Pete's Greens Farm Update May 18, 2011





Pete's Musings

What a spring for squeezing some farming in between the days of mud. Fortunately we got one solid dry week (last week) and we were able to finish planting potatoes and transplant onions, artichokes, zukes, peppers, brussel sprouts, lettuce and more. We also got a lot of field prepping done so we are in good shape. This spring is proving the value of having good equipment kept in good repair and employees willing to work long hours as we need to move fast when it is dry and not have breakdowns.

Just started to harvest some beautiful outdoor baby greens yesterday, and today we transplant corn and leeks. I've been out and about in the community working out some new land lease deals so that we can continue our big vegetable rotations and avoid the weeds, insects and diseases that become rampant when you grow the same vegetables in the same spot for too many years.

Barn is progressing well. Trusses are going up, soon we will be putting a roof on. Lots of electrical, plumbing, insulating and interior sheathing to be done before we move in on June 19 but we are happy with our progress. Thanks to the great group of guys who are working on it through all the rain showers. ~ Pete


Pete's eye view last week!



Summer Share---Begins in one month!

The Summer Share is 2/3 full now and the start of the share in June is just a few weeks away!

Sign up now to receive weekly deliveries of beautiful, fresh organic vegetables, localvore staples, and/or pastured meats.

Shares start June 22 for as little as $29/week. Visit the Summer Share page for more info.

Wholesale Accounts

Tim is taking orders for twice weekly for greens, spring veggies, basil, chicken, pork. Contact Tim@petesgreens.com for an availability sheet or call 802.586.2882 ext 1.


Summer Good Eats CSA Share Begins on June 22nd!

In just a few weeks we will begin delivering tender salad greens, fresh basil, European cucumers, fresh picked zucchini, spring salad turnips, Napa Cabbage, Asian greens, chard and lots more spring vegetables to our Good Eats CSA members. And soon afterward will come the bounty of the rest of the summer - carrots, sweet peppers, peas and beans, tomatoes, new potatoes,eggplant, corn and much more.

Last summer the share delivered over 70 types of vegetables during the 17 weeks that span late Spring and into the Fall.

Join now and be rewarded with a healthy, local and delicious season of Good Eats!

GOING TO BE AWAY FOR A FEW WEEKS THIS SUMMER? No worries!

You can now receive credit if you will be traveling and will miss delivery weeks. You can use the credit toward future share purchases.

CHOOSE FROM FOUR SHARE TYPES

The Localvore Share - a great mix of organic vegetables and high quality locally produced staples like cheeses, eggs, flours, grains, cooking oils and more. $765 for the 17 week period ($45/week).

The Veggie Only Share - same vegetables that Localvore members receive, but no local staples. $493 ($29/week).

Pete's Pantry Share - brings you NO vegetables, just the same local staples included in the Localvore share. This share costs $272 for 17 weeks ($16/wk).

The Meat Share brings you a MONTHLY selection of local meats. The Meat Share features our own chicken and our own pork with beef and lamb from other producers we know and love (and who are excellent stewards of their animals and their land). $199 for four deliveries, one delivery at the start of each month of the four month share period.

Visit our website for more details or to download a sign-up form.

Questions about Good Eats? Contact amy@petesgreens.com.

NOFA-VT Farm Share

If you are on a limited income you may be eligible to purchase a share through NOFA-VT's Farm Share program. To learn more, visit:

NOFA-VT Farm Share Program
Pete's Greens, About Farm Share

Refer a Friend to Good Eats Summer CSA

You can receive a credit of a one week vegetable share free if you refer a friend to Good Eats for our 2011 Summer Shares. Tell your friend to put your name in the referral line and you'll receive a credit on your account. Details on-line.

Would you like to split a share?


There are already members seeking share partners in Richmond, Burlington and Shelburne. If you would like to split a share with someone this summer, please check the Members Seeking page. Or if you would like to have a notice posted, send me an email.

Back in Business.

We have been packing produce for our wholesale accounts these last several weeks and it feels oh so good to us all to be back at it. Tim, our wholesale sales manager for 4 years, is back on the phone now twice weekly, calling accounts and taking orders. And then he moves into the washhouse to oversee packing and quality control.

The produce is beautiful. Lush basil grows in the greenhouses between rows of tomatoes and cucumbers. Zucchini is interplanted with Swiss chard, rows of pac choi grow alongside rows of peppers and eggplant. It is wild and beautiful now, and fragrant!



Rainbow Lights chard, spring salad turnips and Napa cabbage this week.







Deb & Tim surrounded by pac choi and head lettuces; green tomatoes and basil in the greenhouse.







Annie & Sabina pick pac choi; 18" long European cucumbers; Amy between 8 foot tall cucumber rows bunches of mustard greens; zucchini and chard


Construction Progress

As of Monday, there were only two more walls left to build. The south wall of the building is still open though because it's easier to install the trusses with the additional access. The trusses are now half installed, and will probably finish by the end of the week. Very exciting to be moving on to roofing soon. It's been a long 2.5 months of construction in all types of weather. The construction work is being done by Pete and Isaac who are masterminding the whole thing, along with our employees Ben Wilkens, & Paul Lisai, new hires Ricky, Kevin, Dan, Ross, & Steve, and neighbor Shawn Ecklund.

We are still on schedule to be able to move in just before the share starts. We will need the space by then! We are currently using the commercial kitchen in the farmhouse (see photo of Deb and Tim above) as a washhouse, but it's not very big.




Above - Pete and Ben chain a truss section on Monday, preparing it to be hoisted aloft. They assemble and strap 6 truss sections together while they are lined up on the ground, and then the big crane hoists the 6-truss blocks up onto the steel.





Above - May 9th from the South, before the truss went up.



Above - May 16th from the North. The new building is connected to our headhouse (greenhouse that is heated with recycled veggie oil), and situated amidst the rest of the greenhouses and fields.

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