thursday.

Rick


(c) Copyright Words and Images,  Rick Sievers, Moon Bear Produce, June 2015

June Bloom - Deliveries Start June 18th

 The North Garden in Mid May

 

Karakovan Style Hive

Hello Moon Bears,

Looks like we will start deliveries on Thursday June 18th. We have a lot of new kale right now if anyone wants to cut some themselves. We also have two spots available for our CSA (See the last entries for details).

You can see how green everything is. This time of the work year is sort of like riding a runaway truck with no brakes. The weeds and the sprouts and the bugs and the soil preparation and the promotion happen all at once. Just hang on and do as much as you can.

Potatoes are nearly two feet tall, with little 1 inch spuds hidden in the pile beneath. Broccoli is growing heads. The bees are swarming around the bolted kale and radishes. And the Caraflex cabbages have the cutest cone heads you've ever seen.

We listened to your feedback from last year. So this year we are planting more salad greens in succession. Also, our  onion crop is twice the size and variety as last year. So far the winter squash looks good too. We'll try to never repeat our 50% loss from vine borers last year. We rotated our squash patch far away from the infected areas. Keep your fingers crossed. Control is not an option in a true organic garden. One can only rely on patience and presence and practice With the Earth as partner.

We also installed our first beehive. This is an old time design made with a hollow cottonwood log. It's primary purpose is home for the bees, a round sanctuary. Its a modified Karakovan hive and it also is akin to many African designs. See these links for more details: Karakovan & Stellar Bees. We also have a nice patch of milkweed for the Monarch Butterflies we saw last year.

We're so looking forward to seeing you this Summer, with coolers full of living, lovely produce.

Rick

(c) Copyright, Words and Images, Moon Bear Produce, Rick Sievers, May 2015

Green Green Green: Week 3 of Moon Bear CSA

Kale Bed by the Silver Barn

Hello Moon Bears, 

Check out all the farm photos below, after reading the post.

I just returned from a five day trip to see my mom. And what did I find? The garden is overflowing with GREEN!   Many items are very close to ripe, but not quite there. We'll have tomatoes within the next two weeks. And the Carrots look like they're coming soon. Acorn squash looks like about two to three weeks out. Even a few small ears of Corn are popping their heads our into the sunshine. We'll also have more Potatoes soon, including our famous fingerlings.

We have BEETS this week, including Ruby Queen and Detroit varieties. These are sweet and tender. I like them sliced and steamed. We also have greens from the late spring, including perfect Swiss Chard and Siberian Kale. The lettuce was scorched this week by the sun. So we'll see only limited quantities of that until mid July (If the Sun decides to temper itself). 

This week will be a slightly smaller offering than last. That's the ebb and flow nature of gardening. I made a commitment to offer everything they garden is offering. Hang in there. A beautiful new group of veggies is coming soon. I'll give you all we've got throughout our season.

Here's What's on the Menu for a full share:

• Rainbow and Rhubarb Chard
• Ruby Queen Beets
• Triple Onions
• Baseball Butter Lettuce (We only have a few left for a couple of weeks) Update: Oops no lettucve this week. Looks too droopy from the heat. Sorry.
• Garlic
• Baby Broccoli Sprouts
• Siberian Kale
• Yellow and Dark Green Zucchini
• Update: Found the most beautiful little turnips in a forgotten corner of the North Plot. Try mashing with potatoes.

Please remember to leave your cooler out for me to collect

Thanks.

See You in the Garden


Rick

Some of your coolers drying in the sun