About The Fruit share and tips for your home fruit trees
on Mar 15 by JosieWe do not have an orchard at Peaceful Belly farm but our CSA member can buy a fruit share from Eagle Creek Orchard. Rob and Linda raise their fruit organically and with great care to detail. The fruit from their orchard is amazing and is true summer time. Make sure you sign up for their fruit CSA by clicking here
Here is a freindly Blog about taking care of your home fruit trees and what to do written by them, you can also link to the blog by clicking here
We’ve been getting a few questions from folks on what to do with their fruit trees this time of year, specifically with fertilization and pest control. So here’s what we do being an organic operation.
Fertility management:
First we determine our trees additional nutriment needs by soil and plant tissue analysis. Composite samples are collected in July, when the trees are actively growing and sent to an accredited lab for analysis. The results of these analysis show what is available in the soil compared to what the trees are up taking and deficiencies, if they exist, can be seen. The soil analysis also shows the balance between the micro nutriments, this sometimes need to be adjusted. To help us with this complex soil science we get advice from Marc Tainio of Tainio Technology & Technique, Inc. We’ve been following his recommendations for 6 years and the orchard has really responded well. This year we needed to add manganese, sulfur and nitrogen. These are the only added inputs to the soil this year. Our inputs have been dropping yearly as the soils and orchard floor cover crop improve. All of these nutriments were applied with a broadcaster about a week ago and have now melted into the soil with the rain. You want to apply your fertilizers now right before the trees start waking up so it is in the root zone when the trees need it. Everyone’s soil is likely to be different so get yours tested so you can make the right decisions.
Dormant sprays:
Dormant sprays are applications of oil, sulfur or copper products which are mixed with water and applied to the fruit tree in a wetting spray when the tree is dormant (before bud swell). The oil we use is a highly refined white mineral oil, it is used to kill insect eggs which have wintered over on the tree, mites, scab, aphid to name a few. I think it also helps suppress powdery mildew also. We treat our apples, pears, plums and apricots this way. The last two products, copper and sulfur are for fungus suppression, these are also applied well before bud swell. Although it is approved for organic production we don’t use copper because it can kill your good soil microbes as well as the fungus you don’t want, we use lime sulfur. It is a mix of lime and sulfur and is very effective for the prevention of peach leaf curl and is good for the soil. We treat the peaches and nectarines twice with it once as early as the weather will let us and a last treatment right before bud swell. Don’t use sulfur on apricots, it can damage them.
Hope this helps you folks out, be sure to follow all the directions on the label of what ever products you choose to use. Good luck!
Pruning continues first signs of spring
by Linda & Rob Cordtz on 03/03/11Pruning of the peaches is moving along, three rows done and 10 more to go. My helper Karl took this last week off to go to Portland and visit his girl friend, it will be good to have him back this next week. Even with the cold temps of this last week the trees are thinking of waking up, early bud development is starting! Spring is in the air, Red wing black birds singing, Robins chasing each other and the Hazelnuts are in bloom. They are the first of our trees to bloom and luckily they are OK with the cold, no frost protection needs. There small flowers are pollinated by wind carried pollen from the catkins near by.
Thank you to all of you who have signed up so far for our fruit shares through your CSA, if you haven’t signed up yet, now’s the time to do it. Back to pruning.
Cooking Classes and more
on Mar 04 by JosieWe are ram-ping up for the year in so many new and exciting ways. I will be sending out more news letters telling you all the great new things and the wonderful old things about Peaceful Belly. In the past few years we have gotten so many requests for classes. People want classes on compost, planting, chickens, cooking…..oh the list goes on. Well we heard what you wanted and we are getting down to business. We have also taken on a really cool partnership with the Idaho Food Bank and I will write a whole newsletter about that soon. Our web site has undergone some major transformations and still is being tweaked. You might notice that you can now pay for CSA and add on on our site with a credit card….we heard from many people that they would like that option.
Check out our Cooking Classes
Peaceful Belly Farm is offering you an opportunity to forge a connection with the food you are eating. Come out and join Abby Carlson and Josie Erskine in an all sensory experience. Gain knowledge of your food from the field to the fork.
We will learn about the harvesting of vegetables in the field and then into the kitchen for the creative process of cooking your harvest. We will discuss and practice different cooking methods and recipe ideas. We will help you understand the beauty and deliciousness of a variety of vegetables by experimenting with innovative ways of cooking and preparing our seasonal harvest. You will walk away with a better appreciation for food and more confidence in the kitchen.
Check out our garden Workshops and our Dinners
Growing a Garden Workshops
on Mar 01 by JosieGrowing a Garden Worshops Classes
All class will be held at Peaceful Belly Farm located on Broken Horn Road west of Dry Creek Road and Hidden Springs. These classes will each be 2 to 3 hours long focusing on one topic per class. There are a limited number of spaces per class so sign up for the classes you want as soon. Some classes will be held multiple times per day. For more information or to sign up for a class please email Josie at peacefulbelly@yahoo.com.
March 6th ,10am Staring plants from seeds in your house under grow lights. Want to learn how to start your own plants for your garden? In this class you will learn all about growing your own starts. You will learn how to seed a flat, about potting soil, light requirements, disease, and moisture, seed starting and about a planting calendar. This class will be taught in the green house at Peaceful Belly Farm, using their home made light banks. Growing starts for your garden can be tricky, come learn from our past mistakes and accomplishments. This class can accommodate 15 people, the price is $15. Sign up quick….
March 13th, 10am or 1pm Creating a garden plan for your yard. Want to start a veggie garden but have no idea where to start or how to plan it out? This will be an intense 3 hour class about site, soil, design, crop rotation, companion planting. Each student will be required to bring a map of dimensions of their garden so we can get to work. Also each student will be required to bring a sample of soil from their garden. This class can accommodate 5 students per class at $25 per student. Sign up quick..
March 19th, 11am How to set up drip irrigation. This class will take a piece of ground and set up a drip irrigation system for our farm Kitchen garden. This class will answer many questions about what irrigation to use, where to find it and how to set it up. This will be a hands on class, we feel this is the best way to understand how to set up irrigation. This class can accommodate 15 students fee is $15 a class
Newsletter Start of Spring
on Feb 21 by JosieAre You Ready for Spring?
on Nov 02 by Josie
The Farm is slowing down a bit
Our first year on our new farm has been amazing. We were ready for the jump and it has all worked out. We planted a huge amount of fall crops so please come visit our booth at the farmers market on Saturday until Thanksgiving. We have wonderful lettuce, arugula, boc choi, spinach, turnips, radishes, potatoes and winter squash. We are helping you make an “all local” Thanksgiving meal possible. We also have chicken for sale at market.
Garden Class
Many of you have heard about our garden class from friends or neighbors. If you are interested in learning how to grow your own food and have an amazing experience doing it, think about joining our class. Click here for more infomation
2011 CSA
We are now signing up members for the 2011 CSA. If you would like to join click here for more information about how to join. Or click here to find out more information about membership.
News Letter and harvest Festival
on Oct 03 by JosieThe Season has come to a close so lets have a Hoe Down.
CSA members the CSA harvest festival is October 9th from 4pm till 7pm at Peaceful Belly Farm.
Directions
Take Seamans Gulch road past the dump and past the entrance to Hidden Springs. At the intersection of Dry Creek Road and Seamans Gulch Road go Straight. Seamans gulch road becomes Broken Horns. Peaceful Belly Farm is the second entrance on the left. We will have it clearly marked.
Last CSA Pick up
The harvest festival will be your last CSA pick up for the year. You will get some heavy stuff so bring your boxes. If you can not make the harvest festival we will have an alternative pick up at 5200 Castle drive Tuesday October 12 from 6 till 8. Call 841 7759 if you would like to pick up your veggies there.
Sign up for next years CSA
If you would like to sign up for next years CSA at the harvest festival please bring a check. The check works as your security deposit for next year. The deposit is between $50 and $100, what ever you can afford.
Pot Luck
Please bring a dish or a snack to share at the pot luck. Also bring plates and forks. We always have great food.
The harvest festival is a great family time. We will have a wonderful Blue Grass Band, activities for the kids and Cidar pressing with Eagle Creek Orchards. If you want a new Peaceful Belly Farm Tee-shirt bring a fews bucks.
Harvest Moon Dinner
on Aug 31 by JosieThe Capital City Public Market or the Saturday Market is a corner stone in helping to create and sustain a local food system in the Treasure Valley. The Market has so many wonderful ideas and project to help build the market and educate about local food but of course that takes money. So, the market is throwing a dinner….and what a dinner it will be.
All local food, each course prepaired by the leading chefs in Boise…amazing food and local wine. This is a an amazing dinner. Come sit with Clay and me….cant wait
The Harvest Moon Dinner is a completely locally sourced, multi-course dinning experience consisting of local food prepared by a local chef and paired with local wines. Enjoy entertainment from local musical artists, live auction & comedic performances by The Fool Squad! Proceeds benefit Capital City Public Market & The Treasure Valley Food Coalition
CSA News Letter
on Aug 30 by JosieIs summer gone? I feel like our summer crops are having the hardest time getting ripe with this cool weather, but it is hard to say bad things about wonderful weather. The crops have all been a little late this year, but they are coming. Melons start this week along with more tomatoes, peppers and corn will show back up in a few weeks. Overall we have had an amazing harvest, as you can tell from the bags of goodies you carry away every week. We have 5 more weeks of CSA pick-ups left and then the harvest festival.
Harvest Festival is October 9th
The harvest festival is where you pick up your last veggie share for the season and have a great time. Please come and celebrate the wonderful harvest with us. This is a pot luck party with live music, cider pressing, tee-shirt fun and so much more. Please bring a dish to share at the potluck and your plates and forks. You will pick up your last veggie share so bring a box…think winter squash. The events start at 4pm and run until 7pm. Peaceful Belly farm is located on Broken horn Road. click here for amap. Go past Hidden Springs on Seamans Gulch rd, go straight at the stop sign on Dry Creek road. Seamans Gulch road becomes Broken Horn.
Chickens- If you would like whole frozen chickens please send me an email at peacefulbelly@yahoo.com we can have them at your CSA pick up
The new farm has been a joy to expand into, while teaching Clay and I so much about soil, birds and family. Last week we watch three Peregrine Falcon fledged their nest. We have heard the babies all spring and summer cry for food and seeing them fly and play for the first time was amazing. We now have a resident barn owl, a yellow belly marmet (that live in an big rusty pipe and loves romaine lettuce, he has been seen with whole heads in his mouth), a new family of pheasants, four deer (not so happy about them), a young coyote, two badgers, a skunk, millions of quail, hawks and amazing little birds. Every day the zinnias are covered with humming birds and humming bird mouths. A huge flock of red wing black birds live in the corn and fly around the farm in a swarm during the day. I have been picking a few times and have had over 100 birds fly right over me or around me inches from my face, amazing. We have a pack of Starlings that fly around the farm like a school of sardines and the Hawks fly in and out of them just like Sharks, this is Clay’s favorite activity to watch. We have had mountain lion tracks and have a family of wild turkeys that we get to see on our way to work. We never could have imagined the wildlife that we would be farming with and the simple joy it brings us.
Roasted chilis at Market Saturday
on Aug 13 by JosieWe will be roasting chilis at market this Saturday. Due to the cold spring we do not have a huge chili crop so come down early to get yours.
Chickens are here
on Aug 07 by JosieDear CSA ,
We have chickens for sale. Whole frozen birds for sale at $4 a pound. We are really proud of our birds. We raise a Red Cornish cross chicken. About 99% of the chicken that is sold in America, even organic,re a patent chicken by Tyson. Yes, they own the patent of a bird. So, many things are wrong with that. The Tyson bird or Franken Chick, can go from baby to fry pan in 8 weeks. These birds can hardly walk after 6 weeks and many of them die from heart attacks. We refuse to raise that bird…. So, our birds take longer to grow and they are given room to act like chicken and run, scratch and chase bugs.
If you would like some chickens we can bring them to your CSA pick up point. The birds range small $11, medium $13 and large around $15. Send me an email at peacefulbelly@yahoo.com and tell me how many chickens you would like and where your pick up is next week. Thanks
