CSA Box Contents Week of Apr 12th

Individual: Lettuce Bag, Red Radish, Onions, Rainbow Chard, Farmer's Choice Herb, Beet

Small: Arugula, Bok Choy, Carrot, Green Garlic, Turnip, Onion, Beet

Medium: Red Radish, Lettuce Bag, Farmer's Choice Kale, Bok Choy, Carrot, Onion, Farmer's Choice Herb, Rainbow Chard, Beet

Large: Braising Mix, Lettuce Bag, Dinosaur Kale, Onion, Carrot, Rainbow Chard, Beet, Spinach, Red Radish, Purple Top Turnip, Curly Parsley

Our transplant sale is still happening every Saturday from 9am-1pm at our Garfield farm. Scroll below and you'll see just how beautiful the fields are looking. When you visit the sale, we invite you to walk.. or run, or skip the fields. In addition to the transplant sale, we have a market booth setup, too! No better way to experience your local food system than to see the soil producing it. Kids and friends welcome, please leave your pets at home.

Giana watering transplants outside the greenhouse, with Texas clouds behind. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

When you think about it, these bright orange taproots that we love to eat are an amazing thing. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

The John Deere is our usual carrot-shuffler. Carrots are picked by hand into the small green bins, and then individually dumped into the large, peach, bulk bin. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

When your carrots match your gloves. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Hundreds of pounds of beta-carotene. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

It must be spring! The potatoes have been hilled are poking out to say hello. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Discs, pre-wash. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Post-wash. Tractors and implements are very regularly pressure washed, helping to extend the life and minimize the maintenance. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

A galaxy of green and white. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Our transplant sale is still going strong, and crops like lettuce and kale are buy one, get one. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Rows or romaine. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Plastic mulch layer in action. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Transplants for the transplant sale are looking mighty fine. Saturdays, 9-1, at our Garfield Farm. See ya there! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

We’ve met many first-time gardeners at our ongoing Transplant Sale and Farmstand , and in honor of all the newbies out there, we’ve been sharing one person’s herbventure. In case you missed the beginning of Hector’s story where he divulges his deep desire for a cute herb garden of his own, here is part 1 and part 2. Today, we give you part 3. Soon, Hector will be casually clipping fresh herbs from his patio garden, which might even make their way in the next “CSA PSA” Instagram videos he creates for the farm. Are you like Hector, dreaming of a cute herb or vegetable garden of your own? Let us remind you that our Transplant Sale and (new) Farmstand are happening this Saturday at our Garfield farm from 9am - 1pm. The address is 4008 River Road, Garfield, 78612. We hundreds of varieties of summer transplants including peppers, tomatoes, squash, melons, flowers, and of course... herbs. Come on out! 

 

Without further ado, Part 3 of Hector’s Herbventure: 

Hector enjoying the Downtown Farmer's Market in a pre-covid world. Even then, he was dreaming of a cute herb garden. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

PREOCCUPATIONS

Words and photos by Hector Gonzales. 

I am afraid I didn’t inherit my mother’s green thumb. I guess this is a common situation, not only for backyard gardeners, but in general. Can I be as good as X-person? The answer is NO. I can only be as good as my previous efforts. This herb garden is a new venture in so many ways! Am I doing this right? Maybe. Will I be able to reach my goal of a cute herb garden? Who knows. Will I do my best? Definitely.

I got my herbs a few days ago from JBG and these look so cute!

The future of a very cute herb garden... we hope.

Now, the boxes. I have no carpentry skills. I took shop during my three years in Mexican middle school and my projects were NOT GOOD. So, I prefer to talk to experts who I trust on these.

I tried to contact some people I trusted. One, unfortunately for me, moved to Massachusetts while the other contact left me unread. It happens. I also asked my local Buy Nothing (https://buynothingproject.org/) group if they knew someone. This is how I got in contact with Christian Trice from Trice Terrain Services . He came to my place, checked the boxes I obtained and gave me a good time and budget estimate for the project. I was feeling confident.

My next big fear is how to take great care of my new green babies. I started reading articles and watching videos on what are the best practices and which plants work with which ones. ADVICE: while researching on Reddit, r/herbs is a good resource while r/HerbsGrowRoom  is not the type I was into.

A pleasant surprise was hearing that Christian finished the project early. He protected the wood, put holes at the bottom, added a sublayer for irrigation, layered the box, added handles, and got fresh soil in these. I was delighted and impressed. I now had two beautiful new box planters. Check these out!

Hector's beauitful boxes, ready for planting.

My next challenge, transplanting. 

To be continued.

Hector's CSA PSA comes out on Instgram just about every other week. During these segments, Hector unpacks his Medium CSA box and dreams up menu ideas on the fly. If you're a CSA member who needs some help figuring out what to cook... check out these segments on the "IGTV" tab on our Instagram.

By Isaac + Heydon

Fajita night is an easy favorite at our little casita. The fragrance of the meat and veggies on the grill wafting through the backyard is an olfactory love language. We often augment our aromatic tacos with this spicy, herby, and fresh sauce that Isaac whips up in no time. It is the perfect companion to any savory dish and could shine in many, different applications. So, chop up those spring onions and slather it on!

Ingredients:

• 3 green onions, finely sliced
• Half to whole jalapeno, finely sliced
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 quarter of a small yellow onion, finely chopped
• A handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
• 2 teaspoons of rice vinegar
• ¼ cup of olive oil
• Juice of ½ lime
• Salt

 

Combine and stir. Add a couple pinches of salt to taste. Best when used fresh!

Hey Y’all! Farmer Brenton here. It’s been a while since I’ve posted on the blog, but there are so many awesome things going on at the farm that I wanted to share with you all this week. First, it’s spring, and so that means we are slammed with planting..I think I have shed about 15 pounds with all the hustling I’ve been doing! The fields are looking amazing, and it’s hard to believe that just over a month ago we were dealing with the most significant crop loss the farm has ever experienced. Right now, the fields are exploding with color and life. During this busy period, one of our biggest tractors blew the engine…. Because this is the busiest moment of our entire season, we needed to replace this tractor immediately so even though we just had a major loss we had no choice but to search for a replacement…. But.. this isn’t just any tractor, it’s our dream tractor! It’s the most powerful tractor we’ve ever had at JBG and is even equipped with GPS which means it can autonomously travel down our rows with incredible precision. Seedlings are planted and beds are prepped in straight lines that look like they were made with a ruler. It’s pretty nerdy farm stuff, but for the farm crew and me, this is VERY exciting.

For over 10 years, we’ve known that our operation would benefit from the power and efficiency of a tractor like this, but it hasn’t been a feasible investment until now. You should see the precision! I had so much fun breaking in our new tool that recently I stayed at the farm working on the tractor from crazy hours for weeks on end. The longest day was 22 hours! I worked last Wednesday from 6 am till the wee hours of the morning the next day working the fields to get all the crops planted in time since everything was killed by the freeze. Angel, who was JBG’s FIRST EVER paid employee that I hired over 14 years ago will be the operator of this tractor. His back had been giving him some trouble lately, but the seat on the new tractor is a “floating” seat, which means it bounces up and down to absorb any shocks and bumps. Needless to say, he’s loving it. This new John Deere is like the Cadillac of the farm, and I’m so glad it's Angel's, but like I said… I just couldn’t help myself but take a turn, too!

Tractors and spring crops are exciting enough, but we have one announcement that I couldn’t wait to tell you about: We’re opening a permanent New JBG Garfield Farmstand at our Garfield Farm!!! This, like the tractor, is a project that I’ve dreamed about… and almost started… for many years. But sometimes you’ve just gotta be patient until the pieces come together and until you get the perfect bout of energy and inspiration to pour into a new project like this. Well, we have both! We can’t wait for you to visit the new JBG Farmstand!





The JBG Farmstand will be happening every Saturday from: 9am - 1pm JBG Garfield Farm 4008 River Road, 78612

If you’ve visited the Transplant Sale this spring (still going on now!)  you’ve seen our market stand. We’ve had so much fun setting up this stand, that we have just decided to continue once the transplant availability slows. It’s been awesome to have our community out to the farm every Saturday, and it’s our hope that the JBG Farmstand will provide a fun community meeting place where people can really connect with the farm and land that grows their food.

Here are some other reasons the Farmstand is worth checking out:

• We will have a CSA Pickup there! Any CSA Member who picks up at the Saturday farmstand can choose 2 free veggies from the market booth! CSA Members: Don’t forget that you can always change your pickup just for one-time by emailing the office (farm@jbgorganic.com).
• Flowers! We just seeded thousands of flowers, and soon the entry road to the farm will be brimming with blooms, and as long as there are flowers to pick, we will be offering a pick-your-own bouquet option at the Farmstand. (CSA Members, we’re going to let you pick a bouquet for free!!)
• We also have a large number of herbs that are growing just next to where the Farmstand will be set up. While we will have some pre-harvested herbs for sale at the market booth, you can also pick your own!
• Sometime when June turns to July, it will officially be tomato time at JBG, and we plan to rope off a section of our tomatoes and then turn people loose. Our usual U-Pick (LINK) will be an extension of the Saturday Farmstand, and you and your family can pick your own box of homegrown, fresh off the vine, tomatoes. There’s no better tomato. Our Tomato U-Pick is a beloved event for so many families, and we can’t wait for ‘mater season. Soon!

We hope that all of these pick-your-own opportunities will help you enjoy a truly unique and authentic farm experience. Though we ask that you leave your pets at home, we encourage you to bring all the kids and friends. Our farm is 184 acres, and when you visit the Saturday JBG Farmstand, we really hope you feel at home and enjoy the whole property. If you’re a runner, you can come run around the acres of vegetables. Wagons are a great way for very small kids to experience the whole farm, and for the ones in-between, you can just let them loose down the dirt farm roads. We can’t guarantee that they won’t leave sweaty, dirty, and happy. There’s a giant sand pile that we’ll be sure to keep weeded, too!

Like most things at the farm, the plans for this Farmstand are organic and evolving, but we know it’s going to be great! The JBG offerings are just the beginning, and I am already thinking about collaborating with other producers for artisan cheeses and pastured meats. (But of course, I don’t want to get ahead of myself! For now, it’s just the veggies.) Our farm is big, and when the weeds aren’t outta control, it’s beautiful, too, and we can’t really think of a good reason why we shouldn’t share this space with our wonderful community who have supported us all these years. We hope you’ll check out the Saturday Farmstand… and tell your friends! It begins… tomorrow!

Thanks for reading, Farmer Brenton

An array of photos this week showing the dimensional corners of the farm: plants, flowers, equipment, people, soil, and tractors. We love them all. Happy Spring!

 

Early morning at JBG, captured by Scott David Gordon.

Green and red leaf lettuce looking very happy after a morning sprinkle. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Bulk bins, lined up among the lush grass, grown as a cover crop to protect and enrich unused soil. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

The leaves on this spinach are ginormous! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

A very hearty spinach harvest, that would make Popeye proud. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Red leaf lettuce, ready to be transplanted into the ground. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Rich burgundy carpet. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Green lettuce getting transplanted by hand, filling in the holes left empty by the recent winter storm. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Perky romaine, glowing in the sun. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Tim, working on the discs! His to-do list is never actually done. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Did you see this week's recipe for a South Indian Yogurt Cooler? The perfect beverage to enjoy this cilantro before it's gone! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Rainbow chard stem, when diced, makes a colorful addition to any stir fry. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

This beautiful chard grew directly out of the mess of chard that died during the storm. If you look closely, you can see the dead leaves on the ground which look like mulch. We applaud chard's resiliency! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

In the spring, these are our transplant boxes. In the summer, they get filled with tomatoes. Checkout our transplant sale happening this Saturday from 9-1 at our Garfield farm. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

All of the transplants on the far-right aisle in this picture are our "Spring" transplants - brassicas like collards and kale, as well as lettuces and cabbage. These will all be discounted this weekend to half-off. Come and get 'em! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Vegetal color blocking. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Our farm manager Jack attaching the plastic mulch layer to the John Deere. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

This tree line backs up to Dry Creek, a creek that runs through the middle of the farm. Habitat like this, as well as rows of these yellow flowers, make for a wonderful home for beneficial insects and pollinators. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Some cilantro that we've let go to flower. Every good farmer knows you've gotta feed the bees! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

 

At the end of last week's blog post, An Ode to Herbs, we shared Part 1 of Hector's Herbventure - his journey into growing his first-ever herb garden! We know you've been on pins and needles, curious to see how his herbventure is coming together, and so without further adieu, part 2.

Photos and story by JBG's Social Media Manager, Héctor. For more Héctor, checkout his food-centric Instagram.

 

PREPAREDNESS

The Texas Farmers Markets used to do these kitchen rummage sales, where people brought in their kitchen tools and toys that fell into disuse or were simply forgotten. At one of these I managed to score my first sous vide circulator for only $50! I have donated and scored knick knacks there through the years. Some I have used regularly, others got gifted to friends who needed these. One of those purchases was a set of 8 terracotta labels for the garden. I remember seeing the box while looking at a cocktail shaker set. I think it was less than $2 and thought “I don’t have a garden now but someday, someday I will.”



I want a cute herb garden in my apartment’s tiny patio. I have adorable tags ready. What else do I need? Planters. I started to pay more attention during my regular walks around the neighborhood. I saw how people in the nearby apartments grew herbs and flowers with apparent ease. I started to feel hopeful.

I recall a few years ago some of my friends did their herb gardens inside a wooden wine box crate. The project looked very twee and functional. I wanted that. I started messaging the nearby liquor stores, asking if they received wine in wood boxes. Sadly, no luck. The local HEB shared similar results.

I messaged the Central Market and the next day someone from their wine department called me. Yes, they receive wine in these boxes from time to time. They didn’t have any at the moment but they could call me when some arrived. Potentially, I had wine boxes. I contacted the main office at JBG and they reserved some herbs for me. I got: Chives Curly parsley Flat parsley Oregano Genovese basil Thyme Rosemary

A few minutes after I sent that email, I got a call from Central Market. They received a few boxes. I reserved two, for pickup later that day. My bike ride there was peaceful but the return was amusing. I got a lot of quizzical looks from drivers.



These boxes still needed some work done. I need soil. I still need to learn how to keep my new herb babies alive. So much to do, so much to see*.

*The writer doesn’t assume responsibility for you having All Star from Smash Mouth now stuck on your head.

 

A Few More Herbventures, submitted by our Farm Family.

This herbal story was message to us on Facebook by CSA Member Joy:

 

"Last fall I asked if you thought the walking onions in my CSA box would grow if planted. Your response was try it and send a picture if it worked. I planted six individual onions and they are doing quite well. Even survived the 5” of snow in my yard (in a temporary greenhouse). Each individual onion is now a clump of 5 or 6 spring onions!"

Green onions for days! Photo by Joy.



 

Did you buy a rosemary transplant from this year's transplant sale? Here is the origin story of these transplants, submitted by Kimberly!

"In 2004 when I first moved to Austin I brought a rosemary plant that I kept in a pot, until I finally planted it in the ground at my house in east Austin in 2013. Over the years I started to lovingly refer to it as "the blob" because once it was in the ground it started taking up more and more real estate in the yard. Brenton asked me to take cuttings of it for Gianna to root for the transplant sale. It was so massive that I cut off probably 200 large stems and you couldn't even see that it looked any different. I'm very sad to say that my beautiful, long-beloved, ever larger and larger rosemary died in the super cold snow and ice storm, but I'm so, so happy that it has little babies that will be growing all over Austin now. I think the last of them may have sold last weekend, but I'm glad I got one before they were gone. "

The famed rosemary bush, before it died. Photo by Kimberly.

Rosemary cuttings, counted out and ready for rooting.

Your rosemary bush started in Kimberly's kitchen!

Farmer Brenton is excited about rosemary. Are you?