Next Generation Organics

Come on down to the mkt for the last of the tomatoes. We are sick of watering them and looking at them. I want to start harvesting already, so should you. This weather has set everything back so there is still time to plant but you better hurry. We got all sorts of other things gourmet herbs, 9 different types of Basil, summer and winter squash, a few peppers left mostly anaheim types, cukes, lettuce 6 pks and Kales too. More stuff than I can remember.. Fresh picked Kale and Lettuce blend too. All Certified Organic of course…So come on down and have a Saturday morning out at the market and then go home and plant a garden.  See you there. OH and get a stroopwafel cookie at the booth next door, oh god they are good. on 8th between Idaho and Main

Oh Boy, yet another study linking pesticide exposure to some nasty disease. This one involving kids. Read more about it here:http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20100517_nr_Study-ADHD-linked-to-pesticide-exposure  That just one more reason on  a list of hundreds to eat organic. Kids don’t always have a say at what groceries go in the fridge or the cupboard so be sure and provide them with the best you can. Check out this list of the top foods to eat organically:http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/Dirty-Dozen-Foods its pretty interesting.  SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ORGANIC FARMERS!!!  please

Its a cold wet spring thats for sure. Farmers are behind at least two weeks even more in some areas. I was talking with Lee Rice of Rice Family Farms at the market this weekend and he was saying this is the coldest spring he has seen in 20 years of growing for market. When the ground is cold seeds don’t germinate and things don’t grow nearly as well. Greens and lettuce do OK, but tomatoes and peppers aren’t that happy. Tomatoes and peppers are transplanted from greenhouse stock, but things like cukes and melon are direct seeded into the ground. Seeds like a nice warm soil to get germinated and up and growing. In weather like this its pretty tough to warm up. So don’t look for melons any time soon. Lee Rice estimates some items to be 3-4 weeks behind schedule. Lets hope there are watermelon in July but maybe not. So get out there and do a sun dance if you want to support local agriculture. Don’t forget to come out to the market on Saturdays and get your certified organic plant starts at the Next Generation Organics stand. Its a perfect time to transplant tomatoes and peppers when the weather is nice and cloudy. We have been selling out on a lot of peppers but there are tons of toms still around. Also, all sorts of gourmet herbs, cukes, summer squash, melons, all sorts of great stuff ready to go out in the garden.  Plus its the coolest place to be on a saturday morning.

Stop by  Touch of Dutch. the Stroopwafel stand next to us, and have a waffle cookie with homemade carmel filling. THEY ARE SO GOOD. The gal Jeanne is a sweety who lived in Holland for 3 years. The Stroopwafel is like the dutch national cookie. My Saturday isn’t complete until I have at least one or five.

We were sorta surprised to see a bunch of people talking on banana phones at the Capital City Public Market yesterday. It was a Flash mob.  A group of people doing something crazy just for the sake of doing something crazy. I thought for a second someone has slipped something in my coffee. It was fun though and pretty harmless. It made the soggy, rainy day a little brighter. If you look quick you can see the NGO booth in this youtube video at :42 until the end and it closes on us sorta out of focus which is pretty fitting for the event and day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfxF-rkudLg

Come see us at the Capital City Public Market on 8th st. Saturday. Its been the happening place to be. We have 40 varieties of Tomatoes mostly heirloom and open pollinated types, 30 varieties of peppers, including those hard to find Basque peppers, all your gourmet kitchen herbs, lettuce, spinach, kale, chard, mustard greens, 6 different onions. bunches of different eggplants… All sorts O’ fun stuff, all certified organic. Not to mention our amazing salad mix which has over 15 different greens in it and has been selling out by 11:30 or 12. We sold over 11 pounds last week each leaf cut by hand and triple washed. Sheesh what else. I think thats about it. There will be a cool seed swap put on by Beth Rasgorshek of Canyon Bounty Farm, and Casey O’Leary of Earthly Delights farm, and sponsored by yours truly. Read about it here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/04/30/1173715/seed-swap-planned-in-boise.html

Thanks See you at the market…

Today is Earth day, give her a hug. Come see us at the College of Idaho vendor fair on campus in the dining hall. Bon Appetit, which runs the food service at C of I is one of our biggest supporters. They don’t just say they support local ag they actually reach into the safe and and do it….  They have a really cool “Farm to Fork” program, that highlights all the items on the menu from local producers. We have been selling them greens and spinach all winter. Its on campus and open to the public. Go check it out if you are ever in Caldwell and want a great price on a gourmet lunch featuring tons of local items.  Have a good Earth day. Get out there today and love your mother.

Thanks to everyone who came out to support us at the opening day of the 2010 Capital City Public Market. Its still a bit early for most peoples gardens so let us keep your peppers and tomatoes in the greenhouse a bit longer. We are still figuring this whole thing out and have yet to determine when our on farm sales will be. We are thinking a couple of larger sales instead of regular hours at the greenhouse. I have been working away from the farm and its tough for us to coordinate my schedule with being open here. Please call to make an appointment to come and get cold weather starts that are safe to go out now. Otherwise sit tight and either come see us in Boise on Saturdays or wait for the announcement about our Homedale sales. Thanks

Bart   697-2409

My Good buddy Dan Claar just won a writing award from Idaho Magazine. Publishers choice in the fiction category for his piece entitled The Proper Filter. Dan is the former lead singer for the defunct Boise band Guerillawrench and a hell of a poet and author. He just published a book of poetry called: Knee deep in chalk outlines.  Check it out….His website is below. Earth tremors.

http://earthtremors.blogspot.com/2009/12/proper-filter.html

Last year, 2009 there was a severe outbreak of late blight in the eastern states and even into the midwest.  Many university researchers and county extension agents attributed this to infected plants bought in large retail stores such as Walmart, Home Depot and Lowes. These stores are supplied nearly exclusively by Bonnies Plants.  While these stores have great deals on plants they are not worth a thing if they shrivel up and die a month after you plant them. Buying from a local organic greenhouse is a good way to prevent this from happening here in the west. Smaller greenhouses are better able to monitor their stock than a greenhouse with millions of plants that are shipped hundreds of miles away.  It just makes sense to buy local.

Come see us at the Capital City market starting April 17th.