Buena Vista hosts CSA Conference

By: Sterling Quinton

The 20th century advent of industrialized agriculture, commonly known as the Green Revolution, did not bode well for localized farming or those practicing its art. From an apex of 6.8 million practitioners in 1935, which accounted for one third of the jobs in America, small-scale farmers became such a diminished minority that by 1993 the United States Census Bureau announced that it would "no longer count the number of Americans who live on farms."

With nearly a decade of the 21st century behind us, that historical trend is changing in a big way. According to a recent New York Times article, between 2005 and 2007, small scale farmers increased by almost 90,000 individuals. Buena Vista has shared in some of that growth and now, via locally based Weathervane Farm and the Dairy at Cottonwood Creek, has hosted a Community Supported Agriculture conference.

Guidestone was a major organizer of the event. Another organizer is the Central Colorado Food Shed Alliance or CCFA. The CCFA bills itself as a locally based organization working to revitalize the valley’s food industry. As a coop organization, it is responsible for running the Farmers’ Market in Salida and, according to one board member, it hopes to bring another market to Buena Vista in the near future.

Despite a rapid national and local growth of CSA, its exact purpose remains obscure or unknown to many. According to Seth Roberts, co-owner of Weathervane, the CSA model was created to, “Develop a direct connection between producer and consumer through a contractual basis. It really started with vegetable farmers providing seasonal produce to their membership. It has grown now to encompass many different agricultural products.” Essentially, CSA is a model wherein the consumer has a personal relationship with the people growing the food.

On a seasonably cold but sunny February 15, twenty-two attendees from the south central part of the state gathered around the crusty earth of Weathervane’s winter-dormant gardens to make connections, drink coffee, and talk about the future of CSA and other forms of local food production.

Roberts, said the goal of the conference, “Is to get people together who are currently operating a CSA or want to, and to discuss challenges, opportunities, the future of the movement, and to prepare for a state-wide gathering in 2010.”

One farmer in attendance, Jerome Osentowski, traveled from Basalt, Colorado, to revel in the exchange of ideas and participate in the shaping of the future of CSA. Osentowski, a bespectacled 64 year old with slight build and academic air, is the owner of a CSA school.

“We started a 20 member CSA with 20 students and 10 farms involved and we are closing in on a permanent sight to house the school,” he said.

About why he felt the CSA model is important, Osentowski stated that, “The industrial system is a failed system. It’s crumbling. The manufactured food system is toxic. In all of our communities we only have two days supply of food. Any town in Colorado, especially in the winter, is susceptible.”

His claims demand attention but don’t be too quick to label him just another pessimist. Osentowski has put positive energy into creating a counterbalance to what he sees as a real problem in modern food production. “This is a way of building in food security,” he said. “With green houses and high tunnels we can become year round producers of our own food.”

In addition to his tools for season extension, like the greenhouse, Osentowski has surrounded his home with acreage of Permaculture. He says Permaculture is, “a designed system for development of sustainable permanent agriculture and other perennial systems.”

Others define it as a smart way to produce a lot of food without a lot of continuous labor. Besides the more typical fruits and vegetables, Osentowski’s approach has allowed him to grow relatively exotic foods like bananas, artichokes, passion fruit, pineapple, figs, guavas, and jujubes at his mountainous site.

Of course, food can be produced and a living made without building an off-the-grid Permaculture camp in the mountains or developing a CSA. According to the CCFA, which serves a “foodshed” encompassing a 100 mile radius emanating from Salida, Chaffee County and the surrounding areas have a lot of food producers growing and distributing their products in a variety of ways.

Some of those producers include: Javernick Family Farms, Landmark Beef, Simple Honey, TBD Farm and Cherry Orchard, Black Mountain Mushrooms, Haugen’s Mountain Grown Lamb, Gosar Ranch, Erin’s Organics, Green Earth Farm, and Jumpin’ Good Goat Dairy. To see a fuller list of local vendors, readers can visit www.ccfa.coop.

Back at the conference, attendees took a tour of Weathervane and The Dairy, swapped solutions for common problems, discussed current and impending legal issues, as well as the difficulties and triumphs of competing in the bigger markets. In the late afternoon current farmers, people wishing to be farmers, and others who came simply because they support local food production, shook hands and said goodbye hoping to meet again at the 2010 sate-wide conference. As Osentowski prepared to leave, he reflected on the day’s conference and the future of his work, saying, “I think CSA is the most viable model out there and it continues to grow.”

Bananas in Nathrop? Anything Is Possible!

By: Erin Oliver, Erin’s Geothermal Greenhouse in Nathrop, CO.

Restoring our local food shed is possible. We are lucky to live in this valley where productive farmland with water is still available. There is the potential to put these valuable lands into food production. Although our growing season is shorter then some, it is still possible to grow most crops and we even have micro climates within our valley where we can produce corn. Tony Madone has proven this on his Farm to Table site in Salida. There are countless home gardeners producing food for their family right in their backyards. We also have the unique resource of geothermal water which can heat greenhouses for year round production. This is especially wonderful for those heat loving crops we all love like tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. If it is our desire to produce food in this valley, it is possible.

So, back to the banana.

I was inspired to buy this banana tree by Paul at The Crystal Shop in Salida, he had one years ago. Five years later, I have fruit on the tree and not just a few. It lives in my greenhouse here on Chalk Creek where it is kept warm with our 160 degree geothermal water. I continue to nurture it in hopes that the fruit will ripen into the sweetest bananas I have ever tasted. I’ll keep you posted.

This winter in the greenhouse has been very productive. Lots of sunshine means faster growth and an abundance of tender greens. We were able to keep some of the tomato and cucumber plants producing until Thanksgiving when we pulled them to prepare for the next crop. Although the tomato plant is a perennial, I find we have much better success with a fresh crop every year. We have planted a round of sugar snap peas to take advantage of the space before this year’s tomatoes are transplanted. Our starts table is heated with our geothermal water and is full with tomato, pepper and perennial flower starts. They are also happy with all of the sunshine and will be ready to transplant into the large containers in a few weeks. We may just break our earliest vine ripened tomato record this year! (April 20th is the date to beat) As the days get longer, we are gearing up for our spring starts sale and will have a variety of vegetable and flower starts available.

This is my favorite time of year. Watching the hundreds of starts grow and knowing that they will feed our community is very rewarding.

Starts Soil Recipe

By: Erin Oliver, Erin’s Geothermal Greenhouse in Nathrop, CO.

This is a great time of year to prepare for the growing season. Plan your garden space. Get a soil test if you haven’t already, a small task that will bring huge rewards. Order your seed. One of my favorite places to order seed is a company called Fedco. Pleasant Avenue Nursery in Buena Vista also has vegetable and flower seed varieties available that grow well in our area.

Get a jump on the season by starting seeds inside. You’ll need a sunny window or a grow light, some start trays, soil and seed.

Starts Soil Recipe:
2 parts good garden soil or potting soil
1 part perlite or builder’s sand
1 part compost or peat moss
1 T. bonemeal per quart of mix
other amendments may be added

I’ve included the schedule that I follow for starts at my greenhouse. I use May 15th as our last spring frost date although that does vary from year to year. When you are ready to move the starts outside, create a cold frame to harden them off and allow them time to get used to the outside environment. Once planted, continue to cover your tender crops like tomatoes and squash with remay to protect them from a late spring frost.

Seeding Schedule:

6-8 weeks before the last frost date seed tomatoes, onions, peppers, eggplant and celery.

4 weeks before the last frost date seed lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, collards and chard.

3 weeks before the last frost date seed corn, cucumbers, melon, squash and spinach.

Vegetables like peas, carrots, beets, potatoes and other root crops prefer to be direct seeded once the danger of frost has passed.

Some of my favorite suggested readings:
Four- Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman
Solar Gardening by Leandre Poisson & Gretchen Vogel Poisson
How to Grow More Vegetables by John Jeavons


Have fun, try new varieties and may your garden be bountiful!