Farm Happenings for August 15, 2020

Hello !
Thank you for being patient with our Tuesday Delivery. Here are some logistics. We ask that you have your box or cooler ready so the drivers can deliver on time if its Tuesday Delivery. The drivers recommend that you have a 10 gallon cooler because the are having to squeeze some of the produce into the cooler and it may cause the tomatoes to add pressure. Thank you again. If you would like to order the bins that we have there are for $7.00 with Lowes. If any of you would like us to order for you or need ideas on cooler buying let us know. You can also leave the courtesy box out already put together so that the drivers are not delayed. Every Tuesday Delivery by now should have a courtesy box.

We have had many exciting things happen. The cucumber are coming to the end and many many people have called for canning tomatoes and other items. Yes now is the season. The dill is also coming to an end. If you are going on vacation please let us know or reschedule delivery. Just a friendly reminder that we do not have a fully staffed CSA so we are also conducting customer service and so if you have not gotten a question answered please call Mhonpaj at 651.278.1009.

Here is a typical day of How a Farm Week look like:

Friday 4am wake up, go to the farm pick everything for CSA as pick list order. by 5pm put box together and by 11pm leave lot. Saturday head to market at 4 am to the Farm to grab vegetable from cooler head to market. Market ends at 1 pm get back to farm at 4pm and then start picking more fresh produce for Sunday Market. Sunday head to Farmers Markets 4 am and then day ends at 2pm head back to the Farm. Monday morning pick for Tuesday delivery and then Wednesday we start all over again. From the start of the seed in February towards now the hours till now. Every day you have to water the plants and make sure the temperature is warm. Tending to the plants is like tending a baby. You have to make sure it's not too hot, not too cold, and it has enough water and sunlight. May Lee is our master at the green house and she starts shopping for seeds in Decemember! If you have an suggestions on next year variety we are already planning next year growing season. So if there is a certain variety of vegetable you like! We are open. We are also looking to add value add to our shares so please email us suggestions!

Mhonpaj’s Garden is a 9-acre certified organic vegetable farm owned by May Lee and her daughter Mhonpaj. With 5 acres in Stillwater and 4 acres in Marine on St. Crox, May and her family grow a variety of vegetables, bedding plants and herbs.
In 1980, May, her husband Chue, their children and May’s mother immigrated to the United States from Loas as refugees. They found work farming conventionally, but when May’s mother was diagnosed with cancer after working with pesticides in the United States, May knew she needed to start farming organically.
May’s daughter Mhonpaj was connected with the Minnesota Food Association (MFA) and learned about their New Immigrant Agriculture Program (now called the Farmer Education Program). The Lee’s were accepted into the three-year program, which gave them access to the MFA’s 60-acre certified organic incubator farm, Big River Farm, and connected them with a Hmong-speaking coordinator who helped them find resources and answer questions about organic farming. Together they resolved issues ranging from drip irrigation setup to product liability insurance to insect control.
In 2010, the Lee’s “graduated” from the MFA program and went on to become the first Hmong-owned certified-organic farm in Minnesota. May and her family now farm leased land along the St. Croix River.

In addition to farming, May spends lots of time educating other growers about organic practices through the MFA and as a Master Gardener volunteer for Ramsey County. She and her family also share their culinary heritage through cooking demonstrations and classes.

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