2010-03-10T02:57:46Z John Stewardship Copyright 2010, John Stewardship SPHPBLOG
Long story short. Our longtime supplier retired and closed his business this year forcing us to seek a new supplier. Fortunately, I have located a new factory-direct supplier located in western Washington. They offer bulk sales (by the ton) of certified organic approved all purpose fertilizer. In my opinion it appears to be a higher quality product than what we have been using. By purchasing by the ton I can buy more fertilizer for less money. Last year my fertilizer expense was about $2,000.00. By making this change I can buy double the product, which more realisticaly suits my needs for about $1400.00. I'm feeling pretty smart about that. There's $600.00 of savings in 2006 dollars. My real cost this year using the old supplier would have been up about 20% over last year. So I'm really saving more.

The disadvantage? Handling. This stuff comes in a one ton super sack. Harder for me to deal with than a fifty pound bag.

Financing and timing. To insure that I get my product I have placed my order early. About three months earlier than normal. But I'm a little guy and little guys get lost in the shuffle when things get busy. Just because I'm small does'nt mean I don't need the product. With the old supplier I had net 30 terms and did'nt take delivery until April. That meant I usually had cash flow to cvover the cost.

This year it's a cash up front deal. That means I need an unexpected $1400.00 additional capital on top of my other expenses and I need it now. To save money I need to spend money at a time when it's tight.

This is when I need YOU. I can't give you a better example. This is why we need to operate as a CSA farm. This is just one of a series of large hits we'll be taking in the next few weeks. (not to mention a root canal for the farmer. yeh!) I think you get the picture. I hope you do anyway. Please, any help would be gratefully appreciated. If you are thinking about becoming a member now is the time I need you.

We work hard to keep our prices as low as we can. Now more than anytime in the history of the farm we are more competitive with the grocery store prices. In fact we are often less expensive and our quality is far superior. I don't want to raise prices and I work hard to be more efficient so we won't have to. Working smart and taking advantage of situations like this go along way torwards that goal. IF... I have your help. By becoming a member, you increase our purchasing leverage which allows us to take action on these types of deals which in turn helps us keep our prices in check which in turns saves you money. It's pretty simple.

That'll do for today. I'll be back tomorrow with yet another pitch I'm sure.

Take care,

Farmer John
]]> http://www.maplerockfarm.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry080110-080726 2008-01-10T00:00:00Z 2008-01-10T00:00:00Z
We've just completed updating our website. please take a minute to check it out. I'll be keeping a calander this year. If you are a home gardner you can keep tabs on the timing of when we do things. Also if you hit the harvest calender and click on the highlighted products, it will take to the recipe pages of foodnetwork.com. There are hundreds of recipes for each item. It could be the coolest thing on the site.

The first CSA renewal is in! Keep em coming folks, I cant emphasize enough how important it is to us to keep the cash flowing. That's basically one down, ninety nine to go or $19,750 left to reach our goal of $20,000 in CSA sales. Please help us continue.

It's time to get back to work. Vacation is over for me. There's an awful lot to do and I'm getting fat just laying around! It's been nice but now it's time get out there and do the the things that need to be done. Yeh! Hardest part seriously, is just getting out there:)

alright, Keep well,

Farmer John
]]> http://www.maplerockfarm.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry080109-075731 2008-01-09T00:00:00Z 2008-01-09T00:00:00Z
It's looking like we are going to have an economic slow down. That will effect us a little. We do sell a fair amount of produce to tourists and our restaurant sales are effected by the number of visitors on the island. Hopefully we'll pick up the difference in local sales. There's lot of talk about eating local ln the media these days. Well just have to wait and see what happens. CSA membership kits have just gone out and I'm anxious to see what kind of response we get. We rely on those early dollars coming in the door so I'm hoping our community will take the issue to heart.

For now I'm just enjoying the slow pace and thinking about the things we can do to increase sales. Alot of this gets down to producing more and growing the varities that bring in the highest return. We constantly strive to be better each year and this year that may prove to be more important than ever.

Keep well,

Farmer john

]]> http://www.maplerockfarm.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry080105-074442 2008-01-05T00:00:00Z 2008-01-05T00:00:00Z
It's nice to have a little break where the pace is not so damn hectic but as always there is a flurry of activity happening on the farm. Finishing up the barn is big on the list. It's coming, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We start working on the doors next week. Soon I'll have a closed in building to do shop work in. Yaahooo!

There's a ton of other projects to do. Fencing is a big one. Having to replace a large section that was damaged last year. Still getting hammered by the deer. They topped off my artichokes and took out a whole bed of parsley last week. Filthy beast's! Look out bambi.

Lot's of planning going on. Seed catalogs are coming every day providing lots of inspiration. Right now just thinking. Thinking about previous years success's and failures, new ideas, experiments and techniques. What's going where, when and how much of this or that to grow. New varities, old favorites, best tomatoes, peppers, what not to grow. How to make it all work better with less work. Just thinking.

Planting too. It's time to plant another round of salad crops. Spinach, tat tsoi, mizuna and arugula. What the hell, might as well sow a flat of tomatoes too. LOL, I'm such a sucker. I try it every year, always without success. The June bearing tomato remains a quest. But you never know. I might get lucky one day:)

Have a great solstice. It's all down hill from here.

Farmer John]]> http://www.maplerockfarm.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry071222-064759 2007-12-22T00:00:00Z 2007-12-22T00:00:00Z www.jamieoliver.com. Check it out.

For those of you who don't know. We have a link to foodtv.com through this web site. Go to the harvest section and simply click on any of the high lighted crops we grow. It will take you to a menu page with hundreds of recipies for that item.

We are wrapping it up here for the year and taking a well deserved rest. Still lots of behind the scenes work going on. For those of you on our mailing list, you will be receiving a news letter shortly. Also included will be the new sign up sheet for this years CSA program. Most of you have small carry-over balances from this year but we are hoping that you will up your balances. We count on having this early income so we can purchase our inputs like seed,fertilizer,misc supplies etc. I'll be sending the letters just after new years. Please help us out by sending in your payments ASAP.

Keep well and have a safe and happy holiday season.

Farmer John]]> http://www.maplerockfarm.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry071220-085529 2007-12-20T00:00:00Z 2007-12-20T00:00:00Z
How did we do? I don't have all of the numbers in front of me yet but thanks to a strong late season I think we did alright. Since we had a longer season the pace was a little more sane this year allowing me to take a step back at times. So from a personal standpoint it was very good year.

The subject of why I farm has come up in several conversations recently. It's not the easiest question to answer and being asked makes me re-visit some of the core beliefs that led me to the farming lifestyle. There are a number of reasons here are a few. I enjoy living my life with intent and striving to be more self sufficient. I like to eat and eat well. I enjoy cooking and love having an endless bounty of fresh produce to experiment with. I enjoy the complexities of farming and like being challenged. I like that it is a very diverse way of life, no two days back to back are the same for me. I like growing food for others to enjoy. I like that it nurtures my soul and provides me with a feeling of self worth. I like that is philanthantropic. I like that is tangible and hands on. Farming is my way of making a differnce in the world and especially in my community. I appreciate that others enjoy the benefits of something I have created. I like being entruprunual. I like to watch things grow. Basically I'm captivated by the complexity of the wholeness that farming captures for me.

That's all for today.

Take care,

Farmer John]]> http://www.maplerockfarm.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry071211-074649 2007-12-11T00:00:00Z 2007-12-11T00:00:00Z Nice treat, Thank you geddes and Marianna! The wines were from Patricia Green cellars in Yamhill County Oregon. I have to admit I'm in no way a wine afficiando but I do appreciate it and I love how a great chef can pair food with wine. The duck with foi gras, red wine / plum reduction and candied leeks was to die for and the lamb chops paired perfectly with the earthy pinot's I also really enjoyed meeting Patricia and learning a bit about her wines and farming adventures. I don't often think of wine makers as farmers but you can't have wine without grapes and the grapes must be grown and how they are grown is totatlly reflected in the wine. So from a growers standpoint this was a really interesting tasting. We were tasting pinot noirs from three different years all from the same vines. Each were distinctively unique as the growing conditions were different each year. Of course there are many other factors as well I just found it interesting. We also tasted wines of the same vintage grown in different soils. I was not aware that soil types varied in the Willamette valley. Volcanic vs. ocean sedimentary. The tastes were surpisingly unique. The sedimentary soils contain more minerals as the land was once covered by sea producing a more complex flavor. It brings up an intriguing question for me and that is how can different soil types affect the taste of vegetables? We actually amend with trace minerals and I do believe they affect the way plants grow as well as their flavor.(this is a topic worthy of many conversations we may get to at a later time) Since we farm on different sites I can attest to how plants react in diffent soils and growing conditions but I'm not for sure if I could really detect a taste differnce like you could in the wine. We might have to have a beet tasting!

Another thought I had was you gotta have a lot of juice to be a grape grower. (pun not intended) It takes acerage, time, patience, faith, dedication and apparently a whole lot of money. Patricia's vinyard is about 60 acres. Small or large depending on your view. Close to a couple of million dollars just to aquire the land and existing vineyard. I have no idea what equipment cost's are or what type of labor force you need but I know it's alot and you hav'nt even put out a a case of wine yet. That takes guts. So here's to you Patricia! Thank you for coming to Orcas Island and sharing your private library with us. It is good to be alive.

Keep well my friends,

Farmer John

]]> http://www.maplerockfarm.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry071207-054706 2007-12-07T00:00:00Z 2007-12-07T00:00:00Z
Salad green production has been a highlight. A combination of mild fall weather, good timing and hardy variety choices has given us some of the nicest greens I have ever seen. The trick to growing through the fall and into the winter is to have good timing in the sowing and pick varieties that can withstand the colder tempratures. The idea is to get the greens to harvest size prior to the lower light and freezing tempratues set in. We grow the majority of our winter greens outdoors due to fact that we simply don't have enough space in the greenhouses to meet our harvest demand. So the other consideration is to plant to the needs of your expected harvest. Winter greens are for the most part a one time harvest crop. Generally speaking, six weeks on either side of the winter solstice you will see only minute if any regrowth at all. Other times of the year we may expect to get two or more cuts from one sowing. That said, we sometimes may get a second cut in mid February but normally the greens are so weather stressed at that point they will just bolt as soon as the weather turns. So the reality is that we are simply holding and harvesting crops this time of year as opposed to actually growing anything. This year we are seeing some growth. I would say a little more than normal. Certainly not enough to sustain multible harvests.

All good things come to an end? at least in the context of this subject anyway. We are just about at the end of those nice greens. I have backup successions in the greenhouses and we are actually still transplanting into newly prepped greenhouse beds as I write this. Some of this may be harvestable in the next month but for the most part, the greens that are just going in will be harvested in February. The challenge with the greenhouse's is having enough space to grow the quantity we need. We could wipe the greens out in just a couple of harvests. We just have to make it through December. We take January and the first part of February off. This is when I write seed orders and finalize the over all farm plan. We are back at full speed by mid Feb resuming commercial deliveries (hopefully!?) and mostly sowing flats for transplant and gathering our supplies for the upcomong season. So out of an entire year we are producing and delivering for all but six weeks! Not to shabby.

While I was looking up an item for this article I came across a couple of interesting factoids. At this time of year as the sun rides low in the sky the suns rays have to travel twice as far to penetrate the earths atmosphere. I did not know that. Also if you get a chance, google the Greek goddess persephoni. As we are in the persephoni months it is an interesting read. Another interesting factoid came from KUOW"S weather guy Cliff Mass. Puget sound's foul weather climax is pretty much right now. Historically this is when we would see the worst weather of the year and then things would generally be on the upswing. I've lived in the PNW many years and I was not aware of this. Interesting and inspirational. Kind of like when the days actually start getting longer again and it stops getting dark at 4:30.

Today is the 1st of December It is snowing and all is well in my world.

Keep well,

Farmer John]]> http://www.maplerockfarm.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry071201-085213 2007-12-01T00:00:00Z 2007-12-01T00:00:00Z
This years fall crops have been the best I have ever grown. Thanks to some kind weather, good planning, accumulated knowledge and perhaps a little luck. The harvest's just keep coming and we have had a higher demand for product than in years past. There is so much talk about eating local and seasonaly these days and I think more people are giving it real consideration and thought and are taking action accordingly. I'm hoping this is a trend we will see continue.

I am a market farmer. I rely on people to buy food from us. I also am a believer that the world would be a better place if we had more home gardeners. This is a good time of year to start planning your own garden. I talk of this often and some people say "if everyone had a home garden you would'nt be able to make a living" I do not believe this is true. This last week perhaps proves my point. There are just a handfull of farmers in our county. Of course we have many items that overlap but often we all have our own specialty crops. Most of us buy or trade crops from each other on a regular basis. It's just about impossible to grow everything so it's nice when you can get something you don't have from one of your fellow farmers or community members. I think the same if we had more gardners. It would simply increase the variety and diversity of local products available to us all as well as ramp up the excitement about local food. So I don't view it as competition but rather see it as a positive for the eat local movement in general.


T-Day menu: Here is what's for dinner at our house. We are making an effort to put as many things on the table as possible that we grew or purchased from one of our local farms.

Free Range turkey
mashed potatoes with calvados gravy
sauted baby braising greens
broccoli with ming tsai's chili aioli
beet salad with walnuts and feta served over fresh fall arugula
wood fired braised brussel's sprouts with warm bacon vinagrete
carmelized baby golden beets
corn niblets
winter squash sweet pie
corn bread stuffing with pork sausage
garden fresh salad
cranberry sauce

For dessert?
Sidney Coffelts pie berry pie with fresh whipped cream
Charly Robinsons minced meat pie
Katie Blaines lemon tart

I have a very short shopping list. Just a few staple items, some citrus fruit, cranberries and libations. The turkey was ordered from Homegrown Market, The brussel's sprouts came from Blue Moon Produce on Waldron Island and the corn...well.... uhh...mmmm dare I say Costco. well, at least it is organic and hey, I'm not a fanatic. I shop there on a regular basis for staple and bulk items. My point here to put the emphasis on making use of as many local items as possible within reason, not to live by it without budging.

I wish you all the best and a safe and festive holiday season.

Keep well,

Farmer John






]]> http://www.maplerockfarm.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry071120-073206 2007-11-20T00:00:00Z 2007-11-20T00:00:00Z
Ironically the wind and weather ebated as quickly as it arrived and we had a lovely afternoon. I was able to bring in the delayed greens harvest avoiding an early morning scramble for today. All in all I cannot complain about the weather at all. It's been pretty darn nice. The greens sure have appreciated it and they are looking lovely. I harvested 40lbs yesteday in no time at all. It's such a pleasure when it's all working right. It's been a prosporous shoulder season here at the Rock. Making up and exceeding our short fall from the wet spring.

It aint over yet folks! One more market this Saturday the 17th at The Oddfellows Hall from 10:00 till 2:00. We'll have salad greens, potatoes, lovely braising greens, beets, turnips, kale, cabbage, broccoli, parsley and a few other misc items. Gift certificates and t shirts will also be available. Hope to see you there. Last market was a huge success I'm hoping for a good turn out this week too!

Here we go again! The first seed catalog just arrived in the mail this weekend. This is good and bad. The one we received happened to be from our main supplier Johnny's so it was well appreciated. However that means we'll be getting barraged here shortly with seed catalogs and garden supply junk from all over the place. I use about three suppliers for about 99% of our seed and supplies. So unfortunately the remainder of the catalogs with their sexy descriptions and eroctic vegetable photos wind up in my circular file.
I do look forward to catalogs though. It seems to be a never ending shot in the arm for getting excited about next year. No matter what,there is always next year. So as I bitch about too much rain, not enough rain, cold, hot, wet, dry, wind, no money, etc, etc. Know that I still and always will love what I do. It just keeps getting better every year.

I'll leave it at that friends. Next year will be better.

Keep on,

Farmer John
]]> http://www.maplerockfarm.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry071113-053515 2007-11-13T00:00:00Z 2007-11-13T00:00:00Z