June 25th, 2025

What’s in your share?

Carrots
Snap Peas
Mini Head Lettuce
Spring Cabbage
Salad Mix (its starting to slow)
Bok Choy

Spring Cabbage - is so tender and delicate, great for eating raw! This variety, “Fara0”, has been our go-to spring cabbage variety because it matures before the pests emerge, reducing the need to cover it at all times. This cabbage is tender and sweet; perfect for slaws. We usually cut our cabbage into manageable wedges, using a quarter at a time as needed. Keeping the core intact will make prep easier! (Martha will show you how)

STORAGE: You don’t have to keep your cabbage in a bag if it’s whole (just peel any outer layers off that get wilty), but definitely keep it in a bag if you’ve cut into it and want to store the rest for later. The delicate leaves grow into a head that is looser than a storage cabbage, making its ideal storage time about a month before it starts to lose nutritional value.

Sam, teaching Alex the ways of the BCS, our two wheeled tractor. We have several implements for this bad boy: the plow was used to establish our permanent raised beds once and only once, which we now maintain them with hand tools, and occasionally lend the plow out to other farmers who are forming beds. The implement we use the most is the flair mower; we use it to mow our lawn (LOL overkill!) to mow cover crops into mulch, to mow the periphery around the beds, and to cut the occasional woody brush.

Since we’re getting into some more familiar vegetables, perhaps it’s time we introduced ourselves. In 2018, Sam and I broke ground at this farm. Our start was very humble - cultivating only 40 beds, of which we now have 100, - and selling our produce at the Oak Creek Farmers Market and our old neighborhood market, the Riverwest Gardeners Market. Learning to grow on clay soil on a bigger scale than we were used to was a learning curve that forced us to rapidly increase our knowledge and efficiency. After a season of being the cute newbies with not-so-great produce (but awesome fermented goods) we scaled up, building 60 more permanent raised beds which we still grow in today.

Ali, Sam’s sister, joined us in 2019, bringing a lot of farming experience to the table. We were really cranking out the produce, and in addition to the two farmers markets, we started our first CSA season, with just 20 members (many of you are still with us!!) I remember this season being a total grind, but also bring an irreplaceable learning year, with exponential results from the previous season. 8 years in, we’re still at it. We’ve found our personal roles (though they are ever-evolving), and our role as a whole in tending the land. We’ve learned how much work we can take on and have a balanced and enjoyable life.

Last week on a field walk. Noting that the tomatoes are almost 5 feet tall, using my height as the comparison. They are now taller than me.

Sam is the farm planner. He has a knack for seeing the whole picture through a broad, long term vision. He makes a killer spreadsheet, which we use to keep track of membership, propagation seeding dates, field planting dates, a map of the field, CSA harvest targets, and revenue and expenses; to name a few. Sam thrives when he can be using his organizational skills to make sense of anything. He also takes care of all the farm finances, from banking, to insurance, to taxes; and making sure we’re making the right decisions to be a solvent business that can pay all of us a living wage throughout the season. Irrigation and general building/infrastructure are also areas where Sam takes the lead, being able to see how smaller pieces fit together to make something complete.

Sara (myself) is who you’ve interacted with for anything CSA. I coordinate the emails; getting members signed up, and making sure everyone knows where to find what they need. I really try to practice good communication with out members so no one feels like they are lost. I’m a creature of habit, using my early morning energy to stick to a routine that keeps me grounded throughout the day. That said, I enjoy other daily routines; checking the rain gauge and making note of storm damage, doing daily field walks and adding to the endless to-do list (while trying not to get overwhelmed), checking the crops to make note of new growth, a weird colored leaf, a growing insect population, and moisture levels. I’m also starting to understand more about soil health and the role that cover crops and nutrients play, and take on the responsibility of ordering amendments, compost, and scheduling “fertility days” where we feed our crops with an extra boost of nutrients, usually through a foliar spray or side dressing. I also manage our website and social media, which is something I never thought would be part of my job description!

Ali has always been a part of the farm, no matter where her travels have taken her. She is currently working on the farm part time while pursuing her Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling at Marquette. We call her our “ride or die” because she can jump in anywhere and know what’s going on. She has a very intuitive and nurturing relationship with plants and animals and always seems to know what the crops want and enjoys tending to their needs. Ali is always down to move some dirt from one pile to another, drill some metal on a ladder, and have a good laugh while doing so. She is the best farm sitter, always willing to look after the farm if Sam and I want to get away for a night or a weekend, which is a luxury not all farmers have, and it makes all the difference in being able to push through a season.

Alex is the newest addition to VF this season. The four of us live together in the house, and are making an awesome team. Alex just finished college and we’ve hired him as the “Village Farmstead Land Steward”. We have 13 acres that need tending, and boy, we barely have time for the one acre our veggies grow on (or our lawn!) Alex is embarking upon the major project of stewarding the periphery, removing introduced or invasive plants, cutting down dead trees and curing them for firewood, mowing and trimming the vegetable field and eventually the pasture, and if we need an extra hand on the veggie side, he is always stoked to get at it. If you see Alex around, feel free to introduce yourselves and give him a pat on the back for having such a complex job thrown at him!

June 18th, 2025