http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/index/ en sj@sawtoothid.com Copyright 2011 2011-08-19T16:45:06+00:00 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/an_important_note_to_our_members http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/an_important_note_to_our_members#When:15:45:06Z {summary}Dear Glacier Valley CSA subscribers,After much discussion and soul searching we have decided to suspend the CSA portion of Glacier Valley Farm’s operation indefinitely.  The week of September 25th will be our last week of deliveries, and we will cancel all subscriptions after that week.We are thinking about ways we might be able to offer you storage vegetables into the fall and winter.  We will keep you posted about that, and we will also let you know if we hear of any opportunities to get local produce that might be of interest to you in the future.Below is a link to two letters, one from Arthur and one from Alison, that outline some of the reasons for our closing, the successes we have had and the problems we have found hard to overcome, some plans for the future, and some of the things you can do to continue to support Alaskan farms and farmers.We (Alison, Arthur, Dan and Ken) have gotten to know many of you personally over the years and we are grateful for your past support. With kind regards and many thanks, The Glacier Valley CSA team. 2011-08-19T15:45:06+00:00 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_128 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_128#When:23:29:06Z {summary}Hi Everyone, The season is in full swing now, what fun we are having now! In the greenhouse; the tomatoes are in full production now! As I reported last week the cucumbers have slowed way down not sure how much longer they will be around, we’ll see. In the field; The berries have also slowed down we are only getting a few pounds a week right now, I am hopeful the weather will continue to cooperate so we can get another good week or two out of them. The Zucchini is doing great, it is the best crop I have grown since I started farming. You will start seeing more local onions from here on out, they are growing great this year. I had the greens from one last night in my salad, yum! If you haven’t had the opportunity to get to one of the many farmers markets this year now would be a great time to go, the markets are rocking! Last saturday we opened up a farm market at our barn here on the farm. We will have “The Barn” farm market open every saturday from 10-4. Our first week went very well we had a good response from everyone, thanks! I hope to see everyone at the farmers market! Cheers, Arthur Keyes Glacier Valley Farm glacier grist, 2011-07-31T23:29:06+00:00 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_126 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_126#When:14:46:24Z {summary}The Farm Report Hi Everyone, What a busy week we had out here on the farm. The recent rains have really woken up the weeds… as if I wasn’t already busy! In the greenhouse: The tomatoes are coming on in full stride right now—yum! Unfortunately I think the cucumbers might be nearing the end of their run—bummer! In the field: the zucchini is doing awesome! The berries are starting to slow down. This is to be expected, since as the first flush of fruit comes off, it takes a week or so for the next flush to come on. The newest item that looks really good and about ready to harvest is our yellow onions. It looks like a really nice crop this year. If you haven’t heard about or seen the 1930’s era colony barn that I am restoring, you can check it out on Facebook. I have posted lots of pictures there. We replaced the rotten wall last week, and we hope to have it roofed this coming week. Lots of progress! Cheers, Arthur glacier grist, 2011-07-24T14:46:24+00:00 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_125 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_125#When:13:48:40Z {summary}THE FARM REPORT Hi Everyone! What an interesting week we had, a nice mix of rain and sunshine, sort of. Since I started the process of learning how to grow strawberries three years ago, I now cringe when it rains, regardless of duration or quantity. Rain is doom for berries! So when it rains, we have to stop what we are doing and start picking all of the ripe berries. It might take all day, but it must be done if we are to have a crop of berries. This can really ruin any plans I may have made for what I should be doing that day. It’s been a very interesting and tasty learning experience! In the greenhouse: the strawberry experiment is officially a bust. As I mentioned last week, Alaska produces some of the sweetest crops in the world, mostly due to our cool nights. Well, in the greenhouse, I never let it get cool in there because of the tomatoes and cucumbers. So the strawberries aren’t putting on the sugars like they are outside of the greenhouse. Let’s just say that when you eat one from inside and then eat one growing outside you will shocked at the difference in sweetness. The tomatoes are doing well.  I have about six different varieties growing in there. They are all tasty but a couple of them have outstanding flavor… YUM! The cucumbers are starting to slow down a bit. I’m not sure what is going to happen there. I have my fingers crossed I will be able to figure it out. Welcome to agriculture! In the field: the zucchini are really producing well and looking good. It looks like this is the nicest crop of zucchini I have ever grown. The strawberries are doing well, but this rain is presenting some serious quality problems. The berries will have to be perfect before we will be able to put them in the boxes, otherwise they will break down much too fast. Let’s cross our fingers and pray for a big dose of sunny weather! The onions are almost ready to harvest, maybe next week. Again, here’s to sunny weather! I’ve been working 15 hour days lately. If I wasn’t having fun growing food for everyone, I don’t think I could or would work this many hours, and it sure is a lot easier when the sun is shining! Until next week, Cheers, Arthur glacier grist, 2011-07-17T13:48:40+00:00 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_124 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_124#When:23:26:50Z {summary}Hi Everyone, What a great summer we are having! In reality, it is a bit cooler than even last year, but the big difference has been the lack of perpetual rain that we had last year. It’s a lot easier to go about our daily duties out here when we aren’t fighting the constant rain. This year is great! In the greenhouse: the cucumbers keep coming. The tomatoes have begun to ripen! They are trickling out of there right now but I have high hopes! The green beans have petered out; there are still a few coming, but only a few. The berry baskets aren’t doing so well anymore; the end appears to be near. Time will tell if this experiment was worth the effort. In the field: the zucchini has begun producing en-masse, my favorite crop!  The berries are putting on some good Alaskan sugar. The onions are sizing up. I am very optimistic about this seasons crop of onions; maybe we should start a new variety of onions, kinda like “Maui Sweet Onions” how about “Matanuska Sugar Onions”? Did you know that Alaskan vegetables are known for being sweeter than their lower 48 counter parts? It’s a fact that some crops have three times the sugar content when compared to the same veggie from the lower 48. I am told this is due to our cool nights and long days. During the day the veggies build up starches and during the cool night they convert the starch to sugars. One more reason to be thankful for “Alaska Grown” veggies! If you haven’t seen pictures of the farm, join “Glacier Valley Farm” friends page for pictures and info about what is happening on the farm in realtime. Lets keep enjoying this weather while it lasts! Cheers, Arthur glacier grist, 2011-07-12T23:26:50+00:00 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_123 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_123#When:02:08:39Z {summary}Hi Everyone, What a fantastic season this is turning out to be! In the greenhouse there have been a few ripe cherry tomatoes, a sure sign that full-on tomato production is nearing. Cucumbers are doing very well; we should have them for the remainder of the season. In the field we are weeding the zucchini and getting it ready to begin picking. If the weather holds without much rain we will have zucchini next week. Yay! The strawberries are looking good: lots of green berries. Last week I was working in the strawberries when I found the biggest frog I’ve ever seen in Alaska. He was amazing! Maybe frogs like strawberries too—who knew? It looks like I will be at the South Anchorage Farmers Market all summer, so if you’re in the neighborhood on Saturday, come on over and say “Hi.” Cheers, Arthur glacier grist, 2011-06-27T02:08:39+00:00 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_122 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_122#When:17:31:38Z {summary}Hi Everyone, Overall, we had a nice sunny week with enough rain to make everyone happy. The hay is now growing! In the greenhouse, the cucumbers are looking and tasting good. The strawberries have come to a crashing halt but I think I have the problem figured out. It’s almost too nice in the greenhouse for berries; they grow so fast they can’t keep up with themselves. I ate my first ripe tomato yesterday. They are still many weeks away from production, but they are yummy! The big news this week is the squash, it is in full bloom. We will be harvesting zucchini in a week if this weather holds up, yea! Also, the strawberries are blooming, still many weeks away from eating any of them but it looks very nice! Officially, summer began on June 21, lets hope it continues to be this nice through the rest of the summer! Cheers, Arthur Keys Glacier Valley Farm glacier grist, 2011-06-22T17:31:38+00:00 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_121 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_121#When:15:30:38Z {summary}news from the farm Hi Everyone, We have had another great week farming out here in the Valley! In the greenhouse: the tomatoes are showing just a hint of color, so we should start having ripe tomatoes in a couple of weeks. The strawberries are doing ok, but they are not as sweet or large as they normally are due to the temperatures in the greenhouse; it’s a bit too warm and we have minimal quantities. In the fields: I saw my first squash blossoms on Friday, yay! We should have zucchini in two weeks or so! The strawberries outside are starting to bloom and the onions look very healthy. I wanted to talk about something that I get asked every spring. “When is the local produce going to be here”? My answer: “It is on its way”! The greenhouse is just at the tipping point for producing cucumbers followed by tomatoes. Some field crops take as little as eight weeks to produce a crop (weather permitting) but most crops take much longer before we can harvest them. Leaf lettuce is an early producer. We were able to start planting lettuce the first week of May, and we are hoping to start harvesting it in about a week and half if the weather cooperates. So once you see the lettuce you know that the rest of Alaska’s bountiful harvest is soon to follow. Be assured we are working very hard to get you the freshest, healthiest local veggies as fast as possible, but it isn’t until July that we will have the abundant variety and quantity that we expect from our local fields. So remember, think sunny thoughts and keep looking for the local lettuce, because when you see the lettuce everything else is soon to follow! Also, you can join my Facebook page for realtime farm updates. Cheers, Arthur   glacier grist, 2011-06-14T15:30:38+00:00 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_120 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_120#When:02:36:09Z {summary}News from the farm! Hi Everyone, What an amazing spring we are having! The warm weather in May has really advanced the crops. We got a little sprinkle of rain the first week of June: just enough to get the hay going.  I don’t grow hay but I do have quite few friends who do. We are just starting to pick in the greenhouse. We should be have cucumbers for the CSA next week! Yay! We will also have a few strawberries for sale at the farmers market. Unfortunately we don’t have enough for the CSA, as we have more customers than berries. Out in the field, the squash plants are sizing up very nicely, the strawberries are beginning to bloom and the onions survived being transplanted and are also looking good. So far I have been able to keep the weeds at bay, but I think we will be adding a weed burner to the John Deere to burn the weeds that the cultivating knives misses. Lets keep our hopes up for a long sunny summer! Cheers, Arthur glacier grist, 2011-06-07T02:36:09+00:00 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_119 http://www.glaciervalleycsa.com/index.php/site/issue_119#When:18:39:51Z {summary}Hi Everyone, This spring started off slowly, with what seemed like cool windy weather, but now things have turned around. It was 74.8 degrees last thursday out here on the farm! We are officially growing, and I mean fast! In the greenhouse we have strawberries ripening, and they are very tasty. The cucumbers and tomatoes are beginning to size up, and soon we will have cucumbers. In the field we have a few plants left to get in the ground and then we will enter the next phase of the season: maintaining the plants and weeding. So now a majority of my time will be spent driving my cultivating tractor back and forth up and down each row cultivating the weeds. This year I put in approximately 11,700 linear feet of raised beds. Last year I purchased my cultivating tractor; it is a John Deere 900 HC. It is a very special and very rare tractor. It was especially designed for mechanically cultivating weeds, and it has the equivalent of knives that I can place just under the soil surface and shear the weeds off as I drive up and down the beds. Before I got this tractor we did the majority of the weeding by hand and with a rototiller. As you can imagine, this was an unbelievable amount of work! The tractor has made this job so much more manageable and it’s about four times faster than the rototiller. I am hopeful that this weather will continue to be this nice going into the weekend. See you at the farmers market! Cheers, Arthur glacier grist, 2011-05-28T18:39:51+00:00