Tag: MN farmers

Bright Future Farms

This family farm’s future is bright indeed!

The name alone gives you a warm fuzzy feeling and I can tell you from personal experience, their greenhouse is wonderfully warm even in the depths of winter… or at least most winters.

Like so many farmers and small business owners, Theresa is always looking to the future, and decided to make a ‘sea change’ in the farm over the last winter. They switched over from Aquaponics to Hydroponics, showing just how nimble small businesses can be.

As Theresa, the main farmer at Bright Future Farms, settles into these changes, she is finding room for growth in new areas. But first – let’s take a look at Aquaponic and Hydroponic development.

A Quick History

Farmers have always been tinkerers.  And some Mayan farmers (2,000 years ago!) were farming using an intricate system of open water canals, reservoirs and filtration boxes. Other cultures have used flooding and seasonal water fluctuations to their agricultural advantage throughout the years; think rice paddies.

Flash forward to the 1970’s and Dr James Rakocy at the University of the Virgin Islands developed a commercial-scale Aquaponics system that harnesses the waste of fish to fertilize plants, all within a closed loop system.

Aquaponics or Hydroponics

The main difference between the two systems is that aquaponics grows fish within the system as a way to fertilize the plants, while hydroponics grows plants only. Both systems are soil-less, using ‘growing medium’ like perlite, grow stones, rock wool etc. More info on ways to grow in the fun video by Epic Gardnening. The systems can look quite different and there are lots of small variations.

Hydroponics can be as simple as getting nutrient filled water to flow by plant roots. But even those kinds of systems require a pump. An Aquaponics system also includes:

Rearing Tanks, Clarifier, Filter Tanks.

The water is sent through the rearing tanks, clarifier and filters then onto the hydroponic tanks to water AND feed the produce. For Theresa, if they’re not growing fish, they simply add those fertilizing nutrients into the system.

The beauty of an aquaponics system is that lots of complex natural processes happen on their own… as long as the system is set up correctly. This creates a sustainable, self-contained system that produces nutrient dense foods.

In other terms, the fish produce waste, which is converted to fertilizer for plants, the plants then filter the water that return to the fish.

‘In’ the Farm

Theresa ended up with a single, 24′ X 36′  freestanding greenhouse that has supplemental heat for our cold Minnesota winters provided by a propane furnace.

Nelson and Pade, Inc is a trusted source for Aquaponics systems, and is the Wisconsin company Theresa went through to purchase her original Aquaponics set up. While not cheap to start up, the system is quite efficient once running.

The first thing I did when I visited on that frigid February day was walk through their bio-security system which included washing your hands and walking through a foot bath of a bacterial and parasitic killing solution. This step adds to their ability to say that they’re clean from outside contaminants, and keeps things growing healthy and organically.

Tending the System

When I first explored the greenhouse, it looked a bit like a science experiment, with tubes and tanks all hooked up and going around and around. But Theresa was able to explain it simply.

Theresa checks the water quality by testing levels of ammonia, nitrates, pH level, plus checks the temperature daily. The main input to an aquaponic system is fish food. The fish eat the food and excrete waste. More than 50% of the waste produced by fish is in the form of ammonia secreted in the urine and, in small quantities, through the gills. Monitoring a few key chemical levels assures healthy fish and plants.

Sea Change

Their greenhouse now consists of a Dutch bucket drip system for tomatoes, cucumbers and sweet peppers, and a deep-water raft system for a variety of lettuces.

Dutch Buckets – photo credit Farmer Theresa

All produce is grown without soil or chemicals in very efficient re-circulating systems, within a controlled environment. Their current growing method is hydroponics, but the raft system is configured for both hydroponics and aquaponics.

Right now, they are adding the nutrients to the deep-water raft system. On average hydroponic systems use 10 times less water to grow food than traditional field crops. That adds up quick! 

“We may raise tilapia again, to have our aquaponics system operating, but are going to compare results of growing lettuce hydroponically before making that decision. Either method of growing produces healthy, delicious and safe food,” says Theresa. As you can see, this farmer is a scientist at heart.

Also of note, composting the unused parts of the vegetables they grow helps add to the general fertility of their outdoor farm garden.

Bright Future Farm also grows a variety of microgreens, also without soil or chemicals, that nicely accompany their other lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.

Now, more than ever, smaller farms are becoming more popular will feed more of the country. Bright Future Farms combines that small business nimbleness with water wise growing techniques to produce delicious produce – and sometimes fish! In places where water is short, hydro- and aqua- ponics will play a larger and larger roll in food production in the upcoming years.

Theresa and her mom all smiles at market!

Catch Bright Future farm at these upcoming Farmers Markets:

Cambridge Farmers Market:
Saturdays starting May 7th 9am-1pm

Lindstrom Farmers Market:
Wednesdays, starting July 8th 3pm-6pm

Bright Future Farm’s Future is, well – bright! Check out their website for more info.

Dig into locally grown food!
Michelle

Cultivating Good Will & Good Food at Costa’s

Ron, Grace, Gina & Karin Costa in front of a CSA delivery van. Photo Credit Paul Dols

Costa’s is that rare breed of medium size family farm that fills up its community with both good food and good will.

*Full Disclosure: I received two vine ripened tomatoes for writing this article.
They were totally worth it  😉

Yes. Farmers are busy. CSA providers are busy. Roadside Farm Stand operators are busy. Vegetable wholesalers are busy. Greenhouse flower growers are busy. So, one family that runs a business including all of these; yes, you could say they’re BUSY! And yet Karin Costa can make you feel like you’re the only person at a bustling Farmer’s Market as she talks with you about corn, the weather, or you kids- sometimes all those points blended into one seamless sentence.

Karin helping my boys pick out their dinner.

This family fully understands that they get to stay busy precisely because they pay attention to their customers, and all those farming details. From seed, to soil; from picking crews practicing food safety (they are USDA Food Safety Certified for the last 6 years) to making those personal connections at market. You can tell they love what they do- not just because Ron took on the farm for a 3rd generation, but because they smile even when no one is looking.

Grace Costa working their Farmstand with a smile.

As their website says:

 “We firmly believe in local agriculture because it supports local farmers who care about the impact of their farming and because it helps support local economies. We run our entire business under the mindset “From Our Field to Your Fork” because that’s the way food is supposed to work.”

Earlier in May when the crops were just coming in, greenhouses in the background.

Since they moved the family farm from Little Canada to their current location in Grant back in 1990, they’ve kept innovating and adding ways to serve their community. My favorite (hi)story was how their flower business began; they first started growing a few hanging baskets, just because they had unused space above the flats of vegetables in the greenhouse. That first year they sold out of the baskets, so they added more… and more as the years went on. Constantly searching out ways to engage with their local customers lead to them adding the CSA branch of their business a few years ago.

Their Roots Run Deep
The Costa family has been selling at the St. Paul Farmer’s Markets since it was at its original location, over 70 years ago; back before the ‘middle men’ wholesale companies were so prevalent and grocers would buy direct from farmers. They’ve been selling  at the White Bear Lake Farmer’s Markets for over 25 years.

Their commitment to getting you the freshest food is apparent in all the ways they’ve made it easy to buy from them. Being lots of places to sell to the public might seem like a no-brainer, but it takes a lot of planning, extra trucks, more staff and lots of set up and tear down to make it to all these farmer’s markets. They also see less produce get onto local table through markets than wholesale, but they value the face to face connections.

Here’s the Costa Farm & Greenhouse Summer 2017 Lineup

Farmstand at their Farm, 9411 Dellwood Rd in Grant MN:
Open Daily now – Mid-September. 9:30am- 6:30pm.

Farmer’s markets: Wednesdays- Aldrich Arena
Fridays- White Bear Lake & St. Thomas Moore
Saturdays-  St. Paul Downtown & Mahtomedi.
Full Listing of times and locations HERE .

Oakdale HyVee Display featuring Costa Produce

Even the JW Marriot restaurant, Cedar & Stone,  lists them as one of their Favored Local Farms!

A few steps closer to their farm is the Oakdale HyVee, which featured them as a featured local farmer.

 CSA: This season they have close to 500 Community Supported Agriculture Shares going out to families across the metro. Get on their email list now to ensure a spot on next summer’s list. info@costafarm.com

 

View of May row crops from Karin’s Cart.

You can also always contact them via email, or their Facebook page, or subscribe to their blog. They are easy to connect with, and ready to show you how the details add up to delicious local food.

While riding around the farm on “Karin’s Cart” I saw first-hand how obsessed they are with the details.

They get the soil tested at least three times a year to understand exactly how to best feed the crops they’re growing down to the row. The land they farm on in Grant, MN is sandy and doesn’t hold nutrients well, so they feed (fertilize) their crops as needed. Karin describes their farming philosophy as responsible and innovative, but not chasing after organic.

Being able to build relationships with the people who buy their food, through CSA newsletters and emails and meeting people at markets, “we hope to build a trust with them, that while we do spray to keep the worms out of our corn, we do so with non-neonicotinoids and as sparingly as possible,” explained Karin. I can attest to the fact that there are weeds (sometimes big enough to decrease crop yield) that were not sprayed, and plenty of dragonflies, butterflies and birds flying around the fields as we meandered through.

I also saw rows of black plastic mulch; a relatively new farming innovation that keeps weeds down, and greatly reduces the need for irrigation. It also requires specialized equipment to lay the plastic and the drip line to water underneath it, and a specialized planter. It was a large investment a few years ago, but Karin is happy with being able to use less water, less chemicals, and less tractor time. Another bonus is the early spring growth boost the crops receive because the black plastic heats up the earth quicker. Like all things there are positives and negatives to this system. Costa’s is currently looking into recycling the agricultural plastics they use. The recycling of these plastics is an upcoming and exciting opportunity to close this loop in food production.

I have used this thick black plastic in my backyard garden to heat up the soil in the spring, and in another area to kill weeds by leaving it pinned down all summer long. My small scale and ability to reuse the same plastic again and again differs greatly from market farms- even though it’s a petroleum based product, it has its place in growing food for the big guys and for many backyard gardens.

Early May, before the summer squash went completely bonkers.

Karin cheers on us home vegetable gardeners and loves how many more people are growing their own produce. She also knows, from trial and error, that what works for the home gardener doesn’t always work for a large-scale farm. From which varieties of vegetables will hold up getting to market, and what techniques are used to grow them.

When you’re farming around 100 acres of vegetables, much without irrigation, “you need to give the investment of seed and land the best chance at getting to market and feeding America- feeding your neighbors,” Karin said.

Eggplant flowers are just so darn pretty.

Costa’s feeds many of us shopping at Twin Cities Metro grocery stores through their relationships with fifteen produce wholesale companies. A large part of Ron’s responsibility (apart from the hands-on farming) is making connections with those companies to sell the large amounts of corn, kale, beans, tomatoes and bell peppers that ripen and only have a few days to go from just picked to past their prime.

I learned so much about our local food system listening to Karin explain the steps from seed to table. There are single use boxes to ship all produce purchased wholesale, delivery costs, what to do when a wholesaler rejects a shipment of very perishable produce etc. No matter the scale farming is a risky business!

They make efforts to see that as much produce as possible feeds neighbors, even if it gets rejected by wholesalers; for too much size variation, too curvy, too small or too big. (Remember that not all tomatoes come out perfectly round and uniformly red the next time you peruse a tomato display in January.) When Costa’s has a surplus or an unexpected rejection, they give generously to Second Harvest Heartland, a total of 1,125 lbs of produce in 2016! They nurture an ongoing relationship with the St. Jude’s Catholic Church FoodShelf. They also have a growing relationship with Habitat for Humanity; where they donate their unsold flowering annuals to the program, giving newly moved into houses some added curb appeal.

So whether Ron is planning the field layout, or Karin is getting the greenhouse up and running for the season- or either/both of the girls are working in the farm stand- this family is all in on farming for your family.

Grilled Corn as the Star of Summer Dinner

And trust me when I say their corn is scrumptious no matter how you prepare it- but my new favorite way is to remove husks, butter and salt it, and grill it on a HOT grill for a few minutes, letting the sugars from the kernels help caramelize the corn. Now, if that doesn’t scream summertime, I don’t know what does.

Dig In to all the fresh veggies Costa’s has to offer! Consider canning, or freezing some of this locally grown goodness for the winter too. Nothing beats a stockpile of food preserved at its peak 🙂

Michelle

 

 

 

 

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