Please see below email from Maria Smietana. If you've ever wanted to try your hand at farm work here's your opportunity!

Greetings, Friends,

I am so happy to be able to share that Kelly was moved out of ICU to a progressive care unit at Methodist Hospital this week. Although still not conscious, she’s breathing on her own and the healing process is moving in a positive direction. Before I took up farming, I spent 25+ years working in medical research, and therefore learned a lot about the good, the bad, and the ugly in medical practice. I just can’t say enough good things about the quality of care Kelly is receiving. It’s state-of-the-art medicine administered by a very caring and committed staff. Our friend is in good hands.

For all who have offered to help on the farm, we  have a semblance of a plan in place, thanks to the efforts of Todd Jameson. First priority is harvesting the onion and shallot crop, and here is what we have as far as a schedule and resources needed:

Sunday, 10-1:00.

1.       Crew needed to tear apart palettes and build quick crates for storing the onions.  Please come prepared with saws, hammers, and work gloves. Power tools are very welcome if you’re lucky enough to own them.

2.       Large crew needed to walk the rows and pull onions, cut the tops, and transport them back across the fields for storage. Come dressed for the weather and bring sunhats, bandanas, garden gloves, sunscreen/insect repellant, and a knife or sturdy scissors. Most importantly, bring a jug of ice water to stay hydrated.

Sunday, 12:30-1:30.

1.       Two individuals willing to make sandwiches and pour lemonade for the work crews. Sandwich fixings, lemonade and snacks will be provided.

Sunday, 1-2:00.  LUNCH PROVIDED FOR MORNING WORK CREW.

Sunday, 2-5:00.

1.       Large crew needed to walk the rows and pull onions, cut the tops, and transport them back across the field for storage. Come dressed for the weather and bring sunhats, bandanas, garden gloves, sunscreen/insect repellant, and a knife or sturdy scissors. Most importantly, bring a jug of ice water to stay hydrated.

Sunday, 4:30.

1.       Individual willing to make a run for pizzas and bring them to the farm. Money to pay for the pizzas will be provided.

Sunday, 5-7:00.  PIZZA SUPPER AND BRIEFING ON WORK NEEDS FOR SUBSEQUENT WEEKS

Please let me know by Saturday afternoon if you can help out, what work shift you will fill, and what job you would like to do.

Best way to get directions is www.MapQuest.com. The farm address is 2525 N County Road 425 E, Danville, IN 46122

For those who are putting out donation jars at markets this week, I have attached the corrected flyer reflecting Kelly’s updated status.

Please remember that if you can’t help with physical labor or a financial donation, you can always help by sending prayers, positive thoughts, and healing energy to Kelly and her family.  Also, consider taking some of your grocery dollars to the Seldom Seen Farm stand at Broad Ripple Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings and helping John and Kelly by supporting their business.

Thanks to all for everything you have already done and will continue to do. Spread the word about Kelly’s cause by sharing this e-mail with your networks.

For Kelly,

Maria and Bill

Our good friend Kelly Funk (shown here with our granddaugher Jocelynn) was struck by lightning while working in the field at her farm on July 8th. Kelly is wife to John Ferree and mother of 1 yr old Laila. They own and operate Seldom Seen Farm in Danville, IN. Kelly has grown many of the transplants we've used to get an early start on some of our crops. She's in fine hands at Methodist Hospital but her recovery may be slow and long. Kelly’s extended “farm family” has launched a number of efforts to ease the family’s financial burden during this difficult time.

A fund in Kelly’s name, the Kelly Funk Recovery Fund, has been set-up at Huntington Bank for anyone wishing to make a direct donation. Click here if you'd like to contribute.

Slow Food Indy is hosting a fund raising lobster dinner for Kelly on August 22nd. Click here if you'd like to purchase tickets to this special event.

Please keep Kelly, John & their families in your thoughts and prayers.

Calling all friends of Balanced Harvest Farm & CSA, lovers of art and especially lovers of vintage vegetable crate art!  As many of you know our market truck is a red 1965 International Harvester with a wooden refrigerated box built on the back.  Ever since we started the truck project we have searched for an artist who could paint the sides of the refrigerated truck body in a style resembling vintage vegetable crate art.  Well, we’ve found him - local artist Tim Levandoski – and you are all invited to come to the Carmel Farmer’s Market this Saturday, July 17^th,  to watch Tim begin transforming the big white wall formerly known as the truck body into a rolling billboard and a beautiful piece of art.  The market is located at One Civic Center in Carmel just north of Carmel Drive on the west side of Rangeline Road.  The market is open from 8-11:30 and we hope you’ll stop by and enjoy the experience and the Market! 

On a sad note, if you have not already heard, our dear friend Kelly Funk, wife of John Ferree and co- owner of Seldom Seen Farm, was struck by lightning last week while working in the fields.  Kelly is in the ICU at Methodist Hospital.  Her care at the hospital has been outstanding, but there is no quick fix for the injuries she sustained.  Her recovery is expected to be long, sometimes slow, and expensive. They are welcoming emails, cards, voice mails, face book posts website comments, etc.  However, flowers are not allowed in the ICU, and for the time being they’re only allowing immediate family to visit. 

This Saturday, July 17^th we at Balanced Harvest Farm will be donating 25% of our farmer’s market sales towards Kelly’s recovery. We will also have a donation can in our booth at the Carmel Farmer’s market for anyone who would like to contribute. Our Slow Food Indy chapter will be hosting some fund raising events for Kelly as well including a Lobster Dinner on August 22^nd.   If you or anyone you know would like to attend or support this event here’s a link where folks can purchase tickets. Please forward the link to others who might be interested too.  Also, the Kelly Funk Recovery Fund has been set up at Huntington Bank. An online link should be available by next week.

Please keep Kelly, John, and their families in your thoughts and prayers.

Until next time…  hope to see you at the market!

Eat well & be well,

Todd & Kathleen

We appreciate your interest in local, sustainable agriculture!

Holland self propelled Celery & Onion transplanter

It was a long winter filled with equipment updates, repairs and the endless quest to find replacement parts for some of our antique equipment.  This was the winter of the Holland self propelled Celery & Onion transplanter.  It’s a wonderfully simple machine that saves countless hours of transplanting that previously had to be done on our hands and knees.  The original machine of this type was designed and built in Holland, MI by Ben Poll along with his two brothers, Henry and Louis. In 1927 the brothers quit farming and began the Holland Celery Planter Company. The more modern transplanters, like ours made in the 1950’s, haven’t changed much.  Work that previously took us 1.5 hours to complete can now be done in 10-15 minutes and truth be told the quality is better when using the planter than when done by hand.  Mr. Poll’s son Howard, who I believe is in his 70’s, still makes parts for the transplanters and was a huge help in providing advice and supplying replacement parts for our machine.   I’ve already begun my wish list for 2011 and it includes transforming this machine from gasoline powered to electric, if this is your area of expertise and you’d like to help just let us know.

Finally a spring we can enjoy!

After 2 years of cold, persistent and torrential rains we finally have a decent spring season! Needless to say Kathleen and I are thrilled to have a more normal planting season underway. I say “planting season” but the truth is here on Balanced Harvest Farm we plant throughout the spring, summer and early fall.  The last seeding will take place in September and those crops will be harvested next spring. 

Overall the veggies look great.  Some of our early plantings did not germinate quite as well as expected, but all the transplanted veggies look wonderful.  The poor germination was in part due to heavily crusted soil following a big rain a few weeks back.  Those of you who’ve been with us for a while have endured my complaining about the Carmel Clay (I believe they really did name our area for its clay).  We have wonderful silt loam soil mixed with clay and when the conditions are right it can turn as hard as cement.  Well, that’s an exaggeration but it does seem as hard as cement when you’re trying to get seeds up or to cultivate.  The issue really is that the soil gets hard and then clumps as you cultivate.  Seeds like soft soil and uniform conditions and the clay just doesn’t provide that sometimes.  Like most springs we have some veggies ahead of schedule, some on schedule and some behind.  Overall we’re very pleased with the progress we’ve made and the condition of the farm at this point. 

Since it warmed up things have really begun to grow, some just right and some too fast.  The early season greens don’t like hot (warm is fine, hot is too hot).  Our early planting of broccoli rabe (rapini) and cilantro have already gone to seed, which means the plants put all their energy into making seed, making the plant itself inedible, but we still have time to replant before the long days of summer hit. The weeds are growing, we’re busy hoeing & weeding and there’s lots more planting to do!

2010 CSA

First distributions for our CSA members will begin next week on June 14^th. For those of you that are scheduled to pick up At Ferrin’s Fruit Winery…you may be aware that the sadly the Ferrin’s have decided to close their winery and store.  We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. We should have a replacement pick up site in Carmel announced later this week. We are focused on a nearby site with ample convenient parking. 

Farmer’s Market

We will be at the Carmel Farmer’s Market each Saturday this season. Please stop by and see us!

Slow Food Indy Father's Day Spit Fest

On June 20th Chef Chris Ely is roasting a pasture raised hog at Dave Randle's Farm in Lebanon, Indiana and SFI is hosting a local foods pot-luck side dish competition. First prize is 2 Tickets to Jack Johnson at Verizon Wireless Music Center on Friday, July 23rd & 2nd prize is a Gift certificate from Goose the Market!  Buy your tickets now on BrownPaperTickets.com

As you probably know, Groundhog Day was this past Tuesday and Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. Now we’ve got another 6 weeks of winter to look forward to. Even though the best sources of farm weather predictions say we’ll  continue to experience 90 days of below normal  temperatures, we’ve decided to “Think Spring” and share some of our plans for the upcoming Balanced Harvest Farm & CSA season with you. While the below average cold may seem like bad news, the good news is they are also predicting below average precipitation, which with our land, is a very good thing.

Todd has been working on the crop plans and seed orders for 2010. He's been excitedly poring over stacks of seed catalogues gleaming with colorful pictures of all the vegetable growing possibilities. Todd is never swayed by a beautiful picture, though. It’s the taste and textures that matter most. Besides our usual varieties, we intend to add a few more “Ark of Taste” crops to our growing plans this year as well.

Since we won’t be distributing CSA shares at the farmer’s markets, we plan to spend some time at our various pick up locations. CSA members will be able to meet your farmers and talk to us in person. Of course, member or not, you can always find us at the Balanced Harvest Farm stand at the Carmel Farmer’s Market from the end of May through the end of Sept. So please drop by to say “hi”, share a recipe or two and take the time to get to know YOUR farmers.  Most importantly, hang in there... spring is coming!

Eat well & be well,

Todd & Kathleen

In this Newsletter:

1.     Several 2010 CSA pick up sites are nearly full. Don’t be left out!

2.     Todd will present at IUPUI and Altum’s Horticultural Center

3.     We encourage you to join Slow Food USA

1.     Several 2010 CSA pick up sites are nearly full. Don’t be left out!

First we’d like to say “thank you” to both our returning and new members for understanding the importance of supporting local agriculture, for seeking out certified naturally grown produce to feed your families, and for appreciating the significance of food that is grown with integrity and respect for the land and the community. We appreciate your support. For those of you who’ve been thinking about joining the Balanced Harvest 2010 CSA now is the time to act. Our Thursday and Saturday locations are just about full and Sunday & Tuesday locations are quickly catching up. If you’d like to become a member for the 2010 season don’t procrastinate - join now.  Not only does knowing you're “in” help us plan accordingly, it ensures that you will receive a share of the freshest locally grown produce available - It’s peace of mind for both of us! J 

2.     Todd will present at IUPUI and Altum’s Horticultural Center

In a program themed “Food For Thought” Local food. Global Impact, presented by IUPUI Office of Alumni Relations on Saturday, March 6^th , Todd will be presenting on behalf of Slow Food Indy & Balanced Harvest Farm. His topic is “Slow Food, Not Fast Food: You Are What You Eat.”  This daylong conference will also include such topics as “Frankenfoods: The Ethics of Bioengineered Food Products”, “Food Connections: Re-Learning Community and Sustainability”, “Gardening in an Urban Setting: What You Should Know Before You Plant” and “Ethics of Consumption: Taste is Personal, Political or What?”  Conference details and registration are available online.

On Saturday, March 13, 11am, Todd will speak at Altum’s on the topic: “Potatoes in a Trash Can and Other Fun Facts of Vegetable Gardening”. 

Sunday, March 14 you’ll find Todd at Perk Up in Broad Ripple presenting the principles of Slow Food as well as the methods used in the production of Certified Naturally Grown crops on Balanced harvest Farm.

3.     We encourage you to join Slow Food USA

If you want to have an impact on our food culture in central Indiana, meet other “local food” minded folks, take farm tours, eat great food and learn a lot, then Slow Food Indy is the organization for you. Join Slow Food USA and choose Slow Food Indy as your chapter. Not ready to join yet? No problem. You don’t need to be a member to attend events. So, please come and check it out!

The next upcoming Slow Food Indy event: Brogarten- authentic German baking talk, demonstration and tasting will be held on Sunday, March 28^th at Perk Up in Broad Ripple. More information should appear soon on the SFI website.

Slow Food Indy’s got some exciting events planned for 2010. Hope you’ll join us!

If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact us at BalancedHarvest@hotmail.com or (317) 815-9863.

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Their Certified Indiana Artisan Products are currently available at the Indy Winter Farmer's Market, at their Tasting Room in Elwood, online, and at fine shops in Indiana.

Contact Tia & Brett at 888-Meadery (888-632-3379) or check out their website for more information.