Grow Your Veggies on a Local Farm

By Master Gardener Marianne McNeil

Fresh vegetables from your garden, especially tomatoes, often taste better than the ones you buy in a grocery store.  There is some evidence that vegetables that do not sit on a supermarket shelf and are eaten sooner, direct from a garden, have higher nutritional value.  Also, knowing how your vegetables have been grown and where they come from is important to all of us.  Many of us have started home vegetable gardens to have fresh produce right at our fingertips.

As a gardener, I recognize that there are some difficulties in growing your own vegetables in your backyard. First and foremost is having the space necessary. If you want to feed a family of four, the Old Farmer’s Almanac suggests that a well-planned garden should be about 10 feet x 16 feet.  If you live in the city, backyard space is at a premium. You may need your backyard space for your children or for your dog. Penn State Extension recommends that your vegetable garden should have at least 6 hours per day of sunlight, with 8 to 10 hours, being ideal so if you have some large shade trees then your yard might not be right for growing. Another limitation is having the time in your busy life to devote to growing vegetables, and gardening also requires expensive tools that may not be available to you. Your knowledge of correct garden practices and pest management may also be a factor in your decision to start a garden (Of course, your extension office can provide support here).  Finally, you may have physical limitations that prevent you from gardening.  All these factors may prevent you from growing enough vegetables for you and your family in your backyard. However, there are alternatives.

One alternative to backyard gardening that will provide you and your family with fresh vegetables (and sometimes fruit, meats and cheeses) all year and help our local farmers is a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.  In a previous blog, our Master Gardener Coordinator, Erin Fredrick, described CSA programs.  These programs are becoming popular in our area. Now is a great time to investigate them and find out if they would be a good fit for you and your family. Winter is the time when many programs are calling for new members.

In a CSA program, you will contract with a local farmer to grow the nutritious vegetables that you love!  You do this by purchasing “shares” in the program. The planning takes place in the winter before the farmer orders seeds or starts seedlings in a greenhouse. The farmer can plan in advance how much of each vegetable is needed for the members of the CSA.  The farmer’s risk is reduced because you are providing the “capital” or money upfront for growing the vegetables. You are also accepting some risk if a certain crop is greatly affected by local growing conditions, pests or disease. However, when you plant a backyard garden, you are also putting in money upfront and you have the same risks.  Local farmers are more experienced in planning and dealing with garden problems, and vegetables produced locally do not include the costly price of shipping.  In the long run, a CSA may be a less costly option for you, and you will also connect with a fine local farmer!

Our local CSA programs vary greatly. Some CSA farmers only grow certain types of produce. Others provide a host of vegetables and some fruit choices. Some local CSAs provide certified organic produce while others use integrated pest management to reduce their use of chemical herbicides and pesticides.  It can be expensive to obtain full organic certification so many small farms do grow their produce chemical-free and sustainably without this expense.  Since local farms are family owned, they are careful about the chemicals they use. Remember, their family is eating the same produce! Some local farms have spring, summer, fall and even winter CSA programs. Others only focus on one or two growing seasons.

Here is a list of questions that you might ask the local farmer before committing to a CSA:

·         What do you grow? Do you specialize?

·         How do you grow your produce? 

·         What is your growing period or season? Start and end dates?

·         Is the produce delivered? If not, what is the location and time for pick-up?

·         How much produce? Is there a minimum amount for the program? Is there a fixed amount?

·         How is payment handled? All upfront? Quarterly? Seasonally?

·         How do you resolve problems if produce is not as expected?

Want to find a CSA near you?   Penn State Extension has created Google Map of CSAs in Pennsylvania.  Click here and enter your address to find a nearby farm.

So if you do not have the inclination to grow vegetables in your backyard, try joining a CSA. You and your family will learn more about local agriculture and eat nutritious and tasty vegetables!

Sources:

Local Food Systems, Economic Report from the USDA:

http://agmarketing.extension.psu.edu/ComFarmMkt/PDFs/local_food_system.pdf

What is a CSA?

http://blog.lehighvalleylive.com/local-agriculture/2013/07/what_is_a_csa.html

Planning a Vegetable Garden:

http://www.almanac.com/vegetable-garden-planning-for-beginners

http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/agrs115.pdf

Pruning: Winter in the fruit orchard

By Master Gardener Susan Kowalchuk

Given the record cold temperatures we have had this winter, it is hard to imagine doing any garden task beyond perusing seed catalogs. The winter however, is a prime time to prune fruit trees.  During their dormant state, the shape of the trees and the areas needing pruning are clearly visible, and the tree can use its stored energy to heal and harden off the cut. This enables it to devote needed energy to growth once the warm weather arrives.

Pruning fruit trees has many advantages. It enhances production and improves fruit quality by maximizing light penetration and bud growth.  A properly pruned tree is also less susceptible to disease and infection.  The timing of pruning is important. The general rule is to prune the latest flowering trees first, such as the apple, and the earliest flowering trees such as the peach, last. To minimize damage, pruning is typically done the later part of the winter.

Dead, damaged, diseased and crossed branches are usually the most obvious and easiest to prune. The tricky part is determining what parts of the healthy tree need to be cut.  The type of tree usually dictates the approach. Apple and pear trees have a upright habit and are usually pruned so that there is a central leader or one main trunk.   Peach and nectarine trees have a spreading habit and are pruned using an open center approach. These trees are pruned to establish 3-5 main branches.

The main type of pruning cuts utilized are the thinning cut and the heading cut.  The thinning cut removes an entire shoot. The heading cut removes only part of the terminal, or end of the shoot.  Common pruning tools are bypass pruners, pole pruners, loppers and saws.

We are fortunate to have quite a few orchards in the Lehigh Valley. If you happen to drive by, take a look at the trees and see if you can guess what type are being grown by their shape.  If you are lucky, you may even see the farmers hard at work preparing the trees for the summer and fall crops. Although robins won’t be around for awhile, think of winter pruning as an earlier sign that spring will indeed be here.

Support Your Farmer:

Local Orchards

Pappy’s Orchard – Coopersburg -  www.pappysorchard.com

County Line Orchard - Kempton - www.clorchard.com

Gulick’s – Bangor – www.gulickorchard.com

Strawberry Acres – Coplay – www.strawberryacres.com

Ontelaunee Orchards - Leesport - http://www.twin-o.com/

Sources:

Extension.psu.edu

Clemson.edu

Extension.wsu.edu

Extension.missouri.edu