Life Sciences Commons^™

Usu Student Organic Farm, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

The semester has started! PSC 4900 is the Student Organic Farm practicum class, and this year’s students and some of the farm team met for our first class on Monday. Dr. Jennifer Reeve teaches the class and will be back at the end of September after mater­nity leave. This month Dr. Melanie Stock will lead the class in sampling the soil for next year’s farm field, calculating required nutrient ammendments, spreading compost and testing the irrigation system for the fall cover crop.

Meanwhile, the team is maintaining the fall crops, harvesting and preparing for the grand finale Harvest Festival coming …

Usu Student Organic Farm, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Fall crops are coming up, and they’re amazing. We started digging up the potatoes today and it is so crazy to see how many potatoes can grow from planting a chunk of potato with a couple of eyes on it! Some of these plants have two pounds of potatoes growing off of them. The pumpkins are already enormous, and the butternut squash are still ripening but are really good-sized already. The melons are taking longer than expected, but look great. Our one warm-season failure seems to be the eggplant- but watch them produce like crazy now that I’ve said that. …

Usu Student Organic Farm, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

We’re getting ready for volunteer season! We’re so thankful to our regulars who have been so much fun to have on the farm, and whose work has been a huge contribution to the farm’s success this summer. Now we’re getting back to lovely mornings and evenings, and are going to plant vegetables that have to over winter, clean up our perennial berry patches, repair and winterize the hoop houses and other farm structures, prep the field for cover crops, etc. - all while making sure our baskets are abundant and selling veggies at the farm stand and at the USU …

Usu Student Organic Farm, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Six weeks until the first frost date means we are done planting. We put in some beets and radishes today just on the off chance they’re ready in time for the final week of CSA shares (38 and 40 days to maturity, respectively). Otherwise, we’ve got fall broc­coli and kohlrabi in the ground, a new asian green called Shungiku (see the recipe be­low), rutabaga, fresh kale, and lettuce starts planted and on the menu for September.

Usu Student Organic Farm, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

It’s all coming together! With a few serious harvests under our belts now, we’re getting our groove. We’re harvesting some things every day now! A day or two of growth turns a green pepper yellow, a green tomato red, a yellow tomato overripe, a squash into a gourd and a cucumber into a zucchini. That last isn’t really true, but you’ve probably noticed the big seeds and sorry about that! We hope you’re enjoying your big baskets; they’ll be abundant for a good while yet.

Usu Student Organic Farm, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

So much food! It’s so fun to see it! The cabbage, broccoli, early curcubits, tomato, pepper and tomatillo plants are loaded, and the melons, fall squash, beans and potatoes are looking super promising. We have a shed wall covered in garlic, and about 20 lb. of broccoli in the cooler, with more to harvest. We’ve got a good rhythm now with reseeding beets and radishes, and are expecting them and car­rots in August and hopefully Sept. It’s also fall planting month, and over the next two weeks we’ll be transplanting more Asian greens, lettuce, mizuna, arugula, broccoli and kohlrabi as …

Usu Student Organic Farm, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

We’ve moved back into mitigation mode! It’s nice that the weather and pest situation in May and June was manageable- we already had our hands full with field logistics, bed preparation, planting, weeding and establishing harvesting and processing routines. Now that we’ve got the basics fairly under control, we can better respond to increasing daytime and nighttime temps, and the pests and weeds that come with it. In the last two weeks, we’ve used Neem Oil for aphids, Bacillus Thuringiensus (B.T.), for cabbage moth caterpillars, and tonight are spraying Pyrethrin to stay ahead of Utah’s 2018 grasshopper plague. All of …

Usu Student Organic Farm, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Anyone reading this is in touch with your culinary creative side, having committed for a whole summer to weekly making the most of whatever produce the student farm can offer you. We salute you! Some fun stuff is coming up soon and we’re getting the hang of succession planting.

Usu Student Organic Farm, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Many hands make light work, as the saying goes. We’ve had so much volunteer help, including friends, CSA members and their kids. Now that we’re getting some skills under our belts, we’ve been able to provide some help to other grow­ers, too, which is fun. We’ve helped set up irrigation and low tunnels for research plots, and planted and pounded posts with the permaculture garden team at the UCC property near Logan Canyon. In a few weeks we’ll put out a call to help planting for the fall, and in the meantime, we can always use a hand with weed­ing …

Usu Student Organic Farm, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Learning from the pros is solid gold for beginning farmers, and at USU we have access to some of the most knowledgeable ag specialists in the state, as well as successful farmers and gardners throughout the community. We’re really getting a lesson in the juggling act that is farming, and we are lucky to have experts to talk to as we work things out. There is so much to learn about soil fertility, pest and weed management, choosing crop varieties and working out how to cultivate them well, planting successions, irrigating, etc. Meanwhile, we are working with curve balls from …

Usu Student Organic Farm, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

We’ve got water! It was pretty funny when we finally got the irrigation system up and running Saturday evening of the holiday weekend, and the sky opened up. But we’re all really glad to have it ready for all those babies after a baking hot day! We’ve got the warm weather crops in, including squashes, tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplant and peppers, and melons will be planted tomorrow. We’re lovingly encouraging the tail end of the cool crops to make some food already - you may have noticed your bokchoi is delicious, and so did some cabbage fam­ily loving beetles, who are …

Usu Student Organic Farm, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

The field is almost fully planted! Thanks to a little help from our friends at the Greenville Research Farm, we’ll have squash, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and tomatillos in the ground this week, and be done with our most intensive plant­ing! Dr. Dan Drost’s team from Greenville Research Farm, James Frisby, Jewely Anna Swensen, Christina Nolasco and Maegen Lewis, spent hours with us set­ting up our squash and pumpkin beds with plastic mulch and a drip irrigation system last week and this week, and we had some help with tilling and mowing from Eric Galloway and his technician, Jayden Gunnell.

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Here at the farm we are about as anxious for the tomatoes to ripen as people can be. However, they just don't seem to be picking up the color that they should be at this point. One method for getting tomatoes to ripen is to cut them off the plant in bunches with some of the stem still attached and to let them sit/hang in a warm place out of direct sunlight. This should ripen them in about a week's time. We are going to try this with a few of our many many green tomatoes in the hope that …

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Upon arrival at the farm early this morning, many of us were surprised to find that many of the plants were covered with frost. Aside from making harvest a very cold experience, frost us usually fatal to hot season produce such as squash and tomatoes. However, one technique that is often used by commercial farms to prevent frost damage is watering in the evening when frost is expected. This helps because water is capable of absorbing large amounts of heat (and releasing it). Ayla, the new farm manager, watered the field last night, and we have her to thank for …

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

School has officially started with fall semester classes. At this time of year several changes take place. Along with time changes in CSA pickups, now is the time when we begin the transition from the current to the new farm production manager. Joe (the current manager) is still with us, and he will continue to provide support and instruction. However many of our fall activities will be overseen by the production manager for next year. Ayla has been one of our support interns this summer and has been hoping and working to obtain this position. She is excited by what …

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

A Note on Carrots

Included in your shares with the carrots are the carrot greens. Though usually discarded, carrot tops are actually edible and highly nutritious. They can been eaten raw in salads, cooked into soups, or used in a variety of other ways. Important to note however is that due to the natural biological processes in the plant, if your carrot tops are left attached to the roots for an extended time they will make your carrots soft. This is because the plant is still alive and the leaves are still pulling moisture from the roots.

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Due to the start of fall semester, the majority of our farm workers will not be available during regular pickup hours. Starting the week of August 29 - September 3, pick-up time for all CSA members will permanently change to Saturday from 10:00am to 12:00pm. All pick-ups will take place at the farm, which is located at 1750 N 800 E in Logan.

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Earlier this year the farm applied for a grant from blue goes green in order to build and supply a new farm stand. We are proud to say that after having been awarded $200 for the purpose, the farm stand is now complete. As CSA members, you may not often see the farm stand, but instead pick up your produce either at the much larger pick-up area of the farm or on campus in the NR building.

The farm stand is used on Thursdays from 11am to 1pm to sell produce on campus to non-CSA members. Most of our produce …

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Coriander Beet Chips. Recipe by NakedBeet.

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Gus (goose) is a sophomore at USU majoring in Plant Science. He is originally from Brazil but he has also spent time living in central Utah. He enjoys being outside and the air conditioning inside of buildings often makes him cold. Gus loves to go camping and rock climbing when he is not working on the farm. Gus grew up farming with his family and plans to work as a crop consultant assisting other farmers to better their harvests and practices. He loves to make jokes and has been a fun and valuable addition to the farm this summer. He …

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Many of you have noticed and probably identified the hanging garlic in the pick-up area at the farm. After garlic is harvested it needs to undergo the process of curing in which it hangs/lays in an area with good air circulation out of direct sunlight. This allows the garlic to dry out slightly, which has several effects. First it allows the garlic to be kept in storage without rotting or molding; it allows the bulb to pull the remaining energy from the leaves as they dry; and finally it, in my opinion, intensifies the garlic's flavor. This curing takes place …

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Here at the farm we are in a transitional period where the strawberries are slowing down and the raspberries are just starting up. There are not enough of either to provide for all CSA shares alone, however there are enough between them to do so. This week, if you arrive/arrived early enough, you have or will have the choice between either a bowl of raspberries or of strawberries. If you come at the end of the pick-up time there may only be one kind left. We hope everyone is happy with whatever they received.

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Pick up on Tuesday of next week (July 5th) will be moved to Wednesday (July 6th) in order to accommodate those share holders who are out of town for Independence Day. Please email if this creates conflicts so separate arragngements can be made.

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Basil-Mint Sauce. Recipe by http://www.eatingwell.com

This healthy herb sauce recipe brings together mint, basil and ground coriander. Use as a healthy sauce for topping chicken, fish or pasta.

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Limeade with a Touch of Mint. Recipe by Elise Bauer

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

We had a volunteer day this last week on Wednesday when about 12-15 people from a school in Brigham City showed up to help us on the farm. They were there for about three hours and during that time we were able to prepare nearly all of our seed beds and plant about a third of them. We were also able to set up the irrigation sprinklers so that we don't have to water by hand. Some of the remaining planting beds will also be seeded, but the majority are for transplants from the greenhouse. We have been able to …

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Joe is a junior majoring in Agricultural Education with a minor in Plant Science. This is his second year working on the farm and he has accepted for the season to manage farm production. He is passionate about gardening and he hopes to someday teach horticulture to high-school students. He is from Virginia, but he lives for the present here in Logan with is wife, two dogs and eight chickens. Joe loves to travel and wants to go all over the world teaching the benefits of sustainable food production

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

As of now, nearly all of our produce for our shares is coming from one hoop house. We are at the mercy of the weather at this time regarding our field crops. The cold weather of the past week has resulted in much smaller harvest of asparagus than we had hoped. Next week will hopefully see a bundle of asparagus back in each of your shares.

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

It’s the start of a new summer and there is a new set of interns to match. We have five student farm interns this summer. Our farm manager is Joe and some of you may remember him from last year. Daniel is our CSA manager, and our other three interns are Ayla, Gus (Goose), and Merrisa. We will be putting in a brief intro on each of them in the coming weeks, but for now here we are. We are excited to meet you all this week!

Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

As we warm up from the cold season, expect the variety in the shares in increase. For the first few weeks there will be cold hardy plants such as leafy greens and some herbs. By next spring you will be craving our thick dark green spinach! Check out the recipe for ideas of how to use all these fabulous greens in your meals!