Thou Shall Prosper

I read an excellent book by Daniel Lapin over the weekend. He says there are ten principles that tips the scales in our financial approach significantly toward prosperity.

Here is his list of 10...

Farming MBA - Wisdom from the Board Room to the Back 40

Here are links to my 30 favorite "Farming MBA" articles (there are 50+ total).

God Bless America Isn't Just a Song

One of my favorite songs is "God Bless America"

Here is why...

Can You Save Seed From Our Squash

I've been asked quite a few times this fall whether you can save seed from our squash and pumpkins.

The answer is probably not.

The reason is...

Petersen's Market Menu for November 21, 2015

Pie Pumpkins for Thanksgiving, Photo Credit: Reed Petersen

Welcome to the third week of winter market. This picture are the pumpkins we will have available this week at the market for making pumpkin pie

Don't forget the pumpkin pie, here is a link to 15 different recipes  we have developed for pumpkin pie. From classic to low carb, these are great creative ways to work a little pumpkin into your life.

November is the best time to pick the best carrots and parsnips of the year. Can you guess why? Frost! You need a few hard frosts to bring out the sweetness of those carrots. The children call our carrots "candy carrots" because of this crunchy sweetness. Here is a link to an article on our web site about why carrots are sweeter with frost?



Fall greens are so amazing: wild arugula, baby spinach, lettuce, baby beet greens, baby kale, red russian kale, cilantro. All are at the perfect baby baby size. 

We will have the following items at the Farmers Market for Saturday, November 21, 2015 (New items are in Bold Print)


Cabbage
Broccoli

Tomatillos

Garlic
Carrots
Parsnips
Leeks
Walla Walla Sweet Onions


Fresh Cut Herbs: Mint, Chocolate Mint, Oregano, Cilantro
Arugula - Wild
Mizuna
Mesabi Arugula
Baby Spinach
Spring Mix
Baby Kale- Regular and Red Russian

Full sized Kale - 4 varieities
Herb Plants - Rosemary,


Pickles: Spicy Dill, Sweet Sandwich, Okra, Dilly Bean, Corn Relish, Pepper Relish.
Salsa

Chipotle Smoked Peppers

Charcoal (home grown, home made)

If you took the time to read clear to the bottom of Market Menu I'm going to include a thoughtful article from our website archives. This week's "thought for the day" is entitled Beware the Cat With the Deaf Eye. It is a story from when Reed was in second grade.

How to Grow Nutrient Dense Foods

Most agricultural soils have been depleated of the minerals that we need in our foods. If the mineral is not in the soil it cannot be in the vegetables grown in that soil. The minerals in the soil come from centuries of weathering of the base material (typically rock) of the soil. So the build up is much slower than the minerals used by crops and typically removed from the soil.

So what's a farmer to do...

Are You Invested

I was talking to one of the leaders in our church last Sunday and he was talking about the potential for certain demographics (age groups) to leave for altrnate venues if they aren't invested in the church.

I could see the same thing happen with the farmers market customers. When Trader Joe's opened or the Food Coop moved there was a tendency for people to try the new thing. Don't get me wrong these are good stores and they have many products you can't get at the farmers market, so we support them too.

But how can you get your customers invested in the farmer's market. We have some dedicated customers that would come to the market even if it was pouring rain (and they do).

Petersen's Market Menu for November 14, 2015 Farmer's Market

Fall Spinach, Photo Credit: Reed Petersen

 Welcome to winter market.  Fall greens are amazing: arugula, baby spinach, lettuce, baby kale, red russian kale, cilantro. All are at the perfect baby baby size.

November is the best time to pick the best carrots and parsnips of the year. Can you guess why? Frost! You need a few hard frosts to bring out the sweetness of those carrots. The children call our carrots "candy carrots" because of this crunchy sweetness. Here is a link to an article on our web site about why carrots are sweeter with frost?


November is the last call for planting Garlic in Minnesota. Here is is a link to an article on our website for How to pick seed garlic and plant.

Don't forget the pumpkin pie, here is a link to 15 different recipes  we have developed for pumpkin pie. From classic to low carb, these are great creative ways to work a little pumpkin into your life


Fall greens are so amazing: wild arugula, baby spinach, lettuce, baby beet greens, baby kale, red russian kale, cilantro. All are at the perfect baby baby size. 

We will have the following items at the Farmers Market for Saturday, November 14, 2015 (New items are in Bold Print)


Cabbage
Broccoli

Tomatillos

Garlic
Carrots
Parsnips
Leeks
Walla Walla Sweet Onions


Fresh Cut Herbs: Mint, Chocolate Mint, Oregano, Cilantro
Arugula - Wild
Mizuna
Mesabi Arugula
Baby Spinach
Spring Mix
Baby Kale- Regular and Red Russian

Dandelion Greens
Full sized Kale - 4 varieities
Herb Plants - Rosemary,


Pickles: Spicy Dill, Sweet Sandwich, Okra, Dilly Bean, Corn Relish, Pepper Relish.
Salsa

Chipotle Smoked Peppers

Charcoal (home grown, home made)

If you took the time to read clear to the bottom of Market Menu I'm going to include a thoughtful article from our website archives. This week's "thought for the day" is entitled clover is just like ice cream. It is a story from when Jenna was two.

Subterranean

The vegetables that are left to harvest in the deep fall (or pre-winter days of November) are all subterranean.

Subterranean means existing underground.

Have you ever thought about how hostile the environment must be where the carrots thrive.

Let's think about that for a minute.

Drying Fall Produce

You often think of drying early and mid-summer vegetables and fruits such as tomatoes and beans.

The dehydrator is a work horse that can continue into the fall.

Here are some things we dry in the fall...

Distressed

Have you ever heard someone say that their peppers were way hotter than normal this year because we were in a drought, or the beets were way more beetier because the gophers took a bite out of them.

I can't prove it analytically, but...

Radishes - The Fall Vegetable

Radishes are often thought of as a spring vegetable. But they put on an even better performance in the fall. They can get quite large without getting woody or pithy.

I often wondered why this is and I think I have it figured out...

The Cost Is In Being There

Some one coined the phrase, "The cost is in being there.". The is one of my favorite axioms of farm life.

Here are 10 ways it applies to our farm...